Thinkpad T420 Owner's Thread

My T420 took 11 days to reach to me, not bad considering it was during the Easter Holidays. Though my Uncle had his new X201T in just 6 days... was hoping for a slight repeat!

Congrats on the new machine and welcome to the club! I read your review and i'm pleased to hear you're satisfied with the T420. Did you get the Haribo Gummis with your order too?

I added your review on the 1st post for everyone to see.

 

Thanks! No, I unfortunately didn't get the little bears. I'm a bit disappointed about that, actually. Especially as the previous testimonials regarding them had me all worked up about it.

 

Hello,

I will be buying a T420 or T520 in the next few days but I am still hesitating which model to get because of the combination of screen size and high resolution (1600x900). For the last five years I have been using a 15,4", 1280x800 screen. Considering the changed aspect ratio, that would roughly a 25% reduction in vertical pixels/inch (by rule of thumb).

In most reviews of the T420 I read that the high resolution is nice as long as you have good eyesight. What does that mean exactly? It seems to me like many people have external screens at home that they use instead or as an extra. I will use the laptop mostly for LaTeX, viewing PDFs and programming but will probably not have a second screen to use.

What is your experience with working longer hours on only the 14" screen? By the way, how come there are so few user reviews about the T520 on the internet?

I would appreciate any input on this,

Peter

 

Hello Peter, i've come from a similar situation as yourself since previously I used the 15.4" ThinkPad R61e which had a 1280x800 screen to do my office work for long hours.

Lately I switched to the T420 with HD+ and I found no problem adapting to the new resolution, in fact I pleasantly noticed doing graphical work is a lot more streamlined thanks to the increased real estate.

I'm currently finishing off my guide document and the text are still easy to read, I don't particularly have the need to go up close to read things or feel tired doing my work for long hours.

 

Another new BIOS released on 4/30 already, 1.23

Lenovo Support - BIOS Update Utility for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), XP - ThinkPad

Version 1.23
UEFI: 1.23 / ECP: 1.07

* (New) Added support for the Intel Pentium CPU models.


Interesting. Anyone know of any new Sandy Bridge CPUs being released any time soon?

 

Hey dan h,

Would you maybe consider taking a couple of photos of how you fixed your T420? I opened mine but could not see where I could put some rubbery foam to close the gap. I'm sure others would appreciate it too given that it seems we're not the only ones with wiggly palmrests here on NBR... Thanks!

 

i was talking about the hdd caddy. I bought one and wanted to know how long it took to reach you?

 

Ah, my caddy took 3 weeks to get to my doorstep but mainly because I opted for the cheapest International Post option by USPS. Before shipping the seller was kind enough to inform me that choosing this option instead of Priority Service will take a while but I was happy to wait.

 

Is it just me or is the battery in the T420 really hard to take out?
The tight battery compartment space resolved the rattling/wriggling battery issue. However, whenever I try to take the battery out, I find myself struggling with both hands.

One time, I even unplugged the power cord at the same time(it's right next to the battery) and the system shut down. I'm sort of missing the loose battery...

 

Hi All!

What is the different between a quad-core processor vs the current cpu chipset of this T420 (i7) ? Based on what i've google to see the spec (dxdiag), it says that my processor has 4 CPUs. (Does it really have 4 CPUs??)

Is there any diff between a 4core, 4 Cpus? Hope some of you can enlighten me.

thank you.

 

Each core of the Core i series CPUs can run two threads of processing. This causes some software to think there are twice as many cores as really exist. If you run a recent version of CPU-z it will explicitly show 2 cores and 4 threads.

John

 

Does anyone know if the T420 will support DDR3-1600. There is apretty good deal on the Kingston HyperX modules online and I want to know if I'd be able to take advantage of the extra speed. I have an i5-2520m in my notebook

 

Will it support it? Yes. (although if the RAM has blue heat-spreaders like most HyperX, it may be a tight fit)

Can you take advantage of it? No. It will just run the faster memory at a slower speed.

 

IIRC, it's only the memory controllers in the quad core CPUs that support 1600MHz. Therefore, it's more a case of whether the HyperX modules include better timings for 1333MHz. According to the datasheet here (I hope I have found the right one), they do. However, it looks as if their timings at 1333MHz are the same as normal DDR3 1333MHz RAM.

John

 

Well I just completed my Windows Clean Install Guide for the ThinkPad T420. It will:

- Explain how to do Recovery Discs on the system and what is required.

- Show you how to clean install Microsoft Windows XP on the T420 system.

- Show you how to clean install Microsoft Windows Vista* / 7 on the T420 system.

For Vista the principles is pretty much the same as Windows 7, there are some slight differences such as different versions of System Update which you need to be aware of but this has been highlighted in the guide.

The guide is in PDF format (4.6MB) and is about 55 pages long! Hope the guide becomes an useful aid for the T420 users out there!

 

Very impressive! Nice work! =D

 

Thanks! While I know my way around Linux, my T420 is my only "win box" and your guide will come in handy some day when I have to reinstall. It's really well done!

 

I was hoping for a fix of the odd warm reboot issue for the Intel SSDs but unfortunately the new BIOS did nothing to change this. So the wait goes on...

I don't particularly have trouble taking the battery out, its probably one of the easiest component to take out compared to the hard disk drive cover and others. What battery do you have, standard 6 cell or extended 9 cell?

 

True. It is meant to be put in/taken out on a daily basis, so it is naturally the easiest component to take out.

However, compared to the other two Thinkpads that I have own(ed), the 9-cell battery I have in my T420 is not loose, but rather a bit too tight.

I was just wondering if this is Lenovo's solution to many people complaining about loose batteries or if I just have a 1) slightly wider battery or 2) slightly tighter battery compartment space.(both of which wouldn't make sense anyway...)

 

Certainly Lenovo made the battery fit more tighter on the T420, I know what you mean since the T61 I have with 6 cell battery does wiggle slightly. But personally I think Lenovo addressed the issue for the better, I also have the 9 cell on my T420 but don't particularly find any issues taking it out. It's usually the disk drive cover and replacing the keyboard which are the most trickiest for me.

 

Hi, a quick question about the bluetooth on thinkpads... Can it be toggled on and off? or is it on 100% of the time? If it is the latter, wouldn't it shorten battery life?

thanks

 

Bluetooth can be toggled using the same keystroke that can turn the WIFI card on/off. The window that pops-up allows you to change the status of either radio.

 

Yes, Fn + F5

 

On my T42 I had the right Ctrl key set to function as the windows key. I'd like to do the same on my T420 because I think it would be easier for me to hit accurately than the actual Windows key on the left side of the keyboard. Does the Thinkpad software allow the key to be remapped as the T42-era software did, or do I need to install Sharpkeys or some other such program?

 

Ah I remember using this app on my R50e, was really useful for mapping the missing Windows key at the time!

I'm pretty sure you can use Lenovo Keyboard Customizer on Windows 7 even though its designed for Windows Vista. I could test it out for you on my dummy OS and let you know about the results just in case I prove to be wrong.

 

I think you can remap in the BIOS, can't you Hearst? I recall a Fn+Ctrl swap in newer ThinkPads.

 

Yes you can switch the left FN+Ctrl keys around via the BIOS, but oxlmoos wants his right Ctrl to act as a Windows key if I read correctly. For that you need a software based keyboard remap utility.

 

I guess this isn't seen as absolutely necessary since the T420 keyboard does have a Windows key, whereas the T42 didn't. Thanks for the suggestion, Hearst. It looks like it might work. Link here.

Update: It does indeed work with Win7 x64. Thanks, Hearst!

I mentioned in a different post how I often accidentally hit the DVD eject button on side of the machine - any way to disable it?

 

i think you are not the only one who is facing this problem, i myself has accidentally hit the dvd eject button several times already just for picking up my T420... not sure you will be able to disable it though...

 

I meant to test this later in the day since it was 4am when I wrote that message (I needed to kip) but glad everything works as expected!

Yeah I noticed it too, they switch sides with the eject button compared to my old T61 and is larger too which making it easier to press it accidently (especially when trying to carry the laptop around). A bit of a design flaw if you ask me.

 

impressive indeed

 

Sorry for the delayed response... busy weekend with lots of moms to celebrate mother's day. At the moment I do not have the time to open up the laptop to snap photos but I found this pic from the manual that illustrates where I put a piece of rubber foam. I placed the rubber foam through the whole length of the metal frame. The grooves of the frame didn't affect the positioning of the rubber foam. Hope this helps.

 

Some info for y'all:

I replaced my i5 CPU with an i7-2720QM for some quad-core goodness. The T420 boots and runs properly.

A few minor tips for following the CPU replacement instructions in the hardware guide (though it should be pretty obvious once you do it):
- At the speaker removal step, don't remove the entire setup. Just unscrew the left side speaker and put it over the edge of the laptop. This part is only necessary to remove the heatsink + fan, which are underneath the speaker.
- Don't bother at all with the LCD removal step. The only things that get in the way of removing the CPU heatsink are a couple of small cables that are hooked onto it. This is all that you have to get out of the way before removing the CPU heatsink.
- I think you can completely skip the steps for removing the wifi card... Maybe that wasn't even listed as one of the things to do before removing the CPU heatsink (or in any case, it shouldn't be). If you do it, note that the picture of the screw that holds the card in the manual is smaller than the actual screw (not the right proportions). When re-assembling the laptop, I spent a long time looking for a small screw that I thought I lost, before realizing that the part is listed as a 10mm screw (i.e., a long one).

I got the 2720QM from an HP parts dealer website (DECTrader - link). HP then drop-shipped the CPU to me. The packaging is nice and secure; HP includes some probably-good Shin-Etsu thermal grease with the CPU (I use a particular type of Shin Etsu grease for my desktop builds, and I think this was similar, if not the same), and even a big alcohol-soaked wipe. But the best part is that it was cheaper than even the questionable ES listings on eBay, at least when I ordered it. [Update: I see that prices for ES equivalents on eBay have come down a bit, but it looks like DEC still has the cheapest legit ones.]

For the brief amount of time I've used the new CPU so far, temperatures and estimated battery life levels seem on-par with the i5. Time will tell how real-world usage will compare. Idle temps seem to hover around the mid-30's, which is at least as good as what I was seeing with the i5. Perhaps the change in thermal grease had a positive effect, by the way.

One other thing worth noting, since someone asked about it in an earlier post in the thread, is that the Kingston HyperX 1600MHz 2x4GB sticks do fit comfortably in the laptop. I don't think that the RAM is running at that speed, however... Will do further testing to see if I can get it there, but there's no option in the BIOS for it.

I do have a very nooby question for you fellow T420 owners (which is a result of my CPU replacement, since a key popped off of the keyboard when I was moving it back into place) :
Can anyone link a guide, or provide a good description, for how to replace a key (the letter E, in my case) back on the keyboard? I can't just snap it back into place, though nothing seems to be damaged. Thanks!

 

i've yet to remove any keys from my t420, but now and then my boss's son always managed to take off some of the keys on her thinkpad x61, so if the t420 shared the same design then you should have a small rubble and 2 plastic (one white and another should be in grey) which suppose to intercept each other while connecting the key to the keyboard itself, so i hope that you didnt take off the 2 small plastic from attachment to the key itself, if it's still on the key itself then you place the key on to the keyboard itself to make sure it's the correct direction, then take out the 2 plastic from the key and make sure you dont miss place the direction when you take it off, then just fix the 2 plastic on to the keyboard metal clip which hold them in place, once it's done put the small rubble in the middle and just clip back the key on the your keyboard..

 

Actually, what I think happened was that the two little clips on the back of the key just couldn't grab back on to the retainer. After I bent the tiny clips with my nail ("spread them out"), the key snapped back easily.

On another topic, I noticed some talk about HDD bay caddies/adapters a bit earlier on in the thread, with someone recommending one that an eBay seller named "digizon" is selling.

Those cost around $45, which is more than I'd want to spend on such a contraption. Before I realized that the T420 have thicker-than-usual drive bays, I ordered a caddy from another eBay seller - "ny-compu-tek" - for much cheaper. Now that it's arrived and I see a big gap between the top of the bay and the caddy, I started looking around for cheaper alternatives to the one that digizon is selling. Wouldn't this one from ny-compu-tek (~$12 if you make an "offer") work? Or might its shape be a bit different than needed?

 

I think I love you. Thank you so much for posting your experience with a quad core mod! Please keep us updated with the condition of your notebook over time

 

If I recall ny-compu-tek's caddy didn't work on someone's W520, so most likely it would not work on the T420 as well. Reading from the W520 forums (I can't specify which page as that thread had grown into epic proportions) general consensus is that 12.7" caddies that has a metal plate design at the bottom (that includes the Digizon caddy) generally works on the newer ThinkPads (I know it's pretty vague analysis). You probably could get a similar sort of caddy to Digizon's elsewhere much cheaper but I can't guarantee to say if they work or not.

P.S. - Congrats on the Quad Core experiment! I prob should sticky that article on the Q&A just in case others may be interested in doing something similar.

 

Hello, I have some questions as I am seriously considering purchasing a Lenovo ThinkPad T420.

1.) How is Linux support for this notebook? Can someone post me an 'lspci' and 'lsusb' of their system please? I'm not too worried about CPU/GPU/WiFi (as these are Intel and will work), but I am concerned about everything else. Please share your personal experiences with it too.

2.) Does it use BIOS or the new UEFI?

3.) Any tips to save money on it?

Thanks so much.

 

Ah, ThinkRob has an excellent write-up.
Robert Tomsick | Misc | Review of the Lenovo ThinkPad T420
Good job

 

OK, I pretty much answered all my questions reading reviews.

Sorry for cluttering up the thread..

 

hi guys,

My T420 won't boot this morning. It appear I have the same problem as this guy.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/577581-new-x220-wont-boot-after-updates-help-please.html

I've installed Intel 510 ssd in my primary HDD. Last night it works fine. I 've already reset the bios to the default settings. Is there any chance that I can recover my data?

 

How about booting from a Linux Live CD and checking if you can see your SSD contents? If so, you can copy your files over.

John

 

that means, I can use the ssd as an external HD? Because I have an external HD enclosure. I could not try anything right now, because I'm at work.

 

You could do a startup repair if you have the Windows disc, sounds similar to the problem I encountered with a Sony VAIO recently that worked fine before but then just wouldn't boot up the next. I then performed a startup repair and it solved the missing OS problem (I don't know how the MBR got messed up).

Linux support is usually very good on ThinkPads. There's even a dedicated Wikia page for Linux on ThinkPads should you need reference.

You can use either BIOS (Legacy) or UEFI modes on the T420.

Wait for the coupon codes that tend to occur, also calling to a Lenovo rep and haggling for a discount may save you even further. If you're a student in the US you may also take advantage of discounted prices, check to see if your institution is eligible by visiting this site.

 

Yes. You can take out the SSD and put it in an enclosure. All the recent 2.5" storage devices use the same SATa connector.

John

 

Well, I have a coupon to save $100 on a T420, but it still isn't quite enough. How effective is haggling? My ideal configuration (with the coupon applied) is about $150 over my limit. Do you think Lenovo would go down that far?

Unfortunately I am not a student.

Thanks for your help though.

 

Would a Dell Latitude E6420 with a similar configuration (and any available coupons) be within your budget? In which case your negotiating ploy is to say "I would love to buy the T420 but it's more than I can afford. It looks as if I will have to get the Dell E6420 which only costs xxxx (fill in the cost) for the configuration I want."

John

 

Just got back from work. When I open the HD bay, it appears that my SSD slipped out from the SATA connector . The Intel 510 is slightly thicker than the original HDD (7mm HDD). I don't know why my T420 shipped with 7mm HDD. Doesn't is suppose to go inside T420s

I have to remove the rubber ralls when I installed the SSD and put some foam sticker on top of the SSD. I should put something in between SSD and the cover, so that it will not slipped again.

 

Ah. A mechanical problem. At least it is easier to identify and fix than broken Windows.

The T420s definitely needs 7mm thick drives but I thought that the T420 used 9.5mm thick units (both with rubber rails). Perhaps there is a further variation where thicker rubber rails are used for a 7mm thick drive in the T420.

John

 

If you read the T420 Manual, there are 2 pictures of removing the rubber rails. One for 9.5 mm HDD and one for 7.0 mm HHD. I am sure the rubber rails size and dimension differ from each other.