Thinkpad T510 Owners lounge

Just received my T510 this morning which is missing the 5 in 1 card reader. Very disappointed.

 

What is Lenovo website that caters discount laptops to students? I saw it before but I cannot seem to find it now.

Thanks!

Never mind, I found it.

 

When you customize T510 you have this option:

Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode - English [$0.00]

What does it mean? I thought XP mode should be available by default for i5-520M+ processors.

THX

 

Nice thread here ...
I just ordered a T510 w/

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My intention is to install Linux on day1, which obviates the driver issues (sort of).

My questions are these:

1/ What is the timing I should expects on the 2GM DRAM ? (Hopefully 7-7-7-20). The Intel i5 data sheets claims the cpu should support interleaved DRAM, but I see variable experiences reported. My intention is to buy another 2GB aftermarket or a pair of 4GBs and install. Can this system interleave memory ? What speed memory will ship ?

2/ Lenovo has a "Win Power Manager" app that I believe allows one to stop the battery charging, say at 40% to preserve battery life. Obviously not available for Linux. Is anyone aware of ANY details ? Does this use ACPI or some backdoor method ? Is there a LInux substitute ?

3/ The older (pre-2009) SSDs had a lot of problems, slow writes and poor power conservation, but I haven't seen hard information on more recent ones in laptops.. I'm considering installing a 100-120GB SSD as the main disk and switching out the 500GB to an EOM disk caddy. I can yank or idle the mechanical disk unless I need the room. I never use optical drives (I think they are passe') - usually boot an install of a usb flash storage.
So are modern SSDs any sort of power savings ?

Is are SSD performance, battery-life, shock resistance, lesser noise improvements worthwhile given eh $220-250USD price + $50 price for a caddy ? The config with discounts was $1207 before tax so this is a ~25% bump in price.

I'm still hunting but thread pointers on the issues are most welcome.

 

^ To my knowledge and research there is currently no ultraybay caddy that fits flush with the T510. The older T400 T500 SLIM ultrabay caddys will work but there is a gap and its not flush nor stable.

They really need to quickly make a caddy that fits firmly. It should be really easy to make.

I'm looking into SSD hybrids. Anyone have any advice and or experience?

 

My t510:
Processor - i7-620M 2.66 GHz
OS - Windows 7 Pro (64bit)
Display - 15.6" HD+ Anti-Glare Display with LED Backlight
Graphics - NVIDIA NVS 3100m Graphics with 512mb DDR3 Memory
Memory - 4gb
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
Camera, 2.0 MP
HDD - 500gb @ 7200rpm
Express Card Slot & 5 in 1 Card Reader
9 cell Li-Ion Battery
Bluetooth w/ antenna
Wireless - Intel Centrino Ultimate-N

I love everything about it except:
-Annoying-as-hell cpu whine
-Can't switch graphics even in BIOS
-I got it JUST before they updated to Optimus
-The legendary 9-cell battery lasts 4 hours on lowest settings everything


@const451:
I checked this box, but Windows XP Mode did not come installed on my machine. I still had to download it.

 

any idea when the next T5 series will come out? T520?

 

Sometime in first half of next year, when Sandy Bridge cpu's are introduced.

 

Meh ! Do you think that the same speed i5-2xxx and i7-2xxx processors with some rarely used SSD instructions rates a bump in the laptop model number ? Perhaps but I have doubts. Bigger changes are due in 2013, and perhaps AMD will get off the bench by then.

 

Got my T510 yesterday. Spent a day ID'ing all the hardware and verifying it all works. Also backing off Win7/64 so I can install Linux. I was able to compress the 500GB disk image to <22GB using lzop compression in about 16 minutes. Some other compressors will take the image down to ~17GB, but they take hours to run.


I tested the single Lenovo OEM 2GB DDR3 (from Samsung) part using memtest86+. It showed a measured 6503 MB/s to DRAM, configured as 7-7-7-20 according to CPU-Z. I replaced this one stick with a pair of Mushkin DDR3-8500 4GB parts (8GB total). These also configure as 7-7-7-20. But because they now interleave (dual symmetric in Intel lingo) memtest86+ measures 7643 MB/s to DRAM. That's a 17.5% memory bandwidth increase due to interleaving. The CPU datasheet claims that mismatched memory sizes (like a 2GB stick and a 4GB stick) will interleave to the size of the smaller DDR3. Anyway it's vastly cheaper to buy your memory aftermarket. I bought the minimum Lenovo config, spent $140 on Mushin for 8GB, and so I have a spare 2GB DDR3. The upgrade to 8GB at Lenovo is $515, maybe $400 with a good discount, and you lose the spare.

Also I have a 120GB high performance G.SKILL Phoenix Pro SSD enroute. Newegg had a $195 deal so I just had to pull the trigger. Probably overkill, but I feel it's time to try an SSD.

I'm not hearing the "CPU Whine" at all, however to be fair I haven't exercised the Nvidia (with Optimus) very hard. I may disable the Nvidia - unneeded power drain for my needs. Sadly you can't config a FHD screen laptop using using the IGP alone (true for HP, Lenovo, Sony).

So far it looks and acts great, everything I expected plus the Optimus capability.. Happy camper here.

 

I'm interested to hear some T510 Optimus reviews. Any takers?

 

I know its kinda random but my T510 was stuck in Louisville, KY for about 2 days. Seems like they don't charge the money out of your account for the order until the product is in the US then ships it after pulling the money. Although there have been reports of people having their laptops being stuck in KY for weeks it seems like Lenovo has fixed the problem now. I also ordered the FHD screen on 10/28 and projected arrival is tomorrow 11/11. About 2 weeks for the build and the shipment. Fingers crossed and I'll do a complete write up tomorrow.

Wish me luck

 

I am really interested in swapping the HD+ screen for a new FHD.
Are the screens on these t510's as difficult to replace as the t61p's?

 

Looks like some people still have the "CPU Whine" and others don't. I got my T510 with an i560M processor a couple of weeks ago and I most certainly have it on mine. Does that mean that I have a defective piece that needs to be returned and exchanged with another machine?

According to this thread on the Lenovo Forums this still seems like pretty common - T510 + i5 540M = terrible whine noise! - Lenovo Community

I am pretty confused now. I love everything about my new T510 but the annoying noise!

 

There's not much you can do about it. It has to do with the CPU and it's different states. Like go do something that is CPU intensive (like play videogames), you'll notice that the whining will stop. But as soon as you stop playing, the CPU will change it's state (since there's a reduction in the electric current) and you'll start to hear the whining again.

 

Thanks for the response. I understand what you are saying. But how does that explain some users experiencing the "whine" and not others? So is the only way to switch the "whine" off is to disable the "CPU Power Management" option in the BIOS? It does fix the sound for me when I do that but the CPU temperature goes up much more rapidly with time.

Also is this whine specific to the core i5 and i7 processor? Does this happen for the i3 processor too? Will I be able to escape the annoying sound by downgrading to one of the other Thinkpad models that still offer the i3 processor?

Thanks

 

This problem has been going on for many years. It is related to the power saving states. Some may hear it more than others for a variety of reasons. Some people can't hear very well. Others might live in an area with more background noise so they don't notice it. Also, electronics are never perfect, so they are manufactured with different tolerances. All chips and the surrounding electronics are different than all the other ones. Whatever chip you get, you may or may not have the problem.

 

After all these months the "whine" is still there and thankfully changing the Power Manager settings as described above still helps. I can work on my T510 and so something useful once again. Thanks!

 

Hi! I want to buy myself a laptop and I must tell you I absolutely love the simple, sober looks of the T510, but hearing about the problems some people have with this model, I got a little discouraged. The most annoying problem would be of course the high pitched noise of the mb. I used to have the same problem with my desktop. The PSU (Corsair 620HX) had this extremely annoying noise when the system was idling. However the noise disappeared after a while (some months) maybe because I overclocked my cpu and added some more ram. Also my 22 inch LG display had this noise when using the lowest contrast&brightness setting. But now it is two years old and at some point the noise just disappeared... I couldn't tell you why. I must mention that I also bought a ups in the meantime. I did not investigate further to see what exactly was causing the whine, I was just happy that it was gone.

Now what do you say, is this a good time to buy myself a Thinkpad or should I wait for the next revision? The most important things for me when it comes to buying a laptop are: the DESIGN which means good looks, practicality and reliability but also low emissions (noise, heat), a very good keyboard, an above average display. It looks like the T510 meets all these requirements that I have except for that problem with the noise which could be a deal breaker for me.

 

I bought a T510 with the following in my signature in October so its very recent and here is my take on the laptop (which I'm on right now).

- The system isn't loud at all, and I'm VERY anal about fan noise and such. People have been talking about "CPU whine" but I'm pretty confident I don't get any. If anything the the HD that's spinning and making whining noises but you won't hear it unless everything else in the room is whisper quiet.

- The build is great. Not FANTASTIC (imo a macbook pro) but just great. No flexing in the corners of the keyboard.No flexing/creaking in the wrist rests.

Now the thing is when I bought my T400 in the previous generation, I wasn't sure how much they could improve on the design and then the T410 and the T510 came out. The major changes are the keyboard and the layout of the ports. Both of which are improved drastically. Having a bigger ESC and Delete key is more useful than you can imagine.

Personally I don't think they'll change too much about the design but then again i could be very wrong. Your choice should be whether to buy a late and polished CPU line or the new and maybe unstable Sandy bridge CPUs when they come out next quarter.

I have no complaints about my T510

 

Well... thanks for your input junkimchi. It's certainly good to hear that there are users who actually enjoy their Thinkpads to the full.

 

Is the combo eSATA/USB port on the T510 "Power over eSATA"? Meaning if you have the proper enclosure you can connect to the T510 with just the one cable providing both power for the enclosure and HDD connectivity via eSATA?

junkimchi, how are you liking the FHD screen? It's good to hear that you have no whine on your unit. I wonder how widespread the whining problem is?

I'm really curious what will be offered in the Thinkpad T series line when Sandy Bridge is released. I'm hoping that the FHD will be offered with the improved Intel integrated (Sandy Bridge) graphics. Right now you need to get the discrete card in order to get the FHD screen.

 

Ok, just a few more questions before I go shopping:

1. T510 or T410? - is the build quality the same?;
2. i3 370 or i5 580? (the only options available in my area for T510);
3. NVS 3100M 512MB or integrated? - for HD videos and some light gaming.

[is the i3 cpu able to handle HD movies (1080p) by itself without a dedicated graphics card?]

 

If I say please?

 

It sounds like you are going to a local store. I think most people here buy from the Lenovo web site.

1) Depends on your needs. If you want something smaller, get the 410. If you want bigger, get the 510. Otherwise you're overthinking it.

2) I'd go for the i5.

3) If you plan on doing any gaming at all, you should get the NVS. Intel just can't cut it for games.

Of course, all of this depends on your budget more than anything. Getting more RAM is more important that a faster CPU.

 

Thanks a lot! I think I'll go for the T510 with an i5 + NVS. It's probably the most reasonable choice anyway. What about the display? Is the FHD worth it when compared to the 1600x900 display? Someone said something about a blueish tint on Lenovo screens. I can't remember where I read that... Is that true for both of the displays?

 

I have the FHD screen on my W510 and I think it's great. I always recommend the higher-resolution screen. I can't say there's any noticeable tint to it. I would guess if that's really important you'd want to get a color calibrator for the display.

 

Uh-oh! It seems that the FHD model comes without fingerprint reader and without webcam... damn. Now I have to choose between:


Model - 4349T510
- i5 520M
- 4gb ram
- 320gb hdd 7200rpm
- NVS 3100M
- FHD display
- no fingerprint reader
- no webcam

Model - NTFCLRI
- i5 580M
- 2gb ram
- 500gb hdd 7200rpm
- NVS 3100M
- HD+ display
- fingerprint reader
- webcam

Even if the FHD screen would be so much better than the HD+ screen, there is the problem of the empty slots for the fingerprint reader and webcam. Lenovo isn't using special parts for these models, I suppose, so the fp reader will become a useless hole even if they put some rubber in there. Not a big deal but somewhat annoying from the point of view of a design freak like me.

The question is should I sacrifice those features (which I don't particularly need but still they are good to have) for the FHD screen? Is it really worth it? Or better, is the HD+ screen really that bad? I wanted the FHD screen hoping for better colors, crispness and overall quality in case you wonder. And of course for watching HD movies without the black borders (if that is possible).

 

As I said before, it sounds like you're shopping in local stores. They never have whatever options you want.

If I wasn't clear before, I will be now... don't shop at local stores, buy directly from their web site. You can configure the system with whatever options you want. I was just able to configure one with all the options you are asking about.

 

Shipping too expensive to where I live (Europe) ... I suppose.

 

I'm also thinking about buying a laptop like a T510/T410.

-Has anyone had problems with their T510 making a whining sound?

Some T510 owners with the i5 CPU have reported this problem:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T5...T510-i5-540M-terrible-whine-noise/td-p/219822

-What resolution should I get with the 15.6" display?
I am leaning towards either the 1366x768 or 1600x900. I don't want the icons and font to be too small.

-What are your general impressions of the T510's quality like flexing problems, chassis material, and contrast ratio/brightness of the display?

 

I've heard the CPU whine in Windows 7. Since migrating to Linux, I haven't heard it at all, but I'm sure that is dependent on the power saving features (generally speaking, computer runs cooler in windows).

I am comfortable with 1366x768. I came from 1024x768 15" on my R50e. I don't have the best vision, so i chose the lowest resolution, and I still had to turn up DPI in Windows. In Linux though, everything looks nice and comfortable out of the box.

To be honest, the T510 isn't perfect build wise. My palmrest makes a creak sound on the right side where the hook of the lid goes into the hole. There is small flex directly below the keyboard keys on the left and right side of the palmrest. The left palmrest flexes on the left side directly below the speaker grille. The bezel surrounding the LCD is not completely flat against the display. There is about a 1-2mm gap between the two, so it can be pushed down. I don't assume this causes a problem though. I find the palmrest to scratch easily. Mine has a 3/4" scratch and it will NOT come out, and it isn't hidden, like in the R50e ABS shell.

I do like the rubber casing of the lid, though I do NOT like the bottom of the display. For example, I like to carry my laptop by the battery side. If I grip it on the T510, the display bowes and it feels like it will break. This wasn't a problem on my R50e because it had the ABS plastic vs. the special cage of the T510. My solution? Carry it by the lid side since that doesn't move.

I like the chassis feel though, regardless of all the cosmetic problems. There is NO creaking if you pick it up in a corner (not possible on R50e). The cooling system works well.

The screen gets VERY bright. Contrast is alright, but I am coming from a R50e.

Overall, I love the base construction of the laptop and it will last a while. I do NOT like the outer casing, and I wish it was put together better. I might try reseating the palmrest. Speaking of the keyboard, it is nice, but there is a TINY amount of movement on the right side. I'm going to place something underneath it to prevent it.

 

So I bought these two laptops: T510 and HP 4520s. They are both great computers. The T510's HD+ screen is unexpectedly good in my opinion. The white is white not yellow as someone stated earlier, the picture is crisp and the colors are beautiful. Also there is no whine thank' god. What can I say... I'm very impressed by my Thinkpad. Weird but no flex in the palmrest or keyboard here...

I have the i5 580M with 2GB ram for now, nvs 3100M and a 500GB hdd. Mine came with Windows 7 64bit Professional and everything else already installed. Is there anything I should uninstall? There is one big partition for windows (430GB) and a small partition for "Lenovo Recovery" (10GB). Do you know... is there an easy way to add new partitions without having to reinstall windows? Any useful advice for a new Thinkpad owner? Thanks and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

I'm not familiar with the new Lenovo's.

I have a T61p which is in my sig. Awesome computer which never gave me any problems with 3+ years owning it.

Is the T510 model equivalent to the T61p?

 

Does the newer T510 with discrete graphics have automatic switching between discrete and integrated graphics? If it does, can anyone tell me how to test and make sure it is working? In the bios, when you select Optimus in the graphics list, it says Optimus allows you to switch between integrated and discrete graphics "on demand". What does this mean?

 

Did you have the Core i5 or i7 CPU? And is that CPU whine more of an annoyance or a symptom of some deeper problem?

And have you heard if there is a definitive fix for the CPU whine problem with i5 CPUs?

 

Do any current owners know if the integrated Intel graphics option can power at least 2 external monitors at 1900x1200? I know the Optimus can power 3 external monitors using the advanced docking station, but can the integrated Intel do that with the same dock?

 

i have the core i5 520 2.4GHz. if you are in a quiet (near dead silent), you will hear the whine. I am almost positive, as others have stated before, that it is all power management related. I didn't find it THAT big of a deal, but then again, I don't experience it anymore.

 

Could ny f u pls comment on the speakers?
Abt the loudness?
Compared to the t60?

 

In-built speakers on the T510 are fine, in my opinion. But when I connect it to an external headphone or stereo system the sound is definitely a lot weaker compared to the older T60.

 

Now that I have my T510 for some time I'd like to share a few impressions about it.

The build quality is... good. Maybe you know that I also bought a HP 4520s last week which was less than half the price of the Lenovo and now I start to wonder why was the Lenovo so much more expensive. For instance the HP feels more compact and sturdy than the Lenovo. After a couple of days the T510 started to develop these noises and creaks all over the palmrest (left side especially, right above the USB ports) while the HP did not. Well you should not understand that it's so bad but still, I can't help but notice the differece. Overall it feels solid except for those creaks I mentioned. There is indeed a small space between the display and the frame but the HP also has that.

The display lid is rubberized and it looks great but I'm afraid it will wear out pretty fast especially around the edges. Also once you leave some finger marks on it which is very easy, it's difficult to clean them. If you constantly clean it with some wet cloth, the rubber will probably wear out even faster. The HP has a metallic lid and palmrest... which feels/looks really cool and fingerprints/marks are never a problem.

I like the fact that the T510 runs cool AND quiet even under load but the 90W adapter can get pretty hot (only under load). The HP runs significantly warmer but its fan is also very quiet.

I don't like that there's a 8-10 degrees difference between the two cores of the CPU (i5 580M). When the CPU is under load (~70 degrees C) the difference decreases to about 2-3 degrees.

The keyboard of the T510 is indeed great and probably the best feature of the T510. It's a pleasure to type on it. It looks awesome and it feels even better. It just invites you to touch it. The HP also has a very good keyboard but it can't compare to Lenovo.

The sound quality is good, not loud enough in my opinion but you can watch a movie or listen to your favourite music, no problem. The HP's speakers also sound good and they can get much louder.

The fingerprint reader is a cool little feature which works fine. The HP has a camera with face recognition instead and it also does it job very well if you have some patience to set it up properly.

Both laptops have features like hard-drive anti-shock protection and spill resistant keyboard.

I had the chance to sit in a quiet room and I could notice the whine that everyone has been talking about. When the laptop is plugged in, it is an almost imperceptible sound but it gets a little louder when it's on battery power. It is not a problem for me.

The display would be very good, crispness, colors and everything, above average I'd say, if it didn't have this dead pixel right in the center-right section. The resolution being 1600x900, it's a very small dot but unfortunately I can notice it when I write smth. on a white background. It can't be seen only when on a red background so I guess it's stuck on red. However, I call it dead since I tried to fix it several times using some software (jscreenfix) and then gently applying pressure and it didn't disappear. It's a shame because with all its little faults I would have preferred to keep this laptop and enjoy it. I understand that these companies like to come with all sorts of policies to cover their faulty products but I also have a policy of my own which says: 0 dead pixels on my screen. If I wanted a dead pixel on my screen I could have bought an Asus G51JX from a store which also sells products which were previously opened or with small defects (scratches or dead pixels) at a reduced price. But I chose a new Lenovo instead. So while it may not be such a big deal for some people, a dead pixel on a new product is unacceptable for me.

As a conclusion I must say that the Lenovo T510 is a very good laptop except for the fact that it is a bit overpriced (at least here in Europe; a little less than 2000USD) and it's overhyped. And don't forget the dead pixels which you might get. I am the second one on this thread with a HD+ screen and a dead pixel. I would buy this laptop again anytime (yes, I like it that much). Let's hope the next one will have at least an impeccable screen.

 

So, I finally got my t510 yesterday. Haven't played around too much as I just got 2 wisdom teeth out.

Anyway, I had ordered it with a 320gb 7200rpm, but had intentions of swapping it with a 500gb Scorpio black.

So, before I even powered it up, I took a ghost image of the original hard drive. Successful image creation.

However, once I pushed this image to the new 500gb Scorpio, it doesn't want to boot to windows at all. (not even safe mode) Just a blinking cursor in the top left corner.

Did I do something wrong or is there maybe built in encryption that maybe messes up the image.

FYI - the 500gb works, as I tested it with an enclosure already. Also, system does boot up fine with default 320gb in there.


Any advice/reasoning as to this trouble.

FYI - I'm in IT, and have done a fair bit of ghosting; never seen this before.

 

My advice would be to create the lenovo recovery disks from thinkvantage, and use those to restore to your other hard drive. It creates an image of the factory hard drive that you can restore to.

 

I just got this notebook today. Ordered it just over a week ago and was surprised to see how fast it arrived since it had a ship date of 12/21/2010.

The build quality is far superior to the HPs I have seen, even the HP Envy line. It isn't as robust as the Apple MBP but its very solid. The keyboard does not flex at all and the keys have just the right amount of travel when pressed. Ordered mine with the full HD screen. The display is absolutely superb. The detail is crisp, clear and best of all there isn't the annoying glare/reflection of the glossy screens. With the 9 cell battery, it looks like I'll be getting around four hours (streaming videos, web surfing and office apps). I appreciated the minimal amount of bloatware. The track point has that retro feel and is pleasant to use from time to time.

As many have remarked, the speakers do not produce very high quality sound. The unit doesn't have a bluray player, although I will remedie this shortly (thanks to those on this thread who outlined the process). This is a great office/multimedia notebook. I don't think the graphics can handle modern games at FHD, however. If you're an old fart like me who plays DOS and legacy games, it won't be an issue.

C.

 

It doesn't feel very robust to me maybe because I don't know what's the best way to grab it.
I don't feel like holding it from the sides because the two grills of the speakers are located there. I'm afraid they might cave in under some pressure.
Touching the lid is not a good idea because the fingerprints are not so easy to remove and also, it can be bent rather easily.
So the only options left are to hold it from the palmrest and from the underneath somehow. I can't recommend holding it from the palmrest only as that plastic doesn't feel particularly strong.
A good advice would be: keep it how you like but always use both of your hands.
The battery wobbles a bit. This may prevent the warm battery from exerting pressure on the plastic around it, the drawback being that the laptop doesn't feel very compact or solid.

 

Hi! I have a question for you guys. I sent my T510 back to the store and they say that they have to keep 10% from its value because I activated Windows... and they have to restore the thing to its original state. Is that normal because I got really angry when I heard that? Thank you!

 

That depends on the specific store policy and the laws in your local area.

The OEM versions of Windows are already pre-activated, so if one of those versions was installed, that's total BS. If you're in a place like India where systems do not come with the OS and they installed it for you, you may have had to go through the activation process yourself. In this case, that would possibly burn an activation, and that would be something again relating to the store policy and local laws.

 

Do not worry about the speaker grill. I had my palmrest off and the entire thing is not mesh as it looks on the outside. There are small, about 3/4" inch slots for the speakers, with protected bars for support. The rest is all solid plastic that appears like mesh on the outside. Underneath the palmrest above the hard drive, there is a magnessium (appears plastic) ribcage that seats between the palmrest and the metal cover above the hard drive. There is also a large piece of magnessium at the edge, which can be seen on the outside of the laptop.

 

What does it mean "to activate Windows"? When I first started the laptop, Windows was there pre-installed and it prompted me to insert a username and password, that's all. I didn't have to insert any serial. To me it looked very activated. I guess those guys at the store just don't like my username.

One more question... What happens when you use that partition to restore Windows? Does it ask for a new serial? If they use that partition to restore Windows to its original state (which is without a username) will it ask for a new serial? I think they could just restore Windows from that partition and voila, everything will seem untouched. Thank you.

Oh... and the law here states that a product which was bought online can be sent back for no reason in ten working days, as long as it's in mint condition, with all accessories and package intact.

 

Part of a Windows installation involves entering a serial number, and then activating Windows online, where it contacts Microsoft and downloads another key. This is what happens when you use a "retail" version of Windows, like one you bought at the store yourself and installed.

If the computer comes with Windows already, it's called an "OEM" install. With an OEM install, which is only done by large vendors like HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc..., this step is skipped because of a special code inserted into the computer's BIOS chip. However, if this is done, there still needs to be a valid activation code which is supplied by the vendor instead of Microsoft.

If your system is installed with a Retail activation method, then it is possible it "burns" an activation. OEM installs do not require this kind of activation and it does not make sense to say it "burns" an activation.

However, it sounds like you are in a country, like India, where computers are not typically installed with OEM versions. If this is the case, please be very clear in your reply where you live and where you purchased the system.

They should not be charging you a %10 fee for "restoring to original state", as this is something they would only have to do rarely for customers like yourself and should consider it part of the cost of doing business. This is how you should be fighting it with them, especially if the law is what you say it is. You just need to fight with them about it.