Thinkpad x20x (s/t/i) Owners Thread

How to shrink Windows 7 boot partition with unmovable files.

 

How to shrink Windows 7 boot partition with unmovable files.


I have just bought X201 laptop with Windows 7 (64 bit). It has 320 GB HDD with three partitions: small hidden system partition, 9 GiB Lenovo recovery partition, and 280 GiB C: boot partition.

I would like to split this large C: partition into 4 partitions, leaving only 70 GiB for system, and giving the rest to new data partitions.

Although Windows built-in Disk Management utility has an option to shrink the bootable partition, it only allows me to shrink it roughly by half, even though only 20 GiB on the partition is used. As far as I understand, system unmovable files lie in the middle of the partition, preventing Disk Management utility to do what I want.

And since new X201 laptops don't come with OS installation disks (they only allow you to create recovery disks yourself), I can't just repartition HDD and then reinstall OS.

So, is there any way to shrink C: bootable partition and preserve Windows 7 working?


P/S: Someone suggested some solutions but they didn't work.

1. Some Windows files are unmovable, and are unhelpfully allocated by Windows at the end or middle of the disk, so that one can only shrink C up to a limit. Which is exactly what you have discovered : the disk cannot be further reduced without destroying Windows.

The only solution is to reinstall Windows in a smaller partition. In your case, you will need to delete the existing system partition and divide it into two partitions via a 3rd-party tool, then restore Windows into the first partition on the disk. Do not touch the restore partition!

I suggest using Paragon Partition Manager 2010 Free Edition as having a good user interface.

2. In the low level tasks like working with HDD system partition I prefer to use native tools as much as possible, and switch to 3rd party tools only as a last resort, if none of native tools worked. So, directed by harrymc, I gave Windows Disk Management another try.

I first turned Virtual Memory and System Restore off, removed System Volume Information folders, and after that Disk Management utility allowed me to shrink C: partition as much as I needed. After that I turned the features back on.

There is one small native system utility that helped me to identify what is blocking my partition - fsutil. It can show you what is exactly the file that occupies some certain cluster. (Run fsutil volume querycluster /? for command usage). And to find the number of unmoveable cluster that is preventing Disk Management utility to shrink the partition, you can see Event Viewer for event 259. Or you can just calculate this cluster number given the available space to shrink the partition by and the cluster size.

Anyway, a filename will give you a hint to guess, what program or feature is locking your partition. And then you can turn it off or uninstall, and see if it helped. In my case turning off Virtual Memory and System Restore was enough. Sometimes it is also necessary to turn off hibernation, etc. And sometimes partition defragmentation may also help.

3. Use Partition Manager 11 Personal to defrag and then use Disk Management to shrink.

Please suggest only proven solutions.

 

anyone know the timing on the ram? Thinking of upgrading to 6gb for now as my tablet comes with only 3.

 

So what SSD is supposed to ship with Thinkpads now? The 2nd generation Samsung (no TRIM) or the Kingston value series?

Which one is better?

 

Are you sure about this? I think I ran into this message before trying to create space for another partition, try booting into a live USB ubuntu and using gparted to shrink the partition.

 

The reason why Windows can only shrink a partition to approximately half its original size is because it stores the second copy of the master file table (MFT) there. The MFT is the table that tells Windows where every file is. It is stored twice, once at the start, and again in the middle to minimise the chance of corruption and failure from making data unrecoverable.

There are apparently some defrag programs (e.g. Diskeeper) that can move it, so you can shrink it further. In fact, that is what gparted does. However, I'd make sure I have a verified backup first before trying gparted because gparted uses a clean-room reverse-engineered version of NTFS, i.e. it was implemented without the official specs. Therefore what it does may not be 100% correct, and hence could lead to data corruption.

Alternatively, if you have access to a disk imaging program that lets you restore to a partition smaller than the original (but big enough to hold the files), e.g. Ghost, you can use that.

 

I've shrunk many a Windows partition beyond what Windows will "allow" using either the gparted on Ubuntu Live CD or, better yet, try PartEd Magic -- it's a Linux LiveCD (free, of course) that can do just about anything with partitions. Download the .iso (it's not very big) and put it on a USB stick with Unetbootin. (Google is your friend.)

Yes, turning off System Restore, Hibernation and anything else that reserves disk space is a good idea. I'm not sure about virtualization -- I haven't gotten around to using that yet.

One caveat: Don't touch, move, shrink or do anything with the recovery partition. It absolutely must stay where it is because the BIOS looks for it there. Unless, of course, you feel you don't need it. It that case, just delete it and recover the space.

 

I'm buying the tablet with the standard i7 spec. What type of SSD do I need to buy for it, and is it easy to replace?

 

Last I heard, the best SSDs are still the Intels. And replacement should be easy. But you might check with Lenovo first -- it may not still be true, but Thinkpads BIOS use to have a "whitelist" of acceptable hard drives and wouldn't recognize any others without hacking the BIOS with a custom flash.

 

Reely?

Anyone else care to comment? What I was actually asking was whether it's a 2.5, 1.5 or some other type.

Edit: By the way, I'm probably on my 22nd laptop within the last 18-month period. What does that make me?

 

It's 2.5" SATA.

Restless?

 

Oh cool. I can just slap in one of my spare Vertexes. I was thinking it might be 1.5. Are there access instructions up on the web somewhere?

Heh. I was just reacting to raydabruce's sig.

 

Probably somewhere in the Hardware Maintenance Manual.

 

Yes.

What I did on my X201 Win7x64 was...

1) disable pagefile and system restore (removes system files that might block the shrink process)
2) reboot
3) shrink the partition in windows disk manager as small as possible (approx 50%)
4) install eval version of perfectdisk
5) do an offline defrag including MFT (this moves the MFT to the middle of the available partition and clears the way for another shrink
6) see as for step 3 - shrink the partition again in windows disk manager as small as possible (approx 50% of whatever it was)
7) defrag again - move the MFT once more


for me this was enough as I started with a 128G SSD. Just wanted 30G for the OS and the rest of the disk for a data partition (Keeping my data on a separate partition to the OS has saved me a headache many times).

 

I just got a Toshiba (no Trim)

 

Super-simple. Thanks.

 

loving my x201T. The 250gb 5400 isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but so far i'm getting an easy 4-5 hours on a full charge while installing software. Spent the better half of today installing windows 7 x64 to replace the 32bit.

 

Can anyone comment on the X201i? Is it similar to the X201 except for the i3? Reviews seem hard to find.

The power usage and heat of the i3 is my biggest concern, should be lower than i5-540 (know they have the same TDP though) to make my choice easier

Would like to buy a X201s with a i7LM, but the price is twice the X201i in Europe, and Thinkpad prices are in general much higher than USA..

 

i can add extra hdd on ultrabase ? can be configured RAID with the added hdd?

 

You can add a second hard drive to the UltraBase, but there's no raid.

 

thank you for info
, what will be the max resolution suported by ultrabase for 2 monitors? i can connect 2 full hd monitors?

 

Good morning!

Lucky owners of x201s, can you please comment the quality of the screen? I'm thinking to buy this one and found quite a few complains related with LCD on this model. Flickering, bad contrast, eyestrain, etc.

Thank you very much for the input.

 

Full HD will be no issue, the resolution will be:

* DisplayPort monitor port supporting 2560 x 1600 maximum resolution.
* VGA analog port supporting 2048 x 1536 maximum resoution.

Attaching both will disable your laptop monitor i believe. Remember, the vga is analog.

 

I'd like to know the answer to this, but about the X201 (non-s)...even though I already ordered one. I've heard the colors are not great, but I'm hoping it's at least brighter than the CCFL on my T400.

Does anyone have pictures of their X201 screen at full brightness? I've seen the review site pics and vids but it's not easy to tell from those.

 

I think it can vary from panel to panel. My 14" R60 seemed about as bright as my 15", though it was rated at 150 nits while the 15" was rated at 200. I believe all the X201 screens are 200 nits, which should be plenty for any indoor usage.

 

thanks for info,..the video card for thinkpad x201 i5-520 can play full hd movie (1920X1080) ? on one monitor or even 2 monitors?

 

It's a little blue out of the box, but the colors are pretty good after you calibrate the monitor. I use an i1 Display 2, which isn't ideal for an LED screen.

In the first picture you see my x201 vs my T60 with it's 3.5 year old LG-Phillips 1400x1050 flexview. In the second picture the T60 has my new Boe-Hydis 1600x1200 flexview. Note that the desktops aren't exactly the same across screens, but they're similar. In the second picture both screens are using the identical file for the desktop. Both pictures were taking with the same ISO, shutter speed, and aperature, and were processed with the same white balance settings.
http://davidson.smugmug.com/photos/898646769_Ji9px-L.jpg
http://davidson.smugmug.com/photos/898646908_YFz7a-L.jpg

 

Hey thanks for the pictures! I just got a shipping notice today (Sunday), so I'm crossing my fingers I'll have it by Friday for the weekend.

 

does the x201 have a webcam? Theres a good deal right now for the x201 but on the customization page theres no mention of a webcam.

 

It does if you get the 2x2 antenna screen that says it has a webcam, but not if you get the 3x3 antenna screen.

 

Well folks, nearly 4 weeks ago I returned my unit back to Lenovo concerning a small crack in the case and today, I received a brand new replacement including a new battery (6-cell).

I can tell you that there is slightly less up and down wobble but the in and out wobble feels the exact same. Oh well, nothing's perfect, but wish the latching mechanism on the battery was designed more secure to minimize wobble.

Anyways, extremely happy to have my X back...

 

Why does it bother you?

 

I ordered the X201, my 4th X-series ThinkPad, last Friday. There is a sale (see here) where the one with the i7-620M is $600 off! (The sale ends tomorrow.) Also, I found a 10% coupon at LogicBuy which to my surprise was accepted (because I didn't choose the exact model as LogicBuy instructed), so the price went from ~$2100 (I got the 3-year base warranty) to ~$1300. The LogicBuy coupon is no more, unfortunately. I did find another coupon from LogicBuy a moment ago which is 15% off, but it didn't work with the same model configuration (I tried).

 

I ordered the $1249 model last Thursday (June 24). UPS is telling me that it will arrive tomorrow (June 30). I didn't change the configuration at all (speeds up shipping) and I opted for the 2-day business express shipping ($10).

I think they have these pre-configured models that are "on sale" in a warehouse in North Carolina, so we get them a lot faster than user-configured models. I love my T410 but I wanted a 2nd, smaller and lighter ThinkPad for daily lugging around. The X201 looks to be perfect for that.

EDIT: Now the UPS tracking site is telling me delivery on July 1. They pushed it back a day... damn!

 

Nah, because my X201 was the $1249 special (not the same $1249 special, but it was the same way on the website, limited configurability and on the right side of the page as a limited time offer) and it shipped out of China.

 

@marlinspike: Did you go for the deal where they include the Ultrabase? I saw that and almost went for it because you could uncheck the Ultrabase option and save an additional $200 or so. But I waited too long.

I was supposed to get mine today -- now they've pushed delivery back a day (to July 1). Oh well, waiting another day won't kill me (or will it?).

 

Yep, went for the one from the Ultra-base, and yep, I unchecked the ultrabase.
I dunno, mine never went through NC at any point, but handled customs in Alaska. Are you positive your tracking says it is going through NC? Could it be it said Kentucky and you're just remembering it wrong? I think the only two UPS hubs that handle customs are in Alaska and Kentucky. There's really no reason shipping would have to be in the US to be fast. If all goes according to plan, it takes 1 day to get from China to the US, and then once in the US, if you've selected the express option, if there are no hangups it takes 1-2 days to get to you (because if you do the express option it goes by air even within the US).

 

Looks like you're right on this. I placed the order on June 24th. Took them 4 days to process it and give it to UPS.
I just now checked UPS tracking again and it shows:


As long as they get it to the lower 48 tonight, I should have it tomorrow.

 

I just ordered a brand new x201 and can't wait for it to arrive. Is the x201 using a CULV processor or a standard mobile i7?

Either way any version of an i7 will be able to handle my needs. Just simply wondering how far I can push it.

 

It's the standard mobile i7. I don't think they have CULV versions of the Core i3/5/7 chips yet.
EDIT: I was wrong about that. There are some Core i5 and i7 low-voltage (LM) and Ultra-low voltage (UM) CPUs.

I had a laptop with a CULV CPU... it gave me better battery life but at a real sacrifice of performance. Personally, I'd rather have the performance and the i7-620m looks pretty good. The nice thing about the chips that Lenovo puts in ThinkPads is that all of the features of the CPU are enabled. For consumer laptops many of the advanced features are disabled (like VT-x, VT-d, AES New Instructions, Thermal Monitoring, TXT, etc.) -- check out Intel's spec sheet for any CPU before you buy the laptop.

Here's the i7-620m:
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43560

Scroll down to "Advanced Technologies" and you'll see that nothing is disabled, you can enable these features in the BIOS of the ThinkPad if they are not automatically enabled. I'm through with consumer-grade laptops -- they come with crippled CPU's, like the i5-430m.

 

That is awesome news! I had ordered a Dell m11x (horrible build quality and sent it back the very next day without using it). It was a CULV so using the integrated gpu it was not as quick as many other laptops using full voltage processors.

 

Yes, I had a chance to use an M11x for a short time. I was not impressed. The new Intel HD graphics is the best I've ever seen for integrated. Here's some info on it:

Notebookcheck: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD

According to the info at that link, you can play Half-Life 2 on high settings with the Intel HD! That's amazing for an integrated graphics chip. I'm not a big gamer but I just happen to have HL2.

 

Huh, even with the one-day delay that you mentioned later in the thread, that is quicker than mine. I ordered my X201 last Friday (06-25) and the estimated ship date is not until 07-08. But I changed the wireless to Intel's Advanced N 6200, and I added the 3-year depot warranty. It's a good thing that I'm in no hurry to get the X201 -- I still have my X61s.

 

Yes, they initially gave me a delivery date of 07-07 but soon changed it to 6/30. Then UPS changed it to 07-01. But now the tracker shows it in Ontario, CA and it still hasn't left there. Guess it's not really 2-day shipping after all. I probably won't see it until tomorrow at the earliest. It's already noon where I am and there is no departure scan from Ontario, CA (California, not Canada) and I'm not in California.

EDIT: Stuck in customs in Ontario, CA, USA. Will probably not get it until Tuesday, July 6.

 

Hey guys. I am going to be a senior in high school this year and as you can see right now in my signature I have an HP DM3 that I have been happy with for the most part, except for the battery life.

I currently only get 4.5-5.5 hours of battery life which isn't enough because I am always on the road doing stuff. I love the form factor, however. and love the portability.

This has led me to thinking about selling my HP DM3z for around $325-$400 and possibly saving the money for when/if they update the X201 laptop. However, a couple of things are questionable:

1. I really like the size of the X201 but it looks kind of thick, is this true?

2. Is the screen really that bad as the review on Notebookreview.com says?

3. The Intel GMA graphics are certainly improved, but are they as good as my current ATI Radeon 3200HD graphics that have served me well enough right now? Will I be able to play new games like Deus Ex 3 even on lowest settings (I don't care about graphics, just gameplay)?

4. Is there anything in the Intel roadmap that could possibly dramatically improve the graphics performance within the next year, or if I find a deal should I just take it?

5. When is the best time to buy generally if I don't need my laptop right now? Does Lenovo have any special sales for certain times of year?

6. Does it get hot or noisey?

Thank you, rep will be handed out accordingly.

 

@TSE:
I can't really speak to all of your questions because I haven't yet received my X201 -- but I can tell you about the Intel HD integrated graphics because I have it in my T410.

It is comparable to the ATI Radeon 4200. In fact, those two are right next to each other on the list -- they have nearly identical capabilities. Check the link below and scroll down to the "Class 3" section and you'll see them in the list. You'll also see a lot of favorable info about the new HD, which is actually the GMA5700MHD GPU.
Notebookcheck: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD

As for the best time to buy -- it's whenever they're having a sale which seems to be most of the time. I went for the offer they have currently which gives you a 9-cell battery, 4GB RAM and the 320GB-7200rpm hard drive. I didn't customize the order at all -- because that slows down delivery. If you have time to wait for it, I'd advise getting the Intel 6200 or 6300 Wi-Fi card instead of the ThinkPad Wireless which is good, but not as good as the others.

The screen on my T410 is just fine and I doubt the screen on the X210 is any different. Those who are used to glossy screens with really good color might be a bit disappointed but I'm not. I'm very happy to have a matte screen finish which does not reflect light and the brightness and colors look fine to me.

I ordered the X201 because I already know the ThinkPad line is durable, well-engineered and very reliable. I've had several HPs -- never again.... they don't last. I see people all the time using ThinkPads that are 5, 8, even 10 years old. You won't see any consumer laptops (like HP) that old, at least not many, except maybe the NC line, which are business laptops (HPs attempt to copy the ThinkPad).

 

I choose the Intel centrino 1000 as my wireless card in my order. Is this something that can be easily upgraded later? I got the 3x3 screen option. How much would it cost me later to upgrade the wireless to the 6300 3x3? If I upgrade it later is it easy to hook up to the screen 3x3 so it gets a better signal?

How about Bluetooth? easy to add internally or just use a USB adapter if I need it in the future?

 

Sorry, beyond the scope of my knowledge but some heavyweight ThinkPadder here will be able to tell you. You might start a new thread as "Wireless Upgrade Question" or something like that -- you'll probably get a quicker response that way.

 

Can anyone tell me if the X201 BIOS has the option to switch the FN & CTRL keys? My T410 has that and I enable it (I do a lot of typing and use the CTRL key for cut/copy/paste a lot and I'm used to it being in the corner).

 

I just checked the BIOS. It has it. Though I'm surprised you bothered to get used to the other way. I know I like having the keyboard symmetric and it also puts you closer to the keys (I can do one-hand ctrl+p for instance but not one-hand fn+p).