Win 7 only disk for W520

Hi guys,

Is it possible to download somewhere a factory installation disk with Win7 only?

I've created a factory recovery pack, but it includes all the extra stuff that I don't need.

My problem is that I need a clean installation of Win 7 only. Then I can add additional Lenovo utilities to locate an error with my custom application.

Thanks

 

Refer to this thread for the original set of Windows 7 SP1 discs, this will not include any Lenovo apps or drivers so be sure to have them saved on an USB drive.

 

Thank you, but it looks as I will need to buy a key to activate it. I cannot find any Windows stickers on my W520.

 

The product key sticker should be located underneath the battery. Alternatively you can use ABR Backup & Restore to transfer the Windows activation over to your clean install. Full details can be found on my Clean Install guide linked in my sig.

 

Thank you! One more question. I am planning to install it on the 2nd HDD and then transfer the system to the original SSD. First, I will play with the 2nd drive to make sure I don't have any errors. Then I have two options:

1) Make a system image and restore to the 1st original SSD (I am not sure if it works, because of different sizes - 160GB SSD vs 500 GB testing drive)

2) Install it from scratch directly to SSD.

My question - do I need to do something with SSD alignment for (a) fresh Win installation and/or (b) restoring system image from a large drive?

Thanks!

 

When you do a fresh installation directly on to the SSD the installer will be aware and automatically perform the disk alignment for you as it installs.

It becomes a bit complicated when you try to clone an image over from a HDD to a SSD, this is entirely dependant of the software used for the procedure. Old cloning software would unlikely be able to set the alignment correctly for the image thus affecting SSD performance. Apparantly there are some new cloning software out there that will perform the alignment correctly for you but i'm not sure which myself. Then also you have the size issue depending on how large your system image is relative to the SSD capacity size.

I don't use cloning software personally, I prefer to take out the risk of any complications such as misalignment and start from scratch. Plus if there are any problems (such as hardware issues like bad SSD) it's probably more easier to diagnose with a clean installation rather than from a cloned system image.

 

Thank you!

 

I have done both options for different systems.

If you are technically confident and want to install fresh, driver by driver, app by app, preference by preference, then a Clean Windows Install is the way to go. This is usually the case when you purchase a laptop with a plan of doing upgrades yourself right after you take delivery of it.

However, if you have used your system for a few months and had spent time creating an "enjoyable working environment" with everything "just so," then a System Clone (from HDD to SSD) is a better alternative.

Regarding the Clone option, don't worry about the difference in physical sizes: as long as the HDD contents to be cloned fit within the SSD, you're cool. (You can do a quick assessment and, if necessary, off-load certain files to an external storage drive.) Also, don't worry about "4K boundary alignment" as recent cloning tools handle this readily, sometimes presenting an option for you to select explicitly.

Certain manufacturers sell their SSDs in "bundles" that include a USB-SATA adapter cable and a cloning software CD. I have used such a bundle by Crucial and been happy with the EZ Gig IV cloning software by Apricorn. The transfer process takes about 25 minutes.

Two reminders: (1) Never boot with both OEM HDD and cloned SSD connected. (2) Keep a Windows 7 Installation disc handy. From experience, I always boot from optical drive and let Windows Repair automatically fix the newly cloned SSD's boot information.