Windows XP on X120e

I need to do a fresh XP install on a new X120e. From Lenovo drivers site for X120e:

Lenovo Support - Drivers and software - ThinkPad Edge 11, Edge E10, X120e

the only thing that looks like an AHCI driver is under the Hard Drive section “AMD AHCI Compatible RAID Driver for floppy installation “ ????

Anyone did a fresh XP install on the X120e ? if so are the drivers at the link above sufficient or do I need other as well.

thanks for your help,

 

1.- Why would you install XP on a computer whose drivers were designed and optimized for Windows 7, and on which W7 runs perfectly fine?

2.- AMD supplies an AHCI driver with its CCC full package, I believe, so you can download that from AMD's site instead of sticking with Lenovo's drivers (as the X120e's basic specs are fairly standard compared to other Zacate machines).

 

Maybe the OP has and application that won't run on Windows 7 yet and XP mode isn't an option.

 

Perhaps the only reasonable explanation I can see, although it is becoming increasingly rare that an application that runs perfectly fine in XP will not run just as well in W7.

If that is the case, though, virtualization (whether through XP Mode or not) is a good option, or alternatively, a dual boot. The X120e will most likely get much better battery life, run cooler, and perform better in W7 than in XP.

 

Actually there are thousands of custom applications people have developed with compat issues. And virtualization isn't an option for many environments because it introduces cost and complexity.

 

I wish people would stop blasting those that want to run XP. If he wants to run XP, let him. There's nothing wrong with that. It's his computer.
To the OP, I checked the link you gave, it looks like everything you need is right there, but I can't find any listing for the chipset drivers.

 

Wouldn't the chipset drivers from http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sea...=Intel®+Chipset+Software+Installation+Utility work?

 

The intent of my original post was to clarify the OP's purpose of running XP. Many users believe that XP would give better battery life (possibly due to its more sparse interface), which will not be true in this case. Obviously, it's the OP's choice of which OS to run, I just want to make sure it's for a reason the OP will not regret/learn through trial and error.

Also as an addendum: if the OP is planning to use an SSD, do note that TRIM is not supported under XP, so your SSD's performance will degrade.

I doubt it, since the X120e does not have an Intel chipset...?

 

LOL. I had no idea. I've never even looked at the specs for a x120e. No wonder there wasn't anything in the Lenovo download area. I'm a dork.

 

It's not just applications that's the problem, sometimes legacy hardware designed for Windows XP can fall foul with Windows 7 due to lack of dedicated drivers and therefore running a new OS isn't an option (even if you got a nice VM setup all ready, a VM will only emulate certain devices). I have a PCI capture card that only has 32 bit XP drivers and is no longer supported by the manufacturer beyond that. A brand new one will cost me around £80+ so I thought I just do without one for now.

The majority of people won't see this problem as they probably bought newer peripherals which are generally well supported in Windows 7. Though in businesses you do seem to come across those that insist on running legacy hardware (mainly for cost reasons!) My friend came across a business that use EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) systems that only have drivers designed for Windows XP and it was a problem when they purchased systems that came shipped with Windows 7 and the legacy hardware didn't work.

 

Thanks for your replies - the reason for the XP install is quite mundane actually, I am doing this for a friend that uses XP at work and has no interest/desire to switch to 7.

Lenovo does not have an XP option for this system; this makes me wonder and would like to see if anyone actually runs XP on this machine. Also I couldn’t find anything 350E specific on the AMD site – if somebody does maybe you can post a link.

 

Since there isn't a technical reason, I think it's time for your friend to consider trying Windows 7. I know what's going to happen. A few weeks after they'll be complaining that all of the work computers need an upgrade.

 

If you can't find the AHCI driver, just switch it to IDE on the BIOS. It might be not be the most elegant solution, but it works.

 

You should "acidentally" misplace his XP discs

I was an XP dinosaur until I actually tried Windows 7. Never looked back.

 

I can see installing XP if you don't want to buy a new license for 7.
If you don't have a preference who gives a rip.
I agree 7 is better, but big woop.

 

Do you mind? I think others made a valid suggestion to try W7 first before downgrading to XP. Calling us retards is not going to do you or them any favours.

If you really want to use XP and have an X120e then do the following:

*BACKUP X120e WITH RECOVERY DISCS FIRST BEFORE DOING THIS*

- Slipstream Windows XP with latest SP3 and AMD AHCI SATA drivers. Use nLite to do this procedure, have a blank CD-R disc ready.

*You won't need to turn on IDE mode in BIOS, AHCI will do fine with these drivers.

- Download AMD Video Drivers, store on USB.

- X120e with AMD can come in either ThinkPad 1x1 11b/g/n Wireless LAN or ThinkPad 2x2 11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN cards. Store both on USB in doubt.

- If person uses hard wired (ethernet) connection, use these drivers and store on USB.

- Download Thinkvantage System Update for XP. Download MS Framework 4 which is a required component for System Update. Store on USB.

- Install XP, fill out credentials, set partitions etc.

- Install Video driver first, then add the networking adapter relevant to your system. Reboot if necessary.

- Install MS Framework, reboot if necessary then install System Update.

- Connect online, initialise Windows Updates. Then run System Update and you should be set for XP.

 

hey, thanks for the helpful post and links!

Saying goodbye to Win7, if XP doesn't work then its linux.

For the record, I can't stand the shoddy owner/permissions scheme, it's bulky, slow, and plays havoc with my old apps and games. Also, I can't find a win 7 compat. wifi app that can automatically and silently connect to available open wifi networks (useful for war-training (as in riding on the train)).

 

kilolima, if Linux supports your old apps and games, then I'd recommend installing it. XP is an unsupported OS, at the end of its life. Linux is still alive and well.

If by chance Linux doesn't support your old apps and games, then your dislike to Windows 7 is obviously not rational. In which case I'd still suggest Linux since you'll find some similarly minded people in that community.

 

Hearst555 thanks for the detailed guide – one possible issue might be using an SSD with the AMD ahci sata drivers (RAID drivers). An Intel 320 ssd will go in this machine and their ssd toolbox doesn’t work in a RAID configuration. You do need the toolbox as XP does not have trim.

Anyway considering the above issue and seeing no reports of someone actually running XP on this machine, we decided to put Win 7 on it after all

Everything went smoothly except that the SSD performance is somewhat limited – using Crystal Disk Mark I get 11 Mb/s Read and 18 Mb/s Write for the 4k random queries. They should be more like 20 and 40 respectively. The sequential numbers look in line with what others report. This is with the system optimized for ssd and latest sata driver from AMD.

Overall performance should still be ok, but the 4k numbers are most important and it bugs me somehow, it probably has to do with the AMD sata driver, maybe will be corrected in future iterations..

 

Did you do fresh reinstallation and did you get the latest driver?

 

yes, fresh install, win7 updates up to date - including sp1 and got the latest ahci driver directly from AMD. good news is that this driver passes TRIM (the one from lenovo doesn't).

I'll try to post in the lenovo forums also, there is a thread there with people having problems installing ssd in x120e maybe somebody can report what they get from intel 320.