how big is the factory pre-load?

I just upgraded to an SSD and did a clean install and now Im wondering if I should get the factory pre-load or just download the drivers manually. I would get the pre-load but then the one concern I have is the size of the pre-load.

Does anyone know how much space the pre-load takes up?

 

the size would be the least of my worries really. I'd download them manually as you then would be using current stuff where as preload is almost certainly largely outdated.

 

On my x230: Fresh from the factory the C drive had 33.7GB used and the factory partition was 10.4GB out of 13.6GB

I reduced the page file to 2GB, disabled system restore (deleted restore image), disabled hibernation (deleted hib file) remove some lenovo bloatware, delted swtools and got the C drive to under 20GB. I think it was 16-18 GB but not 100% certain.

 

The Lenovo image on the Ivy Bridge machines is over weight. I would create the Rescue and Recovery disk set then flatten the machine after you capture the Windows 7 serial number.

 

Download the drivers manually to avoid the bloat that comes with the factory preload. It only took one hour to have all drivers downloaded and installed.

 

I honestly don't notice a difference with my X220 tablet with the factory Lenovo image vs clean install, an SSD is an SSD. Of course I disable startup items, but meh.

 

I noticed a big difference in energy consumption between a clean install and the factory image.

Factory image idled about 1.5w lower than the clean. I'd suggest using the factory install, delete anything you don't want and uninstall drivers you don't want. Then just update each driver manually to avoid anything unnecessary on the drive. There isn't much extra stuff on the factory image, it's fairly clean.... for a factory image that is.

If battery life is really no concern, just do a clean install and pick the drivers you'd like to install.

 

I made this comment in another thread, but on my X230 I ended up going to clean install route because the recovery media didn't work. Worry about the battery life was the main reason I didn't want to do this, but I really didn't have a choice. After the fresh install I'm getting the same battery life as before, and the system is idling at the same voltage (6-8W depending on screen brightness). So for me, there hasn't been a hit on the battery. I'm not sure what I did differently, or if I just got lucky.

 

Shouldn't the opposite be true?

Wouldn't the clean install be lighter?

 

Also, do you still get the nice main thinkvantage tool app that you can click on and let's you choose the specific tool you want, when you download the drivers separately?

 

If you meant System Update then yes you can obtain it from Lenovo's Support site here. But be sure to download at least either the Ethernet or Wireless driver first as backup so you can use System Update to gather the rest of the drivers and utilities for you.

 

nono my bad not the system update (the way i put it sounds exactly system update sorry) but the main thinkpadvantage tool button that you get when you first open the factory set thinkpad. You know how you click on that specific application and it lets you use all the tools.

like the app that binds all the tools together in one place

 

I believe you may be talking about SimpleTap?

 

Yes, you can. Anything functional that's on the notebook (no bloatware or other 3rd party software) from the factory can be downloaded. Including (but not limited too) all the drivers, Lenovo Power Manager, etc.

I honestly don't see why anyone would want to keep the recovery partition. It eats up a lot of storage space and it's loaded with first-release drivers. Especially if you get it so soon after launch. The first series T61's would BSOD when moving the thing while on battery power with the factory install.

 

I found my rig idles around 6.5 on the clean install. I idle at 4.8- 5.0 on the factory image. Probably tried five or six different clean install configs and never figured it out.

You'd think so, but I believe Lenovo does a few little tweaks to their factory image. For the life of me I couldn't figure out if I was missing drivers or whatever, but I wasn't.

 

this is a really noob question but how do you check what voltage your laptop is idling at? :/

 

Lenovo Power Manager, but it's not Voltage, but Wattage you need to check.

 

1. Under power manager click "Advanced" in the upper right.
2. Click "Battery" at the top.
3. Scroll down to "Wattage" and see whatever is right of it.

Going that route you can see more specific numbers rather than in basic mode where it just shows you 6 or 7.