T500 suggestion

The one thing I wish I could change about the t500 is:
I wish the track pad was bigger. The problem is, it cant really get bigger unless you change the trackpoint buttons, and there are times where I love the trackpoint.
This is what I suggest..
Make the tackpad taller and wider, and make the trackpoint buttons a little smaller and reduce the amout of scoop below the buttons.. even a cm would help so much!
It could also use an acceloration control!
Thanks!
Thinkpad T500 - Intel Core2 P8400 (2.26GHz), 4 gigs of ram, 160GB/7200rpm hard drive, ATI 3650 GPU, WSXGA+ panel

The T500 hdd maybe noisy due to several reasons, first maybe it is a 7200 rpm drive, second you need to access the drive constantly in a stop/start fashion, third maybe due to the thinkvantage shock protection program is set to high sensitivity, which cause the drive heads to keep on parking and unpacking when it senses even a slight movement (in the program, you can switch it to low sensitivity or off, if you use the laptop only on desk).
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

Similar Messages

1680 x1050 external monitor on T500 does not work

Dear all, I have a T500 running XP professional and a Philips external monitor 220BW8plus, but when I set the screen resolution to the screen's native resolution my screen gets compressed with 2 black areas on the side. I've tried everything I could think of, but nothing worked. Now I'm forced to work at 1400 by 1050.
Does anyone know how to solve this?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Cheers,
Erik
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Thanks for that suggestion, but I've tried that and as soon as I apply that change, the screen gets compressed with big black bars on the side.
It doesn't matter if I switch to single display, dual clone, dual extended, without or with docking station. I've updated to the latest software drivers etc, etc.
Is it a problem of the T500 with this brand and type of screen (Philips 220BW8CS1/00)?
Even our IT department is not able to solve the problem. They suggest I'd buy a different screen

Restoration of Lenovo T500 to new hard drive using Rescue & Recovery

I bought a new hard drive and I have been having a frustrating time trying to migrate the image of my hard disk to the new drive. When I bought my T500, it came with Windows Vista Business 64, but I have since downgraded it to Windows XP Pro.
Up to now, I was faithfully using Norton Ghost 14 to back up my drive to my USB Western Digital MyBook Mirror Edition 1TB drive. However, I get errors when I try to restore the image to my new drive (and I will be posting that issue to Norton's forum).
While I have not completely given up on Norton Ghost, I decided I might be able to restore the image using the Rescue & Recovery software. I downloaded and installed R&R 4.21.0016.00. After I installed it, I backed up my system to the MyBook Mirror Edition.
I then shut down the computer and put in the new hard drive (a Western Digital Scorpio Black WD5000BEKT). I used a disc that I burned from the ThinkVantage Create Recovery Media utility to boot the machine. While the environment loads just fine, it does not detect my USB hard drive. NOTE: I didn't make my USB drive bootable, I only stored the backup files there.
I tried going into the PC Doctor utility and discovered that there is an "unidentified" USB device under the mouse section, which I presume is the MyBook.
I have hunted high and low for an answer to this both on Lenovo and Western Digital's web sites, but I can't seem to come up with a reason why my drive is not visible to R&R, or a way to load the WD drivers into this recovery environment. I found http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkVantage-Technologies/Rescue-and-Recovery-does-not-recognize-USB-driv..., and I followed the instructions - there is a minus sign next to the USB boot device in the bios. However, saving the bios and rebooting the computer (as the post suggested) does nothing to change that setting.
I have tried upgrading the bios to the latest version, but still no luck detecting the USB drive.
I am thinking about resorting to buring a backup of my entire system to DVDs and then restoring using the DVD drive. However, since my current backup is 60GB, I imagine that will take 15 discs.
Whether that fixes my immediate problem or not (that is, transferring to my new drive), I still don't have an answer for a long term solution in case of hard drive failure. Ghost is not working with my current configuration. And if I use R&R for backup, it will do me no good if I cannot get it to connect to my USB drive to recover. Furthermore, as far as I can tell there is no way to burn an existing restoration point to DVD - meaning I would have absolutely no way to restore if my hard drive failed.
I have been working on this migration for 3 full days already, and since I had my system images backed up I thought that this would be a trivial task. Any suggestions at this point would be welcomed.

I'm experiencing the same problem. I wanted to restore single files from an USB disk. Two larger file (500MB each) went through that process quite fast (3 minutes). A folder with many small files takes forever.
What's strange is that my notebook hard drive is at 100% activity all the time, while the USB disk is hardly read.
Message Edited by gerik on 10-29-2008 02:33 PM

R400/T400/T500/W500: display driver "amdkmdap" crashes

Executive summary: All current Lenovo ThinkPads with switchable graphics (R400, T400, T500, and W500) have usability issues in connection with Vista and the use of external monitors. For more than half a year, users were plagued by frequent Windows crashes. During that time frame, Lenovo did not comment on the various available reports and complaints. By the end of April 2009, Lenovo resolved many issues by releasing a new official driver. Though several problems, including severe ones, remain as of today. Lenovo has said to be actively working on the remaining issues (without outcomes so far).
Important information for affected users: If you're having one of the issues reported here, then Lenovo advises you to call your local Lenovo Support. Demand that a case is submitted to hardware engineering. In particular, you should ask for "a CMVC case to be created and escalated". Using these "code words" ensures that your case is properly addressed.
Old problem description
On Vista 32 and Vista 64, the ATI display driver "amdkmdap" crashes when an external monitor was active before OR an application (game) using DirectX technology is used. The user typically receives a couple of so-called "Timeout Detection and Recovery" (TDR) messages from Vista:
(Click here for an explanation of the message from Microsoft)
Sometimes, amdkmdap crashes several times in a row. Then Windows crashes with a so-called "BSOD", likely resulting in data loss. Typically, Windows detects "atikmpag.sys" as the crashing driver. Sometimes, also an instantaneous reboot happens independent of prior TDR crashes. In such a case, no BSOD is displayed.
The following movie illustrates the phenomenon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBX9QsCmrpY
This behavior above has been confirmed for the following ThinkPad models: R400, T400, T500, and W500 (see below). Problem reports indicate that the symptoms are often related to playing games and/or the notebook being docked and the external monitor being connected via DVI.
Though, the presence of these two conditions is not necessary to trigger the driver crash:
There are reports where no dock was involved and the external monitor was connected directly to the notebook's VGA port.
Furthermore, there are reports where the notebook was docked and an external monitor was connected to the DVI port.
So far, there has been no report relating to a monitor being connected to the Display Port which is available on some models. (Possibly because this port is not used.)
There are a few reports where neither a dock nor an external monitor was involved.
Playing certain games reliably triggers the crash.
Steps to reproduce
While intially (around September 2008 - October 2008) the crash could be triggered easily, the situation is now (December 2008) more complex. The crashes do still occur, though there is no clear pattern anymore. According to various reports, the display driver crash can be triggered as follows:
Resuming from standby
Watching a DVD.
Playing one of these games: Fallout 3, Bioshock, Team Fortress 2, Knights of the Old Republic.
Arbitrarily during normal work. On a normal working day, the problem occurs at least once.
Further issues
Here are more issues which seem to be related. More information can be found in other posts of this thread:
The notebook display and/or the external monitor runs at a low resolution after resuming from standby.
After the login both monitors flicker while adjusting the resolution of the monitor.
The external monitors cannot be activated using Presentation Director.
The external monitor is blank after docking or undocking.
There are some reports about display driver crashes on machines running Windows XP.
The switchable graphics drivers limit the useable RAM under Vista 32 to 2.5GB (i.e. 500MB-1GB less than usual).
Workarounds
Lenovo has released a new "tip" document which provides a link to a new driver. Get it here but be sure to read the instructions!
(Old tips follow below the line. Consider them as obsolete.)
Here are some tips which might make the problem occur less often. I have not tried all of them. Though, A. and B. have improved the situation for me; your mileage may vary.
A. If you do not have to use an external monitor, then switch to Intel graphics for time being.
Otherwise:
B. Make some changes to your system:
Disable Aero.
Create a new profile in the power manager with the following setting: When running on AC, turn off the monitor after 40 minutes. (Thereby, the notebook goes less often to standby.)
Install the newest graphics drivers.
Install the newest BIOS.
Install the newest Hotkey utility.
Install the newest drivers.
C. Disable the switchable graphics in the BIOS setup and install modded drivers from ATI (see zilla's post in this thread for instructions).
The last workaround (C.) has been confirmed to work reliably by several users. Though, thereby you use drivers which have not been tested by Lenovo. It's possible (but not very likely) that damage results by doing so. Also, it might be difficult to install a future Lenovo driver which resolves the issues reported here. Finally, you cannot use the power-saving Intel graphics. Thus, you should only use this workaround if you know what you are doing.
The programs can be downloaded from the following locations. Notice that System Update does not always offer you immediately the lastest versions.
R400 and T400 users: Go here.
T500 and W500 users: Go here.
User opinions
"Is there any chance this will be fixed, or should I just get used to my "workstation-class" machine crashing regularly?"
"I [am] thinking about to sell my w500 if this problems won't be fixed in the next weeks."
"I've got a T400 w/ Vista 64 and I'll say the Switchable drivers on it S[**]K bad."
"Unfortunately for Lenovo, our IT Manager is at the point of a awarding a new and rather substantial Enterprise Agreement for our whole organization's PC's, which included a rollout of many new PC's for 2009. The contract was going to go to Lenovo. He mumbled something about HP when I asked him about the state of affairs with my PC... [O]ur firm's IT Manager decided to return all the faulty Lenovo's for a refund and would replace them with HP's."
"Is someone from Lenovo paying attention[?]"
"i'm getting angry with ati and lenovo."
"there are no new drivers and no ETA for a fix."
"ThinkPads are supposed to be good, so you'd think there wouldn't be a problem like this."
"honestly it is completely unacceptable for lenovo to have done nothing this long. I paid extra to get the ATI card, and now I can't hook up my laptop to an external monitor without it crashing. I will probably end up selling the laptop soon since using an external monitor is extremely important to me and lenovo doesn't seem to care about fixing the situation."
Update:
- Lenovo support has informed me today (2008-10-24) that they are working on the problem.- changed subject (was: Major troubles with DVI-port and a T400) to reflect new information.- changed message body to reflect new information
- See MIGR-70490 (dated 2008-09-21) for an official statement from Lenovo.
- 2008-11-15: The problems are still present and there is still no ETA for a fix.
- As expected, also R400 models are affected. See below for reports.
- 2008-11-26: Still no word from Lenovo when the problem will be fixed. Added information on (partial) workarounds.
- 2008-12-03: Lenovo updated MIGR-70490. Though, problems persist.
- 2008-12-13: Updated problem description on the basis of new reports.
- 2008-12-16: Updated problem description on the basis of new reports.
- 2009-01-07: Updated problem description on the basis of new reports. Still no word from Lenovo. I called Lenovo's customer service in the Netherlands and was promised to receive a callback. Though, so far they didn't (want to) get back to me.
- 2009-01-08: Updated workaround description on the basis of new reports.
- 2009-01-10: Updated executive summary on the basis of new reports.
- 2009-01-14: Updated problem description on the basis of new reports (movie).
- 2009-01-19: Updated workaround section.
- 2009-01-21: Happy birthday MIGR-70490! It's now 4 months. Updated workaround section. I called Lenovo's customer service in the Netherlands again.
- 2009-01-22: Added section "User opinions"
- 2009-01-23: Updated problem description on the basis of new reports.
- 2009-01-24: Small updates.
- 2009-02-02: Small updates.
- 2009-02-03: Changes to section "Executive summary". Added section "Important information for affected users".
- 2009-02-04: Update to section "Credits".
- 2009-02-19: Update to section "Credits".
- 2009-02-27: Quick update to "Executive summary" and "Workarounds".
- 2009-03-10: Quick updates to section "Executive summary" and "Important information for affected users".
- 2009-03-21: Quick update to "Executive summary"
Credits
Workaround "Aero off": Bubbi, TonyK
Workaround "Modded ATI drivers": jtull89, zilla
Thanks to Mark_Lenovo and Confederate for their work behind the scenes
Thanks to feedback from: ajgiordano, Andy_7575, ben2e, brettgri, bri0831, Brimstar, Bubbi, CodeNameSly, cpueschner, dandill, diablo2man, ewilansky, gaccounts, gan, gandalf7, golffreaksi, Homer, hubertlam, Jiraiya, johnsonjf, jordan_moss, jmark, jtull89, kbarina, lenardg, lukest, misitmichaelf, mlb, MMetts, ojisan, pendaluent, Qot, rmccallen, sarnil, shaofengsd, Snakecharmed, StephanK, tarzan23, Texas1040, TheNewNumber2, TonyK, trickyDick, vedman, Vitalus, Waschbecken, xpnet, xrafx, zilla, ZPrime
(Please don't expect that this list is complete. I am not paid to keep it accurate and complete and, actually, I have a life besides writing about Lenovo's problems. )
Original post
Hi there!
I have major troubles using a Dell 2709W monitor with my T400.
The notebook is attached to a Advanced Mini Dock to which the monitor is connected via DVI.
The problems are as follows.
A. Activating the external monitor often fails
Steps to reproduce:
1. Attach a Dell 2709W via DVI to an Advanced Mini Dock which is connected to a T40
2. Start Windows and make sure that the T400 is running on the ATI card.
=> Dell monitor enters power saving mode because no signal is coming.
3. In Windows use either the Presentation Director, Windows, or the ATI tools to activate the Dell monitor.
Expected result: The Dell monitor is activated and the Windows desktop is shown on it.
Actual result: It takes 1-3 seconds for the Dell monitor to display something. The monitor shows the Windows desktop for a short period. Then it's black again and the monitor returns to the power saving mode .
Analysis: It seems that the Presentation Director, Windows, or the ATI tools (or more aptly, I guess, the ATI driver) expect a quick response from the DVI-port that a monitor is present. If they do not receive the response, the DVI-port is deactivated again. Since the monitor is too slow to respond and enters the power saving mode too quickly, the monitor can hardly ever be activated.
Suggested change: Change these tools (or the ATI driver) so that they wait longer for a response on the DVI-port.
B. Resuming from monitor sleep causes Windows to fall back to a low resolution if the Dell monitor was activated before
Steps to reproduce:
1. Attach a Dell 2709W via DVI to an Advanced Mini Dock which is connected to a T400
2. Start Windows and make sure that the T400 is running on the ATI card.
3. Select the Energy Star profile
4. Activate the Dell monitor
5. Don't use Windows until the notebook display and the Dell monitor are set to sleep by Windows.
6. Wake up the displays (e.g. by pressing some keys)
Expected result: Both displays are run in the display mode as before.
Actual result: The Dell monitor still sleeps. The notebook displays is run at a lower resolution (I guess 800x600). The Windows login prompt is not visible and it has to be guessed that it is shown. Though the typical Windows login background is visible. If the password is entered, then Windows can be used again. Though, the resolution is still low and the Dell monitor still sleeps.
Analysis: It seems that by sending the Dell monitor to sleep, the monitor deactivates the DVI-interface or enters a low-power interface mode. This seems to disturb some component in Windows (the Presentation Director, Windows, the ATI tools, the ATI driver) in a way that Windows only activates the notebook display when it resumes from "monitor sleep".
Suggested change: Change these tools (or the ATI driver) so that they can cope with the situation that the DVI-interface is deactivated and wait longer for the interface to be in a useable state. Reactivate an external monitor even if it "sleeps very deeply".
Relevant system information
- T400 2767-CTO (T9400, 2x2GB RAM, ATI, WXGA+ LED)
- Advanced Mini Dock
- Vista 32 Business (German) - fully updated
- All Lenovo updates via System Update are installed- Dell 2709W
- The system runs the ATI graphic card in the described scenarios
Message Edited by Izmi on 05-21-2009 10:34 AM
Message Edited by Izmi on 06-29-2009 03:13 PM
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Lenovo support made me reinstall presentation director to rule out this component as a factor. After the reinstallation, the amdkmdap-problem is still present. Letting Windows go to standby and waking the system up afterwards, is a reliable method in my case to reproduce the problem on condition that an external monitor was active. The problem does not occur if no external monitor is present.
A web search for "amdkmdap", "atikmpag","BSOD" with one of the ThinkPad-series names (like "T400") shows that other persons also have this problem with R400s, T400s, T500s, and W500s:
- t400: Display driver crashes
- W500 Display Driver
- My W500
- T400 Display driver stopped working...
- T500 Video/Video Driver Issues (2056-4SU)
- NUS T400 issues
- T400 Display Driver Issue
- Vista64 + 4GB RAM + External Display = BSOD
- R400 problem report (in Chinese)
- T500 problem report (in Chinese)
- Bioshock keeps crashing (seems related)
- Vista x64, ATI graphics, dock + external LCD = bluescreens? (a report by a W500 user)
- many problems with lenovo w500
- another R400 problem report (in Chinese)
- Vista BSOD on Lenovo T500 with new Switchable Graphics
- switchable graphics and external monitor through port replic
- Problem with Lenovo T500 notebook & external LCD
- Lenovo ThinkPad T400 - some impressions.
- T400 freezes with graphics Intense programes
- Standard Laptop mit ein paar Macken (in German)
Some possibly related Non-Lenovo cases:
- Why Vista crashes so often when dual display is enabled?
- Vista and 7.3 Display driver atikmdag stopped responding error
- 4870 vista x64 multi-mon = atikdmag BOOM
In the cases in which people observe the "amdkmdap"-problem and describe the circumstances, the use of an external monitor is always a factor. These other reports also indicate that it is likely not an issue with the hardware of my notebook (or then a general problem for many batches of these machine types). For it happens a) on many systems and b) on different kinds of systems.
If others want to contribute to the problem solution, then we should provide Lenovo and ATI a good problem description. So, please add your description.
Message Edited by Izmi on 02-03-2009 11:53 AM

Lenovo T500 Brief Review

Hello Lenovo Community!
Recently, I bought a Lenovo T500. After much research and reading many user's opinions as possible (two of which that was really helpful was on this forum by MidnightSun and www.notebookreview.com) I chose the T500. In my research, I could not find many video reviews and was kind of disappointed (obviously, it was not a deal breaker.) I would have liked to have had more written reviews, video reviews and just in general more information. So, I want to do this review to help future researchers become informed consumers! If anyone has any questions or suggestions (e.g.. Of bloatware to remove or any tips) please chime in!
Preface
Before I begin my review, I want to say that I am in no way an expert at computers beyond the basics. I've never bought a laptop before, and my old computer (given to me) was a Gateway M465-e, a business oriented laptop. It came with 512 RAM, 1.6 Ghz, 15.4" screen and I really liked it. It lasted me 5.5 years (and still going) although the past few months, it has really taken a dip (hence the reason for buying a new one!) I will be comparing my experiences with the T500 with that Gateway. I will be using my computer for mainly working with spreadshett, word documents, surfing internet, media hub (especially for iTunes), and, OF COURSE, playing video games! Whoot for switchable graphics!
Specs
Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8Ghz, 1066mhz 6MBL2)
Windows Business Vista 64
15" WSXGA+ TFT, CCFL Backlight
ATI Mobility Radeon 3650 with Intel Advanced Management Tech.
2GB DDR3 SDRAM
Camera
UltraNav
160 GB, 7200 RPM
Fingerprint Reader
Intel Turbo Memory 2GB
7-in01 Media Card Reader
Express Card Slot and Smart Card Reader
Integrated Bluetooth
Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN with My WiFi Tech.
6 Cell Li-Ion Battery
Initial Impression
My computer took about a week to arrive. The packaging was fairly simple. I had expected the box to be bigger (why, I have no idea. I guess this is commensurate with the premium price. Hah.) Inside were the usual suspects: the computer, manuals, startup booklet, power adapter, XP BackUp CDs, ThinkPad nubs (replacements) and battery.
At first look, I thought it was quite big and bulky. However, after comparison with my Gateway, I found it to be slimmer and lighter (I chose the T500 primarily because of resolution; I really wanted the 1680x1080 resolution.) Personally, I love the sleek black look. It makes it look ominous, menacing and clean. It felt sturdy, but not as much as I had expected (I had this crazy idea that it could take a light-medium bang from a hammer.) Perhaps the image formed from reading about IBMs were a bit inflated. Anyway, it was clean, all the ports were where they are meant to be, it smelled nice, and of course looked pristine! It implored me to turn it on.
Build and Design
As aforementioned, I am becoming a huge fan of this design. From the creased overhang of the top bezel to the asymmetrical screen position, I love it! Little details like the hashed/ribbed strip from the top left corner and the imbedded "UltraConnect" lettering above the screen really make the ThinkPad feel like it warrants the price, special and unique. The top of the ThinkPad is made of a rubber-plastic material that allow a good grip. There is minimal logos and stickers. I especially like the indicators on the top (when it is closed) as well as on the bottom of the screen (when opened.) The hinge also seems to have been well built as it has a lot of resistance in opening the lid. When it is opened moving the the notebook does not move the screen at all (I hate it when you have to readjust your screen after swinging it from one place to another.)
One thing that bothered me a little was the vertically-positioned USB ports. I have a USB-port-extension device which increases my number of ports by 3. However, I am unable to use this device because of the shape of the device and because of the vertical port. It is difficult to describe, see below for picture. Anyway, having only 3 ports is quite terrible, considering my 5+ year old Gateway had 4.
Keyboard and UltraNav
One of the first things I looked for was the much-feared keyboard flex. This seems to have been mostly remedied because there this minimal flex on the right portion. There is, however,flex on the left portion of the keyboard (maybe left of the u-h keys.) It is only when I press quite hard that it flexes. When I am typing regularly, as I am now, it is utterly unoticeable. The keyboard, overall, is quite good. I like the clicky feel of it and can type on it with no hinderances or reserve. The volume buttons are VERY welcomed as they provide responsively (my old GW I had to hold the Fn to adjust.) I just say that the position of the PgUp/PgDn/Home/End and Esc button is a bit awkward as I have to move my hand quite out-of-way to access them. This is but a minor issue. I also wished that the delete button wasn't where it is. I use the delete button quite a bit and it is kind of difficult (as in the out-of-the-way sort)
As for the UltraNav, I am quite fond of it, although there are times when I prefer the normal touchpad-and-button. For me, the UltraNav is quite sensitive and can be frustrating to use. One moment you're shooting across the screen just fine, but then finding that one small spot on the screen is quite tedious. And yes, I know you can adjust it, but I just can't seem to find the perfect level. I have seen older ThinkPads, and think that I would have liked to have the red strips on the UltraNav buttons.
Display
The display is great, it is of the matte variety and is non-reflective (rather, minimally reflective.) It is clear and crisp throughout without any dark areas or any irregular eveness. It looks great at 1680x1080. The viewing angle range is wide and being 15.4" has lots of estate. The one thing I would like to comment on is brightness. My friend, sitting next to me, has a MBP, and I must say, it is far bright than the T500 at maximum brightness. And, yes, I did allow the screen to reach full brightness. This is not so much a big issue at the moment, but I do kind of worry that in a few years my non-LED display will become much less bright. But that's a trade off I'm willing to take (for screen resolution.)
Performance
In terms of performance, it seems to be slightly slower than I had imagined. I expected that it would blaze through everything and it mostly does. When adding my 10k+ songs onto iTunes, it took a significantly shorter time than my Gateway, but longer than I would have liked.
I played Bioshock, at first attempt at maximum resolution (1680x1080) and with all the bells and whistles turn on. It was sluggish, and barely playable. I had to turn the resolution down quite a bit before I thought it was smooth (as on Xbox or a PS3). I surmise this might have something to do with my RAM amount because even just sitting idle 65% of physical memory is used (darn you Vista and ThinkVantage!) The performance, I suppose, could be called as snappy and powerful and will handle, I'm sure, anything I will throw at it during normal usage (e.g. not gaming.)
Battery Life
When I ordered the computer, I didn't put too much on the battery because the T500 will be my desktop replacement and will be plugged in most of its life. Despite this, I have attempted a to measure battery life on a charge; I must say that it is pretty good. On a full charge and normal usage, i.e. wireless, multiple tabs on while online, Windows sidebar, and Skype, I was able to get about 5 hours plus or minus half an hour (I usually don't use my computer in blocks of 5 hours, so when I do stop, I put it to sleep.) This is pretty good considering I have the 6-cell battery and is not really a priority for me. Though still important when considering the price of the system as a whole.
Audio Speaker
The speakers are generally weak compared to my Gateway. The volume isn't has loud and the quality of the sound is not as good. This too like the battery life, was of low priority because, even though I use the T500 for media, I have a set up at home where I can plug it into a system that amplifies the sound and quality through speakers.
Heat and Fan
Compared to my Gateway, the ThinkPad is infinitely better in terms of dissipating heat and reducing noise. On the GW the fan would run incessantly, even without any taxing programs being run. Then it would turn into hyper fan mode and eventually shutdown from overheating. In the ThinkPad, the story is completely different. Even when I ran Bioshock, though audible, the fan never was intrusive. The heat, too, was quite good. It gets warm but never hot. If you want to see numbers, you should look at the review on notebookreview.com. I don't disagree with those numbers.
*******EDIT********
I apologize for not continuing the review as stated earlier. I won't review much else, UNLESS REQUESTED (and please, if you want me to review some part of the machine, I will more than happily do so, so just ask!)
For the final part of this review, I will give, what will be my final impression on the machine (that is, before my long-term; which won't be for a long time.)
Final Impression
I have now had my T500 ThinkPad for quite some time now, having used it for various tasks and knowing its idiosyncrasies, can say that overall I would give it a 8.5 out of 10. I really hate giving a definite Yes or No to these things, but if I were to be asked whether I recommend this computer or not, I could not say without full reservation that I do. There are several reasons for this: Firstly, though I love the resolution (as aforementioned, 'twas reason I opted for the T500 over the T400), I wish it were brighter, i.e. LED-bright, but at this resolution, and as of this review, it is not offered. And sitting next to a MBP owner, who's gorgeous screen is a stark reminder of superiority in terms of screen brightness, it instills a sense of uneasiness because of the not-cheap price--though to be fair, a spec'd up 15.4" MBP is significantly more expensive (~$600 more; I have the 3 years accidental damage and warranty.) At full brightness, it is a joy to look at, anything lower however is much darker. For example, with all lights off and in darkness, the lowest setting was difficult to see---what?---I expect to be able to see (read: use) it comfortably without straining my eye at every setting. Otherwise, what's the point? This is to say the screen is not bright enough at all levels. I understand the remedy is as easy as turning up the brightness, but that is not the point.
Secondly, ThinkVantage is helpful however it is ultimately a bloatware for me. When I open up the Task Manager, I would say about a third of the processes taking up my memory is ThinkVantage stuff. Taxing my system when most of the time I don't need it. To uninstall it would kind of defeat one of the uniqueness of the system (I mean, they even dedicated a button for it) and just doesn't seem right. I have yet to do so because I don't know the kinds of effect it will have on the system, so it may or may not be done.
Thirdly, there have been several crashes. For example, yesterday instead of my usual Fn-F4 (sleep), I closed the lid instead (which should yield the same effect.) As I got home from work, I found that not only has it not been sleeping, but had had the processor running inside my protective case. It was HOT and as I opened the lid, I saw the Blue Screen of Death. Additionally, it takes a long time for the computer to go to sleep (I'm talking about 30 seconds-1 minute.) My 6 YO Gately does it in 5-10 seconds, but then again, it runs Windows 7. This is probably the fault of Vista, though and can't be blamed on Lenovo.
All in all, if I could re-order a system from Lenovo, I would consider the T400 with LED and the same configuration (though I would want the T500's more powerful graphics option.) I realized that though I initially wanted the large screen size, I would trade it for portabiltiy. I realized the T400's screen was sufficient after looking at the MBP. I still wouldn't get a MBP because it just doesn't offer the flexibility of a PC (I find PCs easier to manipulate in general.) Happy shopping!
Message Edited by StrangeL0ve on 07-21-2009 11:34 AM

I have upgraded from 2gb to 4gb RAM (Vista bu 64bit) but T400 was still slower than the old MSI notebook. I had MSI 12", 1.8ghz sempron, 2gb RAM, 160HDD with UBUNTU 8.04. Now T400 with P8700, 4gb DDR3, discrete Ati 3470. What really helped me was NOT using Vista at all! I'm now on RC of Windows 7, it's much faster (boot, turning off, and aslo system respose is I think 4 times shorter than Vista has). Just wanted you to know how are these systems different. But if I had a choice, I would go for some linux distribution. Sadly fingerprint reader and thinkvantage software are not supported
Message Edited by popo666 on 07-11-2009 10:20 AM

T500 Freezes Often

I have a T500 (model 2081-CTO) which freezes at random (and inopportune) times, several times per week. I had this problem since I first got the computer and the people at lenovo tech support keep suggesting the problem will be solved by reloading windows. Well I've reloaded windows vista >4 times to no relief. Then upgraded to the release candidate of windows 7, and now the full version, however the problem continues. I have a 64 bit system with switchable graphics between the ATI mobility radeon 3650 and a integrated intel graphics card.
The only common thread, which happens on most (but not all) freezes, is that in the event viewer there are errors associated with atikmdag (which hints that the problem is with the graphics card/drivers but i have the latest drivers, etc). Sometimes there are no errors associated with the freeze listed in the event log.
The computer is completely unresponsive - keyboard, mouse, trackpad, etc all dont respond. The screen stays on with windows up (no blue screen/black screen usually). Sometimes if i'm listening to music, the sound will continue for many more minutes. I don't have a webcam so instead there is a little LED light at the top of the screen. One of the the only thing that responds while the computer is frozen is that is hitting FN+PgUp turns on and off that light. Furthermore the wireless on/off toggle will turn on and off the wireless/bluetooth lights below the screen. The hard drive light continues to flash while the computer is frozen. control-alt-delete doesn't work. The only way to get the computer to do anything is to hold the power button till it turns off and restart the computer...

did you get the latest drivers from the lenovo website and load them?
Thinkpad T500 - Intel Core2 P8400 (2.26GHz), 4 gigs of ram, 160GB/7200rpm hard drive, ATI 3650 GPU, WSXGA+ panel

T500 Startup/Video Issues

I have a Lenovo T500 with a 2.8 GHZ Processor, 6GB RAM and 300 GB HD.
It has the Intel card as well as the Radeon 3650 card.
What would happen is the screen would go blank after the "Starting Windows" screen, and then the computer would restart.
I looked in Event Viewer and saw tons of video errors, so I uninstalled the video cards. You'd think they'd reinstall, right?
No.
Also, the drivers kept getting uninstalled, for the Richoh Card/MMC, Power Management drivers, etc. I figured those might be interfering with the computer starting up properly. Fixing startup was a hassle, as the Windows CD wouldn't boot past the Starting Windows screen...and said I didn't have the proper version of Windows..but I did. Eventually, rebullding the BCD in Safe Mode helped.
WELL, I just reinstalled all of the "Unknown drivers" again and reinstalled the 3650 card and restarted. All of the unknown drivers were back and the video card wasn't present in Device Manager. So, I did a system restore, because I had just made a restore point before restarting after I tracked down all of the "unknown drivers".
The System Restore happened....and now...after the Thinkpad screen...it goes blank. And stays that way. The "Press any key to boot from CD" doesn't come up...as the screen is just blank. I can only boot into the BIOS. Even F8 doesn't bring up the other startup options (Safe Mode, Directory Services, Last Known Good Configuration, etc) There's only so much I can do in the BIOS that has to do with the video drivers giving me so much trouble.
Is there any way, I can fix this? I've never heard of this happening and didn't understand why the drivers kept uninstalling and why my video driver wouldn't work. And when I say the screen goes blank...the laptop starts up....the "Press the blue Thinkpad button" screen comes up...and the screen doesn't turn off...just nothing shows up. I was going to do a repair install and just reinstall my drivers, but seeing as I can't get past the Thinkpad loading screen...or even boot from CD to do a fresh install, I am completely at a loss.

If anyone else ever has this problem, here's what I did:
When it wouldn't boot past the Starting Windows screen, I restarted, pressed F8 after the Thinkpad Screen and booted into safe mode with networking and ran "msconfig" as an admin and removed everything from services that wasn't Microsoft and removed every startup program.
As for booting up blank...I opened the laptop up, removed the RAM, removed the CMOS battery for a few minutes, removed the battery and plug and pressed down on the power button, put them all back in...and it booted up with the screen on.
I then, pressed F1 to get into the BIOS. I selected Internal/Integrated Graphics and disabled "Switchable graphics".
Through trial and error, and looking on here, I've realized my AMD Radeon 3650 card is dead. When Switchable Graphics is on in the BIOS, I cannot boot past the Thinkpad screen. I am not surprised. Laptop has been shutting down when I watched Youtube or Tumblr videos and games have been crashing.
Unfortunately, I have to use the Intel 4 Series Driver. However, I am using a modded driver that seems to let me play games. I will report back on if I still have overheating issues. Thanks ColonelOneill!
Your suggestion was the step to being able to boot and I really appreciate it.

Windows 2008 Server Std on T500

Hi. Is there anyway to install Windows 2008 Server Std. on a T500 with Windows 7 installed? We've tried to install it and the drivers are all screwed up -- the network, video, and other "base" drivers are all missing. We tried using the Vista and XP ethernet adapter drivers and it wouldn't take them.
Has anyone done this successfully? Any instructions anywhere? Thanks.

Hi Gerem..
please, have you resolved your problem, ? ru still using 2008 R2 ?
I need soem suggestion and help, iam planing to buy New 15" MBP non retina 2012 model,
i want to install 64-bit 2008 R2 as i have some Active directory DNS setup,
will it support to install via boot camp,
can we install with out bootcamp ? i mean Directly by partition the HDD ?
i dont want to use R2 in mac osx by parllels or Vmware !!
i amt to use full my Hardware 16GB and Quadcore,
can you guide me how to avhive me Thanks a lot !!

Need to replace T500 DVD-RW. Broken unit is discontinued 42T2515. What to buy now?

Hi, hope somebody here can help me. I have a T500, and my DVD-RW drive broke. It is P/N 42T2515. I see that 42T2515 was discontinued last year, and if there's a suggested newer version I'd like to buy that instead. Will someone please tell me what compatible drive replaced the 42T2515 (if I should in fact be going this route)? Thank you.

Hello mate,
Have a look in the Hardware Maintenance Manual
You have different options. 42T2545 42T2557 42T2551 for DVD-RAM/RW and 42T2559for Blu-ray drive.
Check with your model number.
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.
ThinkPad T510 4313-CTO Windows 8 x64 - Intel Core i7-620M - NVIDIA NVS 3100M - 8GB RAM - 240GB SSD- Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - Gobi 2000.
ThinkPad Helix 3697-CTO Windows 8.1 x64 - Intel Core i7-3667U - Intel HD Graphics 4000 - 8GB RAM- 256GB SSD - Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 - Ericsson C5621gw

Can't get dual monitors to come back up when docking. T500 with mini dock & XP

I have a T500 with XP installed. I am using it docked into a mini dock attached to two 20inch Viewsonic monitors. One connected via VGA and the other DVI. I setup the dual monitors just fine. Anytime after I undock and boot up the laptop I can't get the dual monitors to automatically display. I have to go into the display properties and re set it up each time. Can anyone suggest any ideas?

When your T500 power-on , press F1 to log in BIOS, and change the option in >config>Display>Boot-Display-Device to Both or VGA, I suppose that it will reslove your problem.

T400 & T500 Battery size - what sticks out and what doesn't? *EMBEDDED IMAGES*

I've been seeing a lot of discussion around the various notebook communities about batteries, and wanted to take a moment to discuss them. The big question on everybody's mind is: which batteries fit flush on the new T400 & T500, and which don't?
I'm still trying to get accurate measurements of how far the batteries stick out the back of these machines and I will update this post when I have them. I just wanted to get this out there to hopefully answer people's questions sooner than later.
Lastly, please note this information applies to R400 & R500 as well.
Edit Saw this question out there and I updated the info below to show the extra mount of runtime one battery has over another. Obviously your runtime will vary based on usage, but given the capacity of the battery, one can derive how much longer it will run at a given usage level.
also, anyone know how much longer the life is on a 9 cell vs a 6 cell?
8/14 Edit - Added all battery measurements except 9-cell. Stay tuned. Note that I also included the total depth of the battery, which is how I calculated how far the batteries stick out. (Depth of larger battery) - (Depth of flush battery) = amount sticking out. I'm normally good with numbers and a calculator, but if I made a mistake feel free to correct me.
8/18 Edit - The measurements for the 9-cell battery are now below, and added photo comparing two systems. Thanks to Matt Kohut for having the systems and the camera.
T400
Short answer - the batteries are the same on T61 and R61 14.1" widescreen:
4-cell: Flush
6, 7, 9-cell: Sticks out
(Note: The 7-cell battery is actually replaced by the 9-cell now)
Long answer:
Length sticking out back of system:
4-cell: 0 inches (1.57 inches deep)
6-cell: 1 inch (2.57 inches deep)
7-cell: 1.08 inches (2.65 inches deep)
9-cell: 1.47 inches (3.04 inches deep)
Part number:
4-cell: 41U3196
6-cell: 41U3198
7-cell: 41U3197
9-cell: 43R2499
Capacity in Wattage-hours:
4-cell: 37.44
6-cell: 56.16 50% longer run-time than 4-cell
7-cell: 74.88 100% longer run-time than 4-cell, 33% longer than 6-cell
9-cell: 84.24 125% > 4-cell, 50% > 6-cell, 12.5% > 7-cell
Important note about 9-cell on T400: As some of you have noted, this battery is uniquely shaped as shown in the photo below. This was done to allow for the increased run-time of the 9-cell battery while still fitting in all of our docking stations. Note that we are no longer offering the 7-cell battery for purchase with new systems and it will not be something offered going forward, you may still be able to purchase it from your local Lenovo teams or resellers/business partners. Contact them directly to find out.
Note: These pictures are of a T61, but you get the idea...
6-cell T61 on top, 9-cell T400 on bottom
T500
Short answer - the batteries are the same on T61 and R61 15.4" widescreen/14.1" standard:
6-cell: Flush
9-cell: Sticks out
Long answer:
Length sticking out back of system:
6-cell: 0 inches (2.3 inches deep)9-cell: 0.83 inches (3.13 inches deep)
Part number:
6-cell: 40Y6799
9-cell: 40Y6797
Capacity in Wattage-hours:
6-cell: 56.16
9-cell: 84.24 50% longer runtime than 6-cell
Message Edited by Tim_Lenovo on 08-13-2008 02:53 PM
Message Edited by Tim_Lenovo on 08-13-2008 02:54 PM
Message Edited by Tim_Lenovo on 08-13-2008 03:02 PM
Message Edited by Tim_Lenovo on 08-14-2008 05:38 PM
Message Edited by Tim_Lenovo on 08-14-2008 05:39 PM
Message Edited by Tim_Lenovo on 08-18-2008 02:51 PM
Message Edited by Tim_Lenovo on 09-12-2008 11:04 AM
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The part number for my 6-cell battery that I received on my system configuration differs than the one that you have listed.
42V9338 SBB 6 CELL LI-ION BATERRY
Could it be that T61 batteries are backwards compatible with the T400 and that the T400 also has new batteries?
From looking at the lenovo site to order the T400 it does suggest that 6 cell sticks out but I feel that it could be one of the many errors (although many have been fixed) on the site.
If you look at tabook.pdf the T61 with a 6 cell has a depth of 10.2 inches whereas the T400 with a 6cell has a depth of 9.4 inches suggesting that the 6cell on the T400 would sit fairly flush with the back of the notebook. I find it hard to believe that the T400 with a 4cell battery has a depth of 8.5 or so inches.
Any further information would be appreciated

T500 bios beeps

I have 2 T500 laptops I use for personal use and I've been having a problem getting the 1-3-3-1 bios beeps on restart. The laptop just does the beeps and then doesn't post and requires a hard restart. Neither one does it everytime and its seems to work okay using one dimm but when I use 2 dimms I get the beeps at a random amount of restarts. I'm using Crucial memory I purchased in a set of 2. I've tried all the memory tests but find no errors. I have already sent in one once and still it gets the bios beeps. I'm running the latest bios already. Is this a bad systemboard or what? If so I must have got 3 so far! Anyone have any advice to correct this problem. I've also tried switching dimms in the different slots, but it doesn't matter as the problem still persists. By neither one does it everytime I meant every restart.

After getting advice about the problem being the memory, I tried one of the Crucial dimms a long with the original that came with laptop and this worked fine for awhile but I'm still looking for a solution! I've tried 3 different types of memory Crucial, Adata and Samsung (factory) and still have the bios beeps occassionaly. Asked a question and the reply was with 3rd party memory will get this beep error ocassionally with 3rd party memory. Suggested the only way to avoid this was to buy memory from Lenovo. On October 2nd Lenovo came out with bios 3.06 and 3.09. These appear to have corrected the problem I was having. I have done about 10+ restarts and I haven't had the bios beeps yet. I'm running 4gb Adata memory.

T500 wont shut down

Hello there !
We have big problems with our Lenovo T500 model 2241 CTO.
We are running Windows Vista on them.
The problem is when we are shutting down, they mostly dont shut off correctly.
It seem that windows are shutting down, but when the screen turns black, the diodes are still lid.
I have been reporting this problems several times ,and have made some request on the issue, and when support gets onsite the replace the motherboard, and the machine then works correctly ??
I have done bios update to the newest release, this dosent help.
Its seems that the problem is more when using the PC in dock.
Not everyone have the problem, but most off our users does, we are 200 workers with this machine.
I have some models with XP & win 7 on, and some with Ubuntu on, they dont seem to have this issue, only Vista.
Do someone have a suggestion ?
Kind regards Thomas

Hello ! I have contacted Lenovo support, and the approach to my problem is to replace the motherboard.
This have been done on 10 machines.
Kind regards Thomas

T500 Bluetooth driver upgrade problem, risk of wiping the harddrive

Hi,
I tried to upgrade my bluetooth driver on my laptop. The upgrade failed. After that I get an error when the computer starts.
"The program can't start because btwhidcs.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem"
When I try to reinstall, first all goes well. At the last part of the installation I get an "Error 1935. An error occurred during the installation of assembly"
When I search on google this seems like a common problem. But I haven't found a solution for it anywhere.
What I did found that for some people files where deleted on the system drive when they tried to uninstall their old driver.
Here are some people that lost data on their harddrive when trying to uninstall the old driver.
Unable to install bluetooth driver
Broadcom bluetooth
Bluetooth with enhanced data rate software II
Bluetooth update killed my Windows 7
installation of bluetooth driver error 1935
Potential data wipe while updating x220 bluetooth driver
Widcomm uninstallation wipes out the computer
Lenovo and others seems to have suggested to uninstall the old driver when people have requested help.
Bluetooth installation problem
Here I found some posts that might help with finding a solution. It is about kb970652. Not sure what needs to be done though.
Error 1935
This seems like a known problem that should be fixed in version 6.4 version of the drivers.
Installation of bluetooth driver error 1935
but there is no post in the thread with the new drivers or information about them. After a lot of searching I found a post where Lenovo went out with a warning. The warning is here:
Please note - Report - Bluetooth with Enhanced Data Rate Software II for Windows 7 wipe main drive
There are updated drivers in the post. But they seem not to be for the T500 and on the download page T500 there is no new version of the drivers.
I talked to Lenovo support a couple of times but they say they only handle hw problems. They recommended removal of devices in Device Manager, uninstall reinstall etc. But after all posts of lost data I don't want to try to uninstall if I am not sure it will not corrupt my computer. I asked them if they could forward to their team to update drivers for the t500 but they seem not to have done that.
Right now I have no working bluetooth anymore.
We have hundreds of lenovo laptops in our offices and I really would like to know if we risk risk data loss if a user uninstalls bluetooth drivers. How could we upgrade them to remove this risk?
So my questions are:
Does anyone know what versions of the drivers are unsafe to uninstall and what versions are safe to uninstall?
How can you fix broken updates? Like on my T500. There is no new driver for it on it's download page?
What is the way to upgrade bluetooth on "unsafe" machines (where uninstallation of bluetooth would corrupt them)?

Hello and welcome,
The last post in a long thread on this topic links to a driver for the T500 among other machines. I haven't tried it myself.
OS wiped out during Bluetooth drivers update
Z.
The large print: please read the Community Participation Rules before posting. Include as much information as possible: model, machine type, operating system, and a descriptive subject line. Do not include personal information: serial number, telephone number, email address, etc. The fine print: I do not work for, nor do I speak for Lenovo. Unsolicited private messages will be ignored. ... GeezBlog
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T500 LAN failed

Hi,
I just got my new T500, but I have difficulties to connect to the internet via LAN (stated limited or no connectivity). I called Comcast to make sure nothing wrong with the IP address, and they said seems fine. I even tried to renew the IP via cmd, but failed too. But weird thing happened, sometime I restart the laptop again after IP renew failed, it will come back normal with connection.
So, any suggestion what should I do? Should I use ThinkVantage to roll back the OS, Im using XP SP3.
Thanks.
WL

Hi Andy, hi sys3175.
Thanks for your suggestions, but I just finally found the solution.
In its obviousness I barely dare to admit it, but the wrongdoer was the ethernet hub I had to use due to the fact that our LAN is still BNC based and I have no adapter card for my notebook. In my favour there is to say that at the beginning I suspected it, too, but then ruled it out, because
a) my office pc worked fine with it, when tested (although a rather short test at the beginning), and
b) I connected my notebook to my collegue's hub, who uses it for over a year (but with her pc), and still had the drop-reconnecting-problem.
Therefore I assumed a problem with my notebook. But apparently
a) our office pc's seem to be more tolerant towards connection quality than my notebook. Because when I connected both my pc and my notebook to my hub and this time worked with them the whole day, letting them downloading large amounts of data (>1GB), the pc indeed got "network cable disconnected" messages, but only twice or thrice, while the notebook repeatedly has its dropouts. And
b) my collegue's hub seems to have the same problem as mine, because today I got the opportunity to connect my notebook to two other, different hubs here at work, and voila, stable connection.
So the good news is, that probably nothing's wrong with my network card, the bad news, that I either have to get a new hub (not the easiest thing for BNC and probably not worth considering the short remaining time here) or I have to live with the annoying dropouts.
Sorry for setting you on the wrong path with the network card, but nonetheless thanks for your support.
Thinkpad T500-2055-2LG | P8600 2.4GHz | 4 GB RAM | ATI HD3650 + Intel GM45 (switchable) | 15.4" LED WXGA+ | Win7 Professional | ATI Catalyst 9.08

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