W540 DP++?

Hello,
Just a quick question. Does the Thunderbolt port on the W540 also function as DP++? I am looking to buy some HDMI monitors, as they are much cheaper than DP ones. The port isn't labeled, and I just want to make sure.
W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

or can Thunderbolt be used for this purpose?

Similar Messages

  • W540 piece of junk DO NOT BUY!!!

    Hi, we've ordered two W540's for one of our larger clients. One unit was DOA. still waiting to hear back from Synnex if it's approved to be replace or not BUT now I'm not sure if I want another one of these units.
    The 2nd unit we have had seemed to work normally until we turned on the Bluetooth adapter. BOOM hung, holding power button did nothing had to remove the battery to get the system to shutdown. After this system booted fine, but the entire keyboard doesn't work now. plugged in an external kb which works but is not at all how they want to use this unit.
    Both units were ordered with an extra 8gb of ram putting them up to 16gb. When we put the ram sticks in the system wouldn't boot (screen turns on but no post no Lenovo logo nothing) no matter what configuration we put them in except for the two slots that the stock memory came in. They are Lenovo sticks which the Lenovo Solutions Book said to use.
    We've only been selling Lenovo units to our clients for the past 3 years now, We used to sell Dell units but wanted a change to increase profits. Lenovo was a great choice but now we might need to switch back to Dell if these problems don't get resolved.
    They are both 20BG0011US units:
    - i7-4700MQ, 4GBx2, 15.6" FHD
    - Nvidia Quadro K1100M, 1x500G 7200
    - DVD ±RW, Backlit KB, Win7 P64 DG Win8,3-Depot
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    Fro57,
    Sorry to hear that you are off to a rough start with the W540.  While you can certainly return / exchange the units according to your distributor terms / conditions, I would recommend that you contact Lenovo support and work through some of these issues.
    If you added memory and then the keyboard doesn't work, did you add memory under the bottom cover or under the keyboard?  If under the keyboard, perhaps the keyboard cable has been pulled loose partially from the system board.  Maybe you can recheck the connection there?
    I would recommend you update BIOS and all drivers.  The bluetooth issue could be a driver / power management issue.   I would definitely update power management.
    Best regards,
    Mark
    ThinkPads: S30, T43, X60t, X1, W700ds, IdeaPad Y710, IdeaCentre: A300, IdeaPad K1
    Mark Hopkins
    Program Manager, Lenovo Social Media (Services)
    twitter @lenovoforums
    English Community   Deutsche Community   Comunidad en Español   Русскоязычное Сообщество

  • Lenovo W530/W540 Getting Destination host Unreachable from our Firewall

    Hey Everyone!
    I'm having some bizarre issues with all of my Lenovo W530/W540's.  I'm not sure when the issue started, the first time it was reported to me was around March, and it has been persistant since the issue was discovered.  The issue is that, quite frequently, our Lenovo W530/W540's will get Destiantion Host Unreachable if I run a continuous ping (ping -t ...) to anything outside our firewall.
    I have run a ping to things inside our firewall (other computers/servers, etc.) and they will return good ping until the cows come home.
    However, if I try to ping anything outside our firewall (google.com, google DNS 8.8.8.8, yahoo.com, etc.) about every 30 seconds (every 30-35 returns) it starts returning Destitnation Host Unreachable from our Firewall.  This will last for around 10-25 returns, and then traffic goes back to normal.
    We are a majority Apple Shop, and when I attempt to ping from any Apple on the network, it get fine returns consistently.  I also tried pinging from the few non-Lenovo Windows Machines we have as well (my personal machine which is self-built Windows rig, a couple of windows test machines, and a Windows 2008 Server we have) and they also have consistently good returns as well.
    It is ONLY the Lenovo's that have this problem.  To compound things, they have no issue when they are connected to a different network other than the company network.  This ONLY happens when they try to interact with traffic going THROUGH our Firewall on our company network.  It happens regardless of whether they hardwired or wireless.  Also, during the Destination Host Unreachable moments, Windows does not detect a disruption, it keeps registering good connection.  I do not know how often Windows checks for connection, but these Destination Host Unreachable moments are so quick, I'm fairly certain that Windows can't even detect them.
    Our Firewall is a Linux CentOS server that is running Shorewall Firewall Software.  The Destination Host Unreachable notice is coming from our Firewall directly, not from our ISP, so for some reason, the Lenovo is having a problem talking to our FW.
    We currently only have 3 of these machines in circulation, but its having a pretty big impact on those with the machines, as going to a website is even a chore, as they often get "Page Not Found"  and other errors when they try to load a website.
    I'm a bit stumped, I've never seen a machine act this way where it only has problems on a particular network; usually its a global issue it has with everything.  Any and all help would be appreciated.
    Thanks!
    -Chris

    DNS is set to be automatic, though I did try setting  a permenent DNS server in the IPv4 settings to our local DNS server AND Google DNS, and the issue still occurred.
    The 2 Conflicting firewalls could be it, so I tested that.  I logged into the Local Administrator account on the machine so I could temporarily disable the firewall.  I disabled it, pinged out, and I still get Destination host unreachable, though weirdly, it seems to happen less than when on the other account (only about every 50-60 pings do I get Destination host Unreachable).

  • Does the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter work w/ W540?

    I have an external storage drive that relies on Firewire 800, or USB 2.0 - I'd prefer to use the Firewire! I discovered the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter ( http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Thunderbolt-to-FireWire-Adapter/dp/B008RXYOKY ), but I haven't seen any clones for sale... Does anyone know if it will work with the W540 and Windows 7?

    Hi DIgitalsmear
    I bought one of this adapters to connect my firewire audio interface to my lenovo carbon X1 which has a thunderbolt out. And atm i have no proper connection going on, but i'm not yet sure whether it is because of the adapter or something else.
    greetings
    Milan

  • A brand new W540 and the Ultra Dock humms, black out external screen, won't recognize mouse and some

    Just received a W540 and an Ultra Dock. Here is my first impressions.
    During setup ... tried to connect my speakers directly onto the laptop.... HUMMMMM! (really loud humming sound, until Windows loads ...sounds like a short somewhere ...). Ok, obviously sound is not the main focus of W540.
    After a little while... boink! ... and the external screen goes black accompanied with the "Windows detected something disconnect"-sound. No matter what I clicked on the keyboard, or how much a moved the mouse, the external screen wouldn't turn on again. I had to flip up the screen on the laptop, and tada, Windows reported that something connected again, and the external screen turned on again. Turns out that I need to keep the laptop screen open at all times now, and now and then both screens disconnect and connect again. Not completely a showstopper, but somewhat annoying. Ok, how to fix - enter "lenovo ultra dock black screen" in Google and see that a bunch of people have experienced the same thing. After some reading, I found this official support page "LENOVO THINKPAD PRO DOCK AND THINKPAD ULTRA DOCK ARE CAUSING DISPLAY ISSUES ON EXTERNAL MONITORS" (http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/ht081248). Seems to fit my situation perfectly. Just download the fwdphb03.exe program and follow the instructions. But does fwdphb03.exe even start?!? NO!
    Just a brief flicker and no application nor instructions to follow. In addition, I am Administrator on my machine. Please make applications that at least attempt to work....
    I have an Aten mouse and keyboard switch (KVM) (CS-1784 to be precise), which have been working seamlessly for years on all other machines I have (VMWare images with different Windows versions, Raspberry Pi and Mac). Connecting the KVM with it's mouse and keyboard renders a working keyboard and a dead mouse (remember - switching to one of the other machines renders working keyboard and mouse instantly).... <rant on>pheeew, starting to get a bad feeling here. OBVIOUSLY we have a lot of cool hardware like USB 3 and DisplayPort and what not, but WHAT DOES THAT MATTER, when the Lenovo folks can't program this stuff properly?</rant off>
    The W540 comes with a lot of Lenovo software. Much of it is really good and useful. But what happened when you try to log in to Windows? For some reason Lenovo want to inform you that the Num Lock is on when you see the standard login screen. The message something like "Num Lock is on - your password may be entered incorrectly". All in some black background, covering OVER the login field in Windows !!!! Hey, the laptop has a numeric keyboard, I don't need this message. Luckily others again have experience the same thing. At this page http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/New-T540p-numlock-warning-at-login/td-p/142... I get the tip that I need to rename the tpnumlk.exe to something else. Gone was the stupid message.
    My advice to Lenovo - don't include stuff that harvest a lot of complaints and that obviously is going to annoy your customers. Even if the machine was one with a small keyboard and no separate numeric keyboard, I would NEVER EVER want to have some ugly black box covering over the standard login field…  I can’t even imagine that the developer of this tool, use it (nor like it)! That is exactly why bloatware gets its reputation.
    I would of course understand all this if I were talking about cheap machines and some wacko docking station. But I am not.... This is state-of-the-art, 2014, expensive-style laptop from the same manufacturer.
    PS! At the end of this session, Lenovo tells me that there is a problem with the powersystem, and that it want to reduce power to sustainable levels....

    can you connect the device in _*recovery mode*_ ?
    JGG

  • The Venerable ThinkPad W540 – A Journey in Multiple Parts: Part 2

    Missed Part 1?  Catch it here
    Part 2: System / BIOS setup.
    For the average consumer machine, users can get the most out of it without ever having to contemplate these advanced setup procedures. A ThinkPad, however, requires the user to take a peek at them at least, because the default settings certainly do not fit all usage scenarios. From hardware settings, performance and power setup, to security, OS installation and enterprise deployment, almost everything is configurable. Having your ThinkPad wrongly configured in BIOS can slow down OS booting, disabled features you need are not showing up in OS and enabled features you don‘t need will produce unwanted activity / battery drainage etc.
    For every ThinkPad I‘ve ever bought, sold or maintained through the years, the BIOS setup is the first thing I ever perform. This is particularly vital today, even before loading up any OS on it, because of the default legacy pre-installed Windows 7 or UEFI BIOS pre-installed Windows 8/8,1 OS, which like in the case of the former, upgrading your Windows 7 pre-installation to Windows 8 instead of clean installing will give you a legacy installed Windows 8 and thus fail to take advantage of some of the UEFI features that are built into the OS. I‘ll get into some of the differences between Legacy/UEFI installations in Part 3 as well as the main only and secondary hard drive dual booting.
    NB. Although this setup is for the W540/T540p, most of the options are identical to other ThinkPad models and serve the same function, but being a fully loaded W540, it has several options that other models don‘t have, and thus a perfect machine demonstrate this on.
    To enter the ThinkPad UEFI BIOS there are several methods you can use.
    Press F1 on the Lenovo screen to bring up the BIOS setup instantly. (Only possible during restart or when started up again from a full shutdown, which you can have your machine enter if you hold down Shift while clicking Shutdown in Windows 8/8.1).
    Press Enter on the Lenovo screen, again, only possible using the same restart methods as above, to bring up the Startup Interrupt Menu, and then select F1 for the BIOS setup.
    From within Windows 8/8.1:
    Open the Charm Bar by pressing Win+C key combination.
    Click on Settings
    Click on Change PC Settings
    Click on General (Win 8) Update and Recovery (Win 8.1)
    Scroll to the bottom and click on Advanced Startup -> Restart Now (Win 8) Select Recovery -> Advanced Startup -> Restart Now (Win 8.1)
    Click on Troubleshoot
    Click on Advanced Options
    Click on UEFI Firmware Settings
    Click on Restart
    NB. By default, a Windows 8/8.1 shutdown is not a real shutdown. Instead, it is hybrid shutdown where contents of memory are saved to disk. This allows for a faster startup. However, turning on the PC after a hybrid shutdown does not allow for pressing F1 or F12 during startup. To disable this behaviour and for further information on booting Windows 8/8.1 pre-installed machines head over to this page: Windows 8/8.1 boot instructions - Lenovo.
    If you have a ThinkPad with a Legacy BIOS, just press F1 on the ThinkPad screen.
    On the main screen you can see various important information about your ThinkPad such as the serial and MTM numbers, information on your installed CPU and RAM, OS Licence and Secure Boot status. On the image above, I‘ve annotated where you can find the various categories of settings for your machine.
    My W540 is setup as non-enterprise, standalone workstation, so the first things I do is turn off AMT (Intel Active Management Technology) and all Wake/Boot from LAN settings, as my machine won‘t be either booted up from LAN nor managed remotely.
    To turn these settings off, open up your Config screen and select Network and toggle your preferred settings between Enabled / Disabled. I disable all options. The Intel AMT settings are also found on the Config screen, which I set to disabled. NB, do not select Permanently Disabled if you plan on reselling your machine later on, as permanently disabled means just that.
    There are a couple of other features that I disable in the Config section, which is the Intel Smart Connect Technology, which powers on your machine on regular intervals to check for mail and social media updates and the Power – Intel Rapid Start Technology, which I don‘t need on my W-series machines, but I do keep it enabled on my ThinkPad travelmates, such as the T440s.
    Walking through the other settings I change on the Config screen, on USB I have everything set to Enabled and USB 3.0 set to Auto. I am particularly fond of the USB always on and Charge in battery mode, as my ThinkPads that have large 9 cell batteries have managed to save my phone from running out of power on countless occasions. Finally, I set my display options for standalone operation, but if you have your machine docked and connected to one or more external monitors, you need to set these accordingly.
    On to the Security screen, where many mission critical options reside. Many of these options should not be played with, as setting them wrongly can have serious consequences. Particular care should be taken when setting one or more Passwords for access control, as there is no fallback or fix that can reset a forgotten password.
    Leaving the Security settings at their default is fine in most usage scenarios, but some features are disabled by default, like Virtualization, and need to be enabled for them to work. The Security Chip is initially set to Inactive, which means it is visible in your OS, but inactive. I set mine to Active as it is required by the Security Reporting Options, which I do monitor if something comes up as well as enabling the Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) options, which I also have set to Enabled.
    The UEFI BIOS Update Option is self-explanatory and in addition you can prevent older BIOS flashing by turning the Secure Rollback Prevention to Enabled. Memory Protection and I/O Port Access are all enabled by default and no restrictions or access control to your hardware is set. The Internal Device Access option is for the Bottom Cover Tamper Protection, which works in conjunction with the Supervisor Password, so if no Supervisor Password is set, the Tamper Protection won‘t take effect even if set to Enabled. The Anti-Theft module is active by default, and thus you‘ll get popups in your Windows OS regarding enrollment. If you do not wish to see those or you won‘t be using the feature, just set the AT Module to Disabled. Same as with the Intel AMT Control, the AT Module can be permanently disabled as well.
    Lastly, the Secure Boot option is something that is always enabled by default on all machines that come with a Windows 8/8,1 sticker from manufacturer. Secure boot defines how platform firmware manages security certificates, validation of firmware, and a definition of the interface (protocol) between firmware and the operating system. Secure boot prevents “unauthorized” operating systems and software from loading during the startup process.
    Quick summary of the Secure Boot feature:
    UEFI allows firmware to implement a security policy.
    Secure boot is a UEFI protocol not a Windows 8 feature.
    UEFI secure boot is part of Windows 8 secured boot architecture.
    Windows 8 utilizes secure boot to ensure that the pre-OS environment is secure.
    Secure boot doesn’t “lock out” operating system loaders, but is a policy that allows firmware to validate authenticity of components.
    OEMs have the ability to customize their firmware to meet the needs of their customers by customizing the level of certificate and policy management on their platform.
    Microsoft does not mandate or control the settings on PC firmware that control or enable secured boot from any operating system other than Windows.
    I will go deeper into the Secure Boot settings and functionality in Part 3, where the OS installation will be the topic, but unless you‘re clean installing a new OS or upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8, these settings as well as the OS Optimized Default setting on the Restart screen can be left at their defaults.
    The Startup section is one that I always clean up and only leave the boot devices I regularly use active on the Boot Priority Order. Don‘t use it? Lose it. This eliminates your machine having to go through all possible boot options on cold boot / restart but a temporary boot device can always be selected through the F12 Boot Menu if you need to boot your machine from a device you don‘t regularly use.
    I use my machine as UEFI OS only, as setting it up as dual booted Windows / Linux in UEFI mode has become much simpler, and effective in the last couple of years. However, dual booting a UEFI and a legacy OS, or legacy only is also an option, and will be further discussed in my next instalment.
    For detailed information on the W540 System Setup, refer to the User Guide available here:
    ThinkPad T540p and W540 - User Guide
    Click here to read Part 1 of AtliJarl's mods to his W540, which is one of the machines we had passed to him for use.

    Good write-up ;-)

  • About Lenovo Thinkpad W540 for Music Production at a Professional Level

    Hey there! I just signed up to this blog in search for an answer to my quest. I've heard a lot of good things about Lenovo ThinkPad W540, and I would like to make sure that I am getting what I really need to stay up to date, in this everyday changing technological world, for a while before making a purchase.
    So far, this is what I got in my wish list:
    Intel Core i7-4700MQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.40GHz)
    Windows 7 Professional 64
    15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
    W540 NVIDIA Quadro K1100M 2G
    16GB PC3-12800 DDR3L (4 DIMM)
    500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
    DVD Recordable
    Intel Dual Band Wireless 7260AC with Bluetooth 4.0
    1 Year Depot or Carry-in
    I would like to know what are the major differences between the above items, which I have in my wish list, and the ones below:
    1) Intel Core i7-4930MX Processor (8MB Cache, up to 3.90GHz)
    2)15.5” 3K (2880 x 1620), IPS LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, Color Sensor
    3) W540 NVIDIA Quadro K2100M 2G
    4) 32GB PC3-12800 DDR3L (4 DIMM)
    5) I would like a 1TB hard drive but they don't come at 7200 rpm, i guess the one in my wish list works fine.
    6) Do I need a more sophisticated Optical Drive from the  DVD Recordable in my wish list?
    I guess whay I am trying to investigate is if I can function in the music production world with a Thinkpad  W 540 with the specs already in my wish list? And, what difference would it make updating this machine with the specs below. Your assistance and comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

     Hi ColonellONeill, thank you for taking your time in attempt to solve my problems.
    Temperatures varies, but it never reached to unbearably hot.
    Shutdown warning: for the last couple of times, I did got the blue screen warning (that windows had problem and will restart after collecting the necessary information) on my Helix and hanged display on my external monitor. Otherwise, most of the time, there isn't warning at all.
    I doubt if there is anything to do automatic windows update as I have scheduled it every morning at 3 'O' clock! Sometimes it works from weeks to couple of months without even noticing any of these technical problems but then when it starts, it stays for weeks; it just comes and goes - never been able to resolve the issues completely; even the technician.
    (It just happend right now! and this time wihtout even warning, and Helix wasn't even running 30 minutes - temperature is normal, I can feel it's little warm.)
    Currently I am using my Helix with Thinkpad USB 3 dock connected to external Monitor with wired keyboard and mouse connected back at the dock.

  • My W540 is coming in this week, and I have some questions.

    So my W540 is arriving, and here is what I plan to do as soon as I get it:
    Turn on computer and verify that all hardware works.
    Update to the latest BIOS.
    Replace the HDD with my own SSD.
    Reinstall Windows.
    Here is my configuration for reference:
    Intel Core i7-4700MQ
    FHD Display, no color sensor
    8 GB DDR3L RAM (2 x 4 GB)
    500 GB, 7200 RPM HDD
    Optical Drive
    NVIDIA K2100m
    Fingerprint reader, no NFC
    Intel Wireless AC 7260
    WIndows 8.1 Pro
    I have a few questions about this process and the computer in general:
    Some review sites say that the primary hard drive must be mounted in a proprietary plastic piece that is unavailable for separate purchase. Can this be removed from the OEM HDD and attached to a third-party SSD? I have a Samsung 840 EVO.
    When installing Windows, is there a difference between creating recovery media from the original HDD and recovering to the SSD versus simply installing Windows 8.1 from the ISO and downloading drivers from the Lenovo support site? Note that I do not want any junkware that comes with the computer. Only the Lenovo software/drivers that are required for the hardware to function optimally.
    I have heard some things about MBR and GPT when using UEFI, but I have no idea what it means. The SSD that I will install is currently in use in my T510, and it is running Windows 8.1 Pro. I believe it is formatted as MBR. Do I have to do anything special with this? Will all partitions be erased?
    I have never owned an Optimus laptop before. Currently using a non-Optimus T510, and I just download the latest drivers from NVIDIA's website. With Optimus, where do I get my drivers? Do I only install the driver from the Lenovo site? Do I download the drivers from Intel and NVIDIA? Is it possible to force all GPU activity on either GPU and completely disable the other?
    Are special drivers required for the USB 3.0 ports to work at maximum speed?
    Is it possible to use my current 90 W adapter for my T510 with the W540 with an adapter cable? I know that this should limit performance, but it would be helpful when traveling.
    About how long does the battery last while web browsing and the CPU set to minimum performance?
    What is the largest capacity M.2 SSD that will fit in this laptop?
    If I want to add more RAM in the future, which 2 x 4 GB kits are compatible with what I already have?
    W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
    T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

    Djembe wrote:
    UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface) boot requires Global unique identifier Partition Table (GPT) as opposed to the older Master Boot Record (MBR). If your existing drive is formatted in MBR, you will need to adjust BIOS settings to enable legacy boot in order for it to work properly.
    Is there a performance difference between GPT and MBR? If GPT is better, I do not mind formatting the drive with it.
    5. No special drivers are needed.
    Thanks. What about the thunderbolt port?
    7. I think Lenovo estimates 6 hours.
    Lenovo says 6 hours with the 6-cell battery on its website.
    BrendaEM wrote:
    Hi,
    There was a serious BIOS/UEFI problem with that SSD . Perhaps this thread will save you some headaches. Someone is recomending shutting off Rapid Boot in the setup, which would probable mean little with a SSD, anyway.
    I read through this, and it looks like the problem was fixed in a BIOS update, which I plan to do. However, it also seems like Intel Rapid Start is not even worth it in the first place, as sleep consumes almost no power at all.
    W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
    T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

  • Disable SSD cache in Windows on W540?

    I just received my W540, which came with the micro SSD cache drive. I'm dual booting my machine with Linux, and intend to use the micro SSD with the bcache Linux kernel module, which assumes it has exclusive use of the cache device, even through reboots. I thus need to make sure Windows doesn't use the cache device (which is fine, since I won't use Windows most of the time anyway).
    What must I do to ensure Windows doesn't touch the micro SSD?

    Just uninstall ExpressCache in Windows, and then reformat the mSATA.
    You can uninstall it in "Programs and Features", which is found in the "Control Panel".
    Or right-click the start orb of Windows 8.1, and select "Programs and Features".
    Jonas
    Microsoft MVP: Windows Consumer Expert
    Yoga Tablet 2 10 || ThinkPad X1 Carbon (20A7007MPH) || ThinkPad Helix (3698-6EU) || IdeaCentre B540
    Twitter: @jonashendrickx

  • W540 fails to boot

    Turned on my W540 running Win 8.1 and it has started going straight to a blue screen that says the Boot Configuration Data File doesn't contain valid information for an operating system. No logical explaination as to why this has happened. So first I have removed the HDD and connected it as a secondary drive to another computer and backed up all data without a problem, so the HDD seems to be ok. Then I tried using the recovery menu to recover from recovery partition and it can't find one. So then I have ordered recovery CDs from Lenovo but they aren't working either. I have changed the BIOS to boot from CD/DVD first but the laptop still will not boot from the recovery DVD.
    Other than this there are no issues with the laptop. The DVD drive works fine, or at least it did before the crash, and as I said the HDD seems to be physically ok as I could use it as a secondary drive on another machine.
    Any ideas to get this sorted would be greatly appreciated.

    Hi, sghoshatucar.  
    Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.  
    Here is an article I would recommend going through when experiencing this issue.  
    A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
    Cheers, 
    Jason H. 

  • W540 stuck on ThinkPad splash screen

    I've got W540 (32GB RAM, 500GB HDD) running Windows 7.1 64bit that is constantly getting stalled at the ThinkPad splash screen during powerup.
    It will often stall at the "ThinkPad" splash screen.  
    Other times it will stall at the "ThinkPad" splash screen with the "To interrupt normal startup, pess Enter" message displayed.
    I've seen other entries that reference this issue with:
    - using a SSD, I'm a standard HDD.
    - a broken USB port.  Mine all look OK (is there a way to actually test them?)
    I've updated to the latest Bios and reset the Bios defaults with no change.
    I've run the hardware diagnostic tests and found no errors.
    When I say "stall" on the splash screens I sometimes find if I leave it alone long enough (maybe 5+ minutes) it will continue to the normal Windows boot up.
    This is the 2nd W540 out of a pool of laptops to display symptoms similar to this.
    Anyone got information on what may cause a stall at the ThinkPad splash screen?
    Thanks.

    Not knowing your exact set up, but KNOWING that this is a blind black box with no activity light like a normal workstation, you need to do workarounds.
    Normally, on my older workstation, I could see the HD light blink and the rate would give me an inkling of the process.
    The WORKAROUND: we now need to calibrate your computer clock to your watch, or use a cell phone time keeper which would already be synced if the W540 is connected to the WiFi (no switch so the W540 has to be connected, unless there is no access point).  As an aside, I have found that when there are large MS updates, like last Tuesday, or other such WiFi connected updated, the compute also hangs with the user having NO KNOWLEDGE that the WiFi is talking / or calling home to some cloud device.
    Back to the workaround: Boot the system, and when there appears to be a crash or hang in the sequence, note the time of the 'event' and also note the time when it appears to restart.  Once properly booted, and I cannot tell you how often this has happened to my W540, check the even times in the [Event Viewer].  Too long to explain, Google the term "Win 7 Event Viewer", or check this:
    MS Help - Event Viewer
    Then find out where the computer chokes and restarts by checking the time in the events and the cause.  These are i/o routines which the Lenovo Gods have decide to shield us from such WORKSTATION task.
    FWIW, often I get <Program Not Responding>, when in fact it is performing a numbers intensive task.... yet I cannot tell what is happening as there is no i/o light. Usually unlocks when the task is finished, which may be what is happening on your system.  You need to find out the task that is  causing the wait.
    Odd, the Lenovo Gaming machines Y50 have these lights, albeit atrophied:  see lower 4 indicator lights....

  • New W540 will not power on any longer

    Short story:
    W540 config below
    Arrived, bios 2.09, set intel rapid boot off
    worked for 1 week
    Then it refused to power on
    No indicators when battery plugged in and power or battery plugged in and no power.
    with power, and no battery only the power button blinked 2x. No other response.
    Lenovo's action: return and get a new system. After waiting 6 weeks to get it, this is not what I expected froma rather expensive system. I should have heeded the warnings on this list.
    I see on another list tthe E440, ithink, it was a cmos battery issue. Does anyone know what the issue is with the W540?
    Thanks.
    Ordered config
    Base Model
    20BHA0A4CC
    Component
    Description
    Shipping Country
    Canada
    Selectable Warranty
    N03_3YRDEP_CI
    Preload Type
    STANDARD_IMAGE
    Preload OS
    Windows 8.1 64
    System Unit
    W540 NVIDIA Q1
    Processor
    Intel Core i7-4800MQ
    Security Chip 2
    Security Chip Enabled
    Wireless WAN accessories
    MBL BB upgradable, future use
    Display Panel
    W540 15.5 3K IPS WWAN
    Pointing device
    W540 FPR
    WiFi wireless LAN adapters
    Intel 7260 BT ACBGN
    Hard drive
    500GB HDD 7200rpm
    RAID Setting
    Internal RAID - Not Enabled
    Optical device
    Travel Bezel, Fixed
    Battery
    6cell Cylindrical 56.16Wh
    Total memory
    8GB PC3-12800 DDR3L (2 DIMM)
    Camera
    720P_HD_CM
    AC Adapter and Power Cord
    170W AC Adpt2 US (2pin)
    Keyboard Language
    KYB w/NumPad US English
    Publication Language
    Pub; US English
    Preload Language
    W8.1 64 English

    I too had a similar problem.  The brick went bad.
    I had to use a Fluke meter to measure the voltage at the tip, as there is no light on the brick, nor is there a functional light on the computer.
    Yes, it is supposed to flash a couple of time if there is juice in the wire, but my issue, was that it supplied power, but failed under computer drain initially, until it gave up.  My screen kept flashing when power was on, and power was off.  Effectively, the screen became my power indicator.
    Having had similar issues in the past with switching supplies that had a thermal breaker built in, I waited hoping it would reset.  BUT, no light on either the brick or the computer, just wasted my time trying to solve the problem the normal way.  If there was a light, you would know immediately.  It finally gave up life, and never revived.  No light on the brick, and NO indicator light on the W540.
    The new brick was made by another vendor, and runs much cooler.  If you want the markings on the broken brick, v.s. the new one, just ask.....
    Not acceptable, but stuck with this.....  At the end of the year, someone at Lenovo will get a raise, based on sales.... 
    My productivity is going down!

  • W540 sleep mode buttons are not working

    Hello,
    My question concerns the non-functioning  sleep mode buttons on my Lenovo W540 20BG.
    In my current power management settings, the W540 is suppose to
    enter sleep mode by pressing Fn4 or by pressing the round power button shortly.
    However, either one of these methods do not work.
    My computer does enter sleep mode when usign the Windows start menu 
    (Start->Shut Down -> Sleep).
    Please advise how to fix the sleep mode buttons.
    Thank you,
    Nir
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    Is this Windows 7, 8, or 8.1?
    Can you try running the Power Management driver installer as administrator?
    @Bauden,
    Removing the sleep hotkey is dumb indeed; I'd like to have control over whether or not to sleep when the lid is closed (if I'm running something overnight and don't want the screen to come on at all).
    Horrible gripe with this with my new Flex 14. Sincerely hoping this change is rolled back.
    W520: i7-2720QM, Q2000M at 1080/688/1376, 21GB RAM, 500GB + 750GB HDD, FHD screen
    X61T: L7500, 3GB RAM, 500GB HDD, XGA screen, Ultrabase
    Y3P: 5Y70, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, QHD+ screen

  • W540 touchpad - erratic behavior in Windows 8.1

    This is not a rant about the touchpad design - I'm actually not too bothered by it.
    I'm having major issues using the touchpad even with the latest W540 drivers on Win 8.1. I have v18.0.7.57 which is the latest available as per Lenovo's downloads site. The cursor movement locks up for several seconds, then starts highlighting text I haven't selected, scrolls when I'm not using 2 fingers etc. Overall, it's very annoying. I have disable 'tap to click' and this helps a bit, but I still have the locking issues. Also, 'Synaptics touchpad 64 bit enhancements' is one of the top CPU consumers on the system, especially during the lockups - I can't imagine why an app that handles input should be consuming so much CPU!
    I have uninstalled, reinstalled (rinse, repeat) several times and haven't found any improvement.

    Hi W540_tp,
    Thank you for the reply!
    Please check with downloading the driver from the given link. It’s directly from Synaptic driver’s page.
    Hope this helps.
    Best regards,
    Hemanth Kumar
    Did someone help you today? Press the star on the left to thank them with a Kudo!
    If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"! This will help the rest of the Community with similar issues identify the verified solution and benefit from it.
    Follow @LenovoForums on Twitter!

  • W540 Windows 8.1 install from scratch (ssd)

    Hi, Lenovo user's
    I need your help. My new W540 need to be rebuild (win 8.1) from scratch and manual driver,s install. Ok it's rediculus, but my manager at work need that test. I buy the original 2 dvd's ( #1 recovery disk media and #2 operating system recovery disk).  The Uefi bios option are new for me.  I want to remove un-needed partition to ! Have you some procedure to do that ??
    I can't find on my laptop the windows 8.1 serial plate, it's normal ??? No it's not under the battery.;-)))
    Sorry for very bad english.... French from Canada :-)
    Special thk and Merry XMas.
    First T22,Next T43,T60P, W700 and S10-3, now W540 (SSD, 16RAM, i7 4800, Etc :-)
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    The product key is now embedded in your BIOS, and Windows will automatically activate by reading that when you install.
    If you are using Lenovo recovery disks, they will overwrite all partitions and create the correct ones. You just need to put disk #1 into the drive and boot from it.
    W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
    T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

  • HOW TO DUAL BOOT W540 with windows 8.1 / 7

    I got my W540 recently with windows 8.1 pro on it. but as all engineers worst nightmare windows 8 has hard time with engineering softwares (for my case TIA Portal for  PLC programming software which only support windows 7). so i need to have a windows 7. i prefer to keep my windows 8 and have dual boot system with windows 7 added. But i can't install windows 7. initially due to disk type (GPT), then i changed it to MBR without losing my files (which only was possible if i had deleted the recovery partition- now my recovery is on my flash drive). But there are already 4 partitions on the system (1 for C: drive and 3 for recovery and system files which came originally with the product) , how can i install a windows 7? i can't add another partition because that makes my disk a Dynamic disk (which i don't really know what is). all in all, i really need windows 7 on my system ASAP.  If anyone know how to fix this please reply. Thanks guys.
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    You are limited to four PRIMARY partitions on an MBR disk.
    But other than the "active" partition (i.e. the small 100MB "system reserved" partition where Boot Manager is placed from doing a cold Windows install on an empty drive, or the 1.4GB equivalent Boot Manager partition that Lenovo provides along with other tools and utilities), all other partitions on the drive can be "logical".  They are not required to be PRIMARY, although Lenovo delivers its partitions that way.  But you can change that.
    You can have up to 120 LOGICAL partitions on a drive (all of which live inside an originally PRIMARY partition which gets converted to an "extended partition" which houses all of the logical partitions.  So if you have at least one logical partition (and thus have to give up one primary partition in order to build that required "extended partitions"), that means you can have up to three remaining primary partitions and up to 120 logical partitions... all on an MBR disk.  No "dynamic", and no GPT.
    Yes, that means even the Windows system partition itself (i.e. "C") can be on a LOGICAL partition.  It's only that one "active" partition (where the BIOS goes to find Boot Manager and its menu, and kick off the rest of the system boot process) which truly must be PRIMARY.  That's the only requirement.
    So, if you want to use MiniTool's Partition Wizard to carve out sufficient free space for your second Windows 7 partition (by shrinking your existing Win8 partition), you can create one or more logical partitions inside that new free space, and do the Win7 install to one of those empty logical partitions.  You can then use a second logical partition in that same free space for "data", if you want.
    Note that Partition Wizard can even convert one of your existing primary partitions to logical (i.e. convert it to an "extended partition", inside of which will be then be the original primary partition now converted to logical).  You can then shrink or move/resize the partitions on the drive (both primary and logical) however you want, to perhaps make room for additional "logical" partitions inside of that now present "extended partition" which can hold up to 120.  You can even convert ALL of your primary partitions except for the one "active" partition (which MUST BE PRIMARY) to logical partitions, which gives you maximum flexibility in having even more than just two bootable OS's along with one or more data partitions, etc., up to 120 logical partitions... plus the one "active" primary Boot Manager "system reserved" partition which must be kept.

Maybe you are looking for