X61s got it today - issues

[ex0dus]

I got my X61s today! I'm very surprised that it came with 7 Recovery CDs and a restore manual. I thought Lenovo/IBM NEVER sent these out? I guess that's a benefit! Does this mean if I fry my HD with a botched install of some crazy OS and delete partitions I can just pop the CD into an external drive and boot up and re-install?

Some issues I noticed:

1) Hitachi 100gb 7.2K is kinda noisy.. I can hear it working... much more so than the 100gb 7.2 drive (not sure which brand) that was in my X60. Should I worry?

2) The display seems flimsy and not as sturdy and the display on my X60 (which did not flex). This X61s display has flex to it (is this normal).

3) ITS SO MUCH COOLER !!! I love it !!! + a little bit slimmer on the bottom and lighter weight. Vista is running great on it so far.

[ex0dus]

I forgot to ask one more question...

Relating to the Rescue & Recovery CDs... do those just have VISTA BIZ on them or can I downgrade to XP at a later date with them?

[GomJabbar]

You can use the Hitachi Feature Tool to quiet down your hard drive.
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/d ... eatureTool

The Product Recovery Discs will only recover what originally came on your ThinkPad. If you want to downgrade, you will have to get a different set from Lenovo. See following link.
Downgrading from Windows Vista to Windows XP

For a limited time Lenovo is providing Windows XP Recovery CD media as a way to downgrade from Windows Vista. Lenovo customers that have Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate "qualified systems" may purchase a Windows XP Recovery CD until July 31, 2008. Fees may vary. Please contact your local Support Center for additional details.

[techfury90]

Those are XP CDs in case you want to downgrade. Lenovo started shipping them recently. You'll need to make/request Vista CDs.

[ex0dus]

You can use the Hitachi Feature Tool to quiet down your hard drive.
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/d ... eatureTool

Which features do I need to adjust to address the noise issue?

[GomJabbar]

I suggest you download and read the Feature Tool User's guide from that same webpage. What you want to change is the Acoustic Management settings. I have not used the tool myself, only seen that it is available and that others have tried it. Search this forum using the "Search" button for Hitachi Feature Tool (Tip: check radio button "Search for all terms") if you want to read other's experiences with it.

[ex0dus]

I suggest you download and read the Feature Tool User's guide from that same webpage. What you want to change is the Acoustic Management settings. I have not used the tool myself, only seen that it is available and that others have tried it. Search this forum using the "Search" button for Hitachi Feature Tool (Tip: check radio button "Search for all terms") if you want to read other's experiences with it.

Thank you. I'll be working on that tomorrow.

BTW I also found out that the CDs included in the box are in fact XP downgrade CDs. Whew!

[GomJabbar]

I didn't realize Lenovo was shipping downgrade CD's with the new ThinkPads. -- Interesting.

In that case you will want to burn a set of Vista Product Recovery Discs ASAP. Go to Start > All Programs > ThinkVantage > Create Recovery Discs. There is a Rescue Media CD (you can make as many of these as you want), and there are the Product Recovery Discs (the software only lets you make one set until you Restore Factory Contents). Most people use a CD for the first disc and DVD's for the rest.