X220 Tablet OS Clean Install Issues

[MasterHiFi]

Hello All and Happy Holidays,

New X220 Tablet owner (new owner, used tablet) and therefore new to the community. And I'll say as I've said in other forums, thanks to all of you who donate their time and knowledge to help others - if not for forums like this and people like you, so many of us would be S.O.L.

So I've got this new-to-me tablet that is in really nice condition with the i7-2640M processor and an Intel 160GB SSD, but no ROM drive or docking sstation. It has Win 7 Pro, but I'd prefer to wipe the drive and do a clean install of Win 10 Pro - not the upgrade route.

So there are two obvious hurdles, first to format the drive and second to run the Win 10 install without a ROM drive.

Unlike every other PC I've owned, there is no boot order configuration in the BIOS. Hitting F12 during boot brings up the supposed boot menu, but the only options are for the main Intel drive and the PCI slot - no USB or other options available. The BIOS version I believe is 1.38, and it's set to both UEFI and legacy BIOS, with legacy priority.

For a time saver, I can pull the Intel drive and format it, but obviously can't install the OS from there. I have some USB sticks at the ready, but they'll be useless if I can't configure USB in the boot order, and I don't know if it's possible to boot to a USB hard drive, but that would be ideal.

I also have read that there have been some custom BIOS versions created - perhaps one of those provide more options? Also, I don't see that there is any actual UEFI BIOS running - if I switch to UEFI Only BIOS then it posts to the boot order menu only and if I point it to the Intel drive then it just loops back, so I don't know what UEFI BIOS they're talking about.

Anyone's help or previous experiences are greatly appreciated -
MHF

[Temetka]

I don't believe the F12 option will show USB unless a USB drive is attached to the system.

Are you planning to install the OS via a USB flash drive?

[WVZR1]

If you have any type of ROM drive there are cables to adapt them to appropriate USB from newmodeus.com (a supporting vendor) at the top of this site. For my X230T I used the ROM drive from an older docking station and it also works for my T400 ROM I'm sure. The ROM drive for a DVD install shouldn't be even a "bump in the road". Newmodeus has what you need

The UPGRADE route isn't an issue and the for free "digital entitlement" is certainly the easiest for acquiring all that's required. After the "digital entitlement" future installs seem to be effortless and since the FALL UPDATE 1511 should be a breeze.

If you're happy with your W7 install I'd be concerned maybe with establishing a "clone" of it to retain.

I've not looked but there's quite likely a BOOT/BIOS TOUR on You-Tube for your machine.

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the Forum.

If you want a free W10 license, you must update your current W7 first with W10.
Then wipe and install a fresh W10 from scratch.
But before you do that, read some rather enlightening post in our W10 Forum. You may reconsider.

[MasterHiFi]

Hi,

Thank you for your replies - do you see how invaluable you are? Temetka, it briefly passed through my mind that perhaps the USB boot option would not appear in the list unless it was connected, but I dismissed it out of hand as my experience with (just a few) other laptops displayed any POTENTIAL boot option in the BIOS, so I am glad you brought me around to the correct way of thinking. Thanks!

@RealBlackStuff <- Every day is a great day for a Guinness!

So it happens that I have a cheap $20 TSST Corp. USB DVD burner that I bought when one of my ROM drives failed. Hooked it up and BOOM! the USB option now appears in the boot options. I dropped in my Win 10 DVD but the autorun didn't exactly auto run. Might be my fault as instead of burning the ISO I burned the extracted files. I did try an old Win 98 boot disc with fdisk with large disc support. Two strange things happened:

Fdisk could not see the Intel SSD - it could only see the drive it was launched from (the CD). Therefore I didn't proceed with a format.

The other strange thing was that the laptop keyboard was in a permanent "Shift" state, meaning that all of the alpha keys that double as numeric keys when Shift is used were in the numeric state ONLY, and no amount of wishful thinking or key combination produced a different result. I did go to my PC and stubbornly yank out my USB keyboard to give it a go, though admittedly I didn't think this would work, loaded as the system was from a Win 98 boot CD, but it proved to be just the ticket. In fact that is how I was able to successfully discover that fdisk was unsuccessful.

As for the Win 10 clean install, RealBlackStuff, I did take your advice and do some research in the Win 10 forum and I see your point. Many are reporting various bugs/problems when doing a clean install as compared to an upgrade. The whole reason I was set on the fresh install route is due to the many other reports I've read from people who have had far greater success with a clean install as compared to an upgrade, particularly with regards to the X220. It seems for some, however, having the legacy drivers has been beneficial, though to be honest there is a part of me that is philosophically opposed to cobbing together a new operating system on top of an old one. It just seems shabby, like putting down a new finish on the fine hardwood floor without properly sanding off the old one.

And finally @WVZR1, you've given me pause to think about the current Win 7 install. I of course LOVE Win 7 and run it on everything I own. Since the mind blowing step from DOS to Win 3.1, it is without a doubt MS's greatest OS. I have machines that literally run for months at a clip without a reboot and they are rock solid. With Win 7 Ultimate there is no wanting for features, and it is reasonably quick. The ONLY reason I am thinking about Win 10 is for the touch features, of course, for this 2-in-1 laptop/tablet. I was originally going to load Win 8.1, even after the Win 10 RTM release, but after comparing the two different interfaces, Win 10 seemed to be the way to go - ANYONE CORRECT ME AT ANY TIME!!

The Win 7 on the X220 seems nice - it does seem to load slowly for an SSD, and it seems to wake up slowly also - and the touch screen works very nicely, but I get a little suspicious when Lenovo has to add their own touch screen layer onto the OS for a more well rounded experience. Win 10 supposedly supplies everything you want or need and more, and reviewers find it to be quite fast - ANYONE CORRECT ME AT ANY TIME!!

So I'm not nervous about blasting out the Win 7 install as I can put it back at any time (though it would be a considerable headache to chase down and install all of the Lenovo-specific programs and features), but now I'm not sure if Win 10 is even what I want. I think I do. It seems to have the ideal combination of desktop and tablet interfaces - what could be better for a 2-in-1? But if this conclusion is premature or misguided in any way - please DO tell me. I've yet to lay a finger on Win 10 (or Win 8.1), so I'm flying blind.

Maybe I should run it with Win 7 for a while, see what I think? But you know how it goes, then my programs will be set up just the right way, etc. and I'll never change it - and then how will I ever grow, as a person? Soon, I will be a failure at life in general...

TBH, I'm not even sure Win 8.1 is a bad option. Some users were very upset with things that were taken out of 8.1 in Win 10, while others said it was much improved across the board, and were particularly elated by the death of "Charms". Many think the improved MS App Store is "all that", but I would probably use that very little - a weather app/widget, maybe, or a clock screen saver? I do like the idea of email notifications popping up on screen, things like that, but otherwise my software will be limited to professional suites like Office and Photoshop, some video editing as well. If I wanted a toy with "Apps" I would have gotten some cheap Chrome Book.

Okay, I've babbled enough and then some - guidance is welcomed and strongly encouraged. I'm holding off on FORMAT C:/ and the Win 10 install until I hear more about the experiences of you fine and knowledgeable gentlemen. You have already shown me exactly where to jump off from, the question now is should I jump? And if so, in which direction?
- MHF