Thinkpads Forum

Please share with me your experiences running Win10 on an x200 machine. The good, the bad, the ugly. (Yes I know that Win10 itself is onerous. I don't care for it either, but all I want to know is how the system functions--or doesn't--in this hardware/software combination). I have a 1T SSD in the x200, and lots of external SSDs and HDDs hooked up for backup as well.

I am currently running Win7 and love it, but I need some new writing software that won't work with Win7. A much older version of the software will work with Win8, but I don't have a way to install Win8 (that I know of).

I do not have an activation key for Win7, as it is not the software that came with my x200 (its native OS was Vista Business). I got Win7 from this group's fine and generous resources. Therefore I can't just download Win10 and try it on the x200 without paying for it.

My understanding is that Win7 is the latest OS that will run optimally on the x200. But I see lots of x200s for sale on eBay with Win10 installed. What goes wrong with these systems? And can they be made to run well? If so, how?

And is Win8 a better choice than Win10 for the x200? If so, can I get a copy from this group?

Thanks!

I've put Win 10 on an X61, the generation before X200. It surprisingly runs very well for my uses. I am able to run the latest version of Mozilla Firefox and complete Internet-based tasks from the comfort and convenience of the familiar Windows operating system. Today I favor installing Windows 10 for my personal 64-bit machines even over my all-time favorite of Windows 7. But I do not love Windows 10 so much that I reinstall it on machines already stable with Windows 7, because Firefox 115 ESR works well-enough for my Internet-based tasks. On the last few 32-bit machines I play with, I favor Windows 7 or XP depending on availability of drivers and hardware compatibility.

Personally I do a few things to customize Windows 10 for my personal use on classic ThinkPads.

1. I use the O&O ShutUp10 software to disable a slew of background tasks and automatic updates. Link to download: https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10
2. I use the local Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security and prohibit Outbound connections that do not match a rule. Then I manually create rules permitting my browser and any other apps I permit to use the Internet.
3. I do the Lenovo Power Manager unblock with Windows ADK to get Charge Thresholds functional for battery longevity. Link to the relevant thread: https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=131019
4. I can further prevent any undesired Windows services from running by running Regedit, navigate to the path "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services", right click on the service folder and select Permissions, and checking Deny under SYSTEM.
5. I install Open Shell Menu for the superior search function compared to the native implementation. Link to download: https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shel ... ses/latest

I was of the understanding that updating to Windows 10 from Windows 7 using the Media Creation Tool grants a permanent digital license to the laptop motherboard. Even if this doesn't work, I find unlicensed Windows 10 works fine. In fact my X61's Windows 10 is not currently activated and I don't notice.

Link to Microsoft's download the Media Creation Tool: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softwar ... /windows10

The Media Creation Tool no longer natively functions on Windows 7 as it requires TLS 1.1 and 1.2, which are not by default enabled on Windows 7.

Link to Microsoft's instructions to enable TLS 1.1 and 1.2: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/top ... 268bb10392

Disclaimer: My personal preferences for Windows 10 do not necessarily comply or conform with most users' preferences, security policies, or best practices. I believe Windows is a very insecure operating system. I don't use the Windows Store, Lenovo Vantage, Facebook, X Formerly Known As Twitter, TikTok, among other services.

mtgal wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 18, 2023 12:32 pm

can I get a copy from this group?

Keys are fairly inexpensive on eBay.

TPFanatic,
Thank you so much for your very detailed help.