Thinkpads Forum

6SPDSER2002 wrote:I actually just purchased one from eBay about a week ago...NO HDD and No Battery or AC adapter but I have 3 compatible ones from other Thinkpads. Bought a battery from Amazon and had a new SSD waiting to be used....It works great...Just upgraded RAM as well running WIN 8.1

What were the specs on the thinkpad? Was it a T410? To follow up on rkawakami comments regarding the MTM numbers. It seems that many of the sellers on Ebay are using stock images of Thinkpads as well as the same MTM numbers in many of their listings. Typically this is from sellers who move a lot of thinkpads. The question regarding a WinXp Thinkpad MTM of the listing earlier. The seller used the same MTM # on several like models.

We will see what I get for th $100 Thinkpad next Tuesday.

I have spent several hours on other forums trying to piece together how I will put together the install. They seem to think the recovery disks are outdated and contain a lot of bloatware to begin with. When I asked them about the essential thinkpad software included in the recovery disks. They sent me direct links to software off the Lenovo website. They even gave me a link to create my own recovery disks since I already have a full retail copy of Windows 7 of my own.

As far as I know, the factory recovery disk set for Windows 7 for the T410 shouldn't be too much out-of-date. Running Windows Update will take care of that problem. The same cannot be said if we're talking about a set for WinXP. While it may be true that the factory recovery set comes with 'bloatware', you'd be certain it would at least have working drivers for the hardware that's in the system. You can easily (well, usually easily) remove whatever program/utility/package you decide not to use. Once you have the system the way you want, you could then clone it to your other T410 systems as long as the major hardware is the same. If it is different (GPU changes from Intel to Nvidia), then you will probably have to manually install those drivers from the Lenovo Support site.

The T410 is scheduled to arrive Tuesday. Here are the specs from one of the Thinkpads bios. I don't know if they are all the same or from the same batch of T410's. I will probably put an 128GB SSD in and 8GB of ram.

i5-520M(2.4GHz), 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200rpm HD, 14.1in 1440x900 LCD, Intel 5700MHD, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, WWAN upgradeable, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, 6c Li-Ion, Win7 Pro 32

Hans Gruber wrote: I will probably put an 128GB SSD in and 8GB of ram.

Try to go for a larger SSD if at all possible, because once you've installed the OS and over-provisioned the drive you won't have much space left, not to mention that 128GB SSDs are much slower than their 240/250/256 counterparts.

ajkula66 wrote:

Hans Gruber wrote: I will probably put an 128GB SSD in and 8GB of ram.

Try to go for a larger SSD if at all possible, because once you've installed the OS and over-provisioned the drive you won't have much space left, not to mention that 128GB SSDs are much slower than their 240/250/256 counterparts.

It depends on what drive you get. Toshiba SSD's are linear in speed from 128GB and up. Windows 7 takes 20GB on 64bit and 16GB on 32bit. Those number may have gone up a gigabyte or two. A 128GB SSD formats around 118GB of free space. SSD drives do not become fragmented or lose speed like HDD do when you get over 50% capacity. You can fill them up entirely and not notice a decrease in performance.

Hans Gruber wrote: SSD drives do not become fragmented or lose speed like HDD do when you get over 50% capacity. You can fill them up entirely and not notice a decrease in performance.

This statement is incorrect, and not only in my experience.

If that's what you believe, by all means proceed as you deem fit.

A Windows 7 factory recovery will not be too bloated. It usually comes with an AV, Office 2010 starter edition and the Lenovo drivers and utilities. The AV and Office will not be fully installed until first use and can be uninstalled before they are used. Updating Windows takes a couple of hours at most--that is on my slow internet connection. If you have a fast connection, it could be over in a half hour to an hour.

Thinkpad T410 has arrived. $115 with shipping. Arrived in mint condition. I took the keyboard off and noticed it had been thoroughly cleaned. It had a stick of 2GB 1333mhz memory under the keyboard. Put in 2 X 2GB of Kingston DDR3 1066mhz memory. The only thing wrong that I could find was a missing rubber footing on the bottom of the case. A couple of superficial scratches on the top of the case that you would only notice by thoroughly inspecting the case. The keyboard has no signs of wear. It looks brand new.

i5-520M(2.4GHz), 2GB RAM, No HDD, 14.1in 1440x900 LCD, Intel 5700MHD, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, WWAN upgradeable, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, 6c Li-Ion, Win7 Pro 32

MTM 2522-AD7

I am using a 320GB 5400RPM drive temporarily until I get some SSD's. Installing Windows 7 Pro 64 bit as I am writing this. I actually thought I would have to spend a couple of hours inspecting the laptop and fixing things. I have two 128GB SSD's in my desktop computer in a RAID 0. I think I will get a 256GB SSD for my desktop and break up the RAID 0 and install one of the 128GB Toshiba's SSD's in this T410.

1440x900 display after a driver update.

An added bonus, it has 5ghz capability on wifi which is a nice feature. I thought only the T420 series have dual band receivers.

Hans Gruber wrote:I thought only the T420 series have dual band receivers.

Dual-band was available on T60 and all models following it...

ajkula66 wrote:

Hans Gruber wrote:I thought only the T420 series have dual band receivers.

Dual-band was available on T60 and all models following it...

I got a dual band router a year or two ago. I was under the impression that the T410 series was only 2.4ghz. When I connected to the wireless my 5ghz channel popped up.

Do the majority of the forum members here have dual band wireless routers at home?

Hans Gruber wrote:[
I got a dual band router a year or two ago. I was under the impression that the T410 series was only 2.4ghz. When I connected to the wireless my 5ghz channel popped up.

It depends on the card.

Realtek is 2.4GHz only I believe, Intel 6*** series is dual-band.

Do the majority of the forum members here have dual band wireless routers at home?

I can't say anything about the majority but I've gone through several of them over the past 3-4 years or so.

My router is a dual band ASUS Dark Night.

I have a Trendnet TEW-692GR N900 Dual Band Wireless Router. It has gigabit ports. It's been described as a good decent router in reviews. It has the MIMO 3 antenna array technology. This T410 I got has the intel centrino ultimate-n 6300 agn wifi card in it. It's geared specifically for the MIMO antenna routers according to my research.

Ok, I finally bought the second to last T410 !!

I have a T410 already from last year and it runs great so I'll give this one a shot.

Thanks for the discussion as I wouldn't have even known about this one.

Ron

A picture of the T410 and T410s was requested by another forum member. I am charging the batteries on my digital camera right now. I ordered a second T410 from the same Ebay seller. It's like finding diamonds in the rough. The battery on the T410 had a total of 100 power cycles.

I will post a picture of it here in this thread as well.

Hans Gruber wrote:

6SPDSER2002 wrote:I actually just purchased one from eBay about a week ago...NO HDD and No Battery or AC adapter but I have 3 compatible ones from other Thinkpads. Bought a battery from Amazon and had a new SSD waiting to be used....It works great...Just upgraded RAM as well running WIN 8.1

What were the specs on the thinkpad? Was it a T410? To follow up on rkawakami comments regarding the MTM numbers. It seems that many of the sellers on Ebay are using stock images of Thinkpads as well as the same MTM numbers in many of their listings. Typically this is from sellers who move a lot of thinkpads. The question regarding a WinXp Thinkpad MTM of the listing earlier. The seller used the same MTM # on several like models.

We will see what I get for th $100 Thinkpad next Tuesday.

I have spent several hours on other forums trying to piece together how I will put together the install. They seem to think the recovery disks are outdated and contain a lot of bloatware to begin with. When I asked them about the essential thinkpad software included in the recovery disks. They sent me direct links to software off the Lenovo website. They even gave me a link to create my own recovery disks since I already have a full retail copy of Windows 7 of my own.

My particular Model is the Thinkpad T410, 2537-B32
Intel Core i5 520M / 2.4 GHz
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 3100M Graphics
Cruicial 240 GB SSD

Came with 4GB RAM upgraded to 8GB form Cruicial.


Interms of OS...I purchased a WIN 8.1 pro key from http://www. and burned the ISO to disc and installed that way....It had all drivers needed to get up and running, then I just ran windows updates everyday until there were none....also downloaded the Lenovo Solution Center from the lenovo site that also checks for the latest drivers as well.

Admin edit: Removed domain name of site that appears to be selling product license keys without accompanying COA. Domain is registered by GoDaddy using a server in San Francisco that expires after one year (Feb 2016) but with Chinese owners. Highly likely that this falls under the "warez" section of this forum's rules.

My particular Model is the Thinkpad T410, 2537-B32
Intel Core i5 520M / 2.4 GHz
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 3100M Graphics
Cruicial 240 GB SSD

Came with 4GB RAM upgraded to 8GB form Cruicial.


Interms of OS...I purchased a WIN 8.1 pro key from http://www. and burned the ISO to disc and installed that way....It had all drivers needed to get up and running, then I just ran windows updates everyday until there were none....also downloaded the Lenovo Solution Center from the lenovo site that also checks for the latest drivers as well.

That is a nice T410 setup you have. My hot rod Thinkpad is my T410s specs wise. I am waiting on a 128GB mSATA drive for it. I have 8GB of memory with the Nivida graphics. All the Thinkpads I have run Windows 7 Pro 64 bit.

T410s i5-540M(2.53GHz), 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 14.1in 1440x900 LCD, 512MB nVIDIA Quadro NVS 3100m,CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn, WWAN option, Bluetooth, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure Chip, Fingerprint reader, Camera, 6c Li-Ion, Win7 Pro 64

dorronto wrote:Ok, I finally bought the second to last T410 !!

I have a T410 already from last year and it runs great so I'll give this one a shot.

Thanks for the discussion as I wouldn't have even known about this one.

Ron

Just got my second T410 in the mail today. Again, the keyboard has no wear on the keys and the trackpad seems untouched. This one came with a Lenovo Rev 1 power supply. It has the angled corner on one edge (recognizable design) also had a 3 prong (ground) in the power supply. The first T410 came with a Rev A rounded corners 65w Lenovo power supply. When you consider $115 comes with a genuine Lenovo power supply and HDD cage, it's quite a good value for a 5 year old Thinkpad with an i5 processor.

I added some pictures of what it looks like fresh out of the box. No dust on the fan.

http://s296.photobucket.com/user/People ... rst%20look

Agreed. Received mine yesterday in excellent condition. Switched over my SSD drive from my other T410 and I'm in business.

Glad I listened to you and picked it up.

Excellent transaction from Redstone Computers. Well packed in a laptop specific box.


Ron

dorronto wrote:Agreed. Received mine yesterday in excellent condition. Switched over my SSD drive from my other T410 and I'm in business.

Glad I listened to you and picked it up.

Excellent transaction from Redstone Computers. Well packed in a laptop specific box.


Ron

Glad everything worked out for you.

@Dorronto:

Out of curiosity,

Why did you switch T410's? Does the one you just got from e-bay have better specs?

That being said, I am glad you guys got some good machines. The T410's are great little laptops. I really enjoy using mine. That being said, mine is getting a bit long in the tooth and as such I am heavily considering upgrading to T430s. I haven't decided on if I am going to keep the T410 as a backup computer or sell it and pimp the T430s.

Temetka wrote:@Dorronto:

Out of curiosity,

Why did you switch T410's? Does the one you just got from e-bay have better specs?

That being said, I am glad you guys got some good machines. The T410's are great little laptops. I really enjoy using mine. That being said, mine is getting a bit long in the tooth and as such I am heavily considering upgrading to T430s. I haven't decided on if I am going to keep the T410 as a backup computer or sell it and pimp the T430s.

Good question. Yes and no.

I lost my Skype camera but gained a sharper lcd, and a much better looking laptop.

It was worth it for me as now I'll have an excellent backup T410 for my family.

That's all !

Ron

I am will actually be putting mine up for sale shortly. Found a great deal on a T420 with NVIDIA 4200M Graphics that i couldnt pass up...I will be selling it minus the 256 SSD with a 128 SSD instead....if anyone is interested before I put it up on eBay or here send me a PM

Hello! I feel like giving my two cents :

100$ for a T410 is incredibly cheap in my opinion and defenetly worth the risk. Think about it, 100$ gives you pretty much nothing in term of hardware nowaday.
The T410 has its flaws yet it's a solid laptop even if the model is about 4 years old iirc.

Also, you should definitely buy an SSD. Around 120gb is pretty much the norm as far as i am concerned and it is much more than enough for any operating systems other than Windows 7 or 8.1 (Currently running Arch everything is up and running with 26gb of data/programs and 4GB swap). Also, mSata SSDs are not power hungry, therefore a basic 6cells can give you a good 4 to 5 power time of casual use.


Using the 100$ deal you can have a very potent laptop configuration for about 250$ total cost with a T410.

EDIT May 13th : I meant to say "4GB swap" and not "GB swap". Sorry for the confusion.

Quardah wrote:Hello! I feel like giving my two cents :

100$ for a T410 is incredibly cheap in my opinion and defenetly worth the risk. Think about it, 100$ gives you pretty much nothing in term of hardware nowaday.
The T410 has its flaws yet it's a solid laptop even if the model is about 4 years old iirc.

Also, you should definitely buy an SSD. Around 120gb is pretty much the norm as far as i am concerned and it is much more than enough for any operating systems other than Windows 7 or 8.1 (Currently running Arch everything is up and running with 26gb of data/programs and GB swap). Also, mSata SSDs are not power hungry, therefore a basic 6cells can give you a good 4 to 5 power time of casual use.


Using the 100$ deal you can have a very potent laptop configuration for about 250$ total cost with a T410.

You should compress your SSD drive to gain up to 10GB of space. I put in 8GB of ram in mine.

Quardah wrote:The T410 has its flaws yet it's a solid laptop even if the model is about 4 years old iirc.

It's 5 years old now ... but you are correct, a very solid laptop with an SSD.

Quardah wrote:Also, mSata SSDs are not power hungry, therefore a basic 6cells can give you a good 4 to 5 power time of casual use.

As far as I know, an mSATA SSD will not work in a T410.

Nope.

T420 and newer if you want to use an mSATA drive.

GACrabill wrote:

Quardah wrote:The T410 has its flaws yet it's a solid laptop even if the model is about 4 years old iirc.

It's 5 years old now ... but you are correct, a very solid laptop with an SSD.

Quardah wrote:Also, mSata SSDs are not power hungry, therefore a basic 6cells can give you a good 4 to 5 power time of casual use.

As far as I know, an mSATA SSD will not work in a T410.

I use mSATA's on the T410s models. I use an adapter. Like the previous post said, you can't put them in the WWAN until the T420.

I am trying to figure out why the SATA won't push more than 250mb read and 225-250 write. 3gbps is half the SATA II connection. The max on SATA 3 is 1.4GB throughput. There was an ASUS youtube video where they did a RAID 0 with 4SSD's to max out the SATA III bus.

People say that SATA II is 300mb and SATA III is 600mb simply because of the 3gbps and 6gbps rating. I had a RAID 0 with two 128GB SSD's averaging 1020mb on reads and 950mb on writes.

Hans Gruber wrote:

Quardah wrote:Hello! I feel like giving my two cents :

100$ for a T410 is incredibly cheap in my opinion and defenetly worth the risk. Think about it, 100$ gives you pretty much nothing in term of hardware nowaday.
The T410 has its flaws yet it's a solid laptop even if the model is about 4 years old iirc.

Also, you should definitely buy an SSD. Around 120gb is pretty much the norm as far as i am concerned and it is much more than enough for any operating systems other than Windows 7 or 8.1 (Currently running Arch everything is up and running with 26gb of data/programs and 4GB swap). Also, mSata SSDs are not power hungry, therefore a basic 6cells can give you a good 4 to 5 power time of casual use.


Using the 100$ deal you can have a very potent laptop configuration for about 250$ total cost with a T410.

You should compress your SSD drive to gain up to 10GB of space. I put in 8GB of ram in mine.

I do not understand what you are trying to say.

Are you saying compressing under Windows frees up 10GB of space? If so, that is great!

I would still recommend using at least 180GB under windows, because the operating system gets very space hungry once you start installing dependencies for programs (NET Framework for example) and any other programs that keeps downloading resources (like counter-strike keeps downloading maps, skins, sounds effects.....).

It also seems windows does not share dependencies between programs. Multiple packages may contain the same programs but will not install them in a shared directory, therefore they might exist multiple times in your filesystem which may consume a lot of space.

GACrabill wrote:

Quardah wrote:The T410 has its flaws yet it's a solid laptop even if the model is about 4 years old iirc.

It's 5 years old now ... but you are correct, a very solid laptop with an SSD.

Indeed. Even if the specs are running out low this year (first gen Intel "i" series), the build quality is unmatchable. The laptop is incredibly resistant to casual daily life hazards and the keyboard is really something to consider.

Also trackpoint is master race.

Quardah wrote:

Hans Gruber wrote:You should compress your SSD drive to gain up to 10GB of space.

Are you saying compressing under Windows frees up 10GB of space? If so, that is great!

IMHO, using the CPU to compress everything that is written to the SSD, and then using more CPU resource to uncompress everything that is read ... is a giant waste of CPU capabilty. Disk compression may have made sense when HDD sizes were 20GB-40GB, but having a fast SSD today and wasting a portion of CPU power on every read and write makes no sense to me (hotter CPU, more fan noise, less battery life, overall slower access to all SSD data due to excess CPU work, etc).