Win 8.1 on my X201T

[cfds]

Thinking to install Win 8.1 on my 201 Tablet...but before I make the jump I would like to get some feedback concerning the multitouch functions under Win 8.1? Are they fully supported/working under Win 8.1 or are there still some problems with it? Been reading about it on the net and found some older topics where they confirmed that the multitouch was not fully working, also the screen rotation function seems affected. But as said these where old topics...
Now I have my 201T running under Win 7 64 bit and all is working well but would like to tune-up my boot speed. Even running windows from a 120gig SSD with 6gigs of RAM the boot speed has become slower...I believe this could be well with the finger print reader function which I deactivated as it was unable to read my fingerprint for most of the time.

Anyway, win 8.1 feedback appreciated!

Cheers,

Yves

[cfds]

Overwhelming feedback so far...really nobody with Win 8.1 on their X201Tablets? I find that difficult to believe...
I could install it on a "spare" HDD (and keep my good running Win 7 in case off) and see how it runs on my tablet but I was hoping on some feedback before I spend money on a official copy of Win 8.1.

[ajkula66]

Now I have my 201T running under Win 7 64 bit and all is working well but would like to tune-up my boot speed.

What makes you think that W8.x will help you in that respect on a machine that doesn't support UEFI boot?

Even running windows from a 120gig SSD with 6gigs of RAM the boot speed has become slower...I believe this could be well with the finger print reader function which I deactivated as it was unable to read my fingerprint for most of the time.

I'm going to venture a guess that the machine needs a clean install. Which SSD is in there right now, BTW?

Anyway, win 8.1 feedback appreciated!

Power Manager is not supported on W8.x which would be one thing to consider. Yes, it can be installed in the "compatibility" mode but can lead to the system instability. How important this aspect is to you I don't know.

While X201T will function under W8.x, the combination of the system itself and the OS in question is not supported by either Lenovo or Microsoft...

Personally, I'd pass...

[dr_st]

What makes you think that W8.x will help you in that respect on a machine that doesn't support UEFI boot?

Well, UEFI or not, Win8.x do bring some tangible improvements to boot speed. Faster initialization of certain HW/OS components, and then the Fast Startup / Hybrid Shutdown, which in itself speeds up the boot from a shutdown (since it does not fully shutdown - the kernel session is hibernated).

[cfds]

There is a Samsung 840 EVO 12Ogig SSD in it right now. Cloned W7 from the original disk...it was very fast initially but boot times have settled now. Its still much faster than a boot system with a normal HDD but my other Lenovo's (X201 and a T420) are much faster starting up.
If I loose the power manager that means I don't have OSD for both the volume and display brightness no?

[ajkula66]

There is a Samsung 840 EVO 12Ogig SSD in it right now.

Are you aware of the issues/firmware/fix or lack thereof concerning EVOs?

http://www.overclock.net/t/1507897/sams ... -the-drive

Cloned W7 from the original disk...it was very fast initially but boot times have settled now. Its still much faster than a boot system with a normal HDD but my other Lenovo's (X201 and a T420) are much faster starting up.

Do yourself a favour and perform a clean install. Cloning from a spinning drive to SSD is a very bad idea in my experience.

If I loose the power manager that means I don't have OSD for both the volume and display brightness no?

Correct.

[Dekks]

Do yourself a favour and perform a clean install. Cloning from a spinning drive to SSD is a very bad idea in my experience..

Specifics behind that statement out of curosity?

[ajkula66]

Do yourself a favour and perform a clean install. Cloning from a spinning drive to SSD is a very bad idea in my experience..

Specifics behind that statement out of curosity?

The install that was performed on a spinning drive is optimized for such a drive. Cloning it to a SSD will require numerous tweaks - regardless of OS involved - to optimize the performance. And it will *never* behave in the exact same manner a clean install will.

By the time everything is said and done, one is better off doing a full-blown clean install *unless* they have rare/obsolete software with no media to re-install it.

A stable system optimized for performance is well worth a couple of extra hours spent on doing everything "from scratch" in my opinion.

[cfds]

Did a read/write test on the X201T and it comes up with a read of about 260MB/Sec and a write speed slightly lower.
My T420 running windows on a mSATA SSD displays the same read/write speeds on the SSD.
According Samsung the 840EVO is up to date with its firmware.

Loosing the power manager from lenovo is making me rethink the whole operation...

[dr_st]

Make sure you tried the Performance Restoration Software from this link as well:
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/ ... loads.html

According to what I remember, the FW update tool may show as up-to-date, even if performance restoration fix was not run.

Be aware that it is suggested to back things up before running it.

[cfds]

Make sure you tried the Performance Restoration Software from this link as well:
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/ ... loads.html

According to what I remember, the FW update tool may show as up-to-date, even if performance restoration fix was not run.

Be aware that it is suggested to back things up before running it.

Running it now on the X201T, but on the T420 it does not "detect" the Samsung 840 mSATA SSD drive and refuses the run the performance restoration tool.

Edit; the mSATA SSD in my T420 is in fact an Samsung SM841 SSD, the SM841 is an Dell OEM version of 840 pro except for the firmware and thus does not work under the Samsung Magician software. This is why the performance restoration tool does not work either. Bought this SSD 2nd hand and did not properly checked the model number. It came in an Samsung 840 EVO retail package...assuming now that the seller installed the 840 EVO in his computer and sold me the Dell version. Luckily this drive does not give me any performance issues so far!

[cfds]

Right, installed windows 8.1 on a spare SSD in my X201T and it runs sweet so far...
I did made the following observations though:
-I found the Qualcomm Gobi 2000 driver on a sony forum/website.
-the "fn" combination key's are not working W8.1 except for the display brightness and sleep/stby key's.
-changing the volume and or the display brightness, W8.1 has build-in OSD.
-no power manager - no thinkpad utility's like Wifi/BT and 3G toggle menu - etc, basically all the quick access lenovo stuff is not working.
-no bluetooth, have not found a working driver so far.
-auto rotation of display in tablet mode not working - not a big deal as manual selection still works.
-fwd and back gesture swipes while in tablet mode not working altough display has pen and multitouch input and all of that is working fine. The touch sensitivity seems improved in w8.1 and display brightness has gone up to.
I will see report further after some day's/weeks of use.

If somebody has a solution for the bluetooth and the fdw/back swipe motion functions on the display, these are the items I need to get sorted if W8.1 is going to stay on the Tablet, if not I may end up fitting the old SSD with W 7 back into it.

[crashnburn]

Someone mentioned that Widcomm BT drivers would work.. Did you try those?

[SurrealMustard]

I don't know about the X201, but I tried 8.1 on my X200 tablet for about a week and there was just too much hand-holding that had to be done and stupid issues. The biggest problems were display drivers, button/hotkey integration drivers, and the Release Preview theme and transparency (to make Windows 8 not look like total garbage). After restoring my Windows 7 image, the only thing I miss about 8 was Metro Minesweeper and the start menu right click/Win+X "power user menu". Ironically enough, the Windows 8 RP theme looks better in Windows 7, so switching back has been a major win.

[Temetka]

If I loose the power manager that means I don't have OSD for both the volume and display brightness no?

Correct.

Maybe not. I am running 8.1 Pro on my T410. I did not attempt to install the power manager and the OSD works just fine for volume and screen brightness. There is no OSD for the Thinklight, but really, it is rather easy to tell when it is on or off.

If it helps you feel better, I too am running an 840 EVO 250GB SSD. Works fine. Mine was retail though, so I was able to run the restoration tool. I don't know if it did anything. My system feels just as fast as it always has. It does feel faster under 8.1 vs 7 though.