Thinkpads Forum

I just got a refurbished T440s (off the auction site, not Lenovo outlet) with Windows Pro 7 installed. All seems well with it. I'm wondering if there's anything to be done about the amount of stuff that has gobbled up so much of the SSD. Here's what I see on the drive: There's a 15gb Lenovo Recovery partition; the Windows 7 folder takes up 20gb; there's a 7gb Healthy (Hibernation Partition) and then all the various and sundry Lenovo software and a few others.

Is there a way to reclaim some space on the drive?

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere. I searched on a few terms but did not see anything.

Thanks!

You certainly can do a clean install and just put back what you want. Personally, I prefer that and use image software I can put back anytime, though that can be time consuming. You can get a Windows 7 disc here. Disabling Rescue and Recovery, and Windows System Restore should free up a chunk of space.

I think it's a little more complicated than I thought. This may be a whole other question.

I think this was a business lease with a windows 8 license downgraded to windows 7. There's a windows 8 sticker on the bottom. I don't have discs for windows 7 or 8. If I understand correctly (very possible I don't), the windows 8 key is embedded and I would just need windows 8 media to do an installation of Windows 8. Is this correct? There is no Windows 7 sticker so I don't think I can do a clean install for free.

I also tried to create recovery disks but get a message "Unable to find files for recovery media". Another post said to contact Lenovo in this case for recovery disks. Fortunately the computer is under warranty.

I guess I don't really care whether it has Windows 7 or 8. But I would like a less bloated drive and the ability to recover.

amy55407 wrote: If I understand correctly (very possible I don't), the windows 8 key is embedded and I would just need windows 8 media to do an installation of Windows 8. Is this correct?

Yes.

There is no Windows 7 sticker so I don't think I can do a clean install for free.

I also tried to create recovery disks but get a message "Unable to find files for recovery media". Another post said to contact Lenovo in this case for recovery disks. Fortunately the computer is under warranty.

You could give Lenovo a call and check whether they would be willing to provide you recovery media for Windows 7.

But I would like a less bloated drive and the ability to recover.

Well, a less bloated drive equals a "clean" install which is not something that you'll get by using recovery disks. Not without major tweaking of the install anyway.

Good luck.

Yes, indeed, I'll end up in the same boat which I don't want. Lenovo is sending me the recovery discs which I'd like anyway in case I sell the laptop at some point.

I checked with the seller and the computer has a Win 8 license with downgrade rights. It was shipped from Lenovo with Windows 7. I ran Belarc Advisor and found an activation key for Windows 7 but a Belarc footnote says, "This may be the manufacturer's factory installed product key rather than yours..."

Two more questions:
Do I need to buy a copy of Windows 7 with a new activation key to do a clean install or can I use the activation code I found via Belarc and use the iso described in an earlier post?

Once I have a copy of Windows 7 do I need to do anything besides stick it into an external dvd drive and follow the instructions?

I have done many clean installs on pre windows 8 computers but these seem a little trickier. Thanks for your help and patience.

amy55407 wrote:
Two more questions:
Do I need to buy a copy of Windows 7 with a new activation key to do a clean install or can I use the activation code I found via Belarc and use the iso described in an earlier post?

Presuming that the previous W7 install was from the Lenovo recovery media, the key that Belarc provides will do nothing for you AFAIK. So you would need a different key.

Once I have a copy of Windows 7 do I need to do anything besides stick it into an external dvd drive and follow the instructions?

No.

A painful but inexpensive - presuming that one doesn't put value on their own time - would be to re-install W7 from the recovery disks and then get rid of all the unwanted software...step by step.

Good luck.

I've decided on the painful, cheaper way but it will do what I want. I'll do a restore once I get the recovery disks, remove the recovery partition and probably the hibernation partition (will find instructions first) and try to find which of the Lenovo bloat is good to have and which is good to get rid of. That will free up at least another 20gb and hopefully more.

Thanks again.

amy55407 wrote:I've decided on the painful, cheaper way but it will do what I want. I'll do a restore once I get the recovery disks, remove the recovery partition and probably the hibernation partition (will find instructions first) and try to find which of the Lenovo bloat is good to have and which is good to get rid of. That will free up at least another 20gb and hopefully more.

Thanks again.

I have done this many times, the advantage of using the Lenovo disk set is you will not need a key. Just run through install, uninstall whatever Lenovo software you don't want (doesn't take long) and then run Windows updates. If you leave any Lenovo software like Power Manager for example, run Lenovo System Update and select only what you want, to update the Lenovo software. The most time consuming part of all of this is going to be downloading and installing Windows updates. You can download a free partition program like EaseUS and remove the recovery partition. If you turn off Hibernation in your power settings, you can delete the hibernation file in C:\. Once everything is set, save an image of the disk on a separate drive and you always have an easy way to recover if your drive fails.