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ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

T430-T490, T530-T590 Series
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KyraBB
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ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#1 Post by KyraBB » Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:58 pm

So after a frustrating call to Lenovo customer support, unwilling to answer even a basic question about my machine because my warranty is no longer valid, i must turn elsewhere for help.

So after my original machine sh*t the bed due to some issue with the CMOS battery making so it won't boot, the supplier replaced my machine.
My machine was advertised, and, i imagine, had 500gb of hard drive space. I say i imagine because i would have noticed a discrepancy when i got the machine. I formatted everything on machine 2(the replacement) and installed linux mint... everything going smoothly, until my hard drive says its full... Thats odd, there is NO WAY my hard drive is full.... so after much tinkering i decide i will format totally format the hard drive and reinstall mint, see if that helps... and for some reason it stops booting at all... so today i realize, hey, i have the other hard drive from machine #1, i'll just slip that in there... so i remove the disk and see its a 256 ssd, which i thought was strange because i A)didnt think i had an SSD at all and 2) thought i had 500gb of storage... so i figured maybe i have two hard drives in here... so i boot up windows, it works (thank god) and start poking around, when i realize i only see the one device (i only ever saw one hard drive) and its only a 256Gb hdd... what the heck gives? can anyone help me??

madicetea
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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#2 Post by madicetea » Sat Apr 21, 2018 1:17 am

I'm not an expert in this type of problem, so I can't give advice on your problem. You have a T430, not a T43 if I understand correctly? If that is the case, you should move this conversation to: https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=68 so others with the same model of your computer can help you answer this question.

Good luck on your search for answers.
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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#3 Post by RealBlackStuff » Sat Apr 21, 2018 7:29 am

Welcome to the Forum.

How long have you had your #1 T430?
You want to tell us that you never knew the size of its HD or SSD?
And how was it shown or decided, that a CMOS-battery prevented it from booting?

You say your warranty has expired, yet your supplier replaced the machine? With what?

And checking the amount of HD/SSD space should be a very much standard item on your menu.

In Linux, press Ctrl-Alt-T and enter inxi -b.
It should give you all the laptop's info you need.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#4 Post by axur-delmeria » Sat Apr 21, 2018 9:08 am

Want to know the actual capacity of the hard drive? Use tools like CrystalDiskInfo or HD Tune. They also display the HDD's diagnostic/self-monitoring data (S.M.A.R.T.) so you'll have a peek at the drive's performance and health.
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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#5 Post by BillMorrow » Sat Apr 21, 2018 2:16 pm

hello and welcome to the forum..
a place where help resides even if out of warranty.. :)

SO, which is it..? SSD or HDD.. i.e. rotating storage or solid state storage..?

and exactly which model of thinkpad..? what is the machine model and type number..
it would also help to know the manufacture date..
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KyraBB
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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#6 Post by KyraBB » Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:17 am

I did, indeed, know the size of the disk. When i got the computer, surely, the first thing i would do is check the specs under system info, and if i noticed the discrepancy i would have contacted the supplier... So as far as i knew, it was the 500gb advertised. But then since i started having "hard drive full" issues, i started messing about, eventually switching it out with the busted machines hard drive, which is when i noticed that the disk itself was 255 SSD...

And the second, busted one, was because the original [censored] the bed almost immediately. And i figured out that it was the CMOS battery by simply looking into my issue.. and yes i am saying that it was not booting because of an issue with the CMOS battery, because thats what the darn thing is for.... not sure why that seems surprising to anyone.

KyraBB
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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#7 Post by KyraBB » Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:19 am

BillMorrow wrote:
Sat Apr 21, 2018 2:16 pm
hello and welcome to the forum..
a place where help resides even if out of warranty.. :)

SO, which is it..? SSD or HDD.. i.e. rotating storage or solid state storage..?

and exactly which model of thinkpad..? what is the machine model and type number..
it would also help to know the manufacture date..
its a thinkpad t430, the hard drive is SSD but i seem to recall it being advertised as HDD... and certainly remember it being advertised as 500gb - i would never go for a 256 hard drive, thats just way too small for me. And like i said, i would have noticed if, when i check system info, there is a discrepancy in what i was expecting and what is reported..
Icewobs wrote:
Sat Apr 21, 2018 1:17 am
You have a T430, not a T43 if I understand correctly? If that is the case, you should move this conversation to: https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=68 so others with the same model of your computer can help you answer this question.
how do i move topic? just start a new one? sorry, noob question

madicetea
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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#8 Post by madicetea » Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:45 am

Hi. One of the admin/moderators noticed (RBS) and moved it for you. Thank him!

Also, BillMorrow who is helping you right above there is the head administrator and all-around guru of this forum. You are fortunate to meet him so early!

I'm sure you will have your answers soon. Enjoy!
MadIceTea, Thinkpad Enthusiast

Daily: X250 FHD
Museum: PC110 20MB, X61 T9300 SXGA+ LED
Donated: x2001 AFFS i5-530 (to my alma matter)
Past: 701Cs German, 535/X, 760E/XL, i-series 12/14xx, piano s30, R60e, X60, X61, T60, T61, X200 P8700, X121e

That chicken sure looks funny.

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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#9 Post by RealBlackStuff » Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:02 am

Your ranting still makes no sense.
A CMOS battery will not and cannot stop a HD or SSD from booting.
If a CMOS is failing, it will tell you so by asking for Date/Time.
After entering that info, or clicking Esc to bypass, it will continue booting.
But if your HD or SSD is hosed, or you have problems with your OS, then it will stop.

So please be more specific with your questions and problems.

KyraBB
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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#10 Post by KyraBB » Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:34 am

My question is essentially "Why would my machine seem to have lost 374gb of hard drive space?" and "Is it possible i have a second hard drive that is not showing up under devices?" and maybe also "Is it possible for the device manufacturer to have somehow tricked my machine into thinking it had more disk space than it actually did?"

As for the CMOS battery, although it is irrelevant because that issue is on my dead, replaced machine, I believe it is the root of the issue due to my hours of googling i spent trying to resolve that issue, which ended up in me buying a replacement battery which fixed the problem for two or three more boots until that stopped working as well.
The problem with that machine is that there is not boot sequence, no press exit/enter for setup options, nothing of the sort. just a black screen. Nothing wrong with the disk, which is why i borrowed it.

Sorry for being unclear/rambly.

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Re: ThinkPad t430 hard drive size confusion - customer support anger

#11 Post by RealBlackStuff » Mon Apr 23, 2018 10:22 am

Take both HDs/SSDs out and post their brand and model numbers (unless the size is printed on the label).
Then we can check their size and if they are HD or SSD.
Most manufacturers also give you a white lie about size:
- 120GB is effectively 117gb
- 250GB - 244gb
- 500GB - 488GB

If you lose space, your computer could be infected with a virus/trojan, a HD could have lots of bad sectors, an SSD is a cheap one with inferior (TLC) chips, you deleted tons of stuff but never emptied the recycle bin, etc.

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