New Member with an x200 and a question

[mtgal]

Hello Forumites,
This is my first post, and I *have* been doing a thorough search here before posting my question.

I just got off the phone with both Windows tech support and with Lenovo software support. They assure me, despite what I have seen on this forum and many other places, that I cannot successfully upgrade my x200 OS to Win10, because Lenovo does not have drivers available for the x200 beyond Win7.

The Windows tech was quite stern with me about this and warned me that if I try to run Win10 on my x200 there will be many problems and the computer could even be corrupted because of incompatibility. She warned me to not try to use drivers supplied by anyone other than Lenovo.

I know from reading this forum that many of you have done this anyway. So I have a few questions...

If you have Win10 on your x200, how long have you been using it? Is it your primary machine? What issues have come up for you? Do you have a safe source of drivers that will make the x200 fully functional with Win10? What is that source?

If Win10 *did* cause issues for you, did you find a different OS that works better and that is fully compatible and supported? If so, what is it?

What--in your opinion-- is the optimal OS for the x200 in the year 2022? And why?

A bit about my situation: I bought my x200 brand new in 2008 and have been running Vista Business on it as supplied by Lenovo. Because Vista is no longer supported and because I therefore can't upgrade my web browser, I'd like to use Win10. Or any other OS that would be fully functional. The x200 is my only, daily work machine. I'm a writer, so I don't care about games or other super high powered uses. But I do need to be able to do online research, and I do need to be able to update my blog and website from the x200. Editing voice recordings and video recordings is necessary as well.

This is not a plaything or an amusement for me, but a hardworking daily driver. I need to hear from others who have upgraded their OS from the original and are successfully using it long term--like at least 6 mos or a year, or more.

My x200 type is 7454-CTO. I have 3.3 GB of RAM and a 1T HDD.

Many thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the Forum.
You can have 2x4GB = 8GB RAM (DDR3-1066/PC3-8500), which I would highly recommend as an upgrade.
Even though it is also no longer supported, your best bet would be W7-Pro 64-bit.
Once installed, do NOT use any more updates, other than for your Antivirus.
On all my machines (X240, X250, T440p, M900) I run W7 and none have been updated since ~2017.
And of course all run absolutely fine.

In the past I had quite a few X200 and X200s, all running W7, never a problem.
Personally I will also never get anywhere near W10/W11, I'd rater switch to Linux instead.

[mtgal]

Thank you so much for your reply, RBS!

My machine is a 32-bit, so would Win7 still be my best bet?

If so, how do I get a copy of it and activate it?

If not, which flavor of Linux would work best?

The main issue I am having with Vista Business is that I cannot update my browser. And because I can't update my browser, I'm dealing with lots of issues of it not being protected--sometimes I can't get to websites that I can access just fine on my phone. All the time I have popup ads and redirects to ads that my edition of Chrome can't control. I'd rather be browsing with Firefox but it won't work at all with Vista.

Wouldn't I have the same problems as above with Win7, because it also is no longer supported?

[RealBlackStuff]

X200 can do 64-bit just as well.
W7 will have no problems with the latest Chrome (memory-hungry!) or Firefox (better).
For W7 downloads, have a look here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=128170
But you have to be a proper member here for a while first (or find the D/L elsewhere).
Linux-wise, Mint/Cinnamon is a quite popular choice.

[mtgal]

Thanks again for your reply.

It looks like Win7 isn't available on the link you posted for the x200. However, my husband thinks he may have it on disc as he used to have it on a Toshiba laptop several years ago. A hunt through the garage (always an exciting endeavor) is next.

If we can find the disc, I'll do Win7 as you recommend, upgrade my RAM, and perhaps also partition to install mint/cinnamon and see how i like it.

In the meantime, I've been looking to see what current, new laptops are out there with terrific keyboards for us folks who mostly type extremely fast for hours and need high portability. I'm intrigued with the idea of having a tablet type of capacity as well. It would be cool to write longhand on the screen and have it converted to text, as I do most of my initial writing in longhand and then have to type it up.

If anyone here wants to recommend something new, I'd be interested to hear what you like and why.

[mtgal]

We found the Win7 DVD. Now trying to find the activation code.

However, it says it is 64-bit software. And the specs on my x200 say it is a 32-bit machine. How can this possibly run on my machine?

[Cigarguy]

I have a X200 with Win 7 64 bit and it runs good. X200 is a 64 bit machine. Yours probably had 32 bit windows installed on it. Do not mean you can't upgrade to 64 bit. That way you can use more then 3 GB of RAM.

[mikemex]

I installed Windows 10 on my X301 some time ago. X200 and X301 use almost identical hardware so my experience also applies to your X200.

All Montevina machines are 64 bit. Use 64 bit OS, drivers and software. 32 bit software is kind of obsolete, and will limit you. Not only to 3.3 GB of RAM, but to software released years ago. 64 bit software may also be faster, since they doubled the CPU registers.

Other than stripped down driver interface (W10 disallowed driver's control panel) I found no issues. My X301 runs Windows 10 as fast as Windows 7. Everything works, even the fingerprint scanner.

The only downside to run Windows 10 is that you don't get the classic Thinkpad software (Lenovo Vantage does some functions). If you don't mind running it "vanilla", it's fine and more secure (will still receive updates up to 2025).

[RealBlackStuff]

You cannot activate a Toshiba W7 on a Lenovo laptop, you need a Lenovo W7.
But you can use Lenovo W7 64-bit from its contemporaries, such as T400/T500 or T410/T510.
You first need to make sure that your BIOS has Slic2.1
To get a BIOS that has this, go here: https://bios-fix.com/index.php?threads/ ... 049/page-4
Scroll down until you see: ThinkPad X200_6duj43us_SLI21_no_whitelist bios
You need to register there first (free) before you can D/L it.

As for newer laptops with decent keyboards:
After the X220/T420 Lenovo began the idiocy of a 6-row keyboard, which is quite different from what you are used to.
Back in 2017 they produced a one-time 25-year anniversary model T25, which had this 7-row keyboard again.
The alternative could be an external 7-row Thinkpad keyboard, which you could hook up via USB to any other laptop.
Tex Shinobi is one option: https://www.notebookcheck.net/TEX-Shino ... 238.0.html

[mtgal]

Thank you all for the excellent advice.

I don't think the W7 disk we have is specific to Toshiba. But the problem is we don't have an activation code.

How do I acquire Lenovo W7?

I am trying out a new ThinkPad x12 tablet/keyboard combo. So far I do not like the form factor much at all. It's laid out very inconveniently. And I am finding the constant ads and the way W10 takes over my preferences deeply annoying.

I am liking using OneNote. I didn't think it would be able to convert my chicken scrawl to text but it is doing a pretty decent job. However writing longhand with a stylus on the screen is unpleasant. If I were to continue with this type of work system I would have to get a dedicated electronic notebook that uses onenote and has a paper feel.

Meanwhile i have done a total backup of the x200 in preparation for upgrading the OS. I plan to continue to use it for my daily typing and manuscript editing. For video editing, audio transcribing, photo editing, and managing my website and blog I'm thinking I could go with a newer 2-in-1 notebook or just get a high end tablet like an iPad Pro. Unless the upgraded x200 can handle all that.

Also the x200 battery life is down to 1.5 hrs, and it says a new battery will only improve it to 2.5 hrs. I've already replaced the battery a few times over the past 13 years. Would upgrading the OS and/or switching to Linux improve battery life?

If anyone has suggestions for any of the above I am all ears.

First and foremost is how to find the appropriate Windows operating system software and activation key for the x200