Problem with T61 and WDC2500BEVS 250 GB drive

[Gandalf67]

Hello,

Just found this forum, great! I have a T61 (7659-12G), installed a 250Gb WD drive (WDC2500BEVS) and it doesn't work properly. I can sometimes install a fresh Windows 7 on it (did a lot of retries), but most of the time when Windows 7 boots, its hangs at "Starting Windows". It can even happen at the first reboot during installation, sometimes the installation will finish but it will never restart properly. I have tried it with an Intel 80 GB SSD drive, it works perfectly fine and is perfectly stable. I have upgraded the bios to 2.30/1.08, same result. I tried both in AHCI and compatibility mode, same result.
I did a full disk test with WD diag utility, it shows OK! And this drive was working perfectly fine in another notebook.
Any idea other than "the T61 does not like this drive" ?
Thanks.

[blue2]

I don't know if this will help you or not. But a few suggestions.

You said you tried the WD drive in another computer and it works perfecltly? If so, then it isn't the drive but a compatibility problem.

Have you checked if there is a firmware update for the drive on the WD website?

Did you try AHCI and compatability mode and SAVE the changes each time and then reboot?

You might ask WD this question? I think I remember reading that some non Thinkpad drives HAVE been problematic on Thinkpads.

For example, these may give you some pointers even if not pertaining directly:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T61-and-pri ... d-p/563875

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... hard_disks

[RealBlackStuff]

That drive is probably 4 years old or older...
That particular model (as well as many other WD drives) was never all that good to begin with.
What was your previous HD?

You could try a better BIOS: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/ ... ost6501443
You need the fifth down, the one that starts with T61, T61p and has 2.29-1.08
Lenovo BIOS 2.30 is no improvement really over 2.29, and the above Middleton 2.29 is WAY better than anything Lenovo ever made!

[Gandalf67]

Hello,

Thanks a lot for your answer. Took some time but I finally found out the problem. It was related to a bios parameter which is not supposed to be related with storage. If the cpu performance parameter on AC is set to "balanced", Windows starts loading and stays on "Starting Windows" forever. If I set it to "maximum performance", then no problem, Windows finishes booting and everything is fine!
I tried several times to alternate the parameter and it was definitely the problem. For some reason, with the SSD drive it also works fine with the 'balanced" parameter. I would call this a pure bug of the bios....
I will check the bios you suggest, it is a modified version?

[Gandalf67]

I don't know if this will help you or not. But a few suggestions.
You said you tried the WD drive in another computer and it works perfecltly? If so, then it isn't the drive but a compatibility problem.

Hello, for sure, the drive was and is ok

Have you checked if there is a firmware update for the drive on the WD website?

Yes, nothing. I googled and found some links but all were dead. This drive is indeed 4 years old but the T61 also or even 5, so...

Did you try AHCI and compatability mode and SAVE the changes each time and then reboot?

Yes, each time with a full Windows reinstallation, but the problem was elsewhere, see previous post.

You might ask WD this question? I think I remember reading that some non Thinkpad drives HAVE been problematic on Thinkpads.
For example, these may give you some pointers even if not pertaining directly:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T61-and-pri ... d-p/563875
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... hard_disks

Thanks for the links, I will check them! I didn't write to WD support, first because the drive is 4-5 years old, and second because I knew the drive was not faulty.