We launch another blog
December 6, 2006
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You knew we couldn't stop with just one.
So we launched another, this one by Matt Kohut, Lenovo's competitive analyst, but in my eyes, the DemoHero of the company. Matt knows our products frontwards and backwards and racks up a bazillion frequent flier miles every year to show off our stuff. What David Hill and the design teams create, Matt demos. Please check out Inside the Box and bookmark our new master page which will aggregate all blogs — existing and planned at Lenovoblogs.com.
Matt's most recent post may be heresy to some, but it asks the question, "What is the most useless feature on a ThinkPad?" I won't give away his nomination, but the more I think about it, the more I agree with it.
David Churbuck
Lenovo Meet the Modder Dean Liou
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 2
Lenovo Meet the modder- Chris Blarsky Dairy 1
Lenovo H320 desktop
December 6th, 2006 11:49 pm
Well, instead of launching more blogs, maybe Lenovo should concentrate on making better and reliable products.
I purchased a Lenovo 3000 N100 Laptop this thanksgiving and got it on Dec 1. Since then the laptop has been nothing but trouble. The audio keeps breaking off. There is lot of noise and static on the audio, and the situation is no better with video files. Enjoying any sort of audio CD is next to impossible on this laptop. Funnily enough, a slower SONY viao laptop with just 256 Mb Ram seems to does the job so much better. The wireless connectivity is another terrible feature – it keeps breaking off again and again causing very unhappy web surfing experience.
While your customer support was more than able, sending the laptop back to Service depot made no difference. The laptop got serviced, and came back with lots of jargon of this and that replaced, but the problems that it was sent for remain unfixed and broken.
Now here is a funny part. Another friend of mine who bought the laptop with me faces the same problem and is about to send his laptop back to the depot.
All this within first 5 days of purchase of laptop.
I am quite shocked and at loss to explain how a company whose IBM/Lenovo laptops are industry standards has reached a level of inferior Laptop makers like HP / Toshiba… or even Dell.
I am not sure if this comment will be published, but I hope it comes as a reminder to IBM/Lenovo that by connecting to customers via blogging is only going to take you only some distance. Quality of your products is ultimately what matters to people like me.
Unfortunately I remain disappointed. And on the phone trying to get someone in Customer Service understand the situation instead offering to “we will send another box for repair” suggestions. (Which is rather shocking considering that the problem is so apparent that if the technician had spent 1 minute to test the audio of the laptop he’d see it wasn’t fixed!).
Thanks,
Suyog
December 7th, 2006 12:16 am
Suyog,
Please contact me at your convenience at dchurbuck@us.lenovo.com or call me at 508 360 6147 and we’ll make things right.
David Churbuck
VP, Global Web Marketing
Lenovo
December 7th, 2006 4:44 am
Would love to discuss matters related to engineering concerns on that new blog
But instead of using the posting procedure here, I was asked to register in “WordPress” — it intimidates me
Also, no offence… some minor editing error on the new blog: the link under del.icio.us (on the right-most column) is linking to http://www.lenovoblogs.com/design/ instead of http://www.lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/
December 7th, 2006 11:52 am
Nicolo: the comment login is fixed so Inside the Box now behaves like Design Matters in terms of posting and moderations.
I’ll track down the bad link in the del.icio.us tags.
Thanks
December 8th, 2006 12:03 am
Suyog, I’m not saying that problems should be expected or not resolved but you must remember that it was ThinkPads set the standards, Lenovo 3000 machines are ‘me-to’ consumer machines which do not compete or even compare with a ThinkPad, they are no better or no worse than any consumer Dell, HP or Toshiba system but IMHO a ThinkPad is and is what you should purchase in the future if quality is your main concern.
The way that notebooks have been reduced in cost and commoditised is what forced Lenovo to launch Lenovo 3000 and I do not think it is a good direction for the industry nor will it do Lenovo any favours with its’ reputation – TCO is what is really important and nothing can beat a ThinkPad for that
December 15th, 2006 9:59 pm
[...] Meanwhile I still had a broken laptop to myself, so I decided to investigate if anybody else was facing the same issue. Over researching on the web, I came across this post and this post on enquirer which spoke highly of Lenovo customer service . Traversing through them, I landed on http://www.lenovoblogs.com where as the name says, Lenovo maintains a blog. David Hill / David Churbuck write the blog on Design Matters, and I left a comment on one of their posts about the problem that I had been facing, and how disappointed I was with IBM quality. [...]
December 22nd, 2006 10:00 pm
I have a 2 month old Lenovo 3000 N100 whose LCD has a white line going through it. I sent it to the “repair depot” who promptly told me that it is my fault and i owe them $900 to fix it. That is more than the computer cost me. They are claiming that there is water damage. I did not send the notebook back for that!!!! And by the way, I followed your cleaning instructions to the tee and water still seeped into my screen. BUT, I can live with that, it is the WHITE LINE that makes me crazy. Mind you this is a notebook that sits ON A DESK and no one even touches it but me and I hardly use it as I work all day. Yet I go to use it one day and there it is – the infamous white crack. I found your Customer Service Reps in Atlanta snobby, nasty, and downright rude. I will certainly never buy an Lenovo/IBM again and I am recommending that my company – Wyndham Worldwide also stop buying them too. IF i have this experience others will too. I have an old Dell that has been around the world and then some, on airline conveyer belts and not one scratch on the screen. IT is my old standby – but with this Lenovo I have thrown out precious money and my aggravation level is beyond high. This is possibly the worst computer I have ever bought. The technician is supposed to take a second look, but my gut tells me that since he works for Lenovo and not me, he will be biased towards Lenovo – he might even get a cut of the $900 and recommend that it is my fault – on a notebook used maybe 20 times and that I have to pay $900. My company will surely get an earful from me and you will lose the contract. This may not bother you, but it should.
December 24th, 2006 12:19 pm
Why am I NOT surprised that there is no answer to my post – if it was even published? Lenovo ought to be ashamed to treat its American customers this way- seems the only way to get attention is to be a foreigner – I saw a foreign name above get some answers from David.
December 26th, 2006 7:42 pm
rae,
No one here is ignoring you. Your situation has been discussed since you posted a comment and you will have an e-mail soon. Thanks for bearing with us.
Tim Supples
January 23rd, 2007 3:43 pm
Folks,
I recently purchased a new (old stock) T43 (2687-D4U). I noticed that the cooling fan seemed quite loud and the behavior (speed) didn’t map particularly well to temperatures reported by my hardware monitoring program. So I upgraded the BIOS and Embedded Controller firmware to the very latest levels, hoping for some improvement. After making the updates and optimizing my power scheme, the fan noise is definitely lower. However, at the two lower speeds, the fan makes an annoying pulse every 5 seconds or so (much like an insect flying by your ear). I did some searching on the web, and many others are annoyed by this problem. For further information, see
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/....._fan_noise
Some have even gone to the extreme of writing custom ACPI (power management) scripts to confuse the Embedded Controller so that it won’t cause the fan to pulse. I definitely do not want to have a running application modifying my fan behavior, as it could crash and cause my ThinkPad to overheat. Others have also mentioned that an Embedded Controller firmware update changed the pulse interval to 30 seconds on some of the early ThinkPads (T40-42 and R51), but that a coding error (typo) left the fan behavior on the T43 and R52 models unchanged. (Believe it or not, some people have actually “de-compiled” the embedded controller firmware and made modifications to it.) I can attest to the change on the T42, as my wife owns one. The pulse interval did change from 5 seconds to 30 seconds, which made it much less annoying.
You may ask why I am bringing up this issue on a design forum. I am doing so because I believe that fan noise is not given due consideration both in the design of new Lenovo products, and in the maintenance of existing Lenovo products. As I understand it, the fan pulsing problem still exists in the T60 models (although the overall noise level is lower due to better heatsinks and additional vents).
Is fan noise ever evaluated during usability testing of prototypes? And if so, are there any standards that must be met before a PC can be shipped, e.g., 95% of users do not consider the fan noise to be distracting? If not, maybe your design processes should be changed accordingly.
I would greatly appreciate it if you would forward this posting to the firmware developers and the usability department.
Thanks for your time,
Alan Rogers
January 23rd, 2007 6:25 pm
Alan,
We are actually aware of this issue and have been investigating/trying to source a model to test. If you would be interested in having your model sent in to our labs at RTP, NC, please send me an e-mail. tsupples AT us DOT lenovo DOT com
Thanks
March 1st, 2007 8:10 am
I appreciate the fact that there’s a forum for discussing Lenovo inducstrial design! It’s a welcome change from the cloistered glass-houses of other manufacturers. As an industrial/human centered designer myself, and a user of the X60T for the past month, a small critique of the X60T…
The design of the 8-cell battery packs on the X60 series seems to result in a fit problem. The right hand side of the battery stays firmly locked in place, while the hook/latch side is very very loose. It’s not a defect with just one machine, they’re all like that. Suspect that the in-house protoype was tight (as they usually are), and something went awry in production tolerances? It can shut a machine down if one isn’t careful. It’s a great design idea – using the batteries as a handhold whilst extending capacity.
The X60T screen has a decent amount of side to side play. The screen itself, while in the closed position, also has a lot of play and while latched securely, this results in an imprecise feel. It’s not as bad as the Apple magnetic latch solution in terms of operation and reliability thankfully.. That’s taking the “clean” aesthetic too far in my estimation, though I respect their purposeful visual intent. Good repurposing of the latch as well – making it reversable was efficient.
I find the hard drive access to be easy and well designed. I enjoy the general size of the machine as well. It’s a simple operation to replace, to the point of making different OS environments a simple drive swap.
From a purely ergonomic standpoint, I wonder why the machine needs so many sharp edges? Visually, this is a bit 80’s. I’m not one for the super organic blobject movement, but from a comfort standpoint, some smoothing of harsh surfaces would make the overall size of the machine seem a bit more diminuitive, and be more ergonomic to the touch. The recessed areas along the sides of the machine’s base seem rather haphazard as well – perhaps fluch mounting them.
Also, the spacing of the arrow keys in close proximity to other keys makes for common mishits, as does the small delete key. Does Lenovo use Human Factors guidelines for keyboard and button size? MIL 1472 can give some really useful feedback here.
The screen flipping method to convert from laptop to tablet: there needs to be a rigid platform for ones hands to grasp and twist the screen – since the base of the unit is so light in compatison to the screen, this operation is relegated to a two-hand operation, and is rather unwieldy.
The three-button mouse is interesting, but also suffers from discrimination issue. It’s easy to hit the middle button when intending left or right – more separation would be great, and would really enhance the look as well – you could make the mouse/nub operation much easier with a different configuration – currently, the thumb falls naturally on the center mouse button – which is the wrong behavior.
It’s possible to cover buttons while rotating the screen (power, et al). Just a littl detail, but the design could be such that important keys stay out of the circumference of rotation. A general decrease in the number of buttons is called for as well – there’s too much “information” presented to the user, and I think user studies will reveal that many of them go unused.
Kudos on the dimuitive size of the power adapter – wonderful! Again, some attention to organic design could make this easier to insert into a bag or backpack. Think worn stones from a beach.
Also, kudos on the simple markings on the systems case for disassembly. I haven’t done so (nor do I plan to) but I appreciate the thought that went into this. Cost reasons are no doubt behind using magnesium in screen casing, but liberal use of the material in other areas would increase the rigidity and quality “feel” of the base as well. Just dreaming out loud.
I applaud the design team for a fine machine – and continued success.
March 6th, 2007 8:57 pm
AhA! I knew my issues with the 3000 N100 were just the tip of the iceberg! Before you dismiss me as a newbie that doesn’t know computers–I have a B.S. & M.S. in Computer Engineering from Johns Hopkins (c/o 2004). I found out I was deploying to Iraq and decided to get a laptop. I purchased a Lenovo 3000 N100 on 16 Feb 2007. Once I got it up and running, Windows Update kicked in and installed new software. Fine. I tried to install my AVG anti-virus software, but it refused to play with Windows Vista. After that, the laptop seemed to be limping along with errors that Vista needed to close this or that program because it stopped responding. So, I tried the Windows System Restore function to clean it up. More errors–System Restore was unsuccessful. So I went for the Full Recovery (where you press the orange Lenovo Care button during boot-up and the software is restored the way it was when it left the factory.) Success, but short lived. Windows Update automatically comes up again to install the latest patches and asks to reboot the system when done. System re-boots. Nothing, just a blinking cursor. No boot sequence occurs whatsoever. I turn it off, turn it back on. Nothing. I try again, thinking I will just have to do the Full Recovery again. Nothing. I can’t even get into the Recovery mode, I only get the eternal blinking cursor. Oh well, the speakers didn’t work on it anyway, so I exchanged that laptop the next day. I figured it had been drop kicked and the hardware was bad.
Exhanged computers. New one has working speakers, so I figured I was home free. Windows Update installed okay and this time I used Norton for anti-virus. Now fast forward three weeks, onto installing Outlook XP. Couldn’t get it to function with Vista, even in Compatibility mode. Rolled back to Outlook 2000. Worked slightly better, but kept crashing. Okay, time for Windows System Restore…unsuccessful again!! No choice but the Full System Recovery since I didn’t have much data to lose yet. However, I was a nervous wreck because my 14-day return/exchange policy had run out with Office Depot. Exact same problem again !! Blinking cursor, no way to get back in recovery mode to restore the hard drive. Laptop does not come with recovery CD. Lenovo Customer Disservice says mail it in. I don’t have time for this before I get to Iraq! There’s supposed to be a 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee, according to one rep. Next rep has never heard of it. Next rep says to speak with a National Duty Manager for returns. National Duty Manager doesn’t handle returns, she just gives me a complaint number. (Hours have passed on the phone already). THE HARD DRIVE PARTITION GETS CORRUPTED BY YOUR RECOVERY SOFTWARE! Simple! It hasn’t been tested thoroughly with Vista. Until you issue a patch, I don’t want to ever see this laptop again! All I want is to be able to email my friends and family while I am deployed. Now I have a $1000 paperweight. I don’t need this aggravation in my life right now. All I ask is that you please honor your 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee, not give me a run around until my 30-days run out!
March 8th, 2007 2:33 pm
I am having the same issue with my Lenovo 3000 N100 as Lisa Younce. I purchased my machine from Best Buy on February 12 and on February 25 the machine would no longer boot up. I called into tech support and they said that I needed to re-image hard drive and that they would have the disk to me next day. 3 days later and two phone calls to tech support to find out that they have not shipped them until Wednesday for a next day delivery, I re-imaged the hard drive and the system booted up until a system restart and again the same cursor in the left hand conner. I called again to tech support and was told that I needed to remove Norton as that seemed to be the issue. I re-imaged the hard drive and upon a system restart same thing. I called into tech support and they felt that it was a hard drive problem and I needed to send the system in for repair. I was suppose to have the shipping box sent to my home address, since my company is in the process of moving to a larger office. Three days later I still have not gotten the shipping box. I called into tech support and they said the box was sent to my old company address and it was delivered on Wednesday. I ask why it was not sent to the address I request and I was told he was not sure as the notes indicated that it was to be sent to my home address. He said that he would get me a new box out and I should get it today, (I’m not hold my breath for it) and that I should send it in and have my laptop fixed and return by next week. A 30 day turn around to get a laptop that was only 14 days old is sad. If I had bought a Dell computer I would have a replacement sent to me in less than 3 days and asked me to ship the old one back. I guess that I should have bought a Dell! This is the first and last Lenovo computer that I will buy and I will tell everyone that I know to stay away from the Lenovo brand as the service is substandard.
March 8th, 2007 8:17 pm
Doug,
This is an issue we are working on fixing at this very moment. I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience here, I’ve sent you an e-mail.
March 14th, 2007 1:05 am
Same problme as Lisa and Doug above. Blinking cursor. I have reimaged it a total of 7 times. I have tried taking Nortons off, leaving it on, not allowing updates, not networking and just about everything else. This thing is a peice and I too have had trouble with it and I will surely get someone to replace it or get it working. I am fed up. I’ve had it about 5 weeks and still can’t use it. What the heck Lenovo/IBM. Get it straight.
March 15th, 2007 4:49 pm
Regarding Suyog’s post back in Dec 2006, I hope this is solved by now.
I have the 3000 N100 0689 machine type model just last week in Singapore, where there was a IT show 2007 going on then. I believe many others have bought that model as well during the show as I found out later it results in out of stock issues.
Received my laptop two days back. Everything is ok, other than system update 3 just can’t retrieve user information, I stumbled upon Suyog’s review of the laptop.
And yes, i tried, play the music, with wireless on, to my dismay, the sound issue.
Tried to find some solutions or “aware and looking into it” from Lenono website, nope.
It is good, regarding the engagaement idea of having this blog. But without a sort of official forum for issues reporting/search solutions etc from users all around, tendency is customers will use the blog avenue. And most customers may want to look for similar cases or solutions before calling tech support. Next on their mind is, hopefully, with this issue being escalated to such levels, no matter where the techsupport/customer service’s location are, customers can experience consistency in knowledge and service level.
I will be contacting the techsupport and I am really expecting them to know about this issue, else I guess a printout of the blog exchanges will be good enough.
Finally, it will really do good to have a official forum.
I have used A20p before for 6 yrs, just retired it last this yr. The quality is there which push me for Lenovo/thinkpad again. But please, maintain or even exel the expectations of the quality that customers have view thinkpad models as. Even if certain models now are Lenovo signature, the expectations as well as the good opinions resulted from thinkpad will spill over to Lenovo as well, which is a win win situation.
Regards,
Mic
March 15th, 2007 6:08 pm
Michael,
We are working to provide the very things you are asking for. In the meantime, you have an e-mail from me.
March 16th, 2007 5:19 am
Hello Tim,
Thanks! to coordinate these from marketing function to the technical and vice versa, i must say this is indeed great customer service. Is the forums.thinkpad.com an offical one?
Cos i believe having an official forums for issues engagement will definitely ease the load, and perhaps the purpose of having the lenovo blogs set out earlier can be better served; that is, creating a community for knowledge/ideas/feedback etc rather than customers (and myself..) having to post system/software issues here which i know may not be the right procedures..
Thanks for the service!
March 16th, 2007 5:33 am
Same problem as several above. Eternal blinking cursor. I bought this to replace a four year old Thinkpad. The old Thinkpad was a tank and I never had a single problem from day one up until it was introduced to 20 ounces of Mountain Dew.
What a bad decision to expect the Lenovo 3000 N100 to replace my trusty Thinkpad!
About one week after I bought the computer it stopped booting. I was forced to do a Full Restore after trying all other options. Lost all my data that I painfully retrieved from my Thinkpad.
Full Restore fixed the problem. Reinstalled all data and made DVD backup (Learned my lesson). Three days later I get the Blinking Cursor.
Went back to Best Buy to find I missed my 14 day return by a couple days, but I needed a computer right then.
Bought a much more expensive Sony Vaio, since I was heading out on an extended business trip. The Sony has performed flawlessly the last few weeks I have been on the road.
I returned home tonight and decided I was going to get this problem resolved and give the computer to my wife, but after reading the posts here it sounds life a Full Restore will be a weekly task that I don’t have time for.
Anyone who has not had this problem yet should make sure you backup all your data on Cd’s or DVD’s. You are likely to experience a complete data loss to get the computer to boot again.
I expect to have this problem resolved, but I can promise I will never carry this laptop with me as a reliable business computer. I fell for the cheap price tag with a good name and the saying always applies! You get what you pay for. I should have opted for the Sony the first time and I would have saved myself the frustration I have experienced.
Someone please contact me when there is a solution, so I can give this computer to my wife. This is going to end up being a $950 Deck of Cards for my wife!
March 17th, 2007 3:01 am
I have the cursor of death now. Let me know when there is a solution. I am done restoring Vista until I know the problem is resolved.
March 20th, 2007 3:55 am
Hello Tim,
Please get back to me regarding the sound issue, as i have replied to you, it still persist. I have hold back from contacting the techsupport in singapore as you requested but i need to know the status. I can’t just wait.
April 2nd, 2007 1:47 pm
To anyone who has this “blinking cursor” issue: Lenovo engineers have identified the problem and our service centers have been updated with the solution. If anyone else has this problem, please contact your local service center and they will take care of the problem. Thank you.
April 4th, 2007 6:59 pm
Frustrating issue with my Lenovo 3000 N100 that I bought on February 19. Worked fine until March 22, when I started getting corruption errors (ie OSA.EXE error, CHAPP.EXE error jusched.exe error). Called Lenovo, they told me it was a Microsoft Vista issue and to call there. Called Microsoft. Told me to do a virus check. Did that – nothing. Called Microsoft AGAIN – told me to do a complete system restore….the Microsoft system restore would not work at all, so I did the Lenovo one….it took FIVE HOURS,whereupon I got the message that my Vista code was not valid for the machine. Called Microsoft AGAIN. They gave me a bunch of numbers that did not work. Told me to call back Monday. Called back, got a new set of numbers, and it booted up with, YES, the errors STILL coming up, even after the restore. I don’t get the “blinking cursor”, but I still get these CONTINUOUS errors coming up. Cannot delete the Office files I put on there – can’t get to the c:/users/temp directory where all the errors are either. I called Circuit City where I purchased the computer, and of course they can’t help me because it’s “past the 14 days” of purchase.
This machine was wonderful until the errors started popping up…now I’d like to send it back to you via my front window.
April 5th, 2007 4:05 pm
I have a T42 I am quite happy with, and at work we haven’t regretted our decision to standarize on T-series thinkpads for all the folks with laptops.
As I think about a new Thinkpad, I find myself interested in the smaller X-series but I’d like to see a few improvements first:
1. Higher-resolution displays (preferably wide-screen) available on non-tablet versions
2. LED backlight for display
3. A touchpad in a addition to the pointing stick
4. A more capable docking station that can accomodate a full-size, high-performance (read: high-power) PCIe graphics card. This would allow not only multiple monitors but also workstation-level graphics while docked. Probably this would mean integrating a real power supply into the dock (as opposed to just using a bigger brick – don’t forget to provide a connector for the aux power required by most high-end cards), but this really isn’t so hard to do.
Everything else is already very good – these changes would make the X-series perfect. Thanks.
April 5th, 2007 5:03 pm
Jay,
You make several good points, I will pass them on.
One note: we do offer an LED backlight on special models of the ThinkPad X60s. These models are denoted as \”UltraLight\” and use an LED backlight.
Edit: I later learned that in fact, the X Series does NOT employ an LED backlight. This was some previously inaccurate information I had, I apologize for the confusion!
April 24th, 2007 8:27 pm
I bought a Lenovo 3000 v100 on feb 23 2007. One morning, when I started up the PC, the screen had a big black blob. I did send it to Lenovo UK for warranty repair.
I learnt back from them that the the cause is due to mechanical mistreatment. The only problem is that their conclusion is wrong. When I left the PC the night before, it worked fine. None did touched it, moved it nor closed the lid during the night, and the following morning the problem is there. Needless to say, there is not the tiniest scratch on the casing….
I suspect poor quality and/or design. I have used laptops daily, of vairios brands, for the last 10 years and never expereinced anything like his. And my brand new Lenovo has got the softest honey-moon treat imaginable. And still this happened.
Further, I am quite dissapointed with the response that Lenovo has given me today. Thanks,
July 2nd, 2007 9:23 am
I have the same N100 sound issue. But I`m in much worse position – I live in a third world country. So even some miracle happens and Lenovo publishes some sort of patch or something, I don`t have a technician nearby.
Also, to make things worse, I bought this laptop for my brother who is going offshore in a week, so he needs a laptop for some music and multimedia while he`s detattached from the rest of the world.. Yeah right, he`ll have SO much fun :-/
[irony] Thank you Lenovo. Thank you very much. [/irony]
August 1st, 2007 1:57 am
My daughter won a Lenovo 3000 V100 through her University last year and rec’d the unit in November 2006. Lately the unit has been overheating and shutting down. I contacted Lenovo suppport in July 2007 only to be told that the warranty expired 12 days earlier and there was nothing they could do. I also found the rep to be uncaring and snobbish…I felt that they had no time for me. At the end of the very brief conversation I asked…”After this call, do you think I would buy a Lenovo?” to whch the rep replied, “any other company will do the same”
Way to go Lenovo…..What a way to build customer loyalty. Hey, it’s a very nice and light laptop! Now I gotta find a different brand to buy as a replacement….something that will provide more than 8 months service.
I’ll keep this unit on the shelf until there is enough public outcry for Lenovo to listen re this overheating issue. From what I see on the internet, there are others with the same issue.
Good work Lenovo…NOT
August 1st, 2007 2:58 pm
Update to above…
This situation was bugging me so I just contacted Lenovo support again. I spoke to a different rep who was very understanding and willing to help. He suggested that I send all the details to Lenovo and they will look and see if warranty period can be modified. At least there is a chance!
As I said above, my daughter won this laptop..it was purchased in June 2006 but not rec’d by her until nov / dec 2006.
Lenovo…what a difference a rep makes..get rid of that rep from my 03 July 2007 call now!
October 30th, 2007 1:57 pm
hi same thing 3000 n100 problem after problem and now they tell me i split coffe all over and this does not cover in the warrenty fine idont drink coffe or tea and if i had of done that dont you think i would have known the warrenty does not cover that sort of thing yes i do and thats why i have home insurance do they think i would send it back wait three weeks to hear from them talked to very rudely and like some thing on some ones shoe no when i rang back to ask the lady dealing with my case the man on the phone said she would get back to did she o no waste of my time i brought IBM because i thought they were leaders in the market theres the only stupid thing i done wrong
November 3rd, 2007 11:10 am
I had a very high feeling when i had bought the Lenovo 3000 Y410 Laptop for myself from the office depot. Little did i realize then that its one among the cheap brands. Since the firs day that i have opened it i have this problem with the cursor that just stares at you and would not want to move at all. It taked about 15 min just to switch on the laptop since the cursor does not move at all to the password space. I have to repeatedly switch the laptop on and off. The reason i had bought laptop is i need help with my assignments. When i begin to use my MS Word all of a sudden the cursor vanishes and freezes.
Lenovo if you have a fix for this bug please email me NOW and ASAP.
November 5th, 2007 9:34 am
Mahe,
I’m terribly sorry to hear about your troubles. You should have a standard one year warranty with that system, please do call our support staff for help!
November 11th, 2007 11:13 pm
I stumbled onto this blog looking for posted comments on a specific problem I have with my Lenovo 3000 n100 which, pursuant to upgrade offer received when the machines (I bought an identical one for my daughter)were purcashed in January 07, upgraded from XP to Vista Home Pemium.
Ever since the most recent bios update (which I suspect is the problem) I sometimes experience a total freezup when keyboarding very fast. I can quickly recover by pressing power on/off to initiate going to standby after which pressing it again to trigger an awake from standby recovers the system to the same point with the freezup cured. It appears the freezup is an all-interrupts masked kind of situation — though thank God the on-off sw still triggers a standby. I don’t know what makes the situation more likely than not, but it will occur in a cluster of incidents on the same day and sometime be free of it for days at a time. I have not noted any other correlates, but have had it happen when network connected as well as not. Surely somebody else has seen this!
I have the widescreen model 076a2U. The only other truly annoying mystery is why the system will not run Google SketchUp — just freezes up the application on startup.
I have other good and bad things to say about the machine, but if someone could contribute a solution to the intermittent freezeup and the SketchUp incompatibility I will deliver some more useful observations overall.
Thanks in advance
November 20th, 2007 3:29 am
Well, I can now begin to answer one part of my own post of Nov 11, 2007.
Buried in the Google material on SketchUp I found a known bug involving Nvidia GeForce series 7 Graphics Procesors (GPU’s) running in Core 2 Duo systems. The symptoms match my experience. Google says the problem is fixed in the latest Nvidia driver.
But there is a problem. Nvidia does not distribute drivers for mobile (i.e. laptop) versions of its cards and even the nomenclature is OEM specific to a point. Depending on what output you look at, this Lenovo configuration (0768A2U) has a “GeForce Go 7300 (a series 7) or a “Geforce FX Go7300 (an FX series). The Lenovo site says I have the latest driver for my configuration(early 07 date) presumably for the GPU in the machine, the Nvidia site says the FX Go7300 is an OEM version for which they have no update available except to the extent the OEM says so, and the Nvidia site also implies that their latest series 7 driver might be the right ne to fix the problem, but that only drivers made for OEM’s work properly in mobile devices. So… I/We are at the mercy of Lenovo on this.
Hey Lenovo… please clarify and fix this!
Hey Anyone … I’ve seen no replies from a user or a Lenovo rep in over a week. If anyone is out there would they please tell me the best way to bring this to Lenovo’s attention or otherwise how to deal with this?
Thanks to whomever is reading this.
November 26th, 2007 3:38 pm
Please either pay attention to this blog or close it out and suggest better places to go.
November 27th, 2007 3:50 pm
I share your problem with ancient Lenovo drivers and SketchUp. I’ve just submitted a problem to Lenovo; but not too hopeful on the outcome.
November 28th, 2007 7:54 pm
Thanks Stephen… let’s see if anyone else is awake!
In the meantime here are some new observation about the freezeup problem:
1. The system overall does not freeze — background tasks and network activity continue. Only the keyboard and hotkeys and the mouse are dead.
2. I got serious about doing some testing, but by coincidence had made an operational change. I began a rigorous test after an unrelated decision to use the sidebar with a few gadgets running. Since I did that I cannot provoke the freezeup problem at all — and I really pushed it hard. I wonder if this does not vindicate my theory about there being a masked interrupts problem and that polling the gadgets resets this? Its just an idea. It is also a clue for anyone who cares to look into it. It may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I am running on a Lenovo 3000 N100 and/or that I am using Vista. If I Google for any other reports of precisely this problem I don’t get any hits other than on vaguely similar things related to Vista.
November 30th, 2007 1:15 pm
I also bought one Lenovo 3000 Y410 online and got the delivery yesterday. There is weird hdd noise whenever it reads or do any processing. I am also using Dell Inspiron, never got this kind of noise. Is it a known problem or is there something wrong with my laptop?
Looking forward to get some response from Lenovo.
Please advice.
November 30th, 2007 8:32 pm
I forgot to add in my last post.. that even the fan noise is there.. If i compare it with the dell one, I have, there is no noise in my Dell laptop.
I think, I had lot of expectations(may be because my brother is working for IBM in India from last many years now) in terms of quality from Lenovo. But……..
Expecting someone from Lenovo to respond to my issues.
December 2nd, 2007 2:11 am
I recently purchased the Lenovo 3000 Y410 from the Office Depot, and so far everything is working great. I am trying to figure out how to manage both hard drives. I would like to place my larger files (documents, pictures, music, etc.) on the larger of the two hard drives, but the computer doesn’t make that readily accessible. For example, the computer automatically sorts my music by artist and album if I place it on the “C” (smaller) drive, but it forces me to do it manually on the “D” (larger) drive. Is there a way to side-step this and have the “D” drive do this for me? I’m hoping a Lenovo representative can assist me with this issue. Thank you.
December 2nd, 2007 3:36 pm
BEWARE: Faux “next day repair service” with extended warranty.
I bought my Lenovo Z60m 2 years ago. I loved the notebook and had no problem until the CD/DVD drive broke in early 9/2007. This drive is used to review patient x-rays saved on CD, utilize education materials, and burn CD’s. Well, it’s still broke and Lenovo has yet to send a tech to look at it; let alone the heavily promoted “next day service repair.” I worked with the service/tech staff via phone on several occasions and they have continued to refuse a “next day” service call. First, they thought it was a virus or driver problem and had me jump through hoops for that; still didn’t work. Then, they mailed me a new CD/DVD drive and told me to change it out; still didn’t work. Then, four weeks ago they decided that the system board must be bad. However, there are none in stock. I was told it could be “months” before one is in stock. They refuse to send a tech out to even look at the computer until this system board is available. They explained that the “next day service repair” does not apply if they decide an “out of stock” part is required. Two weeks ago I decided enough was enough. I tried to return/exchange the computer due to a breach of warranty/contract and have them send me a new one. There should be a new “system board” on a new computer; “out of stock” replacement part problem solved. After an hour on the phone with several different Lenovo/IBM representatives and phone connections on three different continents I was re-connected to Atlanta and assured by “Ray” that a supervisor “Alfred” would call me back to discuss my concerns. I’m still waiting for that call. At this point I’m at a complete loss and considering contacting the NY State Attorney General. This “next day service” extended warranty plan with Lenovo hasn’t been worth the paper it was written on. I hate to say this, but I never had this problem with Dell.
December 2nd, 2007 6:57 pm
First of all, I just wanted to remind everyone that our blogs are not official support channels. Posts are not necessarily monitored.
If you are experiencing problems with a product and need responsive support, please contact the appropriate support channel. You can find more information on how to do that here.
You can also now visit the Lenovo Peer-to-Peer Support Community at http://forums.lenovo.com. This is not a monitored support channel, but there is a community to help answer questions and solve problems.
Ankit – Different models of hard drives do sound different. Like all computer manufacturers, Lenovo uses multiple suppliers for hard drives and one hard drive will likely sound different than another. If you are worried about the integrity of the hard drive, you can run diagnostics included with the computer or contact support for more information.
Greg – I’m sending you an e-mail.
December 3rd, 2007 2:30 am
To: Tim,
I understand that this is not an official support channel, but for some kinds of vague problems it is a better first choice.
My current computer is not my first by any means. My experience dealing with support arms of OEM’s etc is not small. I can usually distinguish warranty problems from design problems and subtle software incompatibility issues. I can and have used the vendor’s web site and search for anything already posted. I can and have searched the web for comparable issue anywhere they may have been posted. I can and have run the diagnostics with my computer.
When the foregoing remedies fail I look for sites like this where the participants have similar equipment as a common ground. It often works.
I am reluctant to call in a problem like the ones I’ve been discussing because I know well what they will ask me to do and what the likely limits of their knowlege are. I do not want to send my laptop in when I am confident that this will be an inappropriate remedy. I refuse to do some of the dumb things I am usually asked to do because I know that it reflects cluelessness on the other end of the line. Some techs in some places are really good — most are not so wonderful and outsorucing has not improved this reality.
If and when I can find a reliable trigger for the problem I have discovered THEN I will report it officially knowing that it can be reliably duplicated — heck sometimes even fixed! Until then, using the standard support channel is a prescription for wasted time and no resolution. And, of course, I am not anxious to pay for such wasted time when I will, as expected, be asked to do so.
My goal for now is to locate people who have had the same problem and narrow the analysis as best I can. As you can see, it already worked for one of the problems — but not yet the other.
In the meantime, thank you for directing me to the Peer-to-Peer Support Community. It will likely have lots of people not equipped to think deeply about this kind of problem, but if its big enough there may well be a few who can. I will try it.
December 11th, 2007 10:47 pm
I recently purchased a 3000 Y410. There are several issues I like to share and seek help.
Touch pad – The pointer was not obedient, it did not move with my finger at first attempt. Occurence is probably 1 out of every 8 movements. After several attempts, I found that it was the scroll function(gesture tab)setting. Disabled this default setting, it worked just as I used to with any other touch pad machines.
Veriface – The Log Record “This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way”. Please help.
Veriface – The Password Keeper is not responding. The buttons(Delete, Browse & Modify) are not interactive. Please help.
Keyboard – While typing, MS Word, the cursor suddenly jumps back to some other previous location, thus messing up my document. Trivial but frustrating. Incline to think that it is setting, and tried in vain. Please help.
December 11th, 2007 11:23 pm
Update on keyboard issue.
It was not the keyboard, but rather the touch pad(mouse) setting. I enabled the “Tap off when Typing” and the problem just went away. Reason – my thumb occasionally tapped on the touch pad, and hence the cursor/pointer moved back to the last tab position.
The touch pad has advanced features with unintended consequences. The fact this is in the default settings has revealed that Lenovo careless about the cheaper version. This is trivial but may ruin the the quality reputation. My 2 cent thought.
December 15th, 2007 5:40 am
Further update on the keyboard freezup problem. Call for help finding a file.
[ P.s. Hi Hak,
Hmmmm... I wonder if my keyboard problem has anything to do with the touchpad. I will try and see. Of course my keyboard freezeup problem is more severe seemingly distinct from yours -- but its worth a try.]
In the meantime… DOES ANYONE have a dowloaded copy of version 3.11 of the BIOS update utility for Lenovo 3000 N100’s they can send me? The current update on the lenovo site is version 3.12 of the utility, but there is a note there about 3.11 being different and being the latest for installing the latest VISTA compatible BIOS. If you run ver 3.12 you ONLY get an XP compatible verion. I cannot find the 3.11 version of the BIOS update package anywhere on the Lenovo site — but maybe someone has it. If you have VISTA and look in C:\DRIVERS\WIN\FLASH you may see a folder containing the needed materials. Or if you look in C:\DownloadDirector you may see an .exe file that is the self-extracting zip executable that contains the package. Problem is I don’t know the name of the file since I cannot find it, but it probably matches 63af0xus.exe where 0x is some number NOT 08. Please, if you think you have this let me know.
Thanks!
December 17th, 2007 6:42 am
Steve, I have a similar problem.
My lenovo 3000 N100 notebook locked-up regularly with mouse pointer and all gprahics freezed, but the HDD led still flashing so I suppose there was some OS activity.
It came that the computer reseller added one extra 1GB of RAM which was incompatible with the original 1GB RAM module provided by Lenovo. When I removed the this extra RAM module everything worked fine.
Lenovo can tell you what was the original hardware configuration when they sold the notebook if you tell them the type number and serial number printed on the bottom of the notebook.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Kalin.
December 17th, 2007 11:10 pm
Hi Kalin,
Thanks for your input. Yes, over the years I have seen various cases of odd problems becoming cured with a swap of memory. I am not willing to rule out that your experience points me at something I should do, but there are some distinctions. I don’t have any added memory over the factory delivered 1 GB. Not sure if this is same syndrome exactly as you report since even my screen activity continues unperturbed — it is strictly and only kb and mouse.
In any case I solved the problem of getting the prior BIOS, learned some generally interesting things in the process that I will report shortly, and am waiting to see if the KB freezeup problem indeed remains. Signs so far are that it may be gone. In fact, unless I am deceiving myself (would not be the first time) I think some other things are running faster…
Please confirme whether you are running VISTA.
Thanks!
January 5th, 2008 11:57 am
Hi there,
I’m having issues with my Lenovo 3000 N100 only after 14 months of purchase. The battery has stopped working/ charging and the laptop has started to shut down randomly (sometimes just after a few minutes of usage.) This is extremely disappointing as I have never had any battery problems with my previous laptop (which is a Toshiba and which I am still using after 5 years). We had high expectations when we purchased the Lenovo (being part of the IBM brand) – but unfortunately it is a huge let down.
It is probably worth mentioning that when we sent the laptop to the Service Centre (in Dubai) today, we encountered other customers with similar Lenovo laptops facing the same issues (battery problems, random shutdowns etc.).
Wondering if Lenovo is considering a recall on its battery for this model as it seems to be a manufacturer’s fault?
I look forward to your comments.
Thanks.
January 7th, 2008 3:44 pm
I bought the Lenovo 3000 Y410 a month back and noticed a problem with its media card reader. It was not recognizing SD or Memory Stick cards. I called customer support and initially they asked me to search for updated drives for those media cards online (funny
I dont think there are any drivers for Media cards..).. I called them again with the issue and this time they agreed that there was a problem and asked me to send the laptop back for repairs.
I sent the laptop and they sent it back after repairs but surprise.. they sent me somebody’s else laptop. I initially didnt notice it but thougth that the login is changed as they may have used one key recovery and created a id for the support guy working on it. I called them, they said to use onekey recovery to wipe that out and create my own user. I did and when I logged in, I see somebody else’s data in D drive.
I called them back and they asked me to send the laptop back but dont say anything about my laptop. They said its stolen. Finally after much struggle the sent me a replacement laptop ( obviously my data is lost on my original laptop) and now this repalcement laptop does not start. There is no display on screen. Looks like its video card is bad.
The laptop that I had recived which was somebody else’s had RAM issue – as on the notes it was written that they reseated the memory. Initially I thought its my media card reset but later I figured this out.
Clearly i am so much disappointed. One month of laptop purchase and I am not able to use it. Would Lenovo be able to pay for my laptop use loss.
This laptop series seems to be sub standard, thats why they are giving it on low prices..
January 7th, 2008 7:51 pm
Is this what this blog is for: complaints (although valid).
All these warranty issues seem to be clouding the intent of this blog, IMHO.
CJ
January 7th, 2008 7:59 pm
After 15 years with ThinkPads I was about about buying your new IdeaPad Y710 17″ for private home use.
But with all these troubles posted here on this blog can I be sure that I better order a regular ThinkPad where I know what quality I get and where I get some useful after sales support?
Is there a different quality control and customer support for ThinkPads and IdeaPads ?!?!?
(I gladly pay a few bucks more than getting some Sony-style after sales trouble).
January 7th, 2008 8:40 pm
I have been using Thinkpads from the 600 series, T23, x32, T40, T42p, T43p, x40, x60s, T60p, and Z61t.
Interestly, the most enjoyable has been the Z-series. Does anyone know why it was discontinued?
I love the rigidity of the z61t’s titanium lid and the fact that it cleans so well and actually difficult to scratch. The rubberized coating on the thinkpads are EASILY scratched and the corners wear-off in days – literally.
Here are some of my design wishes:
I just wish the buttons under the track pad were more like the older T43/T43 versions with curved outlines; they were easier to use and had a better tactile feel.
How about a variation of Apple’s fiber-optic keyboards? I have to admit, after using a powerbook, that was a really nice feature.
Somehow, every thinkpad I have used has an issue with the trackpoint that keeps hitting the lcd and causing a little mark on the lcd that eventually becomes permanent and annoying. Can the lid be designed so that the actual lcd is recessed even more than it is now so that the trackpoint won’t hit it anymore when the lid is closed? I have to use either a sheet of paper or there are actual products (a piece of cloth) that will protect the LCD. The old apple powerbooks had a similar problem but with the entire keyboard! I used to get keyboard marks (grease from my fingers) on my lcd that needed to get cleaned every week.
How about a trackpad that slides over or under the mouse buttons for the trackpoint? Although I hate using the trackpad, for the times I use it, I wish it was higher up.
I like the older style (maybe I’m getting old) sliding doors that used to protect the ports. How about rubber caps that protect the ports – sort of like on my digital camera (nikon d2x).
Also, I love Apple’s idea of that magnetic powercord – genius. I often put some pressure on my ac plug that sticks out of the back area – eventually it’ll break. How about a variation of that?
Thanks for reading and I enjoy reading the blogs here.
CJ
March 1st, 2008 5:08 am
13 months after purchasing a Lenovo 3000N100 0768DKU, the battery died and will not charge up. The only way for me to use the laptop is by plugging in the power cord to the a/c outlet. My laptop is not very mobile! I thought it was very convenient for the customer service reps to say that the warranty expired at 12months. I noticed another blog entry with similar problems.
Over the year, I only charged the laptop when the power level ran low. I never left the laptop plugged in for long periods of time. I never let the laptop battery run out (and stay discharged for any length of time). I know I did not do anything to shorten the life of the battery. I also did not over use the laptop, since I used my desktop for most things.
I thing Lenovo SHOULD fix/compensate for a faulty battery. Obviously the quality of this product is questionable to only last 13months. I don’t think I will ever buy from this company again.
April 11th, 2008 8:06 pm
YES, finally!!! I am so glad I am not alone.
Worst, my 3000V100 has all the above problems after 1 stinking year. My warranty expired and there was no one to complaint to.
What is happening? I am a IBM fan, I have tested many laptops from HP, DELL (equally bad), Toshiba, Fujitsu, Sony,…. etc etc… but not as bad as the V100 laptop….
What I hated the most was the random shutdown! Why? I do not understand?
I just bought a 2gb ram because it ran very slow on vista window with only 1gb according to my vista tech friend. And, I also replaced the battery with my own money thinking that everything will work better after all this replacement… but it just did not improve… ..
Whatever has happened to my favorite IBM laptop after Lenovo bought it, it sure convinced me to take another look at other laptop on the market… maybe Apple… it is time for a change.
April 20th, 2008 8:52 pm
Just surfing around looking for more info on the 3000 N100 battery failure issue. Mine failed just a few days shy of the warranty expiration and a fix is in the works (i hope) as i spoke with a warranty person today. It really suprised me, a battery failing so soon. Regarding VISTA issues some seem to be having here, i dumped vista and the recovery partition, installed XP Pro, used partition magic to create my own backup partition and used drive image to back my image up to the partition and to a DVD. My recovery button is useless now, but i can manage, and of course with xp, i haven’t had a need to reimage so far. Dumped norton for zonelabs internet security, no problems now. Lost my fingerprint scanner (xp drivers are available but no software for xp is on Lenovo’s site for this scanner). I am very happy with the 3000 running XP, it’s almost twice as fast and much more stable. But, the battery failure, and apparently this is a common problem, worries me. What if it happens again? Are we all doomed to a future of short lived batteries? Why no report on what causes the failures? I just feel that looking back, I should have bought a $299 Acer. For what i paid for this Lenovo, I should not have had to replace the OS, create my own recovery media and backup partition, give up a novel feature (fingerprint scanner)that i paid for, and now, be replacing the battery at only one year of ownership. I probably have eighty hours of my time in working out the issues i had initially, mostly VISTA related. I’m a former service tech and have the skills and software on the shelf to correct most any issue. I feel sorry for the average user whom purchased these models and don’t have the options I have. I wish Lenovo would buy it back now. I would by a new Azus eeePC and pocket the difference. Hopefully I’ll get my battery replaced without any further complications and that will be that……
April 20th, 2008 8:57 pm
forgot to mention to those with battery problems that the warranty was extended another six months to accomodate those that had failures a few months past the expiration.
April 21st, 2008 11:33 am
Just read an earlier post regarding audio quality in VISTA. I found my 3000 N100 model to have crummy sound in VISTA too, upon switching to XP the audio is perfect now (well, as perfect as the onboard speakers allow, headphones are a must). Must be a VISTA driver issue.
April 21st, 2008 3:22 pm
Just to update post 59, i found a free copy of OmniPass fingerprint software for xp/vista online today, so i have that function back now, just waiting to hear back on the battery matter.
April 21st, 2008 3:30 pm
doug, you should post on forums.lenovo.com as the blogs aren’t meant for technical support.
April 23rd, 2008 10:21 am
10-4 sorry for the intrusion, found the lenovo support forums to be most helpful…..
April 23rd, 2008 10:27 am
No intrusion Doug, you’ll just find more assistance over there!
June 18th, 2008 12:15 am
I have 4 month old Lenovo 3000y410 which always gets overheated and turns off.The fan starts making much noise with in few minutes the system is turned on.Doesn even take 15min for the shutdown once the laptop is started.
Also the sound has become terribly low that headphones produce more sound.Media has been very bad experience with it.
Any suggestions of what is to be done
July 12th, 2008 8:23 am
I’m also bought a Lenovo 3000 Y410 recently. Just face problem of Touch Pad malfunctioned to respond to my finger movement, and that only happened after I install the Touch Pad driver application downloaded from IBM website (ver. 5.3.204.7), originally supplied by IBM download page. Initially, I’m suspected the Touchpad problem, but problem seems been solved once I remove the installed driver from Windows XP (SP3) and get back to the original state of Mouse Pointer Device as the Windows XP fresh installed. Therefore, I browse the Internet try to seek for later version for Alps Touchpad (ver. 6.0.305.6), and I found it works like what I was expected. The interface design for each version is completely different, and I’m so happy that the newer version has settled my problem in the first place. Presently, I have problem to delete those password profile stored in Veriface Recognition – Password Keeper. I wonder it’s there any later version of VeriFace program. I’m hope you could understand my english, because I’m not english educated. Any suggestions of that is welcome.
July 12th, 2008 8:42 am
Problem with VeriFace program settled. No any other program arises at the moment. This laptop serve well.
July 31st, 2008 6:16 am
Lenovo has released a new system BIOS update to address an issue with the Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset (as reported in the Intel 965 Express Chipset Specification Update). Lenovo is providing this BIOS update to eliminate a potential source of unexpected system behavior or memory error within the Lenovo notebook products below. In order to ensure the long term reliability of your Lenovo notebook computer, it is highly recommended that all users update their system with this new BIOS.
Original Quote:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/supp.....69703.html
It is recommended to upgrade BIOS to enhance stability of your laptop system. Read the instruction carefully before proceed the BIOS upgrading.
August 6th, 2008 8:24 pm
Glad to stumble across this thread. My issue: keyboard (& sometimes also touchpad) locked / frozen upon resume from hibernation. Y410 bought Dec ‘07, Vista HP, 2GB. Problem first occurred a couple of weeks ago.
Is Lenovo aware of this problem, and is there a fix or workaround? Thank you.