Lenovo X1 Extreme

[jrichards1408]

ffs my order has been delayed until 27th!!! thinking of canceling the order and just going for a rtx machine lol!

are all 144mhz screens IPS panels and over good colour accuracy for content creation?

 

[Never mind]

The single most effective way to avoid BSODs is not to use the preinstalled Windows, but loading one from scratch using USB stick and latest, pure Microsoft provided installer. Microsoft has all the drivers you need, including the ones actually made by Lenovo and Nvidia. After clean installation I only install stuff that's made by the laptop manufacturer and only if it is newer and listed as critical, no other drivers listed by them. In case of the Carbon (which should be similar to X1E,), after clean install I loaded:

- TB3 firmware (but not driver)
- BIOS (after checking in forums if there are any bugs)
- Lenovo Thermal Solution Driver
- Lenovo USB Selective Suspend Patch
- Lenovo Vantage - disabled auto updates immediately

And I'm not planning to load anything more ever again from Lenovo unless there is a critical bug.

EDIT - after loading clean Windows, hit "Check for Updates" in Windows Update settings until there is nothing more. Even if after last installation of updates it says "You're up to date" hit the button, because they delay some roll outs.

What is a pure Microsoft provided installer ?

I have a Recovery USB stick after my first boot up, but if what you are talking about if somewhat different, than I'm a little out of the loop? Can you explain further ? I haven't any issues with my X1 so maybe just leave it alone.

 

[Thysanoptera]

What is a pure Microsoft provided installer ?

I have a Recovery USB stick after my first boot up, but if what you are talking about if somewhat different, than I'm a little out of the loop? Can you explain further ? I haven't any issues with my X1 so maybe just leave it alone.

That recovery stick contains Lenovo injected drivers and customization. I was talking about the regular Windows installer directly from Microsoft which should be installed on an erased drive:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

But, if you don't have problems don't worry about it. I managed to break dependencies between Lenovo components during first hour of use
[doublepost=1549995391][/doublepost]

This is something I didn't do, last week and I think it burned me to some degree. I ran into a problem as noted by a prior post, but thankfully I didn't brick my laptop. Secondly some people have run into some issues. The downside is once you go to 1.18, you cannot roll it back to a prior version, which is a bummer.

Dell allows it, just doesn't publish all old BIOSes (but most of them), so I would periodically check their website to download whatever current version is. But I would never upgrade it as long as I didn't have any problems, and even then only after going through forums to check which version fixes my issue and is stable. With Lenovo and inability to downgrade I'm going to be a lot more careful.

 

[maflynn]

Dell allows it, just doesn't publish all old BIOSes

The BIOS notes specifically mentions that you cannot roll back to a prior version unlike older versions. There may be a back door way, or a method support does not sanction but it seems like they don't want you rolling this one back. Given the close call I had with updating the firmware, I'd not take a chance.

I created an recovery USB and maybe after work, I'll bite the bullet and start over

 

[Thysanoptera]

I created an recovery USB and maybe after work, I'll bite the bullet and start over

Don't use recovery USB if you want to have clean install, create installation stick using Microsoft media creation tool.

 

[maflynn]

Don't use recovery USB if you want to have clean install, create installation stick using Microsoft media creation tool.

Oh, ok. I thought they were the same thing - good to know

 

[Thysanoptera]

Oh, ok. I thought they were the same thing - good to know

And don't install it on top of existing one, when you get to the point where you select where to install it to, remove all partitions so that only the 'unallocated space' is shown in window, select it as target and the installer will automatically create and format all necessary partitions (EFI, Recovery and main).

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

Oh, ok. I thought they were the same thing - good to know

The media creation tool from the Microsoft site, provides you with a clean Windows version without bloatware (except for Candy Crush of course ). If you install this on your Lenovo you will lose all the Lenovo 'factory/helper/assistant/driver update etc.' software too in the process. This can be a very good thing if you want a clean 'signature' version of Windows, but you should be aware of that.

Probably you already know all of this, but I thought it was to important not to mention it..

 

[maflynn]

his can be a very good thing if you want a clean 'signature' version of Windows, but you should be aware of that.

Yeah, I figured it was going to turn it into a clean install. I'll take a wait and see attitude, because I'm not sure I'm willing to lose a day to install windows, update it, reinstall my software and data. I'm pretty happy with my X1E as it is now, and I'm not sure how much benefit I'll get from a clean install. I don't think there's any bloatware with the X1E

 

[CE3]

My X1E is back! The display was replaced.

Before:

AFTER:

There's still a slight amount of backlight bleed in the top corners, but nothing that's going to bother me or impact resale value down the road.

If the white balance in the "before" photos is somewhat accurate, there was a lot of blue cast in the previous display in addition to the backlight bleed. Now that I have the new display I do think the uneven brightness of the previous one was straining my eyes.

Glad I sent mine in for repair. Huge improvement!

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

Yeah, I figured it was going to turn it into a clean install. I'll take a wait and see attitude, because I'm not sure I'm willing to lose a day to install windows, update it, reinstall my software and data. I'm pretty happy with my X1E as it is now, and I'm not sure how much benefit I'll get from a clean install. I don't think there's any bloatware with the X1E

You mentioned that your BSOD is only during playing one particular game? In that case I would not really bother, or I would concentrate on updates for that game or GPU driver issues. What helped me in a particular instance was simply enabling DirectX 11 instead of DirectX 12 in the game options.

IMHO: No reason to completely re-install Windows.

 

[Never mind]

My X1E is back! The display was replaced.

Before:
View attachment 821512

View attachment 821513

AFTER:

View attachment 821514

There's still a slight amount of backlight bleed in the top corners, but nothing that's going to bother me or impact resale value down the road.

You did have some light bleed there. Second one still some. Checked mine upon booting up first time and can't see much of any bleed. Wonder if they can exchange that again for a better one. Panel lottery I guess.

 

[maflynn]

You mentioned that your BSOD is only during playing one particular game?

Yeah, I think I can easily explain the BSOD, so I'm not in a hurry to make any major changes

 

[CE3]

You did have some light bleed there. Second one still some. Checked mine upon booting up first time and can't see much of any bleed. Wonder if they can exchange that again for a better one. Panel lottery I guess.

You're right, there's still a little bleed, but I think it's an acceptable level (the third shot is the new display). If anything changes I have a two year warranty, but I'm happy with it now.

 

[maflynn]

I have a few rambling points to post

First, it looks like the 1.18 never was applied. It looks like the Lenovo vantage app shows it was, but even that app, system info and the bios setup all show 1.17. I'm going to stay pat and not update it.

Secondly, I just incurred another BSOD, so its wipe and reinstall I have the machine just the way I want it, so it kind of sucks but I'll bite the bullet after work. I'm clearing my schedule to block off the hours I'll need. I'm also backing up my data. Part of my thinking is that I installed/uninstalled a bunch of stuff that may be interfering like HFS+ for Windows. I also think Vmware may be partially causing it, as there's a lot of services that are set up when you run vmware. Going vanilla for a while may be a better option.

Thirdly, My wife has ticketsatwork and she sent me the link of Lenovos up to 70% off I checked out the X1E, and I'm only saving 176 dollars. I'm assuming that I'll have to pay for shipping and so that probably brings the delta to a hundred dollars. Aside from the BSOD that has occurred, I'm not sure its effort of returning/re-buying is worth a 100 dollars. I think I have a solid machine.

 

[Never mind]

I have a few rambling points to post

First, it looks like the 1.18 never was applied. It looks like the Lenovo vantage app shows it was, but even that app, system info and the bios setup all show 1.17. I'm going to stay pat and not update it.
View attachment 821620

Secondly, I just incurred another BSOD, so its wipe and reinstall I have the machine just the way I want it, so it kind of sucks but I'll bite the bullet after work. I'm clearing my schedule to block off the hours I'll need. I'm also backing up my data. Part of my thinking is that I installed/uninstalled a bunch of stuff that may be interfering like HFS+ for Windows. I also think Vmware may be partially causing it, as there's a lot of services that are set up when you run vmware. Going vanilla for a while may be a better option.

Thirdly, My wife has ticketsatwork and she sent me the link of Lenovos up to 70% off I checked out the X1E, and I'm only saving 176 dollars. I'm assuming that I'll have to pay for shipping and so that probably brings the delta to a hundred dollars. Aside from the BSOD that has occurred, I'm not sure its effort of returning/re-buying is worth a 100 dollars. I think I have a solid machine.

After reading this I had to make sure in the Bios it was 1.18 and it was. Another BSOD and I to think it was something you did install or uninstall because I've had mine for over a week now stalling Ad-Block, Anti-Virus, Windows Word, Games, etc and no issues.

Best of luck with a re-install this time.

 

[maflynn]

and I'm only saving 176 dollars.

The savings is only 98 dollars, I mistakenly included the extended warranty, but I called support and they agreed to refund the money. I'm very happy about that.

and I to think it was something you did install or uninstall

Yeah, because the machine was virtually bullet proof for the longest time and now suddenly its not. I'll be going completely vanilla in the sense of installing windows from MS and not the Lenovo image.

 

[Thysanoptera]

I have a few rambling points to post

Good, good, I feel your anger. You already sold your MBP, now take your USB stick, install clean Windows and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!

In all seriousness - VMware is pretty solid, never had issues with it and I have been using it on my main laptops for 10 years at least. I also have paragon hfs drivers and no problems. I don't even remember when was the last the time I had BSOD on any of my Windows machines. Oh, wait, actually I do, in December 2015 on XPS 9550 with Dell's Windows image and their drivers. Are you using any TB3 devices? This is finicky on my Carbon and I managed to crash it when connecting/disconnecting devices.

 

[maflynn]

Good, good, I feel your anger. You already sold your MBP, now take your USB stick, install clean Windows and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!

In all seriousness - VMware is pretty solid, never had issues with it and I have been using it on my main laptops for 10 years at least. I also have paragon hfs drivers and no problems. I don't even remember when was the last the time I had BSOD on any of my Windows machines. Oh, wait, actually I do, in December 2015 on XPS 9550 with Dell's Windows image and their drivers. Are you using any TB3 devices? This is finicky on my Carbon and I managed to crash it when connecting/disconnecting devices.

LOL

Technically, I don't have any TB3 devices, but I'm using USB-C hub due to the lack of Mini display port for my external monitor. Up until this past week, the machine has been stable, and I said somewhere (this thread?) that my work computer in the office has not BSOD at all.

I hear what you're saying about vmware, but shortly after installing the workstation, the BSODs suddenly started appearing with a frequency that seems abnormal. I didn't operate in a vacuum and other stuff was installing/uninstalling so it could be anything. In any event I think starting over will be the safest approach.

 

[Blaze4G]

I have a few rambling points to post

First, it looks like the 1.18 never was applied. It looks like the Lenovo vantage app shows it was, but even that app, system info and the bios setup all show 1.17. I'm going to stay pat and not update it.
View attachment 821620

Secondly, I just incurred another BSOD, so its wipe and reinstall I have the machine just the way I want it, so it kind of sucks but I'll bite the bullet after work. I'm clearing my schedule to block off the hours I'll need. I'm also backing up my data. Part of my thinking is that I installed/uninstalled a bunch of stuff that may be interfering like HFS+ for Windows. I also think Vmware may be partially causing it, as there's a lot of services that are set up when you run vmware. Going vanilla for a while may be a better option.

Thirdly, My wife has ticketsatwork and she sent me the link of Lenovos up to 70% off I checked out the X1E, and I'm only saving 176 dollars. I'm assuming that I'll have to pay for shipping and so that probably brings the delta to a hundred dollars. Aside from the BSOD that has occurred, I'm not sure its effort of returning/re-buying is worth a 100 dollars. I think I have a solid machine.

You could probably find a lot more info / resolution to your issues on the thinkpads subreddit. A lot of thinkpads diehards on it that would give great advice.

 

[c0ppo]

I installed/uninstalled a bunch of stuff that may be interfering like HFS+ for Windows.

I use HFS+ on my X1E. Not even a single BSOD so far.
And like you, I use vmware, no issues at all.

But I did a clean install as soon as I got the device, so maybe that will fix it. Go for it, nothing to loose except some time and some nerves

Are you using any TB3 devices? This is finicky on my Carbon and I managed to crash it when connecting/disconnecting devices.

Indeed. X1C + X1E. Both had issues with TB3. No BSOD so far, but it's almost the same as BSOD. My screen would froze, etc. But after dealing with those issues on X1C, and after installing a clean ISO from MS, everything works like a charm. So basically as soon as my X1E arrived, I did the clean install.

 

[maflynn]

I finished the clean install and basic configurations. I have some software install, but I think take it slow at this point.
I waffled between using the Lenovo restore image (basically bringing it back to factory fresh) vs. a clean install of Windows. I settled on the latter and only installed Lenovo Vantage. I chose to not install other Lenovo software and while I didn't think that was causing any problems, I didn't those apps.

I may install Fallout 4 tomorrow, just because I'll be home alone waiting for my kids to come back from a ski trip, so I'll need something to do

The funny thing is , I'm eeking out faster cinebench numbers

 

[jrichards1408]

All these issues above making me worried about my one and may cancel it!

 

[Never mind]

All these issues above making me worried about my one and may cancel it!

You do know that not one computer manufacture is trouble free. Not one. I’ve had my X1 for a little over one week with absolutely no issues, but yes there are those, a few, that do have issues for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s the manufactures fault and sometimes is the person behind the keyboard’s fault. If it doesn’t work, you have a return policy for a good 30 days.

 

[maflynn]

All these issues above making me worried about my one and may cancel it!

I wouldn't, my machine was stable from the get go, and then I messed it up :O

It seems faster, and I'm confident, the stability has returned.