I had some issues/bugs with Win10 on this machine. Switched back to Win7. Biggest drawback for me is the screen res. A 16:10 display would be also nice :)
What issues did you have with yours? We updated to the October 2018 update a few weeks ago and haven't had any real issues. One thing we noted on this and the X60 tablet was problems with the Sleep mode, if the computer lid was closed to put Windows in sleep mode it would eventually restart the system after about 24 hours and get stuck in a missing HDD error, running the CPU and fans even with the lid closed. We try to remember to shut down if we aren't using it for the rest of the day.
One thing to be aware of regarding the touch screen is there were 2 varieties of touch screen for all x tablets. There was a multi-touch finger compatible one and a pen only one. You may have ended up with a pen only digitizer.
That definitely seems to be the case! I read through the Engadget review of it from 2010 when I picked it up, and they only talked about the one model they had, I just assumed they all had the same screen. After uploading the video I checked out ThinkWiki and saw there were multiple screen types. Either way I'm happy with it, hoping to find some replacement rubber pieces to help support the screen in tablet mode.
Watching this on my x201T and I still love this little machine. Works great under Linux and the only real upgrades I need to make are maxing out that RAM and even then that is just because of the browser and modern websites getting more and more bloated. For getting actual work done the original 4GBs is fine still. I suppose it helps the original owner bought the top of the line model with the i7 L640 and a 7200 RPM 500 GB drive.
Not bad overall for battery life! Mine's similar if I'm running a light load on Win10, I do have two batteries though, one larger cell count for extended-use and the standard size so it fits in my docking station.
Maybe the Trackpoint moved around when the screen was closed because one of the boots at the palm rest was missing so causing the Trackpoint to be touching the back of the display.
It's possible, it's something I haven't investigated further unfortunately, I've kept this laptop docked with a small workstation setup for the past few months now.
Nice review just what I was looking for, I actually found an almost brand one, hopefully the owner sells it for a reasonable price. Will be really useful as a second laptop as I need a light laptop with touch screen for my books. Might even use it to code!
I have one that's working great in 2020 with MX Linux v19.2 (8 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD). And yah, the touch screen works under Linux. Not a gamer but perfectly adequate for "normal" computing tasks. Don't see build quality like that any more.
I have a lot, but truthfully none are very interesting. The people I worked with had the stories though, a lot of life-time IBMers were part of the team I worked on, one with the company for over 30 years. It's one of those companies that's run in an overly complicated way, with tonnes of processes and procedures to do basic things.
I have that same lenovo like you do. I'm having trouble resetting it wipe it clean. The previous owner didn't gave me the user password. Can you help me with the factory reset?
I'm thinking of picking one of these up locally tomorrow... how much would upgrading to an ssd cost? Any suggestions as to where or which one to buy? Thanks
Hey sorry for the late reply on this, if you haven't found an SSD yet you should be able to use any 2.5mm drive. The SSD I used on this was an old drive I had previously on my MacBook Pro, it was about 9 years old and worked great. Depending on what you plan on doing with the ThinkPad will determine the size you'll want to go with, but unless you're planning to store a lot on it 256 GB should be plenty. Read/Write speeds aren't as important with the X201 since it's so old, no sense wasting money on a fast SSD when even an entry-level one will work significantly better than the HDD originally sold with it.
Are you using the "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter" driver that windows 10 installs, or did you manage to get the intel hd graphics driver to work? I've got the same machine but the Core I5 version and drivers have been a nightmare for me..
The Intel HD graphics drivers are working on this one, I don't believe I had to install them manually either. Windows 10 pretty much installed everything I needed aside from the tablet specific drivers which I managed to get off Lenovo's site via Windows 7 drivers.
@@prn_tech i have the core i5 x201 and the vga drivers are installed by default, the intel hd grahics driver always reports error and the drivers for win 7 for intel hd graphihcs wont instll even in compatabilty mode
My guess is the most likely culprit is dust. There are guides online on how to open these computers up and you probably just need a can or two of compressed air to blow the dust out of the machine. This is especially a good idea if this hasn't been done in 10 years.
I'd say the dust is the problem too. For a couple months I was actually using this to play an older video game and it would get warm, but not so hot that I couldn't keep it on my lap. If you've got some dust spray perhaps you can clear out the fan vent.
I also have a Thinkpad X201 Tablet but, I notice that the monitor is a bit different on mine. I notice that yours seems to have a Wacom screen/stylus. According to their site, (linked below), Wacom uses EMR technology for their stylus inputs so I'm not surprised that you're unable to get touch recognition without the stylus. According to this thread on Lenovo's forums, there were several possible configurations for the X201 Tablet and not all of them supported "Simpletap" which is the Windows 7 finger touch technology. Lenovo forums: forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-X-Series-Tablet-and/thinkpad-x201-tablet-touch-input-simple-tap/td-p/267980 Wacom site: www.wacom.com/en-ch/enterprise/business-solutions/resources-and-information/emr-benefits Thanks for sharing your Thinkpad experience!
Sounds like you've got the best model! Only a number of the X201 Tablets came with a capacitive touch screen like we find on modern laptops/tablets, which would make using this with Windows 10 a little more seamless. For some things the pen is very useful though.
Worked fine on mine, just download the upgrade off Microsoft's website and install it. With this I formatted an SSD and installed Windows 10 from scratch.
Hello I get this device and Iam asking me how you can run it win win10 if are no drivers for these operating system? and behind thiis I need to ask you if you was experimented problems with wifi antena (masive problem for all x series), in mine device wifi turn to off randomly, wifi turns off when the screens folds in drawing tablet position too but this I can solve it changing configs in device manager win 7 screen ... hope for your repply
I was able to use Windows 7 drivers without issue for the upgrade to Windows 10. The only feature that didn't work for me was the biometric reader, but BIOS doesn't see it so I think it's either defective or someone forgot to reconnect it when it was refurbished. I do suffer from WiFi issues, in fact it's one of the only major problems I have. If the laptop goes into sleep mode I often cannot connect to the WiFi, or it tells me I have limited connectivity. Even restarting doesn't quite solve it on the first try, usually I have to disconnect from the WiFi, turn it off with the physical switch, restart the laptop, and turn the WiFi back on. The one thing I'm thinking is when the laptop goes to sleep it isn't getting a DHCP lease renewal and trying to use the same IP address, which ends up being assigned to something else. Just a theory I have, but haven't investigated.
@@prn_tech WOW thanks 4 u comments. Iam experiment same symptoms with wifi. These machines are sadomasoquist, they wake up with wifi on only when you unplug it to the power source without battery attached so shuts down badly ... seems as power energy saving wrongly affect the PCI port and wifi stops working, only you solve using a wifi usb modem and forgets the pci one...
I have 1 x201tablet i7 1 x200tablet core2duo and 1 thinkpad laptop t420 i5 3 war machines! with 8gb memory and ssd they rock using win 10 the x200 and x201 all you need is google it about tablet screen rotation buttons drivers my machines only works with pen i never got touch screen working with fingers, but is ok :-) who need a cheap laptop / tablet that lasts a lifetime for about 100 euros can find a machine of these on ebay I have other desktops and tablets like samsung galaxy etc and for my daily use as browsing email, networks etc use the thinkpads :) the coreduo at x200t at 186 ghz with ssd and 8gb ram rocks with windows 10 eheh great machines!
I think the only major thing that doesn't work on my Thinkpad (which I'm replying to you with on right now) is the fingerprint reader. I think the hardware failed, or was disconnected when the laptop was reconditioned.
I have an X201, X220, T61P, W520. With 8GB RAM and an SSD, they do very nicely.
Glad to hear it! SSDs make a huge difference!
I had some issues/bugs with Win10 on this machine. Switched back to Win7. Biggest drawback for me is the screen res. A 16:10 display would be also nice :)
What issues did you have with yours? We updated to the October 2018 update a few weeks ago and haven't had any real issues. One thing we noted on this and the X60 tablet was problems with the Sleep mode, if the computer lid was closed to put Windows in sleep mode it would eventually restart the system after about 24 hours and get stuck in a missing HDD error, running the CPU and fans even with the lid closed. We try to remember to shut down if we aren't using it for the rest of the day.
One thing to be aware of regarding the touch screen is there were 2 varieties of touch screen for all x tablets. There was a multi-touch finger compatible one and a pen only one. You may have ended up with a pen only digitizer.
That definitely seems to be the case! I read through the Engadget review of it from 2010 when I picked it up, and they only talked about the one model they had, I just assumed they all had the same screen. After uploading the video I checked out ThinkWiki and saw there were multiple screen types. Either way I'm happy with it, hoping to find some replacement rubber pieces to help support the screen in tablet mode.
Watching this on my x201T and I still love this little machine. Works great under Linux and the only real upgrades I need to make are maxing out that RAM and even then that is just because of the browser and modern websites getting more and more bloated. For getting actual work done the original 4GBs is fine still. I suppose it helps the original owner bought the top of the line model with the i7 L640 and a 7200 RPM 500 GB drive.
How long does the battery last on yours with basic browsing?
@@mariabutler3356 I would say about 3 hours.
Not bad overall for battery life! Mine's similar if I'm running a light load on Win10, I do have two batteries though, one larger cell count for extended-use and the standard size so it fits in my docking station.
Maybe the Trackpoint moved around when the screen was closed because one of the boots at the palm rest was missing so causing the Trackpoint to be touching the back of the display.
It's possible, it's something I haven't investigated further unfortunately, I've kept this laptop docked with a small workstation setup for the past few months now.
Nice review just what I was looking for, I actually found an almost brand one, hopefully the owner sells it for a reasonable price. Will be really useful as a second laptop as I need a light laptop with touch screen for my books. Might even use it to code!
I have one that's working great in 2020 with MX Linux v19.2 (8 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD). And yah, the touch screen works under Linux. Not a gamer but perfectly adequate for "normal" computing tasks. Don't see build quality like that any more.
Glad to hear it!
I like the outro music
Please tell us some stories of when you worked at IBM.
I have a lot, but truthfully none are very interesting. The people I worked with had the stories though, a lot of life-time IBMers were part of the team I worked on, one with the company for over 30 years. It's one of those companies that's run in an overly complicated way, with tonnes of processes and procedures to do basic things.
I have that same lenovo like you do. I'm having trouble resetting it wipe it clean. The previous owner didn't gave me the user password. Can you help me with the factory reset?
I'm thinking of picking one of these up locally tomorrow... how much would upgrading to an ssd cost? Any suggestions as to where or which one to buy? Thanks
Hey sorry for the late reply on this, if you haven't found an SSD yet you should be able to use any 2.5mm drive. The SSD I used on this was an old drive I had previously on my MacBook Pro, it was about 9 years old and worked great. Depending on what you plan on doing with the ThinkPad will determine the size you'll want to go with, but unless you're planning to store a lot on it 256 GB should be plenty. Read/Write speeds aren't as important with the X201 since it's so old, no sense wasting money on a fast SSD when even an entry-level one will work significantly better than the HDD originally sold with it.
Great video!
Thank you!
Are you using the "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter" driver that windows 10 installs, or did you manage to get the intel hd graphics driver to work? I've got the same machine but the Core I5 version and drivers have been a nightmare for me..
The Intel HD graphics drivers are working on this one, I don't believe I had to install them manually either. Windows 10 pretty much installed everything I needed aside from the tablet specific drivers which I managed to get off Lenovo's site via Windows 7 drivers.
@@prn_tech i have the core i5 x201 and the vga drivers are installed by default, the intel hd grahics driver always reports error and the drivers for win 7 for intel hd graphihcs wont instll even in compatabilty mode
I have one to can you get a smaller battery for it find it quiet heavy
?
I ended up getting the slim battery for it, though it does have the 'tail' on the back that sticks out, at least it fits on the dock properly.
@@prn_tech can you send me a link where I can buy one? cheers
what would be a good price to buy one in 2021? i5 520UM 6gb 128gb ssd. Would 100 bucks be on the high side?
That sounds fair to me, I wouldn't say its too much as long as the laptop is in good condition overall.
hola, cuando deseo instalar windows no me detecta mi memoria SSD. Como lo soluciono?
Amazing video
My x201 is getting hot easily. Can you please tell me what is the reason?
x201s get really hot easily
My guess is the most likely culprit is dust. There are guides online on how to open these computers up and you probably just need a can or two of compressed air to blow the dust out of the machine. This is especially a good idea if this hasn't been done in 10 years.
I'd say the dust is the problem too. For a couple months I was actually using this to play an older video game and it would get warm, but not so hot that I couldn't keep it on my lap. If you've got some dust spray perhaps you can clear out the fan vent.
I also have a Thinkpad X201 Tablet but, I notice that the monitor is a bit different on mine.
I notice that yours seems to have a Wacom screen/stylus.
According to their site, (linked below), Wacom uses EMR technology for their stylus inputs so I'm not surprised that you're unable to get touch recognition without the stylus.
According to this thread on Lenovo's forums, there were several possible configurations for the X201 Tablet and not all of them supported "Simpletap" which is the Windows 7 finger touch technology.
Lenovo forums: forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-X-Series-Tablet-and/thinkpad-x201-tablet-touch-input-simple-tap/td-p/267980
Wacom site: www.wacom.com/en-ch/enterprise/business-solutions/resources-and-information/emr-benefits
Thanks for sharing your Thinkpad experience!
Sounds like you've got the best model! Only a number of the X201 Tablets came with a capacitive touch screen like we find on modern laptops/tablets, which would make using this with Windows 10 a little more seamless. For some things the pen is very useful though.
How did you install window 10? I thought it didn’t work for Lenovo thinkpad x201
Worked fine on mine, just download the upgrade off Microsoft's website and install it. With this I formatted an SSD and installed Windows 10 from scratch.
Hello I get this device and Iam asking me how you can run it win win10 if are no drivers for these operating system? and behind thiis I need to ask you if you was experimented problems with wifi antena (masive problem for all x series), in mine device wifi turn to off randomly, wifi turns off when the screens folds in drawing tablet position too but this I can solve it changing configs in device manager win 7 screen ... hope for your repply
I was able to use Windows 7 drivers without issue for the upgrade to Windows 10. The only feature that didn't work for me was the biometric reader, but BIOS doesn't see it so I think it's either defective or someone forgot to reconnect it when it was refurbished. I do suffer from WiFi issues, in fact it's one of the only major problems I have. If the laptop goes into sleep mode I often cannot connect to the WiFi, or it tells me I have limited connectivity. Even restarting doesn't quite solve it on the first try, usually I have to disconnect from the WiFi, turn it off with the physical switch, restart the laptop, and turn the WiFi back on.
The one thing I'm thinking is when the laptop goes to sleep it isn't getting a DHCP lease renewal and trying to use the same IP address, which ends up being assigned to something else. Just a theory I have, but haven't investigated.
@@prn_tech WOW thanks 4 u comments. Iam experiment same symptoms with wifi. These machines are sadomasoquist, they wake up with wifi on only when you unplug it to the power source without battery attached so shuts down badly ... seems as power energy saving wrongly affect the PCI port and wifi stops working, only you solve using a wifi usb modem and forgets the pci one...
@@prn_tech Hi, did you manage to make the built-in bluetooth work properly? Thanks.
كيف تشغيل ضوء
I have 1 x201tablet i7 1 x200tablet core2duo and 1 thinkpad laptop t420 i5 3 war machines! with 8gb memory and ssd they rock using win 10 the x200 and x201 all you need is google it about tablet screen rotation buttons drivers my machines only works with pen i never got touch screen working with fingers, but is ok :-)
who need a cheap laptop / tablet that lasts a lifetime for about 100 euros can find a machine of these on ebay I have other desktops and tablets like samsung galaxy etc and for my daily use as browsing email, networks etc use the thinkpads :) the coreduo at x200t at 186 ghz with ssd and 8gb ram rocks with windows 10 eheh great machines!
I think the only major thing that doesn't work on my Thinkpad (which I'm replying to you with on right now) is the fingerprint reader. I think the hardware failed, or was disconnected when the laptop was reconditioned.