Clean Install Windows 8.1 on T440s

Has anyone here done that? What order do we install the drivers? Also, would I need to provide a key?
Any other tips and suggestions would also be nice.

I want to do this because the laptop comes preinstalled with stuff I don't need and my RAM usage easily goes up to 90%. Also, my webcam has stopped working, the light goes on but there's no video. I am hoping a fresh install will change things.

 

If you install Lenovo System Update, it will install all the most up to date drivers and software, you'll need to at least get a driver to connect to the internet (AKA LAN/WLAN).

 

Chances are you will need to use software to retrieve the CD Key. I've used this software in this link: KeyFinder | Magical Jelly Bean and it works just fine.

Here is also a link on the steps needed to create recovery media for windows 8.1 for doing a fresh install: Create installation media for Windows 8.1 - Microsoft Windows Help

 

Also, how much RAM do you have? It shouldn't be using 90% unless you're using some really heavy duty programs. Otherwise, this shouldn't happen. Have you tried doing a normal default factory restore rather than a fresh install?

 

I have 4GB, should be sufficient. But I'll be getting another 4 or 8GB stick soon. It gets to 85-90% when I have firefox on with 6-7 tabs and maybe some background task like downloading/streaming.

Thanks. I forgot about Lenovo System Update.

 

I was always under the impression that Windows will try to use all available RAM and assign to different programs on the fly as necessary. After all, what's the point of having memory sitting unused?

If the CPU is running at 90% when web browsing, however, then you have a problem

 

My personal suggestion is, don't. It's a hassle. At best you will end up with an install that isn't any better than what you have now. At worst you'll have a lot of problems.

4GB is only marginally acceptable today. You can break down the RAM usage exactly - but keep in mind that RAM is meant to be used - it does no good free and doing nothing. Many modern programs hold a lot of data in RAM because it is so much faster to access than from any other source - yet they will dynamically free it as it becomes needed.

I have 12GB of RAM and without much running I have 6GB in active use.

RAM is cheap. I'd buy more.

 

I have no problem with the computer using the RAM, the RAM is there to be used but if it's being used so much already what will happen if I play a game like DotA 2 on it? I'm not certain but I think that is the reason I'm not able to play the game even on low settings.

Also, my camera seems to have stopped working. It was working fine with Windows 8 but once I upgraded to 8.1 it doesn't work. I see the camera light turned on but that's all. All the drivers are there.
So should I just use the factory restore image then?

 

How do you do a factory restore? F11 takes me to windows restore and when I try to reset it says no image found. Is it because of Win 8.1?

 

I've been using Windows 7 on my current laptop. It's time for a change. I brought T440s off eBay, and I plan to buy a 250GB SSD to replace HDD. I just want to do a clean install (Windows 8 is currently on T440s). Are there steps that I should follow? Like updating drivers, installing SSD, doing clean install, etc.

Thank you.

 

There isn't a huge difference between a mechanical and an SSD in terms of installing the OS. What I do is since most of my machines have a ton of RAM, I change the the pagefile to like 1024 MB. I also disable hibernate on my machines as I don't use it and it eats up a huge amount of space of your SSD.

 

Pretty straightforward with the install. The W8.1 key will be "embedded" on your machine, so there's no key to type in. Just put in the blank SSD, install the latest firmware version if it doesn't already have that (you'll likely need to use an external CD drive here), and use a W8 disk to install. Meanwhile, use another computer to grab the appropriate WiFi driver and the System Update software installer off Lenovo's website.

When Windows boots, it's a simple matter to install the WiFi driver and SU, then let it grab all the drivers and software you need. Be sure to untick the software you don't need (ie: Active Protection System, Access Connections, etc).

 

Very well. Thank you. By 'clean install', I want to remove bloatwares. Is it still possible to do so with the W8 disk? It's the W8 recovery disc so I think bloatwares are bundled with the disc. Which means I should burn an ISO file to USB drive. Right?

 

No, not the Lenovo W8 recovery disk. You'll have to use a stock "untouched" retail W8 install disk, which is available as an ISO from MSDN (if you're a student at a participating university) or through... other means. Whether you choose to install via a CD (external CD drive) or from a USB doesn't matter; either will work fine.

 

Of course, I can do that, but I am still waiting for the administration to make an account (DreamSpark Premium) for me so I can have access to download W8. It'll take a little while before I get my DreamSpark Premium account, though. So, speaking of other means, can you please explain that? Like this? Can I do this clean install (remove everything such as bloatwares and Lenovo crap)?

I appreciate your help. Thank you for taking your time answering my questions. I have never done any of these things so I just want to be safe.

EDIT: It turns out that I am not eligible for DreamSpark Premium; it's limited to CS majors. Ugh.

 

How much bloatware came on your ThinkPad? My L440 only had Norton, SugarSync and Nitro PDF, plus a handful of Modern UI apps (Kindle, Zinio). To be honest, uninstalling that beats a clean install.

 

I got an "8.1 pro 64-bit" ISO from dreamspark, and it automatically picked up my 8.1 core (yep, not pro) key from the BIOS on my t440s. However, since you don't have that:

Upgrade Windows with only a product key - Windows Help

Use a keyfinder if you still have the stock 8.x install (if not, there are tools to read it from the BIOS).

Then, go to that link and grab the ISO. If your machine shipped with 8.1, this should all be easy. Key should be automatically detected.

If you have 8... the last I checked anyway, you had to start the 8 download with the key, kill it, and then start the 8.1 download (automatically resumes and downloads 8.1). Install 8.1 using the generic key floating around (which won't activate it). Then, use slmgr /ipk to install your key. It should activate by itself.