How many here still have Turbo Memory / Hybrid Disk power issues?

In a nutshell, most users who have experienced this issue have notebooks that will freeze completely after running for a few minutes on battery power. This can include X61 and T61 machines, or any Lenovo which utilizes Vista and Intel's Turbo Memory.

The popular work around at this point has been to disable the Windows "Hybrid Hard Disk Power Savings Mode" function in the power management advanced menu.

The trade off is a slight loss of battery efficiency/runtime.

The message coming from Lenovo HQ is to ensure that the latest system drivers are used. Current build for the Intel Drive Matrix and Turbo Memory is 1013, which can be downloaded from Lenovo or Intel. However, (and one of the reasons for this poll) is that there hasn't been a general consensus on whether or not the latest drivers have in fact fixed anything.

At least for me the, latest 1013 drivers don't seem to help.

So now, I would like to attempt a poll to find out who are still affected, those who have corrected their problem, and any additional workarounds or fixes.

If there is a better way of doing things rather than disabling Turbo Memory or Hybrid Disk Power Saver, that would be ideal as we would finally get a working machine without any trade-offs.

If you have found a solution other than what was already mentioned above, please post here. If you are still having trouble, please list your system configuration, when the problem occurs, what your power management settings are, and what driver versions you are using.

 

By the way, if your system has never had this problem and so happens to be similarly equipped (i.e. Turbo Memory, HDPS set to on), then please chime in. It would be good to know what kind of configuration you have, what driver versions are being used, BIOS, etc.

Remember - this only affects Vista owners with Turbo Memory running on battery power. If you are running XP, or do not have Turbo Memory installed, please do NOT vote.

Thanks.

 

If you look at other forums, Dell users and others are having similar problems. I think it's extremely unlikely that any Lenovo-specific driver issues are at play here, I think this is a Windows issue.

I've been searching this for a few weeks, and the recent references in Lenovo forums to disabling Hybrid Disk Power Saver are new and not picked up elsewhere. If this fixes it, we should spread the word. I've just made the change, I'll see what happens.

 

I see that 3 people so far have voted NO, their systems are unaffected.

It would have been nice if they had posted what setup they had, and how they use their machines.

By the way, I've noticed most of my issues when using Firefox on battery.

 

Just installed Vista SP1. Will test it out and report back my findings later. I've restored the Hybrid Disk Power Saver setting. Hopefully SP1 will fix whatever issues existed.

 

Nope.. SP1 didn't seem to cure the problem. After installing SP1 and turning Hybrid Disk Power Saver back on, Firefox quit after about 15 minutes of use and the system froze. Only way to recover again was through a hard reset.

I'm trying the system now with other applications other than Firefox. For me, it seems most of my system hangs are experienced on battery when FF is open.

 

I never had that issue

 

^^^ Have you used Firefox on battery with turbo memory and HDPS enabled as well as APM?

 

Just to ask, is this "Hybrid Hard Disk Power Savings Mode" also known as "Hybrid Sleep" in the power management advanced menu?

 

Ok, well here's what I found out after more testing last night.

If APS is on, as well as Hybrid Disk Power Saver and the laptop is moved while Vista is writing to cache, the system will lock. Looks like it goes into some sort of endless loop waiting for the HDD to come back online, even though according to the desktop indicator it has.

If you turn APS off while leaving HDPS on, there is no problem.

If you leave APS on, and turn HDPS off, there is no problem.

I decided to do the test because I had the laptop running all day yesterday on battery power without nary a freeze. I asked myself why? The only difference was yesterday, I had the laptop sitting on a desk not moving. The only times it has ever frozen on me is if I'd be using the notebook on my lap, and moved it around; i.e. to get up and do something.

So it's apparently a software issue that the folks over at Redmond and Intel have to figure out. SP1 does not solve the problem either.

I'm still surprised that some people here do not or have never been affected. What are the differences and variances with our machines or the way we use them? That is the question...

 

I don't find that disabling HDDPS as having any "trade-offs". The possible decreased battery performance is not noticeable on my machine. It should be pretty negligible.

I also believe that APS is mostly hype. The technology is old (it's been around for about 5 years) and it is not rocket science. If it was that great, all of the other manufacturers would have adopted the technology. That picture with the big air-bag on the LCD is a joke. APS provides absolutely no protection to the LCD. The LCD is going to be the most likely thing to bust under a big drop. APS is for HDD protection, but unless you are very rough handling your machine while writing files, APS isn't going to do much for you. And, if you actually drop your machine you are going to be pretty screwed regardless. Of course, these are just my opinions.

I think most people who have read my clean install guide know that I'm a minimalist when it comes to utilities/apps that are really just added bells and whistles that you don't need and often times just cause problems. I say... stick with the basics and enjoy your computer instead of trying to make a bunch of conflicting utilities co-exist that really aren't that beneficial. Just my .02

 

I will probably go the clean install route once I've exhausted all other options. I guess I like the challenge of trying find solutions to problems I shouldn't be having.

By the way, I have not been able to replicate the issue at work. I brought my laptop with me today, and the only difference in environment is that I'm using a CAT-5 NIC connection; not wireless....

Hmmm...

 

I do think a clean install is a good idea. However, in my above post I wasn't really suggesting a clean install. Moreover, I was suggesting to disable Hybrid Hard Drive Power Management, avoid/remove APS and move on. I understand the enjoyment of "tinkering" and finding solutions... BELIEVE ME! But, I have grown weary over the months and have come to realize that I have wasted countless hours (granted I've learned a lot) trying to fit a square peg into a round hole when I could have been focused on my family or "real" work. I understand that it feels good to be able to widdle that square peg into a perfect circle to fit in the round hole, but... you get the idea. Is it really worth it?

I have come to my personal conclusion:
1. Do a clean install.
2. Only install what you really NEED.
3. Enjoy!

Sorry if I am distracting from the focus of your thread. I've shared my 2 cents and I'm done.