Lenovo Y510P and Windows

[Buffalufacus]

So I'm thinking about getting the Lenovo y510p sometime this year when it goes back on sale, but I have a few questions. I understand that in the third tier, the laptop comes with a 24gb SSD. Is this a mSATA drive or normal SSD? I have an extra 120gb SSD lying around and I am wondering if I can get the 2nd Tier Y510p and add my SSD on top of the 1tb harddrive already in it. Also is Windows 8 preinstalled and activated on the system, or will I have to activate it myself? I would like to get the 2nd tier system, add in my 120gb SSD and install windows 8 on my ssd and use the 1TB for data saves and what not.

If anybody has any experience with the y510p and would like to put their two cents in it would be greatly appreciated, especially when it comes to my question and how to efficiently cool the laptop when gaming/working.

 

[ACTechy]

I did some research on the Y510p and I'm 99% sure it does not come with dual bays. The SSD is a cache style mSATA device, from what I've found. If you're concerned about cooling, you can get a laptop stand with a built in fan or something along those lines for when it's sitting on a desk/tabletop. The OS will come installed, ready for you to personalize.

Cheers!

 

[Buffalufacus]

Thanks for the answer! So now I am wondering .... I won't use the Optical Drive very often, and I can't seem to find anything from Lenovo regarding them selling other Ultrabays. So in theory should I be able to get a SATA caddy and put it in the ultra bay slot and put my SSD in there?

 

[ACTechy]

Thanks for the answer! So now I am wondering .... I won't use the Optical Drive very often, and I can't seem to find anything from Lenovo regarding them selling other Ultrabays. So in theory should I be able to get a SATA caddy and put it in the ultra bay slot and put my SSD in there?

That would be the way to go. There are a couple options online, here's a good one:

http/www.mini-laptop-accessories.com/2nd-hard-drive-hddssd-caddy-adapter-lenovo-ideapad-y410p-y510p-p-27401.html

I recently bought something very similar, and it's working out really well!

 

[ACTechy]

Here's a couple more, for slightly less:

http/www.ebay.com/bhp/lenovo-ideapad-hdd-caddy

http/www.ebay.com/itm/New-2nd-SATA-Hard-Drive-SSD-HDD-Caddy-for-Lenovo-IdeaPad-Y510P-Y510PT-/281129999992

Both of which have 'buy now' options, so you don't have to bid.

Cheers!

 

[Buffalufacus]

Awesome! will they work in the ultrabay, connection wise? I know you dont own one but you've had all of my answers so far!

 

[ACTechy]

Awesome! will they work in the ultrabay, connection wise? I know you dont own one but you've had all of my answers so far!

Yeup, I'm positive they will. It will actually be a super easy plug and play route, as opposed to hooking up cables under the hood.

 

[olin9]

Just get the ultrabay 2nd HD and replace the main HD with your SSD.

 

[ACTechy]

Just get the ultrabay 2nd HD and replace the main HD with your SSD.

That's not an option with this model. Y510p does not come with the option to have more than 1 HDD, the "ultra bay" converts the optical drive space into SLI graphics cards, not more disc space. Even if you could, that would be a much more expensive option, since you'd be paying for a whole second drive that you wouldn't even use.

 

[frontbroiler]

Just get the ultrabay 2nd HD and replace the main HD with your SSD.

That's not an option with this model. Y510p does not come with the option to have more than 1 HDD, the "ultra bay" converts the optical drive space into SLI graphics cards, not more disc space. Even if you could, that would be a much more expensive option, since you'd be paying for a whole second drive that you wouldn't even use.

Just to clarify: do you think putting an SSD in the ultrabay WILL work, or? Perhaps I misunderstood you. I'm also thinking about the Y510p, but trying to discern whether or not the ultrabay kan take a caddy fitted SSD to use as my C: drive Any guiding thoughts?

 

[ACTechy]

Just to clarify: do you think putting an SSD in the ultrabay WILL work, or? Perhaps I misunderstood you. I'm also thinking about the Y510p, but trying to discern whether or not the ultrabay kan take a caddy fitted SSD to use as my C: drive Any guiding thoughts?

Yes, it definitely can You will just have to take out the hard drive the Y510p comes standard with and install Windows fresh with the just the SSD (mounted in the optical drive caddy, aka UltraBay) installed. Not hard at all, just make sure you have a Windows disk lying around, and you just use the Windows code that comes on the bottom of the laptop when prompted on install.

Good luck, here to help!

 

[frontbroiler]

Yes, it definitely can You will just have to take out the hard drive the Y510p comes standard with and install Windows fresh with the just the SSD (mounted in the optical drive caddy, aka UltraBay) installed. Not hard at all, just make sure you have a Windows disk lying around, and you just use the Windows code that comes on the bottom of the laptop when prompted on install.

Good luck, here to help![/quotemsg]

Thanks for the reply
Will I have to remove the HDD already in the y510p first? I am thinking on removing/formatting the original drive, replacing Win8 with/installing Win7. The way I imagined doing it was simply popping in the SSD using the caddy, without removing the original HDD, load SETUP, deleting the Win8 on original HDD, then installing Win7 from a pre-made USB key, then installing Win7 onto the SSD, securely mounted in/onto the caddy.
Will I be able to do this? Or is there another reason why I should remove the original HDD first? The less operations I have to do inside the PC, the better

Thanks again for the help, much appreciated

 

[ACTechy]

Thanks for the reply
Will I have to remove the HDD already in the y510p first? I am thinking on removing/formatting the original drive, replacing Win8 with/installing Win7. The way I imagined doing it was simply popping in the SSD using the caddy, without removing the original HDD, load SETUP, deleting the Win8 on original HDD, then installing Win7 from a pre-made USB key, then installing Win7 onto the SSD, securely mounted in/onto the caddy.
Will I be able to do this? Or is there another reason why I should remove the original HDD first? The less operations I have to do inside the PC, the better

Thanks again for the help, much appreciated

If you can get it to work, that should work fine. You may have problems though, with having something already loaded with Windows in your machine at the same time you want to reinstall. You want to make sure your machine is only looking at the SSD during install. You can try it, if it doesn't work, try it the way I suggested, no harm in trying.

 

[Buffalufacus]

Yeah you can leave the HDD in, you just have to change the boot order in BIOS. I have that going in my desktop now and only had an issue when I put a new Motherboard in, but luckily I only had OS and Games on my SSD so I didn't lose anything important in the fresh install. Thanks also for keeping this going, now I just gotta find the right time/money to get this beast!

 

[frontbroiler]

If you can get it to work, that should work fine. You may have problems though, with having something already loaded with Windows in your machine at the same time you want to reinstall. You want to make sure your machine is only looking at the SSD during install. You can try it, if it doesn't work, try it the way I suggested, no harm in trying.

Yeah, that could be a problem. But I would think I can remedy that by first formatting the HDD with the Win8 installation, then booting into the Win7 installation, then having, hopefully, two fresh and clean disks to chose from, the original HDD, and the caddy installed SSD. It's been some time since my last clean install, but I seem to remember choosing what drive to install windows on, when several drives are available, is easily done during the format/install windows process.

Feeling eager to try, luckily, there's a 14-30 day open purchase law here in Norway, so if it doesn't work, I can always return the Y510p, hehe

 

[frontbroiler]

Yeah you can leave the HDD in, you just have to change the boot order in BIOS. I have that going in my desktop now and only had an issue when I put a new Motherboard in, but luckily I only had OS and Games on my SSD so I didn't lose anything important in the fresh install. Thanks also for keeping this going, now I just gotta find the right time/money to get this beast!

So, you've tried this? Installing an SSD in the UltraBay, using a caddy, and it works flawlessly, on the Lenovo Y510p? Yes, changing the boot order in BIOS should do the trick. If I just format the original HDD with win8, and then install win7 from a USB key, in my mind I should be able to chose installing this onto the SSD, and VIOLA!

 

[ACTechy]

Yeah, that could be a problem. But I would think I can remedy that by first formatting the HDD with the Win8 installation, then booting into the Win7 installation, then having, hopefully, two fresh and clean disks to chose from, the original HDD, and the caddy installed SSD. It's been some time since my last clean install, but I seem to remember choosing what drive to install windows on, when several drives are available, is easily done during the format/install windows process.

Feeling eager to try, luckily, there's a 14-30 day open purchase law here in Norway, so if it doesn't work, I can always return the Y510p, hehe

I'm sure you'll be fine. Enjoy!