A change is coming - next chapter in e-support at Lenovo

[tonewheels]

Any news on what the website team plan to do about the new severely 'slimmed down' e-support site? Are we stuck with it or are Lenovo listening?

[Mornsgrans]

• Drivermatrix Thinkpad 560
• Drivermatrix Thinkpad 560E
• Drivermatrix Thinkpad 560X
• Drivermatrix Thinkpad 560Z

• Drivermatrix ThinkPad 240
• Drivermatrix ThinkPad 240X
• Drivermatrix ThinkPad 240Z/i1124

• Drivermatrix Thinkpad 600

• Drivermatrix Serie one, two i1300
• Drivermatrix Serie three, four i1300

• Drivermatrix ThinkPad 570

• Drivermatrix ThinkPad 770Z

For ThinkPads starting with A20/T20 please look at http://support1.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?LegacyDocID=DRVR-MATRIX

[sletrabf]

Hello all and hello especially to the Lenovo staff.
I totally sign everything that has been written in dr_st's post from 16.08.2014 12:12 PM (GMT + 1). The old support site that - luckily - is still reachable on a mirror gives the users/collectors a great tool to search for every single bit of drivers/software, other documents like HMMs and the specifications. Searching by MTM is an incredible fast way to get just EVERYTHING you need (without exaggeration - really EVERYTHING what the heart of a DIY desires). Of course, the number of collectors/users of older Thinkpads is small compared to the number of customers who own a model less than seven years old, but the availability of all the drivers/manuals and possibly replacement parts even for much much older models is one, if not THE main reason I and many other people recommend others to get an IBM/Lenovo machine instead of a blinky-blinky-9-to-5-notebook. And please don't forget that also satisfied (i.e. not disappointed in such a harsh way) collectors will somewhen buy newer models.

@Mark: Could you please explain if it is possible to keep a website for legacy devices - and if not, then why not? As mentioned, It could be a different domain so that it is not to be confused with the site for the actual models, and it doesn't need to be maintained much, as long as the main functionality is still given (probably, you could add a disclaimer that you leave the content online without taking any responsibility further than that). 

Or is it at least possible to pass the knowledge to the community so that it won't be lost?

And what will happen to models that are sold now - is it planned to delete the knowledge concerning them as well after seven years?

Greets, sletrabf (a DIY who plans to buy a new Thinkpad after finishing my studies, whose T500 2082-7SG is unfortunately the only Thinkpad in my household that can be found on your new support website, and whose still beautiful T42 2373-K1G along his R61 8943-DJG with a Hydis IPS Display cannot be found anymore...)

[I-like-lenovo]

Just to add my voice.

I feel the new driver download site is hopeless. With the old site all you had to do was type in your  7 digit model code and there were all the drivers. Try doing the same now for a machine type eg z61m and no drivers exist.

Google finds a few but invariably links to the old useful 307 site

Please bring it back?

 System update has gone downhill too. It failed to realise you need an ultranav driver before loading trackpoint.

Doesnt install memory card driver and dont ask about camera driver

[femistokl]

Dear Lenovo Staff!

I also want to add a small portion of negativity. It is still not possible to do the search by machine type model! I tried to input my MTM 2007-ys3, 2000ys3, 2007YS3 and 2007-YS3 (T60p Thinkpad) but unfortunately, I failed. Before the site reconstruction it have been such an easy way to get all you need just by typing the machine type model. And now the search shows no results. Very disappointing!

Best regards, Ivan.

[jirikrestan]

Change? Really? One example: I have Yoga tablet 10, several times had the same problem - cannt turn on, only logo Lenovo is showing. Each time I had to contact my supplier and wait for a 30 dyas for repairing.....Reason - SW......Veri known problem for each Lenovo Yoga tablet user. Reaction from Lenovo - none........ I have this first time (and last time together) . Each tablet than Yoga from Lenovo should be better........

Moderator comment: Post edited to conform with the Community Rules. Keep it clean.

[ddpk32]

The change is coming, the help is not

Starting with forums, there is no support for the Yoga Tablet series. Even email support page does not have Yoga in the drop down list. It looks like all support has been stuck in the Idea series. For example, there is no way to report the following problem:

Yoga B8000AF16GSL-RU, clean usage without root or whatever, all updates including Google Maps updated today - no Street View in Google Maps. Since disabling or enabling the ages old PREINSTALLED Street View In Google Maps application changes exactly nothing, I guess is is a Lenovo software fault.

[kostasrms]

First of all I want to say that I have started using computers before even the hard drive has discovered.I have bought many computers, desktop and laptops, till now and with all of them I had many things to complain for. 

I have the Lenovo laptop G505s with windows 8 x64 operating system, AMD A8-5550 APU,8GB Ram  for about  a year now and I wanted to share my opinion here.

Its the first computer that I don't need external help at all! It has everything I want inside of it. With Lenovo solution I have a perfected system to download and update drivers anytime that I need, I can return the computer to the original state if I make some mistakes (because I'm doing a lot of excavations in software...) and at last its...fast!

I have read many articles and forums (in my country) before i buy this laptop. I have read something like:" The keyboard,the case and the monitor has some problems because of the materials has been used" and some other things like these but I have something to say about this. I wanted a laptop that it does exactly that I want.I want a good support when I have  problem and many other things that I had several problems with my previous experience with computers.Lenovo has the most (if not all)things that I want.I wanted a computer.Not something to hit the walls with it. A computer is a piece of machine that it needs extra care if you want to keep it as it is. My experience with it is perfect, since now, except the AMD proccesor that is overheating like all AMD proccesors does. 

I want to say a big thanks to all the crue that has made so much and good work to have such a computer in my hands. Please keep the good work that you are doing and stay close to us so that we get the best experience that we can (as youre doing till now).

I'm not so good with english so I'm sorry if  something is not so understandable.

With regards Kostas Romeos... 

[Mark_Lenovo Former Administrator · Accepted solution]

All,

Thanks for the continued feedback on the support site.   I'd like to respond to a few of the comments on this page...

tonewheels, morngrans, sletrabf,

We have created a site that will provide the drivers, BIOS, user guides, hardware maintenance manuals for older model systems no longer covered by the support.lenovo.com site.  Here is the link.

http://download.lenovo.com/eol/index.html

I-like-Lenovo, femistokli,

I understand that the old 7 digit fixed movel type provided more precision and perhaps faster navigation.  As you may know, you can still type the series in as a quick path to the drivers - like "T420".   Lenovo shifted to 10 digit models in some parts of the business, and this seems to be growing across the business, so over time the 7 digit functionality would have fallen off the site as models aged out.

Jirikrestan,

We do have a board in the forum dedicated to the Lenovo Android tablets including the Yoga tablets

 http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Idea-Android-based-Tablets/bd-p/Idea_Slate

Lenovo is growing very quickly.  Speaking personally, it is a bit of a challenge to structure the forum is a consistent way and not be constantly renaming boards and moving content around to keep up.   Lenovo branding is evolving.  From 2008 until recently, Lenovo was making use of "Idea" branding as a parallel (logically) to the commerical "Think" branded products.  You had the IdeaPad Y510 for example.  Now the Idea branding seems to be sunsetting in favor of just Lenovo.   During some of this transition, you have both a Lenovo Y series and an IdeaPad Y series laptop in the product selector.  Eventually, I think you will see these consolidated.  

In terms of Yoga.  We had the IdeaPad Yoga, now just the Lenovo Yoga.   We have ThinkPad Yoga, Lenovo Yoga (Windows based PC / convertibles) and Lenovo Yoga tablets (android based).  

It would not make sense in the forum to have a "Yoga" discussion board that would mix both android and Windows based ecosystems.  Similarly, it would not make sense to split out Yoga android tablet from the rest of the Lenovo andoid tablets like the S2109, S6000, A1000L , etc as community members can still share experiences across these models.

While our business has been changing, and product branding conventions across products changing very rapidly, the community has been fairly stable for continuity. We have grown somewhat organically, and we are coming to a time where some re-organization is needed.    Our community team is working on a project to restructure the forum.  

Mark

[JaneL]

Thank you, Mark and the others at Lenovo, for listening to your customers and creating the EOL site for us!