User's Manual

Table Of Contents
Chapter7.Troubleshootingcomputerproblems
Thischapterprovidesinformationaboutwhattodoifyouexperienceaproblemwithyourcomputer.
Generaltipsforpreventingproblems
Thistopicprovidesthefollowingtipstohelpyoupreventcomputingproblems:
Emptyyourrecyclebinonaregularbasis.
Usediskdefragmenttoolregularlyonyourstoragedrivetoimprovedataseekandreadtimes.
Tofreeupdiskspace,uninstallunusedprograms.Youalsomightwanttolookforprogramduplicationor
overlappingversions.
CleanoutyourInbox,Sent,andTrashfoldersfromyoure-mailclientprogram.
Backupyourdataatleastonceaweek.Ifcriticaldataispresent,itisagoodideatobackupthedata
daily.Lenovohasmanybackupoptionsavailableforyourcomputer.
Schedulesystemrestoreoperationstotakeasystemsnapshotperiodically.Forinformationaboutsystem
restore,see“Recoveryinformation”onpage91.
Gotohttp://www.lenovo.com/supporttodownloadandinstallupdatesforthedevicedriversandUEFI
BIOSwhenneeded.
Keepuptodatefordevicedriversonothernon-Lenovohardware.Beforeupdatingdevicedrivers,read
thedevicedriverinformationreleasenotesforcompatibilityorknownissues.
Keepalogbook.Entriesmightincludemajorhardwareorsoftwarechanges,driverupdates,minorissues
youhaveexperienced,andhowyouresolvedtheminorissues.
Ifyoueverneedtorunarecoveryonyourcomputertoreturnthepreinstalledcontentsontothemachine,
thefollowingtipsmighthelpalongtheway:
1.Removeallexternaldevicessuchastheprinterandkeyboard.
2.Ensurethatyourbatteryischargedandyourcomputerhastheacpowerconnected.
3.AccessThinkPadSetupandloadthedefaultsettings.
4.Restartthecomputerandstarttherecoveryoperation.
5.Ifyourcomputerusesdiscsastherecoverymedia,donotremovethediscfromthedriveuntil
promptedtodoso.
DiagnosingproblemswithLenovoCompanion
Manycomputerproblemscanbesolvedwithoutoutsideassistance.Ifyouexperienceaproblemwithyour
computer,thefirstplacetostartisthetroubleshootinginformationinyourcomputerdocumentation.Ifyou
suspectasoftwareproblem,seethedocumentation,includingreadmefilesandhelpinformationsystems,
thatcomewiththeoperatingsystemorprogram.
ThinkPadnotebookcomputerscomewithasetofdiagnosticprogramsthatyoucanusetohelpyou
identifyhardwareproblems.LenovoCompanionispreinstalledonyourcomputerandalsoisavailable
fordownloadat:
https://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/accessories/software/apps/lenovo-apps/companion/
Note:IfyouareunabletoisolateandrepairtheproblemyourselfafterrunningLenovoCompanion,save
andprintthelogfilescreatedbytheprogram.YouneedthelogfileswhenyouspeaktoaLenovotechnical
supportrepresentative.
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