In my night job I get asked a lot about downgrading new laptops to Windows 7.
I have just done my last one, not worth it anymore.
Thankfully, because I am smart, which just means I have been burned in the past, and learned my lessons, as soon as I get a new machine the very first thing I do is pull the hard disk and take a full image using Macrium Reflect.
If you do not do this, stop, do not pass go, do not go any further, do not do anything else.
I can’t stress that bit above in red enough.
The reason I can’t stress it enough is we have gone back to the bad old days of the winmodem, and there is an actual reason that Lenovo Thinkpad T series laptops start and £650, and Toshiba Satellite C50’s of the same size start at £325.
The reason is the components used in the Toshiba are UTTER shit, every possible corner is cut, and the fucking things are deployed with a bare bones (not even full spec) UEFI BIOS, not a proper one, and hidden partitions containing the Win8 install.
Make no mistake, pull the hard disk, wipe it and all partitions, reinstall it in the laptop, pop in a genuine MS Windows 8 install DVD, and you will have a brick that refuses to even see the fucking hard disk.
No, it’s not because the HD has Primary / Dynamic / GPT setup, you can create the fucking partitions manually ready for the install and it still won’t work.
That’s cos the Satellite comes with a disk with 5 partitions, 4 of them hidden from the user..
- 1 gig NTFS system drive, hidden
- 100 MB no name FAT32 LBA, hidden
- 128 MB <no name> NTFS, hidden
- 450 gig NTFS main partition visible to the user
- 10 gig NTFS recovery volume, hidden
Yes, the bitch is looking, via UEFI, at those two small hidden partitions, one FAT32 LBA and one NTFS, to even SEE the fucking hard disk.
Even OpenSUSE 13.1 won’t install to one of these bastards.
So at this point, unless you have that Macrium drive image, you are TOTALLY fucked, because the only install media is in that hidden recovery partition, there is no recovery DVD, even if there was, it’s the same as a Win 8 DVD, it won’t fucking work if those two small hidden partitions are missing or damaged.
The Toshiba website doesn’t provide you with any repair or recovery methods or downloads either….not *merely* a case of them being lazy, there is literally no way, they would have to provide a disk image and tell you to pull the disk, put it in a docking station, and blow the image to it, which is how they build the fucking things.
Now, while we are on the fucking subject…
Starting this little cunt for the first time, it sets up windows for the first start, choose your region etc, this is FROM THE FACTORY, and it takes a fucking HOUR PLUS to actually get the cunt to boot to the desktop.
Once it has gotten to the desktop, expect at least another 30 minutes of waiting, while you think it is frozen, for it to finishing the first run setup.
Then it starts in all it’s glory, and the first thing you do is right click on the desktop to sort out the display resolution and settings, because they are fucking awful, and then you realise the settings are right, it is just the cheapest and nastiest LCD screen you ever saw.
And on, and on, and on….
So lets see what our £350 buys us
| Part Code | PSCG6E-05J002EN |
|---|---|
| Review Date | 10 Oct 2013 |
| Rating |  |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-3120M |
| Processor clock speed | 2.5GHz |
| Memory | 4.00GB |
| Memory slots | 2 |
| Memory slots free | 1 |
| Maximum memory | 16GB |
| Size | 32x380x240mm |
| Weight | 2.3kg |
| Sound | Realtek HD Audio |
| Pointing device | touchpad |
Display |
|
|---|---|
| Viewable size | 15.6 in |
| Native resolution | 1,366×768 |
| Graphics Processor | Intel HD Graphics 4000 |
| Graphics/video ports | HDMI, VGA |
| Graphics Memory | 256MB |
Storage |
|
|---|---|
| Total storage capacity | 1,024GB |
| Optical drive type | DVD+/-RW +/-DL |
Ports and Expansion |
|
|---|---|
| USB ports | 3 |
| Bluetooth |  |
| Wired network ports | 1x 10/100 |
| Wireless networking support | 802.11n |
| PC Card slots | none |
| Supported memory cards | SDXC, MMC |
| Other ports | 1x USB3, headphone, microphone |
Miscellaneous |
|
|---|---|
| Carrying case |  |
| Operating system | Windows 8 |
| Operating system restore option | restore partition |
| Software included | none |
| Optional extras | none |
And lets compare it to the bottom of the range T series stinkpad at £650
| Card reader Card reader integrated |
Card reader |
| Compatible memory cards | MMC,SD,SDHC,SDXC |
| Certificates Energy Star certified |
 |
| EPEAT compliance | Gold |
| RoHS compliance | |
| Wi-Fi CERTIFIED | |
| Colour Colour of product |
Black |
| Data transmission Bluetooth |
|
| Display Display diagonal |
15.6 in |
| Display Resolution | |
| LED backlight | |
| Touch sensitive screen |  |
| Energy management AC adapter frequency |
50/60 |
| AC adapter input voltage | 100 – 240 |
| Battery life (max) | 12.8 hour(s) |
| Battery Technology | Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) |
| Number of battery cells | 9 |
| Expansion slots CardBus PCMCIA slot type |
|
| ExpressCard slot | |
| SmartCard slot | |
| Graphics Discrete graphics adapter model |
|
| On-board graphics adapter model | Intel HD Graphics 4000 |
| Hard drive Hard drive capacity |
500 GB |
| Total Storage Capacity | 500 GB |
| Keyboard Keyboard Layout |
|
| Numeric keypad | |
| Pointing device | ThinkPad UltraNav |
| Windows keys | |
| Memory Compatible memory cards |
MMC,SD,SDHC,SDXC |
| Internal memory | 4 GB |
| Internal memory type | DDR3-SDRAM |
| Maximum internal memory | 8 GB |
| Memory Clock Speed | 1600 MHz |
| Memory slots | 2x SO-DIMM |
| Networking Bluetooth |
|
| Cabling technology | 10/100/1000Base-T(X) |
| Networking standards | IEEE 802.11g,IEEE 802.11n,IEEE 802.3,IEEE 802.3ab,IEEE 802.3u |
| Operating system/software Operating system architecture |
|
| Operating system provided | Windows 8 Pro (64-Bit) |
| Optical Drive LightScribe |
|
| Optical drive type | DVD Re-Writer |
| Other features Cable lock slot |
|
| Cabling technology | 10/100/1000Base-T(X) |
| CardBus PCMCIA slot type | |
| DVI port | |
| ExpressCard slot | |
| Hard drive capacity | 500 GB |
| Memory Clock Speed | 1600 MHz |
| Memory slots | 2x SO-DIMM |
| Optical drive type | DVD Re-Writer |
| Pointing device | ThinkPad UltraNav |
| Processor family | Core i3 |
| USB 3.0 ports quantity | 2 |
| VGA (D-Sub) ports quantity | 1 |
| Warranty | 1 year warranty |
| Windows keys | |
| Packaging content AC adapter included |
|
| Manual | |
| Quick Start Guide | |
| Phone Features Form Factor |
Clamshell |
| Audio Audio system |
Dolby Advanced v2 |
| Built-in microphone | |
| Number of built-in speakers | 2 |
| Battery Battery life (max) |
12.8 hour(s) |
| Battery Technology | Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) |
| Number of battery cells | 9 |
| Ports & interfaces CardBus PCMCIA slot type |
|
| DC-in jack | |
| docking connector | |
| DVI port | |
| ExpressCard slot | |
| Microphone in | |
| Mini DisplayPort quantity | 1 |
| S/PDIF out port | |
| SmartCard slot | |
| USB 2.0 ports quantity | 2 |
| USB 3.0 ports quantity | 2 |
| VGA (D-Sub) ports quantity | 1 |
| Processor L3 Cache |
3 MB |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel QM77 Express |
| Processor Clock Speed | 2.4 GHz |
| Processor family | Core i3 |
| Processor Model | i3-3110M |
| Security Cable lock slot |
|
| Fingerprint reader | |
| SmartCard slot | |
| Storage Card reader integrated |
Card reader |
| Compatible memory cards | MMC,SD,SDHC,SDXC |
| Hard drive capacity | 500 GB |
| Number of hard drives installed | 1 |
| Total Storage Capacity | 500 GB |
| Technical details Cable lock slot |
|
| Cabling technology | 10/100/1000Base-T(X) |
| Colour of product | Black |
| Energy Star certified | |
| Form Factor | Clamshell |
| Intel Anti-Theft Technology | |
| Intel Hyper-Threading Technology | |
| Intel My WiFi Technology | |
| Intel visual technologies | Intel Clear Video HD,Intel Insider,Intel InTru 3D,Intel Quick Sync Video |
| Numeric keypad | |
| Optical drive type | DVD Re-Writer |
| Pointing device | ThinkPad UltraNav |
| Warranty | 1 year warranty |
| Weight & dimensions Depth |
245.1 mm |
| Height (front) | 31.8 mm |
| Height (rear) | 35.6 mm |
| Weight | 2770 g |
| Width | 372.8 mm |
DA FUQ!?!
This could basically mean that Toshita is unrecoverable once a half-competent trojan coder figures out how to infect the hidden partitions directly.
And I don´t even want to ponder about NSA backdoors.
Having the BIOS on the HD… and I thought Dell were bitches with their proprietary screws, cases and motherboards.
Comment by hans — March 31, 2014 @ 12:34 pm
I’m going to be anal here Hans.
1/ The HD has it’s own “BIOS” of sorts, that’s what is on the PCB on the HD.
2/ UEFI is not really a BIOS, it is not a Basic Input Output System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS it is a Unified Extensibe Firmware Interface http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface
Like everything else, there is good and bad, there are good BIOSes, and nasty and crap ones (award etc) and the same is true of UEFI.
What is happening here is Toshiba and others are writing the UEFI to ***EXPECT*** to find a standard and defined file path to the GPT boot disk, if you fit a new disk, or the GPT partitions are damaged or deleted, it can’t find that path, and simply HALTS, it does not go on and try the next boot device, it “thinks” there is no HD, so why bother…
Comment by wimminz — March 31, 2014 @ 12:44 pm
Ah, I totally missed the boat on this whole new(to me) GPT thing.
Have to read up on that damn newfangled thingamagic.
Comment by hans — March 31, 2014 @ 5:12 pm
well the old system you could only have three proper primary partitions, that wasn’t actually true, because you could create a logical partition and bang a bunch of logicals inside.
To me, three has always been enough for windows, 100 mb system, root and backup/storage, for linux I just went logical.
GPT under windows you can have up to 128 partitions.
The main arguments against MBR and for GPT, as far as I can tell, were that lots of people did shit they should not have done in MBR, which is all very well, but you can do shit you shouldn’t in GPT too, and it will be the same people cutting the same corners.
Got a bigger than 2 TB disk, you are going to want GPT
Got GPT, you are going to want XP pro 64 bit minimum
None of it has fuck all to do with SATA or transfer speeds.
HTH etc
Comment by wimminz — March 31, 2014 @ 5:29 pm
As a follow up to myself, yeah, I know about UEFI and GPT
The issue here is you have a laptop, have a genuine Win8 install DVD, have a brand new HD, fit HD to laptop, attempt to boot normall with Win8 DVD expecting it to do as normal and partition and format your new HD, and it won’t, it won’t even get as far as booting from the CD or USB, it halts the boot process because IT CANNOT SEE A FUCKING HD…
Comment by wimminz — March 31, 2014 @ 12:35 pm
sounds like Toshiba is selling the laptop as a throw away appliance. If the hard drive crashes or Windows gets corupted, trash the laptop and buy a new one.
Comment by Joe — March 31, 2014 @ 6:23 pm
It’s not *just* Tosh, it’s ALL the cheap lappies, last year there was a scare based on *exactly* the thing I discuss here, if you put a linux live CD into the optical drive on a cheap Samsung laptop without FIRST disabling secure boot, not even booting the live cd, just inserting it while winders was running, it bricked the whole laptop…. back to the factory for replacement.
Comment by wimminz — March 31, 2014 @ 6:26 pm
I’ve been trying to find a laptop to replace my venerable X-series thinkpad, a travel laptop (this means <13", so T-series is out) with a good keyboard. I've been really struggling for about six months now looking for something decent, it seems like the longer I wait the more features are missing from laptops. New X series laptops don't even have F1-F12, just capacitive buttons. I'm at the point I'm going to buy a GETAC (probably v100, c2d gen, just to see if I can use it, hell u9400 is not a bad CPU and with an SSD/ram upgrade it's probably faster than the toshibabook). But I can't get my hands on one.
How are windows laptops so crap these days. They have an inch of bezel on each side of the keyboard but home/end/prtscr don't have their own buttons. Which <13" is worth buying?
Comment by ello — March 31, 2014 @ 7:59 pm
Yeah, the X’s were reasonably good, X220’s were always popular…
As for which sub 12″ to buy, haven’t got a clue, I’d still go for T series.
Comment by wimminz — March 31, 2014 @ 8:14 pm
I’ve had decent luck with HP laptops, as long as I got them with an Intel processor. The HP Pavilion 11t-h100 doesn’t look too bad, although it doesn’t upgrade worth a sh*t.
Comment by tweell — April 1, 2014 @ 5:11 am
I picked up one of those cheap Toshibas last fall, a celeron version and barely touched it as I detest win8. Plan has been to pull the harddrive image it, store the physical drive as backup and just reinstall win8 onto a crappy ssd I have wasting space. Something to do on a rainy day. One of my big gripes has been that these companies won’t even give you an OEM restore DVD. They just tell you to use the Toshiba etc.. backup/image tool they include with all their bloatware.
Comment by JFP — April 3, 2014 @ 7:47 pm