Clean Install Guide (works for 32-bit or 64-bit)

Maybe from Microsoft. Try this site: https://na.windowsanytimeupgradestore.com/WAU_DIRECT/Home.aspx
choose any option, then on the next page it will give you the option to also get the disc. Add the disc to your cart, then remove the upgrade license. Cart total should now be $7.00

 

Can anyone tell me where I might have gone wrong? I completed step 3 including running the ABR utility and downloading the drivers. I then shut the laptop off, placed my Update Anytime disk in the drive, and restarted. I didn't get the prompt screen, instead Windows started up normally. But I thought that was ok, as I launched the Update Anytime from the disk once I was booted up. Again, everything was fine until I chose the custome install. When I got to the Where do you want to install window, I didn't get the (Advanced) drive option button. It just wasn't there.So I couldn't chose the delete option. I chose partition 0 and it began to copy files.

Have I messed up the clean install since I didn't delete my partition first?

 

When you launched the "Anytime Update" from the disc, was your regular start menu and desktop still on the screen? You cannot perform a clean install this way. You MUST boot the system from the disc.

 

I have a Vista Premium key (which came with my T60p) and a Vista Business key that I obtained (legally) elsewhere.

I am tempted to install the Business version, but I am afraid it will permanently null the Vista Premium that I paid for through lenovo. Can I use the Vista Premium key (obtained through the ABR utility) to install Vista Premium on another computer/laptop?

 

Yes, it was my normal looking desktop.
Any hints how to boot to disc? Should I chose that option in the bios to get it to do that? Do I get to the bios by pressing the ThinkVantage button? Sorry so many questions, I am new to this!
Thanks for the help!

 

No, you cannot. The key is tied to that laptop. Installing Business will not null the premium key, but you cannot use that key on any other system.

Yes, use the option on the BIOS. Often there is a key you can press during bootup to choose the dvd drive to boot from. I don't have an IBM so I can't tell you what it is.

 

Just insert the anytime upgrade disk. Power-up or reboot. As it is powering up just keep tapping the space bar every one second or so. It should boot to the CD... you should never see the desktop. If you see the desktop it did not boot to the CD.

If that doesn't work then you need to go into the BIOS and change the boot priority. There are a few ways to do this. You can try pressing the blue thinkvantage button when given the prompt. I ordinarily tap on the F1 key a couple times. After you get into the BIOS, explore by using the navigation options shown on the bottom of the screen. I forget exactly what it is called, but you need to get into the boot manager/priority. Put the DVD drive as #1 at the top of the list, Put the hard drive as #2. the others don't really matter. Exit and SAVE the settings. Then try to boot to the disk.

 

Thanks for helping with questions Orev

 

Okay, what does it mean if my Windows Experience Index is still 1.0 after doing the clean install? did a mess something up?

 

It doesn't mean much of anything. No, you didn't "mess anything up".

First of all. Did you try to update the score by following the guide?

If you did, then try doing this:

1. Click Start button (the little windows orb on the taskbar), type the following path in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER:

%SYSTEMROOT%\Performance\WinSat\DataStore

2. Delete all the .xml files in the folder.

Then try running the windows experience score again.

If that doesn't work, try re-installing the video driver. Make sure you read the readme file and read the installation instructions.

Do you have any yellow exclamation marks in the device manager?

 

It could be 1 because you havent installed the Nvidia driver yet. Which happened to me when I did a clean install on 200Gb. Index was 1.0, proceeded to install forceware and its back where it should be.

btw props on the guide. Even tho I used it on my factory drive once, I refered to this guide again when I needed to do a fresh install on a new drive. I still find this guide useful for just prepping to do any type of Vista installations.
The preinstall directions and tips were invaluable in making sure I didnt miss anything.
Would +rep again but it tells me to spread it out more....bugger.

 

Hi stallen - question regarding RAM - I just bought a 2 Gb RAM chip and my T61 is not recognizing it. I have a vista 32 bit installed. I did a clean install following ur guide. Should I upgrade my BIOS or is there a setting I have to use to get it to recognize the 2 Gb RAM.

 

What do you have for total RAM?

What is the other stick of RAM?

BIOS upgrade has nothing to do with it. I would try pulling out the RAM and reinserting it. Make sure it is seated properly. That should work.

If that doesn't work, you might have a bad stick of RAM. But that is unlikely, even bad RAM will usually show up... it will just cause problems.

 

Total RAM would be 3Gb. The other stick is 1Gb. I tried with just the 2Gb memory stick and it prevents me from booting the laptop at all. 1Gb works fine in my laptop. Both of them are PC5300 memory sticks. after installing the 2Gb memory stick, my BIOS shows the total memory as 3Gb but my vista is not recognizing it. I dont know if its using the 2Gb and not displaying it or its just not using it. I even did a memory test given by vista but it did not solve the problem.

I read in another forums that there is a memory setting (Memory Mapping) in BIOS which prevents it from being recognized. I didn't see that setting in the latest T61 BIOS.

 

The latest BIOS works fine for me. Again, the BIOS has nothing to do with it.

Sounds like your RAM is bad.

Did you run memtest (link in my sig)?

Did you do something to make sure you discharged any static electricity from your body before you touched the RAM?

 

Yes I did discharge static electricity. I haven't tested it using MEMtest, will do it tonight and report back.. but should I go with all that hassle if the memory will not just let me boot the laptop. I mean if I have 16 X 128Mb chips on the RAM stick, I should be able to get some RAM usage out of it and let my laptop boot up.

Anyways, will put in my due diligence and see what comes out.. if not, its a big pain to return it back as i bought it on ebay.

 

I can't offer you much more information than that. Have you tried the 2GB stick only? I mean, if it works with your factory RAM and it doesn't work with the new 2GB stick then it is pretty cut and dry. The new stick is bad. At this point running memtest is up to you. I think anyone selling RAM should now about memtest86+. If you are going to return the RAM you can tell them you ran memtest and you got errors. They shouldn't hassle you about returning it if you provide this information. At this point, I would say its about a 99% chance it's bad RAM. If you get errors on memtest its a 100% chance.

It's not much of a "hassle" to run memtest. The guide makes it easy. If you are familiar at all with burning CDs/DVDs it shouldn't be difficult.

 

Does Vista automatically install the drivers for the integrated camera?

 

hey stallen or anyone else that can help, i need help!!!! so im at the step where i have to put in the windows cd. i put it in and i turned off the computer. when i turned it back on, it didn't load it...it went back to my desktop. i tried again, and the same thing happened. so i tried to load the cd from my desktop, i went to install windows. then this error message came up, "Your computer does not have enough space for temporary files. Windows installation needs at least 392 megabytes (MB) of space on any partition for temporary files. To install Windows, free enough space and restart the installation. Error code 0x80070103.

what does this mean?? and what should i do? thanks

 

Sounds like you need to press F1 (when you turn on the machine) and go to your BIOS to set the boot priority in order to boot from optical drive.

 

No, use the XP driver from the lenovo downloads and drivers page. It will work fine.

 

Try this (quoted from Stallen):

Tim

 

Ahh... thanks Tim. I was just in the middle of doing a cut and paste on that very same quote.

 

This is the best thing I have done for my Vista based T61. Using the Lenovo preload, I was at 90 processes and it was running very sluggish. I got sick of it yesterday and utilized the process described herein. It now boots twice as fast, has only 50 running processes, and there is no sluggishness. Do yourselves a favor and try this if you want more out of your T61. I should have done this when I received the Thinkpad three months ago.

Chuck

 

Stallen, I have the same laptop as you do. And I want to install 4 gigs of memory instead of the 2 gigs from Lenovo. What kind odf memory did you use. I have ordered the same Hitachi hard drive from newegg today. Is it easy to install? One more question, how is 64 bit window vista ultimate. I am using the 32 bit, but would like to make the switch to 64-bit if their is no problems with drivers and running other software. Thanks in advance Stallen.

 

64-bit is great. You just need to make sure that any peripherals you plan to attach have drivers. Almost all applications (including 32-bit) run just fine in 64-bit Vista. However, if you have any applications that are old or not mainstream (used by the general public) you should double check that those will run.

I have OCZ RAM. The hardrive is a piece of cake to install. You should be able to do it in less than 5 minutes. View the install video (link in my sig). The only problem with that video is that they don't show that you need to unscrew the adapter plates from each side of the hard drive and screw them onto the new hard drive.

 

Cool. Now go forth and spread the gospel.

 

Thanks for your reply Stallen. I justs ordered the patriot ram from newegg.com. That plus my new 72k Hitachi HD should really make this laptop smoke. I think I ordered my T61 around the same time you did from Lenovo. Ordered around July 20th and it shipped August 11th. It has the wireless UWB. 1GB Turbo memory. T7500 2.2ghz. But I have the N keyboard and the Samsung lcd. I have not had any problems with the clean install of the 32 bit vista. So, I cross my fingers that the 64-bit install should be as smooth. I will follow your install guide. One more thing Stallen, WHY ARE YOU NOT A MODERATOR IN THIS FORUM. You have more knowledge and better input than the so called moderators.

 

.... suck-up....

 

say suck up all you want...but many of us feel that way

The only problem I found with 64bit is that it does not sync my Treo with Hotsync. Many have claimed success by using the BT method, but I could not get it to work. This is the absolute single reason why I have not installed 64 bit and had to stick with 32...argh!!

 

Thanks... I'll take that as a nice compliment. However, I doubt I would want to be one even if I was asked. If this became an obligation, it wouldn't be as enjoyable.

I tell you what. I'll change my title above my pic for a couple days just to see what it's like.

 

oh really??? can anyone confirm that the BT method still works on x64? what about USB for HTC phones. any different?

I will be doing the clean install to the 64bit in a few days, but maybe I wont do it if I cant sync at the very least with BT.

 

I can't provide first hand info, but it seems like I read something about this awhile back. It seems that there are no 64-bit USB drivers for the Treo, but BT still works... don't hold me to that though.

 

go to www.treocental.com that is your best bet to find updated stuff on the 64bit systesms....treocentral is like the NBR for palm phones

From what I've read...the verdict is 50/50...half said they could get BT to work to do a hotsync...the other half couldn't...im the half that can't

 

i havent read through this thread all the way, just skimmed it for 5seconds.
but check this out, it may help
http://forum.brighthand.com/showthread.php?t=237141


....on the otherhand.. dont bother.. according to the palm forums on the official website, BT is the only solution so far.

 

you don't want to do it over the network....it is SLOW!! I can't live without PDAnet so i guess I have to live without 64bit for now

 

why can you not sync via BT?

 

Stallen I have a question for you about the 64-bit install. I downloaded all the drivers for 64 bit. The only drawback I see is no "Trusted Platform Module (Atmel TPM) driver" for 64 bit. Lenovo only have the 32-bit driver. Can I use the 32-bit driver. Or is their another web site to download the 64 bit driver? I have every thing else downloaded for when my new Hitachi drive arrive this week. Just trying to touch all the basics. Thanks in advance.

 

I did not install that driver. I don't think you should either. Read the install instructions for Vista.

So if you have a T61 (or any other laptop not listed), I'd say this driver is only appropriate if you are running Windows 2000 or XP.

 

I did install it when I did a clean install with 32-bit vista Ultimate. But I only see it is for 32-bit. I guess it is not needed for 64-bit. I will have to do some research on it. Maybe check intel site. Or google it.

 

According to the download page (not the read me .txt): http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-58054.html (scroll down to Vista)

It is not for Vista at all (including 32-bit) on a T61. The only laptops with Vista this driver supports are the ones I quoted above. None of them are 61 series laptops.

 

It even calls it out in the notes:

For Windows Vista, the TPM device driver is included in Windows Vista. No update is needed from this driver package.

 

Not sure exactly...it just never works.

 

I have everything ready for a clean install: back up cds, drives, I have even a written plan with all Stallen's steps Just waiting the Vista upgrade cd from Compusa... It's taking already more than a week to arrive. I will post the results once I complete the clean install. From Thinkadvantage, the only application I am thinking of install is that one that pause the hd according to the laptop movement. Don't you think it is good to protect the hd?

 

Of course it is good to protect the Hard drive. I personally haven't installed it. I felt like my laptop paused too much when I had to carry my laptop around while it was on. It is especially noticeable when you are listening to music. As long as you are careful with your laptop I wouldn't worry too much about this.
Tim

 

Hey. thanks for all the help thus far.
I completed the clean install last weekend and my laptop seems to be much faster. But this morning I have a new problem, and I don't know if it is related or not.
I go to connect to the internet, and IE stops responding, and I get a window opening up that says Callingid has stopped working. Then the browser stops responding and I have to go into Task Manager and manually close the window. I tried restarting, but no luck. I tried looking up what callingid is on another laptop (everything works fine on this one) but the only thing i can find is a toolbar that you can download that is supposed to protect against internet fraud. I never installed this toolbar.
Anyone have any ideas?

 

Oh, I installed CA internet security suite since then, don't know if this is related or not..

 

have you tried looking at the microsoft KB for a guide on how to setup your phone to sync via BT? I couldnt get my htc to work until I found a guide to help set it up (which i think was on the ms kb site).

 

i'm sorrry if it has already been answered...

looks like stallen has added modem adapter and intel pro/lan adapter to his downloading drivers list since last time I checked. do they need to be installed? also I d/l all of registry patches but dont understand how to install them. I cant seem to find the file to install these patches???

 

sorry but 1 more question...

I have a 100gb HD and after clean install and installing whats on 1st page I'm down to ~76gb hd. Is that about right?

Thanks!!!

Jae