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

I'm getting an X61 tablet shortly and want to do a clean install as soon as possible when it arrives.

Has anyone used these instructions successfully on the X61 tablet? Are there any additional steps (drivers, etc.) specific to the tablet? Thanks!


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keywords: x61t x61 tablet ibm lenovo thinkpad clean install windows vista business reload drivers

 

Hi guys, I know i'm intruding in this Lenovo/IBM forum with an Asus VX2S laptop query......& for that I would like to apologize in advance.
I got this laptop last week (T7500 2.2GHz, 512Mb Nvidia 8600M GT, 200Gb 7200rpm HDD, Vista Ult) as a gift from my sis, and i've been struggling with the performance due to so much bloatware, and hence would like to perform a clean install.
I've checked all the things I need as per Stallen's guide, but the only thing missing is how to create my own recovery DVDs. Now Asus gives a recovery DVD with the laptop (and hence don't know whether I still need to follow step 1 of Stallen's guide), but don't want to take any chances. Hence I would like to know if I can burn my own recovery dvd from the laptop (as per Orev's advice regarding HP recovery dvd), and if yes, can someone please guide me with this step? I've tried searching in vain whether Asus has some kind of a recovery tool for creating one's own cds (similar to the HP recovery manager tool), but haven't found any as yet.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

My recommendation about burning your own recovery disc is targeted towards HP users, because there is clearly a bad set of discs that hp is selling that don't work. I still think it's a good idea to do it, but the disc that came with your system might work well.

Since you have Ultimate, you could use the "Complete PC Backup" feature, which basically takes an image of the hard disk. That is very close to having a recovery dvd that you burned yourself.

 

so, here is my question: assuming that I have a license for Vista Ultimate, then in order to do a clean install, I basically wipe out everything (of course backing up the drivers and stuff first).
When I install, I use the Ultimate license so then I dont have to worry about backing up the license for my pre-installed system.

So, would I follow the exact steps minus the license part?

 

if your current installed OS is not ultimate, then the answer is yes. if it is ultimate, (therefore you arent upgrading your OS) then use the guide directly as it is.

 

Thanx for the advice Orev, I will try this method.

 

keep in mind that doing recovery discs still keeps the bloatware

 

Finally got some time to burn and I'm about to perform a clean install on my T61 after staying with the clean install for ~3 months now. Kinda nervous but I got all my drivers downloaded and sorted, recovery discs made, and windows activation backed up... wish me luck!

 

I shouldn't have any problem installing modded drivers from laptopvideo2go.com should I? I plan to install the 163.44 drivers which I've used for a while now with great success.. I just hope that installing them right off the bat on a clean install instead of the Lenovo provided video drivers won't cause any problem. I don't think it will but what do you guys think?

 

huh Just use the abr utility to back-up your activation before you start the clean install... then use the ABR utility to restore your activation after the clean install is done. Did you read the F.A.Q.?

If you were using those drivers without any trouble before then you shouldn't have any trouble after a clean install. If you want to use that driver then don't install the lenovo driver... that wouldn't make much sense because you would just have to turn around and uninstall it to install the driver you want.

 

Thanks Stallen, was just making sure. Hoping to do this right the first time As I was typing this, my DVD with drivers and misc. backups just finished burning, so... I'm off! See you on the other side!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2367169#post2367169/Hmm, windows install went great, way faster then I had expected.

One thing I am a bit confused about is that I only saw one partition, not two as I had expected; my main partition, and the recovery parition. I made recovery discs just prior to clean install so I am sure there must be something there... right? I look in My Computer and I see 68.0GB for my Hard disk, it was sold as 80GB, so the recovery partition must still be on there... right?

Any ideas as to where I screwed up and why I couldn't see it when doing custom install? I did delete the (only) parition I saw, made a new one, and formated that, but no recovery to be found...

help?

EDIT: Doh... I think I figured it out, should have read the FAQ before I did my clean install..

According to this guide I need a 3rd party program to combine the partitions now that I have already done a clean install? Which program should I use?

 

yep you sure should have!!!! I did the exact same thing.... so I have a clean install with that damn hidden partition still there..

I wont bother doing another install, just to get rid of that partition. Maybe in a years time when the speed of the laptop is sarting to piss me off, then ill do it properly

 

Yeah what a bummer... I don't care I'm gonna do this right Partition is now deleted, now I just need to know which program to use to turn this 68GB partition into a 75GB.

 

I realize that is counter productive at this point.... but I really try to make this clear in the guide.

Anyway, if you search there are some ways to combine your partitions. However, do a little homework first. I've read that there is some risk of corrupting data.

@braddd- Did you use diskpart to delete the hidden partition before the clean install? It looks to me like you have all of your space available.

First of all if you buy an "80GB" HDD you will NEVER see the full 80GB. It is difficult to explain and I'll give you the link for Orev's excellent explaination. But to keep it very simple... You can take the stated HDD size and subtract about 7%. So if your HDD is 80GB and you subtract 7% (which is 5.6GB) in reality you have roughly a 74.4GB HDD. Then subtract 6 to 7 GB of HDD space for Vista and you have about 67.5GB of HDD space remaining. Which is about what you have.... It is completely impossible to install Vista on an 80GB HDD and see 75GB as you suggest.

I would say your hidden partition is gone and you only have one large partition on your HDD.

Here is Orev's information on HDD space: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=167983

 

I checked out diskpart (after clean install) and sure enough the partition was there, 6588KB to be exact. It is deleted now and I'm trying to resize the partition using Gparted LiveCD. I can boot into Gparted fine but it gives me a bunch of scary options and I don't know which to choose.. working on that now. Yes I know this is my own fault.

 

Ok, these steps seem easy enough to follow. But I'm not positive on the drivers.

I have an R61 and in step 2 you only make mention of the T60 and T61. I'm referring to the "Intel Chipset Driver/INF update utility" and then I'm not sure if I have turbo memory. How do we know?

Edit:

I think I have the R61 Type 7734 Model 11U

Here's the link to where I bought it

The MFG SKU is 773411U

So I assume that simply means type 7734 model 11U.

 

I have an R61 77441AU I think. I used the inf update utility, I think you should too.

By the looks of it on the ibm site, you do not have turbo memory.
see here
http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...yId=2302835&dualCurrId=1000075&catalogId=-124

 

Erm, I think I do have turbo memory. Where would it say if I had turbo memory or not? Besides, that just relates to Vista features... I think

What is the inf update utility? I've just been going down the list in his guide after running the configurator for my laptop on lenovo/ibm's website to find which drivers I needed.

For some reason though I can't find an audio driver for my 7734...

 

Yah, it's like they deliberately took the audio driver out for my 7734 model:

"Audio
Type: 7732, 7733, 7735, 7736, 7737, 7738, 7742, 7743, 7751, 7753, 7754, 7755, 8914, 8918, 8919, 8920, 8927, 8928, 8929, 8942, 8943, 8944, 8945, 8947, 8948, 8949"

So do I just not need a driver if one isn't listed then?

My sound card is:

SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio

 

According to the link you provided, you do not have turbo memory.

The link I provided for the Intel Chipset Driver/INF update utility is the same for the R61. It is the one you should install.

If you go to start (round windows orb) -> programs -> you should see the Intel Turbo Memory utility if you have Turbo Memory installed. Also, if you read the "read me" text file at the Turbo Memory download site it will tell you how to verify in the device manager which version of the Turbo Memory driver you currently have. If you can't find a driver for it then you don't have it. A third option is to go to start -> right click Computer -> select manage-> click disk managment. You should see a list of drives. Depending on what you have... you will probably only see the C: drive and the DVD drive. If you have Turbo Memory you will see 512mb cache for readyboost (I think it's 512mb, its been awhile since I've looked). If you have a memory card installed you will also see that.

 

I'd be really surprised if the driver that is available isn't intended for your laptop as well. I would just try to install it. If it is the right one it will install. If it isn't the right one, it won't allow you to install it. That's just my 2 cents. You might want to call tech support and ask why your model type is not listed.

Or, you could just use the audio driver that you backed up from the swtools folder.

>

 

Ok, yah I have my recovery disks that I created in the beginning with all the bloatware as a worst case scenario. and I have my drivers backed up as well. They aren't really descriptive though lol... no folders (like audio), just a bunch of random letters / numbers for the various drivers.

Hopefully it will work.

I'll make sure I download the one without turbo boost or whatever then. I thought that ready boost etc. was just a feature of certain versions of Vista though?

Thanks for the tips by the way.

 

Ok, here goes nothing... off to get rid of everything (screw all that bloatware stuff that's preloaded on here).

Thanks for the help I'll give updates on my desktop if I run into snags etc. or to share successes.

 

ReadyDrive and ReadyBoost are vista features indeed. However, they need hardware in order to put them to use. TurboMemory is a 1GB flash memory that uses the 50% of it for ReadyDrive and and 50% of it for ReadyBoost features on Vista.

 

I'm having trouble getting it to boot to the windows cd. I have a buddy that works for Microsoft and bought a Vista Ultimate from him through the Microsoft store. Anyway, long story short:

I'm trying to use the my Vista Ultimate disk and I press F12 when my computer turns on. Then I select to boot from my DVD RAM and nothing happens.

What's going on lol? I can't boot to the disk! Erm... I'm going to make a thread about this instead I need an answer tonight....

 

i had the same thing with mine ( 77441AU.. 7744 is not listed)... i just downloaded that audio driver anyways. ...audio seems to be working fine for me.

 

have you tried going into your bios and changing the priority of your boot source (ie putting the optical drive before the HD??)

 

Just insert the disk. Power-up or reboot. As it is powering up just keep tapping the space bar every one second or so.

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.

 

Stallen, do you know if my RAM (r61 7744a1u) DDR2 667MHz is 200 or 240pin? im looking at buying another 1 or 2gb.
thanx.

 

Ok for some reason when im installing vista from the anytime upgrade dvd, when it starts "installing updates" the computer says "windows could not update the computer's boot configuration. installation cannot proceed"

do you know what i'm doing wrong? the only thing i did before i started was install an extra gig of ram. could that have been the problem?

 

I can't just run it after I get into windows? I just press F12 and select the DVD drive to boot from and it just sits there at a black screen with a white under cursor blinking off and on...

THen it goes to Windows boot manager and gives me an option to start my operating system or do windows memory diagnostic.

Like as if the disk doesn't load or something.

 

Oh ok changing the boot sequence worked.... working on the steps now....

 

....

I wish that you had said you have to follow the steps PRIOR to formating the harddrive if you wish to remove the hidden partition............. lol

I formatted the partition then come to find out you're supposed to do something prior to formatting to get rid of the hidden partition? Lame.......

 

read the FAQ in stallen's guide..... you missed a step.

 

I think you quoted the wrong thread...

Ah well, I'm just going to do the factory recovery and then start over.

 

Definitely 200-pin. I tend to have expensive taste, but when it comes to laptop RAM you really should just buy the cheapest RAM that has a lifetime warranty. All of the manufacturers use the same micron chips for laptop RAM. Spending more money is just money down the drain. Just make sure it has a lifetime warranty and you'll be getting good RAM. Just look for any brand such as OCZ, Geil, Crucial, Mushkin, Kingston, Corsair, Patriot, PNY, G.Skill, and others. I got a really good deal from frys.com on my OCZ RAM. newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com are the other twoo good places to buy RAM and HDDs.

BTW, if we were talking desktop RAM I would say to get Corsair and not the value RAM... "you get what you pay for". But with laptop RAM, it really all is pretty much the same. So, the more you pay the more you got bent over.

 

any help with my problem? its really bothering me.

 

I've never heard of that issue. However, if you google your error message lots of things come up.

When I search with google these are the websites that caught my attention:
http://www.technipages.com/article249.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931697

 

wow the first link totally worked. thanks man, you're too kind haha

 

I did.........

 

hey zebov,

I think there are additional drivers for the x61t like the multitouch, tablet button driver, tablet shortcut and there is no UltrNav driver/utility (mouse/trackpoint instead). It's all in the Driver Matrix Page that stallen linked to.

 

Yes, that's right. The first three drivers from intel: inf update/chipset, turbo memory, matrix storage driver will be the same for the x61. Your other drivers just click on the driver matrix link and select x61. All you drivers will be there.

 

Thanks stallen for the confirmation. I plan to do the clean install during Thanksgiving.

btw, the tablet is great if you have little ones. My 3 yr old is already using it more then me.

 

I have finally found the time to get around doing this. It worked like a charm. this is a very good guide. I hope it stays alive on the internet as long as Vista is with us. Thanks stallen!!!

I would like to recommend two free (no adware) programs after installing.

(1)Avast! is the best free antivirus software (in my opinion). I personally compared it with AVG and Antivir, and it Avast had more control and took up the least resources.

(2) Alcohol 52% is an awesome DVD-rom emulator and DVD image creater. No adware attached, unlike my old favorite Deamon Toolz

 

Oh ... I must have missed it. My bad lol.

I just installed my audio driver and the built in mute button on my keyboard doesn't work. (I even went back to my old driver disk and pulled those back onto the computer and ran the setup for that).

Do you know why the mute button doesn't work? Now that I think about the green text doesn't come up that used to display the volume going up and down or the mute either.

Am I missing something?

 

are you sure you installed ALL of the drivers suggested by stallen?

 

Sounds like you're missing the Hotkey driver?

 

Ah, it was the sys driver. After I got that one in it worked.

Almost done with the drivers now. I'm really excited about it (thanks again Stalen for the guide).

After all the drivers are in I think I may make some backup disks using the windows tool. Is that what others are doing then too?

 

Thanks for the detailed instructions, stallen. I purchased a Thinkpad R61i at Office Depot over the weekend and I was able to complete a clean install although there were a few driver differences.

A couple of notes. I have some HP and Gateway "Express Upgrade" DVDs that were all identical from earlier the this year. I was able to use one of the HP DVDs as an "anytime upgrade" DVD. This worked because I still had the factory installed key code on the notebook. Of course, the problem with an old DVD is lack of security updates. I had to download 37 Vista updates (about 78 MB) to cover all the Vista patches since earlier this year.

The drivers were a little different for the R61i than for the T61 as you posted. I had to pay attention for that. I also downloaded from Lenovo the Thinkpad System Update. I used it to check for missing current drivers and registry patches and I will now uninstall it. This download is not recommended because if you are not careful, you will reinstall the very bloatware you are trying to eliminate by doing a clean install.

Before the clean install I had about 84 processes running, after, only about 57. There are probably a couple more I can remove.

It was tedious to individually download the drivers, and the rebooting many many times was frustrating. But I believe that cleaning out the registry, limiting the running processes, and freeing of hard disk space was worth it.

Also, the R61i came with Vista Business which includes a complete image back up program. Anyone with Vista Business (and I also believe Vista Ultimate) should take advantage of this program in Vista and make a restore DVD of the clean install.