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

So does that mean that if you have one copy of Vista or XP, you can take an image of it and install that image on as many computers as you like without any consequence? Besides the moral thought of piracy I mean.

 

Good lord, almost 100,000 views on this thread...one hopes that maybe Lenovo will get the point and offer a clean install option, eh?

 

There is the base administrator option, but nothing is like a real clean install IMO. Most "power-users" would agree that it is the only way to go.

 

I agree. This thread has been soo helpful. Initially I started off w/Vista 32bit clean install. After playing around and reading this forum..I completed a Vista 64 bit clean install. I am very very happy with it so far. NO BSODs. Things seems faster on 64 bit and knowing Vista uses my full 4 gigs of RAM plus my Turbo-Memory is a great feeling.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I agree that 64-bit should be considered by anyone who needs to take advantage of 4GB of RAM. Also, the 64-bit platform is arguably more stable than 32-bit. And, my own personal experience has been that the driver support is there. I recently got an eSATA ExpressCard adpater. No problems with 64-bit drivers. I also just got a KPC680 ExpressCard for wireless broadband. No problems with 64-bit support from Verizon. I just don't think the excuse of "there isn't driver support for 64-bit" any longer applies (99% of the time anyway). Chances are that if your software or hardware works for Vista 32-bit, it will most likely work for 64-bit. I think when compatiblity becomes an issue, it is often a compatibility that needs to be worked out with Vista and not necessarily anything to do with 32/64 -bit.

 

Hi all!

Currently I am downloading the .wim files of a 64 bit Vista. I am planning to do exactly what you are talking above. I used Stallen and Orev's Clean Install Guide on my Lenovo R61i a couple of weeks ago. Only I used a 32 bit version that came on my HDD.

Of course, after I'm done with the 64 bit, I will post my feedback. Catch you later.

 

Congratulations, stallen, on your 1000+ posts!

Fantastic guide and a great attribute to the Lenovo section of NBR.

 

This is my first exporsure to Vista Business, so I haven't had a chance to try it.

 

Hello, I've just performed this install on my t60p vista business to go from 32bit to 64bit. Everything seemed to go fine (my total recovery backups were about 3 dvds), did the ABR activation backup as outlined in the guide.
However, when time came to activate Windows by using the ABR activation restore, I would get the following window:



and Windows would not be installed. I installed all the drivers, etc, but I have been unsuccessful in figuring out the way around this. Can I play around with the .txt files that the activation_backup tool created?

 

I need a little clarification. You said "windows would not be installed"??? It appears to be installed. When you go to the control panel are you activated? (as shown in the last screenshot of Step 3 in the guide.

 

Alen, that's exactly how it should look after you re-activate Windows with ABR.

I switched from 32 bit to 64 bit Vista Bussines with no problems, using again this guide and Orev's. I made a clean install disk with Vista 64 bit and a clean install after that.

I was surprised to find out that th4 64 bit version makes 2 "Program Files" folders. I didn't know that. I almost re-installed Vista because of that, I thouth the (x86) folder remained from the previous 32 bit version.

Silly me. Now I know. 64 bit runs great so far. Too bad that not all the programs I use are for the 64 bit version.

 

Sorry guys, I should have made it more clear. I installed everything right, but after I did the ABR activation and checked under Control Panel -> System Maintenance -> System, it appeared that Windows was still not activated.
It's registered, but not activated after using ABR activation. And the screenshot is what it says when I run ABR activation.

 

So you had Vista Business 32-bit on your factory install and you went to the same version -Vista Business- only 64-bit. Is that correct?

What type of Vista installation disk did you use. From what source did you acquire the disk?

 

Stallen, that is correct. I sourced one out from Compusa. Seemed legit.
When I did the clean install and asked me which version of Vista I wanted to install, it gave options such as Business, BusinessN, Home, HomeN.. whatever version it suggested, there was another below it with letter N at the end.
Naturally, I selected Business without letter N at the end.
That is all the anomalies that I recall from my install and what you outlined.
I also correctly used ABR tool. I still have the product key in txt file. Can I somehow go around the issue at hand and manually register? I don't want to call Microsoft because of the outlined issues with that.

 

Do you also have the OEM cert file in the ABR folder?

Read "Plan B" here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2489919#post2489919

If you do not have the OEM cert file, you may be able to download it (link link above will show you where to find it). Then add the OEM cert file to the ABR folder. Then rename to OEM cert file to be exactly this "backup-cert.xrm-ms" without the quotation marks. Then try to use the ABR utility to activate.

If that doesn't work, you can try Plan B or Plan C as outlined.

That's about all I got If Orev chimes in he will most likely be able to provide a solution if my above recommendation doesn't work. I would hate for you to have to re-install Vista again since you've already got your drivers installed.

 

I have a cert file in the folder as well. I'll have to see the name and format of it when I get home today, but when I backed up with ABR tool, it extracted the cert file and txt file like it's mentioned in the guide.
I'll recheck it again today and if that's not the case, I'll proceed with plan B.
I stayed up till 2am last night installing drivers. It's not the worst thing in the world, but having to redo the process w/o any guarantees that it will work would be a PITA.

Thanks for the help. I'll update with any new findings.

 

You could also try downloading ABR again. Only this time, copy and paste the file named "backup-key.txt" into the ABR folder. Download the OEM cert file and rename it as I mentioned above. Place it in the ABR folder.

You should have an ABR folder that looks like this inside:

 

Just for kicks. I would just try with a different OEM cert file as shown above. Just download it and give it a try. It may not work, but it will only take a few minutes to try. Who knows it might be worth the effort.

 

Ok, just checked and backup-cert.xrm-ms file is what is in the ABR folder.
When you say download the OEM cert key, where would I acquire that from?
Thanks for your continued help!

 

I was about to give up, reformat to the factory settings using the backed up DVDs. However, even that did not work, telling me that I did not insert the proper CD. Then it would say I was missing some files, etc, etc. So I guess I did not properly back up my drive L

Well, after fiddling with the install, I decided to go with Plan B.
So, this is what I did. I went on the OEM Cert website (I don’t know the exact web address, but it is in this thread, pg 4x IIRC). Downloaded a proper OEM certificate and placed it in the ABR folder on my flash drive that I used to reactivate Windows, by following the guidelines in Plan B…and voila! It worked!

 

Hello everyone! I have a t61 and I'm having trouble with my wireless. The icon on my laptop isn't lighting up and when i installed the latest driver for the wifi/link4965agn it still wouldn't work. HELP

 

This is a clean install guide/thread. Did you do a clean install???

Have you looked in the device manager to make sure the driver is properly installed and says "this device is working properly."?

Did you press the FN button and the F5 button at the same time to try to turn it on? Is thee on/off switch on the front/left corner of your laptop turned on?

 

Yes i did do a clean install. i tried all the fn+f5 and turned on everything even at the bottom left corner. But, i'm having trouble bringing up the fn+f5 because it won't even respond. i also installed the "hotkey" driver and still after restarting the wireless light won't even blink

 

I think you should uninstall these two drivers:

• Hotkey Driver
• System Interface

Uninstall instructions for Hotkey driver.

1. Log on with administrator privileges.
2. Click Start, then click Control Panel.
3. Double-click Programs and Features.
4. Double-click On Screen Display.
5. Double-click FullScreen Magnifier.
6. Follow the instructions on the screen.

REBOOT

Uninstall instructions for System Interface Driver.

1. Start Windows Vista and logon with administrative privileges.
2. Click Start, click Control Panel, then click Programs.
3. Under Programs and Features, click Uninstall a program.
4. Right-click Lenovo System Interface Driver and select Uninstall.
5. Click Continue.

REBOOT

Re-download the drivers (just in case they somehow got corrupt during the first download):

• Hotkey Driver
• System Interface

Make sure to read the install instructions for installing these drivers in the read me files. As you may or may not know, these drivers are not installed when you download and double click them. They are only extracted. You must then find the extracted files. Right click on the setup.exe file and select run as administrator to install them.

After the download has been extracted, the default location for the hotkey driver is C:\DRIVERS\WIN\HOTKEY\SETUP.EXE and the default location for the extracted system interface driver is: C:\DRIVERS\WIN\SMIIF\SETUP.EXE

Make sure to REBOOT after EVERY driver uninstall and re-install.

After complete try FN +F5 again.

 

YES!! everything works properly now! THANK YOU SO MUCH. MUCH POWER TO YOU! THANKSSSSSSS

 

Great glad I could help getcha activated!

Great glad I helped you get it working!

 

Thank you very much everyone, esp Stallen for this brilliant thread. I got X61t POS in a box and with your help turned it into a monster.
I followed all instructions with great success. However, even though I followed the linked instructions on deleting the hidden recov partition before doing the cleanInst, I am still left with 2 partitions.



I want to optimize my disk to keep it fast and I regularly back up on a HHD so I'm not worried about recovery. I guess I should add that I have no Lenovo stuff on here beyond what you have in your driver list.

Please help me sort this out.

Thanks again for your hard work. Mad Karma!

 

I'm glad you had success with the clean install. In most cases, it really is amazing the difference between clean install and factory install. It sounds like you followed the guide and everything is as it should be.

NVCACHE 512mb - This is not a "hidden recovery." You must have turbo memory on your laptop. Turbo Memory is a 1GB card, but the Turbo Memory card is split in two 512mb partitions. 512mb is used for Ready Boost and 512mb is used for Ready Drive. The NVCACHE 512mb is either readyboost or readydrive. I forget which one. The other 512mb that is not showing up is normal. It is "working" it just doesn't show up here.

You sir, are all sorted out. Now you can finally enjoy your new laptop!

Oh... please click on the upper right corner and rate this thread as "excellent" by giving it 5 stars. Thanks!

 

You can download Vista 32-bit and 64-bit and create install disks from this website: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/05/08/windows-vista-free-direct-download-link/
I'll probably be update my Clean Install guide to include information on downloading and creating your own Vista installation disk for those who do not have a real vista install disk. I plan to use this and create a more user friendly guide with some better options for burning an image file when I get the chance.

 

Well I think I finished but I only used 2 DVD's for my x61s.

The first one is 'Start Recovery Disk"
and the other is "Product Recovery Disc 1"

it said it was finished after I burned the Product Recovery Disc. Did something happen or is this normal? Only 2 Dics total?

 

Well I think I finished but I only used 2 DVD's for my x61s.[/QUOTE]What did you "finish" a clean install or making recovery disks?

quote from the guide:

I personally did not make recovery disks. I knew that I would never use them. I put that in the guide because there will always be someone that can't follow directions and have the technical ability to complete the clean install. My point is that I don't have a bunch of first hand knowledge with recovery disks. What I do know is that it takes 2 to 3 disks. For some reason it's not the same for everyone. Also, if you need to use the recovery disks you will use the last disk you made first, then you will be prompted to put in the first disk.

 

wow.. happen to see this forum by chance, so i quickly register an account & quick post a question b4 i can find some time to look back (so many pages).


need help here~
my model is X61, Vista Home...

i pressed Vantage button...but then i dont know should i install these belows anot..

can some1 advise?? Does it matter i install for 32bit or 64bit?

Vista OOBE First run
Vista Lenovo welcome
vista-OOBE offer
Vista Performance Manager Screen
TVT- Welcome Message Applet
ThinkVantage System Update 3.0 ML
ThnkVantage Productivity Center
ThinkVantage Access Connections
ThinkPad Mobility Center customization
ThinkPad EssayEject Utility
System Migration Assistant
Productivity Center Supplement for Thinkpad
Presentation Director
Leader forTech Registration
Help Center for ThinkPad
EarthLink Network
Diskeeper Home

There's more options, but then i think above are the listed options which i am more worry.

Thanks!

 

This is a clean install guide. maybe post a new thread

 

Does it usually take a long time for the "Anytime Upgrade" DVDs to arrive? I ordered them about two weeks ago and I haven't seen them yet. My poor laptop needs them, rawr!

 

Look about 4 posts back and download the discs, rawr!

 

I'm going to be following this clean install guide on my T61 in a few days (currently waiting for my Anytime Upgrade DVD to arrive) and, in preparation, have been downloading the drivers linked to in step 2.

The link to Intel's website for the Chipset Driver is to version 8.3.0.1013 and that for the Matrix Storage Manager is to version 7.6.0.1011. However, if you find these drivers from the front page of intel.com (intel.com => Support & Downloads => Browse by product => Chipset => 965), the downloads are for Chipset Driver 8.3.1.1009 ( here) and Matrix Storage Manager 7.8.0.1012 ( here).

Is there any reason the guide recommends installing the older versions? If not, perhaps it should be updated to link to the latest versions?

 

I did not update the guide with the "new" drivers because there was really no change in the drivers. I installed the new drivers... on the install screen, the driver dates and versions were actually the same so I didn't bother changing the links. I read somewhere (I forget where I found it, it's been months ago) that intel changed the numbering scheme on the drivers. So the only real change was numbers on the download page. Regardless, it's a source of confusion and I'll change the links when I get a chance. Thanx

 

Hi. Stallen:

My T61p with vista 64bit is working, the software compatibility is very good after some hard work.

My question is: Do you enable both ReadyBoost*, ReadyDrive*, hard driver protect? If so I will got blue screen and invstor.sys error. After I disabled ReadyBoost, it works good.

 

According to the information I read about Turbo Memory months ago, you should not check or uncheck the boxes for readyboost or readydrive in the turbo memory utility. They will check/enable themselves after many many reboots (15-20). This issue may have been fized with the mst recent driver... not sure. Personally, I unchecked/disabled the readyboost option for turbomemory and I use a memory card that is enabled for readyboost.

Did you read and perform the "bug fix" that is toward the end of the guide?

 

Hey everyone,

I ordered a Vista upgrade disc 2 weeks ago and I still don't have it, but I was happy to see that we can finally download that disc!

I'm using that as we speak and this might be helpful if no one mentioned (many pages in the thread...). When it was time to format after booting the Vista disc, I noticed the partition was called "partition2" and I was suppose to have 111GB, not 104GB. Yeah, I forgot to remove the hidden partition, and I skimmed too fast through the steps because I then saw that it was suggested to do it first.

I didn't want to install Vista and then merge the partitions so I downloaded the Ultimate Boot CD and fdisk worked just fine.

[UPDATE]

Alright, Vista's installed and activated using the downloaded Vista disc! I installed the necessary Intel drivers first followed by the other drivers, and the only thinkvantage thing I installed is the fingerprint reader.

Thanks for the guide!

 

Hey guys, can someone generate, copy, and paste a MD5 hash of both the x86 and x64 install.wim Vista image files from the download links? You may download and install a small, unintrusive, and free program to do so: http://www.kennethballard.com/modules/xproject/index.php?op=viewSummary&pid=2

The reason I ask is because yesterday I had some problems with my Squid caching proxy server and the files stopped downloading at around 500MB. I redid my Squid VM, but the install.wim for x86 Vista is only 1.99GB instead of the 2.24GB noted in the mydigitallife's link information. Grr...

 

First of all thanks for the install guide - I now have a relatively clean system. Since I had this system installed for me by our IT guys based on the guide, I wasn't there for all the steps. Right now I have the latest Intel drivers, and am enjoying a near-daily bluescreen that seems related to the Turbo Memory (ianvstor.sys I think). I unchecked ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive in the intel Turbo Memory Console 1.0 (didn’t see the warnings here), which hasn’t helped matters. For your enjoyment, my system's Reliability Index is 2.8 and dropping.

I scoured the web but I couldn’t find info on the one thing I was hoping to do: is it possible to completely uninstall any Intel Turbo Memory related services/drivers, and if so, would that fix things? I’d like to give that a shot, if someone could tell me how to cleanly uninstall all relevant programs/drivers. Do I just uninstall the TM Console in the Device Manager? Or can I ‘disable’ a service instead? Not sure about this, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to restart the system if I do this the wrong way. Any advice would be appreciated. –pgk

X61t, Vista 64bit, 4Gb, 180Gb, Core2Duo 1.8GHz

 

Great. Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm glad it worked out well for you!

I'm out of town till later on in the week so I'm not much help. Also, I didn't use these files for my install disk. Maybe someone else will do this for you. Can you just download it again? How long does it take to download these files.

You will need to read the install/uninstall instructions for details on what can and can't be uninstalled.

All I can tell you is that it's difficult for me to help you since you didn't do the clean install yourself. It's to difficult to know what got installed and what didn't. The most recent BIOS should have taken care of most of the known BSOD issues. If you uupdate the BIOS make sure to use the bootable CD method. Also, was the "bug fix" applied that I posted toward the end of the guide?

If those things don't work, I can really only suggest redoing the clean install. As you can see there are many people who no longer have BSODs after completing this guide. If BSODs are a problem after following this guide I have to believe it is either a problem with an application that was installed or a hardware related issue. Have you run memtest? Please read all the F.A.Q. at the end of the guide for more information.

 

No you can not use the recovery disk to do a clean install. This question in answered in the F.A.Q. at the bottom of the guide.

The $7 disk from microsoft is not "blank" it is a full installation disk.

Can I upgrade from Ultimate to Ultimate? Huh, that is not an upgrade. Never mind that the anytime upgrade is called the "anytime upgrade" disk. IT IS JUST A VISTA INSTALLATION DISK!

The retail basic, premium, business, ultimate, and "anytime upgrade" disks are all THE SAME VISTA INSTALLATION DISKS.

A recovery disk is NOT a vista installation disk. It is a recovery disk.

Can you download the anytime upgrade disk? Please go back and read the guide and all of the F.A.Q.

 

Hello Stallen, thank you very much for starting and maintaining this wonderful resource.

It took me about 30-40 minutes to download the 1.99 of the 2.24GB install.wim Vista file. Normally I would just download again (and I did) but because of issues with my Squid VM, large file downloads are stopping incomplete. I thought I fixed it but the next few tries stopped at 40MB. An MD5 hash would verify if the file did complete with integrity since a simple file size check can be incorrect.

No worries if you are out of town, I just received my x86 and x64 Vista "anytime upgrade" disks in the mail and will commence the operations soon. When I do fix my Squid, I'll post my MD5 hash for the install.wim files in case anyone needs or perhaps a difference will be noted, leading me back to square one in that regard.

I expect (hope?) to report back with good results from following your guide. It's a bit tricky since I chose to purchase neither the X6 Ultrabase nor an external USB CD/DVD drive. I do have memory sticks and an external USB hard drive and will be using those to perform the installation.

 

This should help you make your bootable Vista USB drive: http://www.otgnet.com/Content/Default.aspx?Cat=all,Title=3764

 

Stallen, thanks for the quick response. I did turn of the Hybrid Power Saving mode, so that's not it. I understand the difficulty in troubleshooting an 'unknown install'. I'm going to have to talk with our IT guys. If anyone has successfully uninstalled/disabled the Turbo memory related components, please post here. At this point that seems the quickest solution to me, barring a full reinstall of Vista. -pgk

 

Well I used the "anytime upgrade" x64 DVD and used my 32-bit retail key and it worked fine Online Activation worked without a hitch.

Just thought I'd report back!

 

Yes. I did "bug fix". I found with readyboost unchecked, readydriver enabled, hard driver enabled. My T61p works ok.

 

cancelled this original question, thanks...still need answers to the below drivers