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

If you read the mydigitallife guide, it tells you to expect that error and to simply ignore it.

 

But it does not look it it extracted 100% of files. Should I use x13-49120.exe to generate bootable dvd

 

As suggested by mydigitlife I copied over efsboot.com to the boot folder and used vlite to create bootable dvd. Is there a way I can check the size of iso to verify if its a valid image before using it.

Also I did not create any recovery cd bcos I got 7 dics ( 6 recovery cd + 1 supplemental product recovery cd) from Lenovo. I am hoping that I can use them to go back to factory settings if things go wrong.

 

Ok, I think x13-49120.exe is the 32-bit version. If I'm not mistaken, the error message is simply saying that the extractor program was unable launch the upgrade setup program for x64 Vista. This is to be expected, since you are running 32-bit Vista and the installer is a 64-bit program, AFAIK. It does not mean that less than 100% of files were extracted. As long as you followed the instructions I think your upgrade DVD should be fine.

 

Thanks for your help. I did follow the instructions and have installed vista 64. Whole process once I put on bootable dvd took only 45 min.

Only thing is I could not delete the hidden partition. Once I loaded the bootable dvd, the process showed only one partition which I deleted, then created new one and formatted. Is there a way to delete the hidden partition without re-installing OS. Why was it not visible?

 

First off, specs...
ThinkPad T61
Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.2 GHz)
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050)
2GB RAM
100GB 7200rpm SATA
WinVista Ultimate 32-bit
9-cells battery

I am going through the drivers once again to see if I got something wrong in the first time. I will try keep things short... only four top drivers from post #1... This is my findings:

----------------------------------------

I checked and the file still the same for Intel Chipset Driver/INF Update Utility (orginal link from post #1), same version and date.
infinst_autol.exe
v 8.31.1009
9/24/2007

----------------------------------------

As for Matrix Storage Manager Driver (for without Turbo Memory), can someone clear up the differences for me (different title, same version, different date) :

RAID/AHCI Software - Intel Matrix Storage Manager (from the link in the post #1)
iata78_enu.exe
v 7.8.0.1012
11/9/2007

or

Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver (from www-307.ibm.com/...)
7tim04ww.exe
v 7.8.0.1012
1/31/2008


----------------------------------------

ThinkPad Power Management Driver
7tku03ww.exe
v 1.44
1/31/2008

Is the above link the correct driver for the Power Management? I don't understand what happened... I download all the driver in Febuary 2008, in which I got this file "7kku06ww.exe" (installed as Power Management) and now I can not find it on the download list (from www-307.ibm.com/...)?

----------------------------------------

Lastly Video Driver! Is this link (below) the correct one? The NVIDIA.com website does not have a driver for this!?

Display (NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M / Quadro FX 570M) driver for Windows Vista 32-bit (from www-307.ibm.com/...)
7kd534ww.exe
v 7.15.11.0145
7/12/2007

----------------------------------------

Thank you.

Chuck

 

Hi Guys,
I was planning to do clean install on my recently ordered X61 tablet as soon as it arrives.
The instruction is self explanatory and I think I can manage it. But I have not ordered the ultrabay so there is no CD/DVD ROM/Writer!! So there are two things that I am worried about..

1) Making recovery disk at the beginning if something goes wrong... (Instead of making CDs and DVDs can that be made onto a external hard-drive?)

2) How to boot the computer without the CD?
Will it work if I copy everything from the DVD down to a USB flash drive or external hard disk?

I would appreciate your help!
thanks

 

hizbiz

Just an idea that you could leave the "hidden" partition in there and still do the clean installation. That way, you're not losing the recovery disk. You will just have some HD space used up for the "hidden" partition (I think it's about 7GB).

Immediately upon receiving the X61, do the Orev's Activation Backup and Restore program (Step #3, 1-3). Then at your own time, do the clean installation, only skipping the removal of the "hidden" partition.

Again, just an idea.

Chuck

 

Thats not a bad idea Chuck! I think I can live without that 7 GB. Hopefully the "blue button" would still work after a clean install, about which I am not so sure.My idea is that the factory installation has a different bootloader installed in MBR which interacts with the blue button to boot into the RR partition.

Anyway your suggestion does not solve my original problem! That is whether I can make the recovery disk in a external hard-drive and could also boot and install vista from another external hard-drive .

The other problem I was wondering about is that I ordered MS OneNote from Lenovo. Do they provide CD for that or again just an installation with some OEM Key (like the OS).. If they do that is there any way to backup the OEM key for that?

 

They provide you with a disk. I have mine but haven't installed it yet.
Tim

 

Anyone know where to get a 32 bit or 64 bit OEM or retail disk or iso that has SP1 sliptreamed?

 

bump... (waiting for reply to post # 1206)

 

What was your problem CNT? Are you not sure which drivers to download? Or are your drivers not working for you?
Tim

 

After the clean install, I installed all the softwares I need. Now outlook 2007 enterprise is so slow. It takes 15-20 seconds to load up. When it is getting emails from the server, I can literally do nothing with it because it always shows not responding. Once it has retrieved all the new messages, it runs fine.

Another thing is when i click on the drop down button from the address bard to get my browsing history, it always crashes 100% of time. I have switched to firefox but I would like to fix that problems. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

The links to the drivers I recommend are clearly posted in the guide. The difference? The chipset/inf drivers and matrix storage manager drivers are INTEL products and divers. Intel will provide the latest drivers for there products. However, if there where any major changes Lenovo would not fall far behind on providing an updated driver as well. You can't always count on numbering systems being the same. Even though the driver might be completely identicle, Lenovo might use a slightly different numbering system than Intel.

Power Management? This info is in the guide. There is a "driver" and a "utility". You need the "driver". The "utility" is a thinkvantage utlity that provides some extra bells and whistles that Vista does not provide... at a cost of resources.

Video drivers? NVIDIA rarely provides updated drivers for laptops. You only have the option of using the NVIDIA driver from Lenovo or going to a website such a laptopvideo2go and try out some modified video drivers. I wouldn't recommend modified drivers unless you really need to use an application where the Lenovo driver is not performing as well as it should.

Leaving the hidden parition is not really a good idea. Please read the F.A.Q. guys! the blue thinkvantage button will not access the hidden parition after the clean install. What good is a hidden partition if you can't access it?

 

OK, I got it. I have noticed it sometime before. I just want to make sure. So, I will use the ones from the post #1.

I understood that part. The "utility" is in the recommend download list. Yet, I will skip that one, as to what we are understanding in here.

I will double-check once more and then attempt to clean install again.

Thanks for your reply.

Chuck

 

Update re. difficulties activating clean install. I used ABR to backup the key and cert and indeed it looked fine. The keys from the original Premium and the newer Business were different and the certs were the same. I had multiple backups saved and after multiple attempts to get Vista activated I noticed that several of the certs were no longer 2.6 KB but 8 KB. I don't know how this happened but I do know they were originally 2.6KB. I did try viewing the certs but just did a quick experiment and tried to view one now
but still 2.6 KB.

Well anyway I currently have a clean activated copy of Vista Business dual booting w/ a copy of XP Pro. Now I need to look into updating to SP1.

Thanks again to all, especially stallen!

 

Stallen,
What you said just confirms my thought that MBR that Lenovo loads originally (before clean install) is indeed different from that of a clean install. Thus blue button does not work even by leaving the hidden partition intact!
By the way can you please make any comment on my original question? My question originally was can I do a clean install from a USB hard drive/flash drive?

thanks
hizbiz

 

Hi guys, I was wondering if you guys can critique what I am thinking of doing in the next week or two (will be buying a t61 w/vista home premium).

Step 1: right after I get the laptop through the mail, the first thing I do is make a set of recovery disks. It should be 1 cd and 2 dvds or 7 cds.

Step 2: make the anytime upgrade dvd using this option listed above:

Step 3: delete the hidden partition using the steps listed above (its actually linked to another thread).

Step 4: follow steps two through four in this guide.

Anything else?

Also, I've been researching the Base Software Administrator Method that has been discussed both here and on the lenovo blogs but I haven't found a clear step by step guide like this. So I was wondering if someone can fill in some details about this second option.

I only ask for the "second opinion" because after reading through this thread (or at least the guide), I am somewhat hesitant because I am not as tech savvy as many of the folks here (but probably more tech savvy than your average user).

Thanks

 

Make 2 copies of your secret Windows codes. Make sure you have these.

Be sure to create a USB drive or CD or DVD of the downloaded drivers before you wipe the system. Otherwise it can be a pain to download them on one machine to install on the other while you're doing the install. The pre-install steps he outlines DO make it easier in the end.

Follow Stallen's directions letter for letter. Seriously. Don't skip anything. He has it right.

Good luck. There are no guarantees with this, and you're doing it at your own risk. It worked for me though.

 

A mild topic deviation. It has to do with testing hardware post X64 install, but only somewhat.

Is there a Vista X64 driver or utility somewhere that I can see the outputs from the T61p accelerometer through? It would be cool to have an artificial horizon or even some demo widget for this. Its the one piece of hardware on the machine that I can't seem to see functionality or output from after doing the X64 install.

Thank you.

 

Will the system be significantly faster if you do a clean install as opposed to using the ThinkVantage Base software? I've ordered the T61p with the fingerprint read and will have to install CSS to get full functionality anyway.

How many extra programs are installed if you use the ThinkVantage Base software? I'm under the impression that it'll basically be like a clean install except for one or two ThinkVantage programs.

 

Stallen:

Did you plan to update to Vista sp1?

 

HOW TO MAKE THE BLUE THINKVANTAGE BUTTON WORK

Well I have found out a way to go with clean install at the same time to leave the hidden partition intact and workable!
The trick as I assumed lies in the MBR (Master Boot record) of the HDD which somehow interacts with the Blue button. Thus factory installed MBR needs to be restored to make the Blue button work. Here is how I made it to work...
1) While taking backups also back up the first three sectors of the HDD using a program HDHacker. which can be downloaded from internet. And then save the data in a file.(This can be from the same USB stick where you will have the ABR Utility)
2) After doing clean install (Leaving the hidden partition intact) boot into Vista and then replace the new MBR with the that from the previously saved file using the same HDHacker program.
3) Reboot and try pressing Blue button before windows boots! And it should work as before..


However, I agree with stallen on the fact that there is basically no need to have the hidden partition when you are going with a clean install. Its kind of counterproductive.. But just for knowledge's sake I think my findings might be of importance!

Disclaimer: Though it worked for me on a X61 tablet PC and I believe it should work for everyone with thinkpad, however I assume no responsibility for the correctness of this information. And playing with MBR is extremely dangerous as it might make the hard disk inaccessible (requiring a fresh formatting).

 

Hi, guys,

I have clean install vista now. My laptop is T61p. but there is a problem: the desktop can't fill with the whole LCD, there are gaps on the left and upside of screen.

How should I do? thanks.

 

wildhuman, did you install your video drivers? Sounds like a dumb question but it's the first thing that comes to mind. If you did, check the display settings and stuff.

It's taking me a few minutes to find all of the options because I'm new to Vista.

Also, I would like to add that I just received the laptop yesterday and it came with Vista Home. I followed this guide for the most part, except for the activation because I was upgrading to Vista Ultimate, so I had to enter a new cd key anyway.

One major difference that I found was that my "hidden partition" did NOT show up during the setup process. I was almost positive that it would appear because the laptop came with a 160GB, and it only showed 122GB available on the C: drive.

I was sure there was another 6-7GB allocated somewhere. After installing Vista Ultimate, I checked disk manager and sure enough there was a partition there that was almost 7GB.

Now I'm stuck with a fresh install of Vista, a hidden partition with who knows what on it, and I don't know if my ThinkAdvantage Key works.

 

my installition is exactly according this thread. and I installed the video card, everything is ok. only the LCD dispaly. Here is the pics that I photoed, could you help me to verify with your laptop? or can you take some photoes like mine?

thanks so much.

 

wow nice camera. I tried to take similar pictures of mine but the only thing the pictures prove is that my Canon S400 is outdated.

When I first read your post, I imaged the gap would be much larger but it seems like it's barely larger than mine. I have a T61 with the nvidia so maybe other T61p owners can provide some input.

 

thanks Phaze.

any other help?

 

phaze,

You needed to follow the steps outlined in Stallen's FAQ to delete the hidden partition before doing a clean install of Windows. Otherwise, it doesn't show up during installation.

 

roomwithaview,

Oh ok I see the instructions now. Thanks. That's what I get for doing everything at 4AM.

Yesterday was hectic. My laptop arrived at 11AM while I was at Houston's Microsoft Heroes event where I got Vista Ultimate for free. Returned to work for a bit, got home, dinner, play time with T61, then started the clean install around 3AM. I couldn't wait!

 

It looks like just the edge of the LCD. Did it go all the way to the edge before? Are you sure you really looked that closely before you reinstalled?

 

I never pay attention to that before. after I reinstalled, I found there is a gap, and then I restored factory install, still like that. I hope some people who have the T61p can verify their lcd with me.

thanks.

 

hey peeps. is it OK to delete the folders created whenever those drivers are extracted (e.g. c:\drivers\Win\Audio for the audio drivers) or must we leave it there?

Taking up some space in the root directory which I didn't like...

 

Once installed you can delete them.

 

So i have followed this guide exactly but the ABR activation tool is not working for me. Any ideas as to why?

The command prompt is saying:

"Checking if already activated....
Looks like it's not activated.

Installing activation backup certificate...

Uninstalling product keys...
Removed Key for: "(mixed letters and numbers)
Removed Key for: "(mixed letters and numbers)
Removed Key for: "(mixed letters and numbers)
Removed Key for: "(mixed letters and numbers)
Removed Key for: "(mixed letters and numbers)
Removed Key for: "(mixed letters and numbers)

Installing product key...

Check in the control panel under "system" for the activation status.

Press <enter to exit."

Now I check the system properties but the windows activation status does not change...

 

Wow, that's some good information. For me personally, I wouldn't bother with it, but I'm sure there are enough people interested that I should probably integrate that into the guide as an option. One of my concerns about the hidden partition is that I have heard that it can be a rapidly growing partition. When the T61 first came out there were users trying to rid themselves of it because they discovered that it so unefficiently backs-up your system to the point that you can have a hidden parition taking up 25% or more of your HDD space in the matter of a few months. I don't know this to be true first hand.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

I actually updated to SP1 today. I also updated the guide to include the link to the proper fingerprint reader driver needed for SP1. The current lenovo driver is incompatible with SP1. So far so good. I actually haven't had a chance to do much testing. I had major shut-down issues when I trialed the SP1 beta several months ago. Maybe the fingerprint driver was the problem. Anyway, with this SP1 I haven't had any shut-down issues so far... so that is a good sign. I don't think anyone should be in a hurry to upgrade to SP1. I knew there would be some problems. I think most people would be better off waiting 2-4 weeks for the bugs to get ironed out.

I have no idea why. You haven't provided any details. I don't know what system you have. Even though you say you followed the guide exactly... it's possible you could have misinterpreted something. So without any details... go for "plan B".

 

stallen you updated the link for the fingerprint driver but you didn't provide the link for the software itself. thought you should be aware...

 

Well this is what I did:

1. I followed step 1 exactly. Made backup cd's and the recovery disks. backed up the swtools drivers

2. Downloaded all of the drivers and put them onto usb drive

3. Followed the OREV ABR program properly and the two files were created

4. restarted computer and installed vista using a vlite burned copy

5. then when vista started i used the abr restore file

and the windows is still not activated...

edit: also, i have a system very similar to yours: t61 15.4" wsxga+, 2.5 ghz t9300, 7200 100gb hd, 1gb ram, windows vista home premium, nvidia quadro 140m, etc

 

The information in the guide about making an install disk using vlite is new information. You are the second person that has had reported trouble with vlite'd install disks. I apologize for the trouble you've been through. I was trying to provide a means for people to make Vista disks when Microsoft quit selling the anytime upgrade disk. I'm going to remove that info from the guide. I also know that Windows Update will not install SP1 on systems with vlite'd installs. So, I personally recommend to stay away from vlite until there is a workaround.

Meanwhile, my suggestions for you are to obtain a real Vista installation disk. Any retail or OEM disk should work fine. Or you can download the files necessary to make a vista disk. That info is in the guide. It seems that has worked for quite a few people. Other than that... have you read "Plan B"?

 

Thanks. I updated the guide. It's been so long since I install the fingerprint software, but I think the update info in the guide is probably the best way to install the Fingerprint reader and be ready for SP1.

If anyone is doing a clean install with a fingerprint reader, let me know if you have ay constructive criticism for that area of the guide. Thanks.

 

well good news is that i went back to factory installed settings using the factory restore disks that i created. i then redid the entire process and the abr program a few times into different file folders onto my usb drive and didn't touch them afterwards. I then proceeded with trying to install vista again and the ABR tool worked!

...very strange.

anyway, is it 100% sure that the vlite installed vista OS will not be able to upgrade and install Service pack 1?

Another question, you say that people need to install all registry patches for vista. There is a registry patch involving a finger print reader. Is it still necessary to install that even though we don't have the fingerprint reader installed in our systems?

thanks.

 

What's the difference between the fingerprint reader driver from Lenovo and UPEK, besides their versions? It seems to me that the file downloaded from Lenovo is driver and software/utilities, and the one from UPEK is driver only. Is this the case? If so, should I install the Lenovo one first so that I have the utilities, and then install the UPEK driver just to update the driver part?
I am going to do a clean install with vista x64 SP1 integrated, so I don't have the problem of making SP1 show up. I am just not sure when it comes to installing software for the fingerprint reader, do I need to install Lenovo + UPEK, or UPEK only? Any one knows? Thanks in advance!

 

Well, I have found that windows update does not work AT ALL when installing windows vista from vlite.

Details: http://www.vlite.net/servicepack.html

So, it is official that vlite should not be used if you want windows update or service pack 1.

(...back to creating an iso...)

 

You only apply registry patches and drivers that apply to your system. Applying a registry patch to a system without the fingerprint reader will not cause a problem, but it's a waste of time.

I just put that info in the guide. I think it says pretty clearly to install the software and old driver from Lenovo... then install the new driver from UPEK. That is what I did and it worked great.

 

Did you remove ANY components when you used vlite or did you just use vlite to make the disk without removing any components? vLite claims that the problem lies when components are removed since SP1 requires the entire OS to be present. If you did not remove any components, you could try running Windows Update to see if SP1 is available. Don't give up on the first try. I had to reboot once and tell windows update to look for updates twice before SP1 was offered.

 

Thanks a lot, stallen. It's a great guide, and it worked flawlessly for me!

 

If this is the case, then why does M$ ship the different versions to retailers?When I go to the local Best Buy, Office Depot, etc., there are retail packages for all of the different Vista versions in x32. I even checked to see if there were any for x64, but there were none. They were all x32. Do you mean to tell me that M$ is trying to fool the general public into thinking that the different versions on store shelves are really different versions? Are they hoping that the public never finds out that the retail disc is really an all-in-one disc, or am I just misunderstanding something?

Can someone explain to my what the "Hybrid Hard Disk" is exactly?

 

The retail versions include a license for the version listed on the package. They probably do this so that it's less confusing for the non-tech-savvy Joe Schmoe looking to upgrade to Vista. I don't know if the retail package install discs have every version on the disc.

AFAIK, it is related to the Intel Turbo Memory option. You only see the option to enable or disable this feature if you have the Turbo Memory driver installed.

 

I created my bootable ISO using vLite and I have successfully upgraded to SP1 through Windows Update. The key, as someone else mentioned, is to avoid using vLite to customize your install to the point where Vista is missing components needed for Windows Update and SP1.