Going back to WinXP

Hi, I upgraded my Thinkpad from WinxP to Vista but I want to go back to WinXP.

When I turn on my computer and press the blue ThinkVantage button, it doesn't go to R&R.

I don't recall deleting the hidden partition, so what could be the problem?


Ever since I installed Vista, and when I reboot, I hear loud beeping sounds and the screen is black. Then, I have to manually hold the power button to shutdown and turn back on.

 

When you install annther MS operating system it alters the MBR of your HDD which in turn makes you lose functionality of the recovery partition. It is still there, but you can't access it directly (e.g with the blue Thinkvantage button). The easiest way to restore the original MBR thus giving you access to the recovery partition, is to install the Rescue and Recovery software for the version of your Windows you have installed (Vista in your case).

If anyone knows of a way to accomplish the above without installing the R&R4 bloatware I would also like to know!! (Yes I know you can also boot with a Linux distro's boot loader, e.g grub, but that still doesn't recover the blue button's functionality :/)

 

I installed R&R and the ThinkVantage button still doesn't let me in R&R.

I get some choices if I want to enter BIOS, continue normally, escape, and that's it.

This is really frustrating. I had this problem with Linux too and a friend used a Win98SE cd to erase the MBR with fdisk command. Don't remember the exact steps though.

 

Lol, Microsoft has turned Vista in a Cancer/Virus. One thing you might want to try is to create a boot disk or CD from Win98 or Win95. Try running the following command which erases all data.

C:\>format c:/u/s

The other option is to buy Norton's utility for Win XP and boot from the CD and do a full format or government erase which totally wipes out all traces of data(this one takes a loooong time).

p.s. This is the reason I purchased my T60 with WinXP Pro. Vista sux.

 

Update: it worked... I was able to access R&R and reinstall WinXP Pro.

I have a few questions.

Do you guys use IBM's "Client security solution" or Window's own login?
Is IBM's Css supposed to be any more secure than Window's?

Also, do you guys use ThinkVantage Productivity Center?

I think Access Connections is pretty useful but I don't know about the other ThinkVantage software.

 

2 Johnny. What exactly did you do to restore winxp pro?
I am on Vista now and I really don't like it's sluggishness.
I would greatly appreciate your answer.

 

hotboy, just download R&R version 4 from the link Whitewolf provided above.

After you install, shut down your comp and turn it back on.
It will ask you to hit F11 to enter R&R 4.

You should be able choose Restore to Factory State and upon rebooting, you are automatically in R&R 3 (which is what most of us have for reinstalling XP).

 

Thanks for the answer, however when press restore to factory state button, the system shows the following. disk boot error. What this could be? Any advices would be greatly appreciated. thanks.