Summary:Fresh installation of Win XP on T61

I should credit this summary to Playmaker and Skint80, you guys save me a lot of time to install a fresh XP in my T61 without a single problem.

I have a T61 with integrated graphics, 14.1 WXGA w/o camera, Windows vista home basic.

Here is my procedure

Part 1 Preparation
(1) After starting windows Make a set of recovery disk using Thinkvantage program, one bootable disk with a set of data disks
(2) Open device manager, print screen about all the devices you have, and then open it with some word process software and print it out on paper. In this way, you will know what kind of devices you have initially installed in your computer
(3) Go to

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=HOME-LENOVO

Enter your Laptop model and number and select win XP as OS, download all related software and drive in to a Flash drive, put different drivers into different folders and give them different names. Remember, when downloading drivers, download the TXT file as well and put them into different folders accordingly. In this way, you will know which is which later on.
Here is a list
ACPI power management
Audio driver
Modem
Video driver
Ethernet driver
BT enhanced data transfer
Hotkey drive
Monitor
MS BT support
Wireless card: refer to what you have printed out to find your device
Key board customize
Intel matrix storage driver
Trusted module
Power management
Think advantage access
Thinkpad protection
Ultra navi driver and utilities
SD storage driver
Patch for USB

Also download the following two components

Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) High Definition Audio class driver (Q888111) for Windows XP with Service Pack 2

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-65456

Intel® Chipset Software Installation Utility

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=816

Part 2 Delete hidden partition
(1) Press F1 when restart, change the SATA option from AHCI to Compatible, in this way, when boot up with CD, Win XP will recognize the hard drive
(2) Change the boot sequence as you like, e.g., CD-Rom
(3) Restart the computer, loan the basic system file, when asking for installation, you have a chance to delete the hidden drive along with the C drive for a clean installation. After deletion, the total capacity of HD will be unallocated. Create new partitions as you like, e.g. for a 120G drive, 40G for system and another 80G for data, C and D respectively.
(4) Install window XP, reboot system after completion.

Part 3 Install driver and software
Note: most time, the self-extraction version of driver just extracts something into C:\driver, and you need to install from there.
(1) I follow Skint 80 procedure, install UAA first, and then Intel chipset utilities, and reboot system
(2) Install Intel matrix storage driver: “Run the install.cmd file from the prepare directory, reboot and change the bios back to AHCI. Select ‘no’ for the hardware wizard and install from a specific location, choose the main folder and it will select the 82801 HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller (skint80).”
(3) Install Hotkey driver, I suggest reboot every time after install something new
(4) Then repeat the process from Video card, monitor driver, Audio driver, modem, Ethernet driver, wireless driver, BT enhanced+MS BT support, patch for USB, ACPI power management, power management, SD storage driver, Trusted module, keyboard customization, think advantage access+protection.
Remember to reboot each time you install something, and finally I did not see a single “?” in the device management.

Part 4 upgrade and image
(1) Upgrade windows XP, reboot
(2) Install Ghost 10, make a fresh win XP image for later use. Remember, next time when booting up with Ghost CD, you need to change SATA from ACHI to compatible again, and then run the recovery.
(3) Install other software, and make another image.

I recover the drive in less than 3 minutes, hassle free now.

Thanks for all the information I found from this website, otherwise I may spend 1 or 2 more days to figure out the whole thing. I really need to get down on my work now after a long-time waiting for the laptop.

 

Hey Nep- thanks, I've been looking for a simple tutorial since I got my brand new lappy today (T61p 14.1 Vista basic). Just a few q's:

1. Why delete the hidden partition? If for some reason you lose the backup disks or mess up XP installation, wouldn't it be a lifesaver to have that partition? It's only a few gigs, and you can boot from it in emergency right?

2. How come on Playmaker's guide ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=144349) it says "Don't enter product key when asked?"

3. After all the IBM drivers are installed, will clicking the blue "thinkvantage" button function normally?

4. Will we be missing any special preinstalled programs during this downgrade?

5. I've read of multiple problems during this process. Did you encounter any?

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!

 

1. vista basic is really a basic OS for me, it does not make any sense for me to keep it. that's why i delete the partition

2. when Install XP, I definetly enter the key

3. for me, the blue thinkvantage does not function anymore, though I do not care about that.

4. the only problem is, I enter the bios, and enable the serial port, and reboot again, system find new hardware pci serial port, but I do not have the driver, neither do I have that port. therefore, better keep bios as defult. that is the only problem I have.

5 now I have a clean XP ghost image, and another one with all softwares that I need to do my work.

 

A note.. better backup the original Lenovo instalation (ie Vista) in case u want to sell the system later, etc.
Backup the whole hard drive the image should fit on 2-3 dvd's

Question.. Do the t61 have a 3-5 gb of unnacesible hard drive space (NOT HIDDEN SERVICE PARTITION)?

 

Because if you're using the Windows license that came with your computer, you cannot activate it the conventional way because it is an OEM license. If you have your own copy of XP or Vista, then feel free to enter the key. My guide is for people looking to install Windows with the license that came with their computer.

ThinkVantage button is reactivated for the Windows environment if you install the hotkey drivers and for the pre-OS environment if you reinstall Rescue & Recovery.

I really hate answering these questions again. If you have anymore, consult the Clean Install Guide in my sig for complete instructions on how to do a clean install of XP or Vista 32-bit/64-bit.

 

is there any way to make the thinkvantage button work after installing winxp ? i mean both in winxp and before winxp loads

 

you will have to reinstall and configure it.

 

I think the reason is the following:

this is because manufacture count the space as
1,000k=1m, 1,000m=1g

when formating actually, 1,024k=1m, 1,024m=1g, so you always get less than you purchase.

 

hey neptuneking--using that ghost software, can I basically create an image of my hard drive with ALL the programs/documents, etc that is on there and restore it as it was to a freshly formatted hard drive with no problems? (using a dvd or two>)? Thanks!

 

That is what ghost can do! it create a recovery point with all system, program and documents on a specific location, for example external hard drive.

next time, if there is some problem. boot up with the ghost CD, and choose the location of the recovery point (on you DVD or External HD), and then just recovery. Everything will be the same as last time you made the backup.

be sure the change the SATA setting before you boot up with Ghost CD.

 

What happens if I leave the hidden parition and continue installing XP pro? Will there be any conflicts/problems?

I'm trying to decide between leaving it or burning 10+ Cd's which I might lose/forget.

 

hey what about the lenovo recovery software? Is that worse? What's the advantage of using ghost? Thanks!

 

I installed XP w/o making any backup CDs and I left the partition. I don't think there are any problems (besides me having to reinstall either way hehe.

 

So...... what exactly in this guide is new to us and hasn't been done already?

 

Is there another easier way to get the xp drivers, instead of downloading every single driver for xp manually?

 

Hi,I have purchased T61 with Vista Basic 2 days back.I wanted to have xp pro on my system.so I have inserted windows 98 Bootable CD and formatted without any backup of my data.now when i inserted xp professional sp2 CD into the system,after inspection it says,"Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer.Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer,and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct.This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program".I am not able to understand what this is.Can u help me.thanks.

 

you have to switch the bios to compatibility mode. read the instructions again carefully

 

Where can I find the instructions?

 

Check the guide in my sig and find the section where I talk about installing XP.

 

Where do you guys gets the "Patch for USB"?

Ive try to install about everything talking about USB from Lenovo, but i have still like 10 yellow "?" im my hardware manager named "USB Hub"