noob need help! quite urgent...

Hi all,

i've sort of got a big problem - well, to me definately. yesterday, i picked up my fresh new Lenovo X200 Laptop. it was all well, setting it up to use english Vista Home Premium. all i did was change the wallpaper and did a little bit of web surfing.

however, things started to go a bit wrong a bit later. due to the design of the X200, there's no cd-rom and i didn't go on to make a recover image even with a desktop cd-rom which i changed to USB connection. this was one of the problems. the second one is that i went ahead to try and partition the harddisk like i did with other laptops i've done before like the slightly older Lenovo R61 series notebook and another HP compaq one. so i entered hiren's boot cd and used the tools to try and partition the harddisk, and just as i start to partition, the error RemapBlock comes up. this means i couldn't partition it (i guess) and i quit the application. i proceed to load vista, when checkdisk comes up and i let it run where one of the things it does was reload the default security ID. i continue to proceed to load vista and then it doesn't let me into the log in screen. all it does is load up a black screen with the mouse on it

and until today, i am still unable to load up vista having the computer still stuck at that screen. i am hoping someone can give me some insight into how to get back into vista at least, then i can figure out what to do afterwards. i have tried reusing the recover client, but it didn't work saying some file wasn't found. i still have the 7 day "error and exchange product" warranty but i'm not sure if by me trying to partition the harddisk will break this warranty. so, errm any valuable posts that have discussed about this, or anybody with a solution, please leave a message to that i don't have to worry...!!!

a x200 noob.

 

Will it boot in safe mode?

A note for next time: Use Vista to partition your disk.

 

I experienced a similar problem when I was setting up my multi-boot setup. You are going to need a Vista install disk to fix this problem. Unfortunately, in their infinite wisdom Lenovo decided not to provide a Vista disk with their Thinkpads, and will charge you $50 if you want one.

If you have a friend with an actual Vista install disk (not a factory recover disk) borrow that. I ended up using some old Vista Beta disks I had lying around, otherwise I would have been screwed as well.

After you get the Vista disk you will need to boot with that. You will find an option to "repair my Windows installation". You can use that to repair your MBR and that should fix your problem.

I hope this helps. You may be able to tell your sob story to Lenovo, and depending on the tech's mood he may be willing to send you a free Vista disk or Thinkpad recovery DVD, although standard policy is to charge for screwups.

 

many thanks guys for the replies.

bananaman, i've tried going into safe mode, doesn't work. just goes to the black screen with a mouse on it. i might consider that method next time.

jonlumpkin, then does that mean if i go to the lenovo service center or call them up (considering that they are closed today, i live in hong kong) then they will charge me if i just ask for the recovery dvd? also, when you say get an actual vista install disk, does that mean any version will be ok? like home enterprise or home basic? i think ultimate will not work cause it's x64 right, and home premium is x86/x32...
also, a question just poped up in my mind, using recovery disks not for x200 to "repair my windows installation" will not work is it?

 

It is standard policy to charge for recovery disks. If you are covered under warranty and your hard drive fails (physicallys stops working, not screwed up by the user playing with the partitions) they will send you a new drive with the software preinstalled and a recovery partition. If the backup discs you make fail (you only get one shot at making them because MS is afraid you will try and steal your own purchased Vista install), they will usually send a free recovery DVD. However, if you just play around with it and screw things up they will usually charge you, unless you can convince them to be nice.

To my knowledge there are only two Vista discs. A 32 bit disc, and a 64 bit disc, each one contains all versions and it is the key you enter that determines the installed edition. Ultimate is available both as a 32 bit and a 64 bit edition. Any Vista disc should work (32 or 64) because you aren't installing, just repairing. I used a 2 year old, long since expired Vista Beta disc to fix mine, and it worked okay.

You will almost certainly need a recovery disk that came with your model, or a similar machine type. A recovery disc for an x61, T400, etc. will almost certainly not work.

 

took it to the factory at the end, they reinstalled windows and i guess there might have been something wrong with their installation of vista on my harddisk, which is also what they said.

 

Glad it worked out for you, weird that their install was screwed up, they tend to use a master image and just change the keys.