Thinkpads Forum

Folks,
I have an R60 which I bought second hand that is starting to have software 'issues'. I'd really like to reload it with a nice new fresh install of Windows XP Home but do not have recovery CDs and the original owner has deleted the recovery partition... If anyone has the recovery discs and would be willing to make me a copy, I would be eternally grateful and would gladly reimburse you for the media, your time, and your helpfulness! However, please bear in mind that I am a poor student! Looking at the Lenovo website it appears that the recovery discs are common across R60/R60e/R61/R61i. Alternatively if anyone has an idea on how else I can reload this lovely laptop that very much deserves a new lease of life, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Phil B

If you are a student, then the IT department at your school may be able to help you out, too.

LOL! Our IT support people, as so often is the case, are a contradiction in terms! I attend a local community college and they are based somewhere else in the state, apparently it's more convenient to have them centrally located. They do not even publish a phone number, or an email address. Additionally, all the PCs/notebooks used by the college are Dells, so I'd imagine that the chances of them having a Lenovo recovery CD laying around would be pretty slim.

Thanks for the quick reply though!
Phil

If you can find a XP disc you can use that to do a clean install. You'd of course be without the recovery partition. When you go to activate it, it allows you to change the product key. At this point you can use the one from your machine. It should work. I've done it many times. If not you can always call Microsoft to activate since you should have a valid COA.

What's your machine type? My machine came with XP Home before I upgraded to Pro and I have the recovery discs. If it's allowed I'd be willing to send you a set for postage.

You cannot use the OEM key to activate a retail version. You can copy the disks. The license is tied to the model serial number. I have not checked the part numbers, but I believe R60 or T60 disks will work fine but not T61 or R61