Thinkpads Forum

Hi All,

I have a legit license for win 7 pro x64, and i have the generic microsoft install media, but i'd prefer to install the lenovo version. Does anyone have media for the t400 they could copy or upload somewhere for me? I'd be happy to pay shipping and a little extra for your efforts. Thanks!

a

2764-CTO

If your Thinkpad comes with a Win7 COA tag, you can call Lenovo and request a Recovery CD set for Win 7.

I got the free Win7 64 bit ultimate upgrade and they won't give me the Win7 recovery CD's If you get them for any flavor of thinkpad I'd love a set. They won't even give me Vista. They want $45.00 (yes my machine is under warranty)

Oh to add insult to injury when my HDD went bad they sent me business instead of ultimate and now said I'm SOL (I was running XP so I never looked at the cd's) LOL

@aau007 - i got my t400 before win 7 was out, hence i don't have access through lenovo. so, still hoping someone can help me out!

TTA, the same thing happened to me. They refused to send me the disks, but they did offer to send a tech out to replace my HDD and with that service visit, they would include the disks. Very very frustrating.

I'm in the same boat as you.. W500 with Vista Biz, and no recovery disks.

isn't there a utility to burn yourself recovery cd's?

albo,

The Recovery CD/DVD set you want to/can get is Windows 7 Pro 64, part number is 58y3285. There is no Recovery CD/DVD set for Win7 64 Ult.

Yes, Lenovo will ask for $45 if you just want it unless you are covered under entitlement. To be covered under this entitlement, your machine needs to meet the following requirement:
1. your machine comes with Win 7 Pro COA tag.
2. you purchased your machine during that time frame when Microsoft/Lenovo promised everyone a free upgrade to Win 7 and you purchased your machine with Vista Pro COA tag.

Lenovo does not like to give out those CDs/DVDs for free. I have managed to wrestle some out of them before but you need very strong argument why you are entitled to have them for free. Having Lenovo Gold support helps.

Otherwise, without the Recovery DVD for Win 7, here is the best way to install Win7 on your Thinkpad.
1. Install Win7 using your Microsoft Win7 DVD disc.
2. Win7 DVD should at least be able to recognize correctly and install proper driver for your wired or wireless NIC.
3. With a working NIC, get on to Lenovo support site and install System Update 4 for Win7.
4. Run System Update 4 and install whatever drivers available found for your Thinkpad.
5. Run Microsoft update and install all remaining drivers from Microsoft site.
6. If there is a driver that's available from both Lenovo and Microsoft, always stay with the one from Lenovo.

From this on, you have a clean install of Win7 on your Thinkpad, without all the Trial software that comes with the Recovery image. You can then install Lenovo's Restore and Recovery software to make your own recovery image.


That's the best advice I have if you cannot locate a copy of the above part number and cannot match to wrestle a free one out of tech support.

@aau007 & harryc - that's great information - thanks folks. So - I believe I have a vista tag. However, I don't know if i purchased during the period they were promising win 7 upgrades. I doubt it. I think I purchased in January 2009 sometime. Anyone know when they started promising win 7?

otherwise, great site. i might cough up the $40 for the 58y3285 dvds.

Harryc wrote:http://www.<promotion of site not allowed>.com/t400.html

Harryc,

Do you know these guys personally? Although it sounds legit, they don't seem to want to let people know who they are in reality. There is no physical address, names and phone numbers any where I can find on the web site. Domain information are hidden as well. They use the Lenovo Business Partner logos on their main webpage but I believe Lenovo requires their partners to disclose their identity on the web site.

Their privacy policy page also does not contain any contact information.

Don't know who they are, but I have done business with them in the past. The CD's that are shipped appear to be genuine Lenovo issue. If they are not genuine Lenovo issue, then they are [censored] good reproductions.

and now for a question i probably should have asked earlier: if you had a choice, would you install generic win 7 on your machine, or the lenovo EE win 7?

albo wrote:and now for a question i probably should have asked earlier: if you had a choice, would you install generic win 7 on your machine, or the lenovo EE win 7?

Makes no difference as long as you are properly licensed. One guideline I hold onto though. If there is a specific Lenovo driver for the device, use the Lenovo version.

my impression was that lenovo's version had some tweaks to it, thus making it an "enhanced experience". quicker startup and shutdown. no?

Not really. Lenovo version comes with the Lenovo stamp being the OEM version. The Recovery DVD includes all the Lenovo drivers and preloaded software (bloatedware sometimes) to save you time of loading them individually. However, you should go thru and update them anyways. There are many tweaks/settings floating around the net to show you how to speed up Win7 bootup and shutdown. There is no such thing as Thinkpad tweaked Win7 version.

ok - cool. thanks.

Harryc wrote:Don't know who they are, but I have done business with them in the past. The CD's that are shipped appear to be genuine Lenovo issue. If they are not genuine Lenovo issue, then they are *****Expletives removed by Moderator***** good reproductions.

That's good enough for me

I qualify for the school discount but they want $59 dollars plus for the W7 Pro- downloaded. I don't know about anyone else but a DVD sized download isn't very appealing to me.

Thanks Harry!

@emeraldgirl08 - i'm a little confused. school discount? you mean to buy win 7 from your school? I don't think you get a legit license key with those lenovo discs from that website, fyi. just the recovery dvd.

albo wrote:@emeraldgirl08 - i'm a little confused. school discount? you mean to buy win 7 from your school? I don't think you get a legit license key with those lenovo discs from that website, fyi. just the recovery dvd.

Reading carefully this time I realize that now I was hoping there was a way I could use these recovery disks for a T400 that has an Vista Business COA!

Looks like I'm stuck with buying a retail copy or downloading all 4gb of data from the Microsoft Ultimate Steal. The price is $64.95 for Vista 7 Pro and the $59.95 is for Office Ultimate 2007.

aau007 wrote:albo,

The Recovery CD/DVD set you want to/can get is Windows 7 Pro 64, part number is 58y3285. There is no Recovery CD/DVD set for Win7 64 Ult.

I beg to differ...

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... .html#7u64

There is. Look all the way to the bottom.

FRU 58Y3288

ARD wrote:
I beg to differ...

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... .html#7u64

There is. Look all the way to the bottom.

FRU 58Y3288

There may be one for some T400 but according to the hardware maintenance manual for the OP's 2764-CTO
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... 629_04.pdf (8MB download)
Win7 Pro recovery is what's tied to that Thinkpad Part number. If you order the Ult. from that page, it may or may not work with 2764 even though it is a T400. Some drivers can be different.

Remember T400 has been around a while that spans from Vista to Win7 release, so depending on the actual 4 digit model of the T400, some may have a Ult. built some may not and whether you can order the recovery set (directly from Lenovo) depends on whether the recovery set is in the entitlement.

aau007 wrote: Do you know these guys personally? Although it sounds legit, they don't seem to want to let people know who they are in reality. There is no physical address, names and phone numbers any where I can find on the web site. Domain information are hidden as well. They use the Lenovo Business Partner logos on their main webpage but I believe Lenovo requires their partners to disclose their identity on the web site.

Their privacy policy page also does not contain any contact information.

FYI, I order 2 sets of recovery cd for stuff I really needed. They looked like copies of CD with the label printed on it. You can tell when they're press or burned. One cd arrived damaged, but I didn't care, since they ftp me an image and I didn't have to wait for another cd to show up. For that price, I didn't care if it was original or copies. I just needed them..

Harryc wrote:Don't know who they are, but I have done business with them in the past. The CD's that are shipped appear to be genuine Lenovo issue. If they are not genuine Lenovo issue, then they are *****Expletives removed by Moderator***** good reproductions.

Lol! Interesting how the mods words got made expletives ..

So did anyone do a Win 7 EE vs non EE performance comparative?

Is <promotion of site not allowed>.com the best / only place to get them Win 7 OEM / Recovery disks?