New T43; Devices I can't figure out

[Ken Fox]

I've sold my T42 on ebay and replaced it with a T43, primarily because the 15" version I had was too big for me, and I decided against getting a T60. But, I have just taken delivery of an X60 and have a Z61T enroute, so heaven help me

But I digress.

I decided to ghost my old T42 hard disk over and use that on a new 7K100 I put in the T43. Earlier today I found that the service partition in the T43 is about 4gb whereas in the T42 it is about 500mb, so obviously they differ. So, I did a -1b ghost 2003 of the new HD that came in the T43, put that on the new 7K100 residing in the new T43, then overwrote the WinXP partition with the contents of the Win XP partition on the old T42 (which has now had all that my personal programs removed from it in accordance with licensing restrictions, since I'm shipping it to the ebay buyer tomorrow).

OK. Obviously the T43 has a bunch of hardware differences vs. the T42. I have managed to work through most of them, and I've wasted an hour on the phone reactivating my software. The system is booting, and works fine except for a couple of unknown/recalcitrant devices I can't get device drivers to take on.

This is after downloading all the software for a T43 that I can figure might apply, deleting stuff that doesn't, multiple runs with software installer (which ain't worth much especially in this situation), about 12 runs of CCleaner, etc. etc. etc.

Here are the problem devices:

In Device Manager, below "Network Adapters," I have an "Other Device," which is a "Multimedia Controller." I've tried installing all the potentially relevant drivers/packages from Lenovo to no avail.

The second device is the "Winbond TPM" I've downloaded the appropriate package/drivers from Lenovo, installed it about 4 or 5 times, and it looks like it installed. BUT, each time I boot up, it is an unknown device and looks for a file called TPMX1132.SYS.

If I locate this file, and I know full well where it is on the disk (under C:\drivers\win\TPM ,) the installation hangs and the computer needs to be forcibly rebooted.

I'm assuming that the latter device is the chip that gives everyone fits who suffers through 20 minute bootups with Client Security. I could just disable this device since I don't have any use for it, but then maybe I should at least install the driver for it.

Any suggestions? Sorry that this post is so long, it is late and I'm not thinking too clearly.

ken

[GomJabbar]

To begin with, the service partition on a T42 is larger than 500 Mb. On my T42 it is 4.55 GB.

Regarding your multimedia device, I do not have a T43 to compare. Did you install the Intel Chipset drivers?

You do not need a driver for the TPM (security chip) unless you use the Fingerprint Reader or CSS. If you do not use either of these things, just disable the Security Chip in the BIOS. Problem solved.

[Ken Fox]

To begin with, the service partition on a T42 is larger than 500 Mb. On my T42 it is 4.55 GB.

Regarding your multimedia device, I do not have a T43 to compare. Did you install the Intel Chipset drivers?

You do not need a driver for the TPM (security chip) unless you use the Fingerprint Reader or CSS. If you do not use either of these things, just disable the Security Chip in the BIOS. Problem solved.

Howdy,

I can tell you that the size of service partitions on T42s must vary, because mine (now sold and headed out the door with the man in brown) has it's original HD with the IBM FRU sticker on it, and has never been ghosted over or changed. It was made in March 2005 and has the model # of 2379-DXU. So, I can't explain the difference other than to suggest that it was made in the early days of R&R, actually probably Rapid Restore Ultra, and I'm assuming that for whatever reason yours is different. Mine was preconfigured and sold from either the Visa Card or Shareholder site (I forget which).

That smaller service partition, that has just under 500mb in a partition about 590mb appears to be the same one that shipped in my X32, as well, but then the two machines have very similar hardware other than for the video card (16mb vs. 64mb, both ATI Radeon, same approximate time of manufacture).

I'm going to disable the security chip; thanks for the suggestion. I still need to find out what the multimedia controller is, and then I'll be done.

Back to the Lenovo drivers page

[GomJabbar]

Now that I think about it, I believe you are right about the service partition being different on early model T42's as opposed to later models. I think the 500 MB partition you referred to is the PARTIES partition mentioned below, while the 4.55 GB partition I have is the Type 12 partition.

Installation on IBM computers with a PARTIES area
IBM computers that have a PARTIES area were announced during 2003. v Location: A virtual partition that must be installed on the C drive (primary partition of the master hard disk drive) of the computer. v Partition link: Links to the PARTIES partition to initiate a restore of factory contents or diagnostics.

Installation on IBM computers with a PARTIES area and a type 1C service partition
IBM computers with this configuration were announced during 2003 and also have an ImageUltra disk image in the IBM_SERVICE partition. v Location: A virtual partition that must be installed on the C drive (primary partition of the master hard disk drive) of the computer. v Partition link: Links to the PARTIES partition to initiate a restore of factory contents or diagnostics.

Installation on IBM computers with the Rescue and Recovery application preinstalled in a type 12 partition
IBM computers that are announced in the first quarter 2004 and come with the Rescue and Recovery environment preinstalled feature this configuration. See the following figure. v Location: 100 percent in a type 12 partition. v Location of factory recovery and system diagnostics: entirely in a type 12 partition. v Location of backups: NOT in the type 12 partition. v Partition link: Links to the PARTIES partition to initiate a restore of factory contents or diagnostics. v Advantage of a type 12 partition: When the Rescue and Recovery environment is placed in a virtual partition, several files are placed in the root of the C drive where an end user could possibly delete them. The filter driver does not protect these files because some are common with Windows boot files (for example, NTDETECT.COM). If they are deleted or otherwise become unusable, the end user would be unable to boot to the Rescue and Recovery environment. However, when the Rescue and Recovery environment is placed in a type 12 partition, Windows prevents all users from accessing that partition and the files required to open the Rescue and Recovery environment are highly protected. Note: With the Rescue and Recovery environment secured in the type 12 partition, only a corrupted MBR would prevent access to the Rescue and Recovery. In that case, an external version of the Rescue and Recovery environment must be used. Currently IBM supports CD and USB hard disk drive-based versions of the Rescue and Recovery environment that are created with the Create Rescue Media applet in the Access IBM folder of the Start Menu.

[Ken Fox]

Well, after a day wasted I'm throwing in the towel. Trying to migrate an XP installation over to a new machine with different hardware is not a task for those easily dissuaded by frustration, but I've gotten away with it several times in the past and thought I would this time, from a T42 to a T43. In the end, it was "no dice."

I tried everything I could think of including deleting many or most devices from device manager hoping that Windows would reconstitute them on a reboot, trying to get device drivers that shipped with the system hard drive (which I've replaced, from a 5400rpm to a 7K100), uninstalling and then reinstalling the Thinkvantage software, every conceivable device and package of drivers, etc. etc. etc.

This migration just won't hunt. Even I have a level of frustration that cannot be tolerated. A couple of times I've done this in the past it has been frightfully easy, but if your system's hardware is quite different, it is probably more trouble than it is worth.

[GomJabbar]

Why don't you download System Migration Assistant from Lenovo and give it a whirl? Note that I have no personal experience with SMA.

[Ken Fox]

Why don't you download System Migration Assistant from Lenovo and give it a whirl? Note that I have no personal experience with SMA.

It is too late for that

I was trying to avoid having to reload all my programs and call yet again for reactivation with transferring the stuff. I don't think that any program can do that, and in fact maybe it is just time to clean the cobwebs off the ceiling . . . .