Bought a refurbished T42, what to do now?

[Lucretia]

Hi,

I'm new to laptops and I've just bought my first from ebay. It's a T42 (not delivered yet). I intend this to be a secondary dev machine, so I want to get XP, Linux and possibly a BSD installed on it.

I will be maxing out the memory to 2GB (seems that's the limit, but need to check it when it arrives). This is a 15" model with a Radeon 7500 in it.

On my dektop machines, I've gone through a range of HDD's (including 2 IBM/Hitachi DeathStars and a Seagate) which have all died unexpectedly. I now only buy WD's as these seem to be the best that I've ever had (touch wood). So, for this laptop I want to replace it with a bigger drive, seems the WD 250GB Scorpio is the one to go for.

So, I've read about the predesktop area, is this required? I also have an XP disk, can I use this to install using the COA on the bottom of the machine?

Is there anything special I need to be looking out for when installing OSes on a laptop?

Thanks,
Luke.

[jdhurst]

<snip>
So, I've read about the predesktop area, is this required? I also have an XP disk, can I use this to install using the COA on the bottom of the machine?
<snip>
Luke.

The COA on the bottom is for the OEM license that came with the machine. The OS should still be in the Predesktop area if it was not erased or damaged. If there is no OS on the hard drive, then you can do two things:
(1) Buy a set of recovery CD's here or on eBay - cheap.
(2) Supply your own license key for the copy of XP you have. The XP disk should have a license key you can use.
... JDH

[Lucretia]

<snip>
So, I've read about the predesktop area, is this required? I also have an XP disk, can I use this to install using the COA on the bottom of the machine?
<snip>
Luke.

The COA on the bottom is for the OEM license that came with the machine. The OS should still be in the Predesktop area if it was not erased or damaged. If there is no OS on the hard drive, then you can do two things:

It does come with a HDD, it's refurbed but it's an 80GB drive.

I can't use my OEM disc with the COA on the bottom of the machine? That's bizzarre!

(1) Buy a set of recovery CD's here or on eBay - cheap.

Does the recovery CD take over the entire disk or will it let me partition it as I want to?

(2) Supply your own license key for the copy of XP you have. The XP disk should have a license key you can use.
... JDH

Yeah.

Thanks,
Luke.

[jdhurst]

<snip>
I can't use my OEM disc with the COA on the bottom of the machine? That's bizzarre!
<snip>

OEM licenses live and die with the machines they came on and are not transferrable. BTW, any discussion about *how* to transfer these licenses is against the forum rules.

Really, in my experience with these things, getting a cheap set of recovery CD's is the best approach. Cheap; all drivers included; and get rid of what you don't want.

... JDH

[Lucretia]

Really, in my experience with these things, getting a cheap set of recovery CD's is the best approach. Cheap; all drivers included; and get rid of what you don't want.

... JDH

Ok, is there a link somewhere for the CD's?

Thanks,
Luke.

[goofyGAguy]

Just place a Wanted To Buy thread here in the Marketplace forum.

[Lucretia]

Just place a Wanted To Buy thread here in the Marketplace forum.

I'll see if this machine can create them first from the predesktop area (if it's got one), if not, then I know where to go

Thanks,
Luke.

[sktn77a]

You can legally instal an OEM copy of XP on your thinkpad as it came with XP and you have a license for it (the key on the bottom of the computer). The recovery CDs have 2 advantages:

1. Contains all the drivers for your hardware.
2. No activation needed.

The OEM CD has 2 advantages:

1. No bloatware! But you need to download all the drivers manually on another machine (as the network drivers may not be on the OEM CD).
2. No predesktop area (5Gb more space on your drive).

Either way, you're in like Flint!

[Lucretia]

You can legally instal an OEM copy of XP on your thinkpad as it came with XP and you have a license for it (the key on the bottom of the computer). The recovery CDs have 2 advantages:

1. Contains all the drivers for your hardware.
2. No activation needed.

The OEM CD has 2 advantages:

1. No bloatware! But you need to download all the drivers manually on another machine (as the network drivers may not be on the OEM CD).
2. No predesktop area (5Gb more space on your drive).

Either way, you're in like Flint!

Yeah, I didn't think there would be a problem doing that as the key is on the machine!

Anyways, I'll have an experiment when I get the machine and the new drive - I take it that that WD Scorpio Blue drive is a good one to go for?

Thanks,
Luke.

[Pingwin Wielki]

Yes, WD Scorpio is a reliable, silent and fast HDD. I am using Scorpio Black SATA in additional SATA UltraBay with my T42.

If you want to use it as a primary HDD, you will need PATA (not SATA!) version, like this one for example: WD2500BEVE (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=346).

One more thing... It is a quite good idea to make backups of your data. Doesn't matter the HDD manufacturer, every disk may fail when you need it the most... I suggest to buy the secondary HDD in external USB HiSpeed case and use it for regular backups.

And one more thing... You CAN use your OEM "Windows XP" disc with the COA on the bottom of the machine. At least I did so with my T42. COA gives you the right to install (and use) appropriate Windows version. No matter what CD is used as the source for installation.

[Lucretia]

Yes, WD Scorpio is a reliable, silent and fast HDD. I am using Scorpio Black SATA in additional SATA UltraBay with my T42.

If you want to use it as a primary HDD, you will need PATA (not SATA!) version, like this one for example: WD2500BEVE (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=346).

Yup, already ahead of you there

One more thing... It is a quite good idea to make backups of your data. Doesn't matter the HDD manufacturer, every disk may fail when you need it the most... I suggest to buy the secondary HDD in external USB HiSpeed case and use it for regular backups.

And one more thing... You CAN use your OEM "Windows XP" disc with the COA on the bottom of the machine. At least I did so with my T42. COA gives you the right to install (and use) appropriate Windows version. No matter what CD is used as the source for installation.

Yeah, thought so. I'm just gonna replace the drive and if I some to sell it on, put the old drive back in (probably).

The machine is a 2373-6YG.

I checked out the battery last night, it pretty much lasted for around 1.5 hours, which isn't much. What's the average? I was in XP for most of it then played with some Linux live DVD's (SUSE/Ubuntu).

Thanks,
Luke.