Thinkpad software

[Meta03]

I purchased a used T43 with Windows XP re-installed on it, so all the original software is lost. Is there a place I can download the official programs, or purchase a disc?

[jdhurst]

Go to the Lenovo site, click on support, enter your complete model number (2773-96U for example) and see all your drivers. There is a System Update program, but it wants to install even more than the kitchen sink, and I cannot in good consience recommend it if you want your machine to run well. What you can do is install it, run it, make a list of what you want out of the list it presents, cancel it, and then download your list and install them. .... JDH

[killer]

To put a positive note on things I have noticed that Sytems Update actually does its job very well of late.

[yak]

Most of the ThinkVantage software has its supporters and opponents. I use many of it including System Update, Access Connections, Presentation Director, Power Manager, etc. and they usually do their job fairly well (knocks on wood). The only problem I had so far with System Update, and I was using it on both XP and now on Vista, was a WiFi driver update (Vista) that would appear despite the fact that I had it already installed. AFAIR, it went away by itself some time later.

[jdhurst]

My comment about System Update was more related to the fact that Lenovo is putting out more software that I do not want or need than IBM ever did. Further I may want something that someone else does not want. So running it holus-bolus and letting it do its thing is not something I would recommend.

Further, any automation around network devices and Access Connections is likely to go wrong, which is why we see here the tap dance of uninstall everything and install in the correct order repeated so many times.

SP3 for XP also broke things with its automation.

I will very likely be dead of old age before anyone figures out how to do it properly. In the meantime, I update manually, and then I get to keep my claiim that, 10 years later, I have not had any BSOD on an NT-based computer. .... JDH

[Quicklite]

This is one annoyance imo; I normally like to use clean, cutdown XP installation, which means I'd reinstall the drivers via software updater; however, not every thinkpad software is available there, and if I restore from hidden recovery drive, the OS is full size again with things I'd never use.