Thinkpads Forum

I have a t61p currently running XP. I need to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional. I am also not that familiar with Windows having worked mainly on Macs.

What Windows package do I need to buy?

How do I reinstall or keep the ThinkVantage software? Is there separate software for that?

I tried figuring this out on my own but there are a million choices.

Thanks.

This is what you need:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... ofessional

Also, if you find that you need a new hard drive at the same time, say a 500gb 7200 RPM or something you can get this version:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116992 and for about $25 more than the Win7 upgrade alone you'd be able to pair it with a new 500gb 7200 RPM disk. You're supposed to purchase the OEM version with new hardware, the hard drive replacement counts as new hardware (as does video card, motherboard replacement, etc).

That said, it is a bit of a gray area as Microsoft has been backing up on whether or not you can do the above (though many people do) - last year apparently they tried to slip in language that said in order to use OEM software you have to resell the computer. That hasn't stopped the newegg's of the world from selling it to everyone anyway... If you want to be 100% sure you aren't in a gray area, get the upgrade version recommended above...

What is the difference between what Temetka recommends and this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116717

i plan to do a clean install so I will need a bootable disc. My t61p was purchases refurbished from IBM and came without discs but I do have the product key for the installed XP.

The one you reference is a retail, supported copy that you can move to another machine if you want to later (removing from the T61p of course). The one Temetka referenced above is an upgrade, supported copy that requires the machine you are installing it on to have a valid OS that can upgrade to Windows 7. You can only move this to another machine if that other machine also has a valid license from which you can upgrade to Windows 7 (and assuming you remove the upgrade from the T61p of course).

The OEM copy I mentioned above is a full install, but can't be moved to another machine later like the one you linked to can.

Well I have a 128 GB solid state drive that I want to install, so maybe the OEM version would work for me. However, I can't afford to end up with a system that is "illegal" in Microsoft's eyes; I will need their support at some point.

DNL wrote:However, I can't afford to end up with a system that is "illegal" in Microsoft's eyes; I will need their support at some point.

In that case, you would want either the full retail or upgrade package. Microsoft does not provide free technical support for OEM installations; the OEM (i.e. entity who installed said OEM installation on the hardware and then resold the hardware to users) is responsible for support.

You may have trouble with the upgrade version.
If you do as I would, blow out the existing OS and do a clean 64bit install, you don't have the XP CD to stick into the drive to show the upgrade program that you have an XP installation. If Win7 upgrade works like the older OS, the upgrade program looks for "something" on the drive or CD to see that you have an XP installation to upgrade from.

Anyone know how to create the XP installation CD from the installed XP OS?

You might want to also consider checking out this install guide via the NBR Forum.

Hearst's Guide to Clean Installing Windows 7 on the ThinkPad

I purchased a refurbished Hitachi Travelstar 7K200 HD. You may consider a Seagate Momentus Hybred HD.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=101643

I also second doing a clean installation. Back up your media / documents, put the Win7x64 DVD in, nuke the HDD and install it fresh. The machine will likely run a heck of a lot better than if you try to do the upgrade / migrate things. That was always my experience with XP & earlier so I never tried to do an in-place upgrade with Win7, but I don't have much faith that it will work super well.