IBM T60 RnR partition inaccessible after fresh win install

[tifosi]

Hi everyone. Just got my very first laptop which happens to be this wonderful T60.

It came with Vista preloaded. But however i decided to delete the Vista patition and install Windows 2003 for development purposes.

In Windows 2003, the Recovery patition was visible in the Disk Management console. But however on bootup, pressing the ThinkVantage button does nothing when previously with Vista, would boot me into the RnR software. Is there anything i can do to rectify this problem?

Furthermore, I am curious to know if anyone still has a copy of ramian's bootable CD which he created for the purpose of fixing the MBR so that i may hopefully access that hidden partition?

And yes, in the BIOS the patition has already been set to visible. I have also tried Lenovo's rescue diskettes (both for XP and Vista) by booting off a USB flash disk (for T60s do not have diskette drives) but it reports a "No opertaing system found" error. I would love to hear your comments and suggestions on this issue because i really would like to have the recovery partition but with a different OS installed.

Searching the forums only yielded ramian's bootable cd (which i do not have) as a viable alternative. Also this is my first post and its like 4am in the morning, so please be gentle.

Kinda desperate to get this problem solved.

Thanks so much folks.

[andrey]

you need to install Rescue and Recovery 3.0 or 4.0 software in order to make your R&R accessible again.

-- Andrey

[ducky2802]

could be a messed up mbr. I looked on the lenovo site, and for some reason, I cant find the mbr repair kit .iso file... I think I still have it saved somewhere on my computer though if you need it.

update.

If you deleted the OS like I did (I ran an OEM XP cd, and reformatted the OS partition, leaving the RnR 4gb partition intact, then Im very sure that your mbr is messed up, which is keeping you from loading the recovery console. So, send me a PM with your email and I can send you the .iso RnR 3.1 image. Just burn to CD, boot from CD on startup, and itll give you an option to repair the MBR...I think its the recommended default option. Takes a few secs and you should be on your way to recovery.

[tifosi]

hi everyone, i guess i could be more specific with my problem

well my version of RnR is 4.0.

i tried to reinstall RnR 4.0 on my system and now is able to access the recovery console. but however on selecting restore my system, i get an error saying that the product restore function is deactivated?

any suggestions?

[wackydan]

First... Yes, RnR is highly dependant on an 8k bootstrap in the MBR for when the blue button is pressed.

Installing another OS obviously destroys the previous MBR. The best way to get it back is to install RnR on the Fresh OS install.... and if there are issues, there are two separately downloaded utilities for dealing with MBR issues.

But I think the main issue you are seeing now is that RnR does not support a Server OS. That is not by accident either. You will not get it to work in Server 2k, or 2003.

[tifosi]

First... Yes, RnR is highly dependant on an 8k bootstrap in the MBR for when the blue button is pressed.

Installing another OS obviously destroys the previous MBR. The best way to get it back is to install RnR on the Fresh OS install.... and if there are issues, there are two separately downloaded utilities for dealing with MBR issues.

But I think the main issue you are seeing now is that RnR does not support a Server OS. That is not by accident either. You will not get it to work in Server 2k, or 2003.

hi dan, i hacked the RnR msi file using Orca and was able to bypass the operating system check. I am able to install RnR but unfortunately i experience the error message "The product recovery option has been removed from this system"

Ducky in this thread has kindly sent me a copy of a MBR Repair Kit and I shall try it tomorrow after my college exam. crossing fingers that it will work though i very much doubt it.

i wish lenovo could do something about supporting server operating systems... i mean how hard it can be? and its STILL an OS which developers would need on their thinkpads.

[bontistic]

If you're still looking, here is the diskette version of the RnR boot sector repair.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-54483

[wackydan]

i wish lenovo could do something about supporting server operating systems... i mean how hard it can be? and its STILL an OS which developers would need on their thinkpads.[/quote]

How hard can it be? It is easy. They do not want RnR code run on servers. 1. they don't sell servers in the US market as of yet, hence not wanting a version for server OS. But even as IBM they did not support a server OS.