Planning a multi-boot setup.

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mavior · #1 Post by **mavior** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 2:25 pm

Hello, I need some informations:
I own a t61 model with RnR4 and I am planning to set up a multi-boot installation (vista-linux-osx).So i will create the necessary partitions,and i am going to install the first OS
Vista64.
I want to preserve the t61 functions that came pre-bundled with it, like the thinkvantage rescue recovery button on boot and the original mbr.So I wondering
if windows installation process will overwrite the original master boot record of my hdd!
I found on thinkwiki the way to install linux and so grub on a separate /boot partition, so this will preserve anything on disk's mbr,and quoting the thinkwiki
"R&R version 4 bootloader seems to honor the active bit in the partition table. To install Linux while maintaining the R&R functionality is therefore rather straightforward", but nothing about fresh windows installation.
so, anyone here had experience with a new fresh installation of vista from a dvd and RnR or thinkvantage button related issues on boot?
I found that http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-54483 could help in case something go wrong, but actually I don't have a 3.5'' drive on my
t61.
Any hints on this?

And a related request: any raccomandation or shared experiences, before prooced with partitioning and installing Oses, would be indeed welcomed.About that, I read something about ahcpi bios mode and
matrix storage drivers that seems needed installed before or just after have reinstalled vista...onestly I did not understand that well the acpi thing, so again any suggestions will be very appreciated!
Last question: drivers and lenovo related programs can be downloaded again after have vista installed and so could be easily re-installed, isn't it?

thank you in advance

mavior

kernelpanic · #2 Post by **kernelpanic** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:13 pm

Just a question, is there an OSX distro/ thread/ site for installing OSX on T61?

msb0b · #3 Post by **msb0b** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:26 pm

kernelpanic wrote:Just a question, is there an OSX distro/ thread/ site for installing OSX on T61?

Check out the OS-X on a ThinkPad section of this forum.

kernelpanic · #4 Post by **kernelpanic** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:12 pm

Ok - thanks. I had been watching that thread, but it seems like the T61 install is still pretty sketchy. At the end of his long post, even jharleman recommended against it at this time. No sound, no native NV drivers, no network unless you have atheros card, etc...

Isaac000 · #5 Post by **Isaac000** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:32 am

If you want to be really safe, first image the drive onto another identical drive. I use a USB enclosure and DFSee to do the job. If anything goes wrong, I just plug out the old drive and put in the backup. Takes about a minute.
You should really have something ready for a backup anyways and this is really convenient.

I tried multi-booting many times, never quite got as far as triple-booting. The biggest issues I have are:
1) Windows and a lot of older programs still really likes to be on C: drive for some reason, so I need at least a minimal partition (which is really quite large) for the OS, some applications and some user data.
2) OS's still don't like to boot after a certain disk cylinder(?). I'm not sure if this is hardware, software or what. I'd appreciate if someone could tell me how to work-around this. But the problem is that ALL of my OS in multi-boot must have the boot drive/partition within the first 1024 cylinders or something like that, and given Windows limitation above, sometimes this makes it very difficult to do a triple...

mavior · #6 Post by **mavior** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:58 am

Isaac000 wrote:If you want to be really safe, first image the drive onto another identical drive. I use a USB enclosure and DFSee to do the job. If anything goes wrong, I just plug out the old drive and put in the backup. Takes about a minute.
You should really have something ready for a backup anyways and this is really convenient.

I tried multi-booting many times, never quite got as far as triple-booting. The biggest issues I have are:
1) Windows and a lot of older programs still really likes to be on C: drive for some reason, so I need at least a minimal partition (which is really quite large) for the OS, some applications and some user data.
2) OS's still don't like to boot after a certain disk cylinder(?). I'm not sure if this is hardware, software or what. I'd appreciate if someone could tell me how to work-around this. But the problem is that ALL of my OS in multi-boot must have the boot drive/partition within the first 1024 cylinders or something like that, and given Windows limitation above, sometimes this makes it very difficult to do a triple...

I don't mind about my currently windows partition image, i am going to do a fresh install over it!
Again here the problem is about the master boot record, that could be overwrited by vista installation.
I think that Oses are nothing to do with your 1-2 problems...make your partition bootable and set up properly someting like GNU grub to boot all of them.
Anyway I think that nobody here see the points of the topic: I am asking for someone who could share his/her experience with vista fresh install on t61...
For the problem of mbr I found a solution here http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... oot+record
Waiting for fresh vista users' experience

arlab · #7 Post by **arlab** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:02 am

I've done a clean install of Vista x64 without any problems.
Here's an awesome guide. I suggest you read it, especially the "offline activation" part.
You can download all the drivers and ThinkVantage applications from Lenovo without problems.
And afterwards, just restore the MBR with the CDs I made.

msb0b · #8 Post by **msb0b** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:27 pm

I have had many different OS's running on my T60 at various time. XP, Vista, MacOS, Linux, etc. Right now I got XP (oem) and Vista. For me, it's more convenient to run Linux in a VMWare.

Back up between OS installs should be standard operating procedure. I used Linux-based System Rescue CD, the partimage program to save partitions to an external USB hard disk. Since you mentioned Linux, I will assume you will be comfortable with the System Rescue CD's interface.

WRT MBR safety, all of them will generally leave it alone unless you tell it to. Vista and MacOS installation did not touch the MBR at all. If you do the boot repair using the Vista DVD, it will modify the MBR. Linux wants to GRUB in the MBR by default. Choose to install GRUB it in the partition's first sector, and you will be fine. I have seen posts on how to use GRUB to chainboot the RnR partition, but never tried it myself.

Good luck and make good backups.

Planning a multi-boot setup.

Planning a multi-boot setup.

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