Thinkpads Forum

Hey everyone,

I know there are many posts about how to clone your HDD using an enclosure and all.
However, I have a brand new 7k200 (bulk) and I was wondering if I could just remove the old drive, pop in the new one, and use the original recovery discs (which I have) to format it and install a fresh copy of Vista and TV programs. The reason I ask this is that I have all my data backed up to another drive and to another computer, so I am not to concerned about cloning the old drive, and I thought maybe I could just start fresh, as if the machine were new.

Additionally, could I just reformat the old drive (in an enclosure of course), at a later date, and reuse it as an external drive without having to take any extra steps.

Thanks in advance for your help.

You can install everything from the restore CDs onto the new HDD - no need to clone or use external enclosure.

The answers to both of your questions are yes. However, you may want to make sure that the "original recovery discs" are indeed Vista and not Win XP Pro. If they came from Lenovo, there is a chance that they are XP recovery/downgrade discs. If you created them yourself within Vista, you are OK.

basketb wrote:The answers to both of your questions are yes. However, you may want to make sure that the "original recovery discs" are indeed Vista and not Win XP Pro. If they came from Lenovo, there is a chance that they are XP recovery/downgrade discs. If you created them yourself within Vista, you are OK.

First, thanks for the answers. The discs are indeed Vista (a rep sent them to me a while back).

However, this brings me to another question: do I need to write down the Vista key or something before I go ahead and put in the new drive? That is, how will Vista be activated? Thanks again.

It's already activated when using the recovery discs.

FredGarvin wrote:It's already activated when using the recovery discs.

Awesome! It seems like this couldn't be any easier. I hope it is. Thanks.

P.S. I'll report back when I am done.

I am happy to report that all went well. But for a few dropped internet connections when downloading files (it's my router), I updated everything without a hitch.

The drive doesn't seem any louder or warmer than the old one (also a Hitachi, but 5400 rpm). It seems obviously faster, not just in boot times but when starting up programs too. Thanks for your input.

P.S. Since I don't need to clone my old hdd, I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for an enclosure so I can use it as a portable backup. I don't need any cloning software, just the enclosure. Thanks again.

http://www.cooldrives.com/25usbfircas.html

pick your poison

You may also want to consider the ultrabayslim hard drive internal enclosure for the T60 -
http://www.provantage.com/lenovo-40y8725~7LENO045.htm

It eliminates the need for an external USB cable and possible external power supply for a 2nd hard drive.