Thinkpads Forum

I've looked on Lenovo site for Win 7 upgrades but it appears Win7 is only available/installed on new laptops.

Is it possible to upgrade to Win7 using a retail box? Would lenovo have appropriate Win7 drivers for a T60?

hello Sailor !

YES = T60P = nicely runs windows 7 and lenovo HAS ALL the drivers for Tseries now.

here is a LINK
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... umentset=1

I would expect Windows 7 will already have most of the drivers for your T60. Vista does for my R60, which is similar to your T60. You can update any of the drivers via the driver matrix or system update if you want everything.

I cloned a new Win7 image from a X200s downgrade to XP and it worked fine on a T60p. Just have to get all the driver updates. In the end there was one unknown driver which was the TPM.

On a different T60 I used an upgrade disk from a new machine purchase late last year.

Also have a look here: http://www.<promotion of site not allowed>.com/

RealBlackStuff wrote:Also have a look here: http://www.<promotion of site not allowed>.com/

This seems to good to be true 39.99 for restore disks with Win7 and a COA, any one ever use them? I am looking to get a new hdd and this would be a great update as well.

Bigdaddychud wrote:This seems to good to be true 39.99 for restore disks with Win7 and a COA

You're not getting the COA for $40, but just the install media.

Wow I totally read it wrong (embarrassed), so I reviewed the site again and still have a question...

"Windows 7 IBM/Lenovo Enhanced Edition Upgrade Instructions For all Thinkpads/ThinkCentres/Thinkstations with a Valid Windows XP / Vista License.

Product Key is Included for Upgrade Installation. No COA is Included"

Basically it sounds like I can "legally" upgrade to Win 7 Pro for 39.99, is this correct?

Yep.

Question: what are the requirements for an 'upgrade' to Win7?

I'm running XP Pro on a T60p; I've never used Vista or Win7. Can I go straight from XP to Win7 as an upgrade, or do I need to first install/upgrade to Vista, and THEN to Win7? I seem to remember that it's not as easy as one might think, but I can't recall the details.

I have the XP system restore disks, so I could do a clean install on a new hard drive, if necessary, to get things started.

Bigdaddychud wrote:Wow I totally read it wrong (embarrassed), so I reviewed the site again and still have a question...

"Windows 7 IBM/Lenovo Enhanced Edition Upgrade Instructions For all Thinkpads/ThinkCentres/Thinkstations with a Valid Windows XP / Vista License.

Product Key is Included for Upgrade Installation. No COA is Included"

Basically it sounds like I can "legally" upgrade to Win 7 Pro for 39.99, is this correct?

Now this sounds good! This is a lot less expensive than the Student discount that Microsoft advertises. I do have a valid Vista Business COA so I'm thinking upgrade? That means I'd have to zero my drive out, reinstall Vista Business (yuck!), and then upgrade...



Cool beans with 64-lovely bits.

sjh953 wrote:Question: what are the requirements for an 'upgrade' to Win7?

I'm running XP Pro on a T60p; I've never used Vista or Win7. Can I go straight from XP to Win7 as an upgrade, or do I need to first install/upgrade to Vista, and THEN to Win7? I seem to remember that it's not as easy as one might think, but I can't recall the details.

I have the XP system restore disks, so I could do a clean install on a new hard drive, if necessary, to get things started.

Keep your old hard drive with XP as a fall back. Install Windows 7 fresh on a new hard drive. If you have the money, buy a 80 gig solid state drive for Windows 7. It's rocket fast, even on the T60. Of course, you can spend a lot more for a larger SSD if you wish.

Today's 5400 rpm drives are quite fast, and the prices are nice and reasonable. Windows 7 and the T60 play very well together, even in 64 bit, if your hardware supports it. Even with a mechanical hard drive, expect around a 40% faster machine with Windows 7.

Bigdaddychud wrote:Basically it sounds like I can "legally" upgrade to Win 7 Pro for 39.99, is this correct?

Unless there's something I missed, the whole thing seems odd. You can't buy an upgrade to Win 7 Pro elsewhere, other than educational, for less than $100. I don't see how <promotion of site not allowed> is legitimately offering it for $40, but maybe there's something I missed.

Thanks for the great info. Especially the R&R link.

Wow I (thought I) looked all over the Lenovo site for info and found nothing.

Anyway, again thanks

I wrote a short email to the Thinkpad Recovery Software company. I specifically stated that my COA was for Vista Business, gave my model number, and mentioned that if an upgrade to W7 was possible. I sent the email off last night before bedtime. I got my response back this morning and it linked me to this page Clicky. The email response also said I could choose either professional or ultimate.

All our software are from IBM/Lenovo and it is guaranteed to work. If you received any damaged media pls. contact us and we will replace the media immediately. If for any reason the media doesn't work we offer replacement.

Doesn't mention anything about cash back so I'm waiting to see if this works for someone before I buy.

There are numerous people on the Forum who have already bought from them.
No complaints from anyone, so one can assume it's OK.

I actually caved in this morning and bought a set of W7-Pro from them.
$39.99 + $5.99 shipping via USPS Priority Mail.
Payment is also possible using PayPal if you want.

RealBlackStuff wrote:There are numerous people on the Forum who have already bought from them.
No complaints from anyone, so one can assume it's OK.

I actually caved in this morning and bought a set of W7-Pro from them.
$39.99 + $5.99 shipping via USPS Priority Mail.
Payment is also possible using PayPal if you want.

Mwuah ha ha ha ha!

lol I love it!

RealBlackStuff, please report back if that W7 set is working or not with T60, I'm really curious.

Yes please post back here the results, I almost pulled the trigger last night but my wife spend too much so I have to wait a few more days. I am very interested to see how it all plays out.

wilco

W7 most definitely works with a T60.

BTW regarding your vendor, you can get the original authorized Recovery CDs from Lenovo for about the same cost.

Also, as an alternative, an Anytime Upgrade CD containing all flavors of the OS from Miscrosoft is 10 bucks at CompUSA. You can copy the Lenovo Thinkpad software from your own computer in the SWTools folder.

Careful now, we are getting in murky waters here about the legality of COA...

Just installed Win7 on my T60 (1951-43U) with 2Gb memory and it works fine from the start. I noticed as it was adding updates, a lot of them pertained to Thinkpad and Lenovo. Anything you need is basically taken care of through the updates.

RealBlackStuff, I'm wondering if you've tried the W7 Lenovo EE set. Any news?

AIX wrote:RealBlackStuff, I'm wondering if you've tried the W7 Lenovo EE set. Any news?

Yes Dominic? Does it work? I'm thinking about this also...

Thanks,
Ron

I'm trying to install it as I write this.
Product: ThinkPad T60 2007-46U [change]
Description: T2400(1.83GHz), 1GB RAM, 120GB 7200rpm Hitachi HD, 14.1in 1024x768 LCD, 64MB ATI Radeon X1300, CDRW/DVD, Intel 802.11abg wireless (Intel 3945ABG), Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, NO FPR, 6c Li-Ion batt, WinXP Pro

I did the installation via F12, booting from the DVD.
During the first try, the T60 mousepointer froze on me already while I was just browsing the EULA.
Second time it froze before I even could select language/keyboard etc. on the first screen. Not very promising...
Third, Fourth and Fifth time it froze after I ticked the Accept Eula box, and was moving the cursor to the Next button.
Because the battery charging light kept blinking at orange, I removed the battery.
Finally, at the Sixth try, I could go through the motions, and start the install (don't know if [but assume that] the battery caused the freezing).
The 120GB HD had Vista Business on it, incl. the Recovery Partition.
When asked where to install, I deleted both partitions, and chose the whole HD for a Custom (fresh) install.
I don't think having XP or Vista (or nothing at all) on the HD has any influence.
Near the end a window comes up to fill in the CD-KEY (from the purchased W7-CD), and underneath is a (pre-)ticked box saying "Automatically activate when I'm online".
Make sure to UNtick this initally!
Then it asks for your update/security settings, network connection (in my case wifi on my home-network) and time zone. Then it goes on to install the desktop, installs some updates from the internet, then wants to restart.
At this stage there is no Lenovo software on the T60 yet.
Device Manager shows two unknown devices.
So far there is no Recovery partition. W7-Pro takes up ca. 7GB and is fully functional. You got 30 days to activate.
Other than the start-hiccups mentioned above (bad battery ?), installation went without a hitch.
I'll switch it off, then let it sit for a while to see if I can charge the battery.
As it turns out, it's a dud battery. Replacing it with another one works fine, both with or without AC.

In my book, this would mean you could buy this type of (Recovery-)set (or multiples) a lot cheaper than in the regular shops, and install them on any PC or laptop.
Only apply the "companion-DVD" if you also want Lenovo-specific software!

Thanks Dominic............

If you are using the Lenovo Recovery Set, AFAIK, you should not be asked for a product key. I am basing this on earlier versions of the Recovery Set. I know there was an issue with Vista Recovery Sets that would not work on older T60's that were released before Vista was available. I'll have to search for the thread.

EDIT: See second post in this thread by kf_man: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=38500

I see some folks in this thread under the wrong assumption that using these W7 recovery CD's on an older machine is somehow legal. I don't think there's any gray area here. If you are not installing an OS that matches the COA on the bottom of your laptop, that copy is illegal per the terms of the MS EULA. The only exceptions that I am aware of is 1.)Lenovo has negotiated special terms with MS. for a Vista to XP downgrade, or 2.) Lenovo has negotiated special terms with MS. for a W7 to XP downgrade, or 3). You own a Corporate, OEM, or Retail license with the appropriate media. So, in effect by installing these W7 recovery CD's on an XP COA machine (for example) what you are doing is in fact illegal...doesn't matter what the thinkpadrecopvertyCDs people say. What they claim on their website is that the "Product Key is Included for Upgrade Installation. No COA is Included". Well duh ... they can't include a COA because they are not legally allowed to.

Another point; IBM/Lenovo recovery CDS (through Vista) NEVER required the user to enter a product key - they were thinkpad-specific, corporate-license versions and could not be installed on a non-thinkpad computer. The recovery CDs sold at this place for W7 don't appear to be original recovery CDs (no hidden backup partition, etc) and would seem to be an OEM W7 DVD with an additional DVD containing the Thinkpad-specific (thinkvantage) applications.

Something doesn't sound kosher here.

????????