Installing Win XP Pro on a x60s with no COA sticker

[Shredder11]

This is my first post so a big friendly hello to everyone, and this is a post from a complete Thinkpad virgin who has just received his first model a x60s from Ebay. The auction stated there was no COA sticker and it currently has Vista Business installed temporarily. I've been reading this forum and others for info for a few weeks now, and I have downloaded various software in the hope I can get the machine running properly. I say properly because Vista Business is currently on and working fine, but is not activated and I think I got a warning message, saying it has a key that will not activate come the time.

The laptop hardware all seems in very good condition and it is a 1702-YAB model with a CTO designation. So this has 2GB RAM; 160GB hard drive; 5200mAh battery.

I downloaded a laptop OEM disc Microsoft.WindowsXP.Pro.Sp3.12in1.OEM which can be found around the web, and this has IBM and Lenovo OEM folders and all the other popular laptops. So could I use this to get XP Pro on my x60s and can I retrieve what would have been on the licence sticker?

I've also due to receive another laptop from Ebay, a Z61p which the seller says has Win XP Pro and a licence.


Thanks

[twistero]

If you install the correct Lenovo OEM version of Windows XP on that X60s, it will activate itself and pass any online authenticity tests presented by Microsoft. However, without the actual COA sticker on the machine, it is not a legal installation.

[RealBlackStuff]

I would also be highly suspicious about such a dubious XP-CD that you downloaded from God knows where.
One CD that fits all? Virustrojanbot, here we come...

[Shredder11]

So does this mean I have a very expensive paperweight without the COA sticker? I've read about other users on here who have sent their laptops for repair, and had them returned minus the sticker; so I wonder what they did to re-discover the sticker code which their operating system requires?

[rkawakami]

Just to be clear, if you use a genuine Lenovo restore / recovery disk set to install the Windows operating system, you will NOT need to enter any type of key during the installation process. As twistero states, you will also not have any problems with any of the authentication / verification / validity checks that Microsoft will run as part of performing any software updates. However, due to the way that the Microsoft licensing agreement reads, a missing COA sticker on your system means that you are technically in violation of their rules.

Using your "internet-sourced" Windows XP disk might not require entering a license key (assuming it's been hacked in some way), or if it does need a key and it's already supplied with the disk, then I'd say you are still in the same, illegal licensing, boat. The difference, as RealBlackStuff suggests, is that you can't be sure that somebody has also implanted a keylogger, or will make your computer part of some botnet.

[EOMtp]

@Shredder11: Please read the PM (Private Message) that I sent you.

[Shredder11]

On a different note...call me a big softy but as soon as I received the x60s, I immediately felt at home with it and love using it. I've used all kinds of other brands of laptops over the past decade, but never felt the desire to buy one and I am so glad I waited (since 2004 to be precise!) to buy my first laptop, because my eyes can look no further than a good Thinkpad now for years to come.


The z61p I am also discovering is a very powerful beast, despite what the online reviews say. The audio seems of a higher standard to other laptop brands, which are usually very noisy with hum and hiss etc. Also the WiFi on both my Thinkpads beats everything I have used before hands down; my sister's Acer Aspire 5612WMLi for example often loses its connection with the router upstairs and despite hers having a Core Duo T2300 1.6GHz it performs badly compared with my x60s and its L2400. Even though both my laptops are six years old, they are still almost silent in operation which is not the case with other brands and models I have used. I'm going to add a few extras to them from Ebay, when they appear cheaply enough; Ultrabay drives and extended batteries, although I need to find the sellers worth buying from.


The unconditional, friendly help and advice I have received here since joining has been fantastic; this is not common for all forums on the net. Thanks to a couple of extremely kind and helpful members here, I am slowly getting what I need to get my two Thinkpads in full working order. I expect I will be returning here to ask more questions, although I will try and read the sticky threads, FAQs and the search function first! I am a Thinkpad n00b but certainly not an internet forum newbie, as I have been around the net one way or another since the late 1990s.

[grunger106]

Since the COA is on the memory cover why not just buy a new memory cover from ebay with a licence attached...

[RealBlackStuff]

Or live dangerously without a COA.
You think M$ will pay you a visit next? Hardly...

[Shredder11]

LOL! Yeah no COA = visit from CIA!

On a different note a few minutes ago I downloaded a 3.13GB torrent of hardware drivers for my Z61p 9452-3NG from http://drp.su/drivers/notebooks/?v=Leno ... 31572&l=en; have any of you guys ever tried this site? Practically every IBM / Lenovo model ever made is on the list http://drp.su/drivers/notebooks/?v=Lenovo&l=en. The torrent I got only took about 9 mins to go in, although I am on a 50 Mbit connection (soon to be 120Mbit if you believe the Virgin Media Broadband promise). I think the torrent is one of those universal driver discs, and it detects the computer connected and installs what (you hope) is relevant to that.

[RealBlackStuff]

Why bother?
The Lenovo website still holds all the drivers you may need! http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... PAD-MATRIX

[Shredder11]

I just wanted to make it easier this time around for the Z61p, because I manually downloaded all the X60s drivers from the Lenovo site and it took ages; it would have been easy if there had been a 'download all in one click' selection.

[thorcik]

it would have been easy if there had been a 'download all in one click' selection.

It's called "System Update"

[Shredder11]

Yeah I know, I guess I am a little old fashioned in wanting to have everything available offline.

[Shredder11]

Last weekend the trial period on my x60s 1702-YAB non-IBM Vista Business ran out and so I used the original Win XP Pro Rescue and Recovery disc set and successfully installed XP. This all works great but is a lot slower and more sluggish than the non-IBM Vista was, so my next question is how many of the IBM applications can I uninstall to regain some performance speed? Also the boot time with Vista was exactly one minute, but with the IBM Win XP Pro install it has risen to over two minutes.

I guess what I am really saying is that I do not need the business related ThinkVantage apps, but are some worth keeping or can I strip away everything to leave a plain vanilla Win XP Pro install?

[TuuS]

Last weekend the trial period on my x60s 1702-YAB non-IBM Vista Business ran out and so I used the original Win XP Pro Rescue and Recovery disc set and successfully installed XP. This all works great but is a lot slower and more sluggish than the non-IBM Vista was, so my next question is how many of the IBM applications can I uninstall to regain some performance speed? Also the boot time with Vista was exactly one minute, but with the IBM Win XP Pro install it has risen to over two minutes.

I guess what I am really saying is that I do not need the business related ThinkVantage apps, but are some worth keeping or can I strip away everything to leave a plain vanilla Win XP Pro install?

You can get rid of all of them if you want, or you can open the the msconfig utility and remove them from the startup list so it boots faster, just go to "run" and type in "msconfig" and click "ok", then look at the startup tab and remove the apps you don't use. They will still be installed and will still work if you ever need them, they just won't start everytime windows starts.

ps. if you want to go back to vista, I can send you a COA and a setup disc for only $20, either 32 or 64bit versions.