Noob X60 Question

[nitro fan]

I am a total Thinkpad noob so please dont slaughter me for simple errors or being a bit slow on the uptake

I have just bought an X60 with ultrabase on eBay after a friend recommended that these machines even at three years old will out last most others on the market.

However it seems to have been rebuilt and some of the Fn Fkey combos are "out of sync" for example Fn and the key with the battery symbol simply turns off the monitor! is this correct?

Pressing the Thinkvantage button does precisely nothing!

Is there a structured proceedure I can follow to restore the machine to its factory delivered status? I have taken a look at the Lenoivo site and there seems to be plenty of downloads available but its knowing what is required that is the key.

I also have the Fingerprint reader installed so I am uncertain about just doing a complete format and clean windows install.

So many questions, no doubt asked so many times before

[Harryc]

Did the machine come with recovery CD's? If not, you'll have to purchase them to restore it to factory condition.

[nitro fan]

Did the machine come with recovery CD's? If not, you'll have to purchase them to restore it to factory condition.

Hi, No I am afraid it did not come with disk's, can you point me in the right direction to get a set please?

[Harryc]

Call the support center and ask ...

United Kingdom English 08705-500-900
(Standard warranty support) ThinkPad 9AM - 6PM

[nitro fan]

Thanks I will give that a go

[ArtShapiro]

Did the machine come with recovery CD's? If not, you'll have to purchase them to restore it to factory condition.

What would this buy the OP over downloading/installing most of the drivers and programs tabulated on the driver matrix?

Art

[virge]

I also have the Fingerprint reader installed so I am uncertain about just doing a complete format and clean windows install.

What would this buy the OP over downloading/installing most of the drivers and programs tabulated on the driver matrix?

Art

@ArtShapiro-- I read that the original post as a question on how to do a clean install. I do a clean install or recovery (if I have the CDs) on any used machine I buy because I don't know what kind of junk might be leftover from the previous owners. Unless the OP can get his/her hands on an OEM disk and use the COA from the laptop, I think the recovery CDs are the cheapest way to get a legal copies of XP. Of course, I could be misreading what the OP is looking for.

[nitro fan]

Hi ArtShapiro and Virge,
Thanks for your posts guys, I already have a brand new XP license so what I really need is a method of installing all the original features back to the machine. some Function buttons do odd things and the ThinkVantage button does nothing at all.

I looked at the Lenovo download page found a vast array of drivers and quickly realised I had not a clue as to what I was looking for! and wondered if there is a single package to download for a simple "System Refresh" kind of thing.

If not maybe a rescue CD could be the route you guys know far better that I.

Thanks
Nitro

[Harryc]

You keep mentioning the Thinkvantage button. The ONLY way to get that to work on boot is to purchase a full set of recovery CD's. On a full install with all Thinkvantage packages etc., once you boot into windows and press the Thinkvantage button by default it brings up a help and support screen. Otherwise it's a programable key that can be made to do anything. If you do not want to install individual drivers, the only way to get them all installed and in the proper order is to purchase a set of rescue & recovery CD's.

[nitro fan]

You keep mentioning the Thinkvantage button. The ONLY way to get that to work on boot is to purchase a full set of recovery CD's. On a full install with all Thinkvantage packages etc., once you boot into windows and press the Thinkvantage button by default it brings up a help and support screen. Otherwise it's a programable key that can be made to do anything. If you do not want to install individual drivers, the only way to get them all installed and in the proper order is to purchase a set of rescue & recovery CD's.

OK thanks, I am clearly irritating Harryc so I will go elsewhere. Thanks and good bye

[ratoto67]

Harryc is right.
You need the original Lenovo CDs.

[nitro fan]

Harryc is right.
You need the original Lenovo CDs.

Yes I am sure he is, and I have bought a set.

However what I actually wanted to know was, is it possible to find a guide to which drivers I needed to download Lenovo's site
and in what order, but I clearly failed to get my point across clearly enough for some!

[Harryc]

First of all, I was not upset with your questioning or when I replied to it. I would submit that you seem a bit thin skinned if you took my reply to be anything other than what is was, a source of information. To answer your question, there is no guide that I am aware of for an X60 that tells you what drivers to manually install in order. Frankly the order does not matter unless it specifically says otherwise in the release notes for a particular driver. So I would encourage you to read all of the release notes prior to installing a particular driver. Also, Lenovo had a utility called 'Thinkvantage System Update" which took all of the guess work out of this driver installation situation. Unfortunately they pulled this utility out of production a month or two ago without reason. They announced a replacement utility would be released soon, so if you can wait for it, it would be useful in your situation. Also, your original question stated "restore the machine to its factory delivered status". For those in the know about factory installs, it is a known fact that this includes a factory installed recovery partition. So, the correct answer to this question was to purchase a set of factory recovery CD's because that is the only way to install this recovery partition. So, perhaps not knowing this you asked the wrong question. The correct question would have been, how can I install all of the Lenovo drivers for this machine manually, and hopefully I answered that above. Good luck.

[flyingsherpa]

However what I actually wanted to know was, is it possible to find a guide to which drivers I needed to download Lenovo's site
and in what order, but I clearly failed to get my point across clearly enough for some!

nitro fan,
I recently bought a used x60s on ebay and it came with a blank drive. I followed this guide(the "Win Xp clean install" section, method 1) and found it extremely helpful. It tells you what drivers to get, where to get them, and what order to install them. Still takes a while to do, but at least it is straightforward. Like others said, you can only get the factory R&R partition by using factory discs, but with the above guide you should be able to get everything you need installed except that partition. I believe the guide leaves out some of the ThinkVantage software (because the guide writer didn't like it hogging resources), but it still points you to where that stuff is should you choose to install it.

After installing everything, I suggest you use norton ghost or similar to make an image of the new install. Will save you a ton of time later should you need to switch hard drives or fix a corruption etc.

[Thinkpad.Forever]

Hi nitro fan,

First up, congratulations on being a ThinkPad owner! ThinkPads are well-designed, well-engineered, well-built, reliable and hardy machines that'll serve you well.

Want to impress your friends and confound your enemies? Open your X60 and with a firm grip, pick it up via a corner of your display. Yep. Those solid stainless steel hinges are THAT strong. No other notebook short of specialized ruggedized laptops comes close. ThinkPads are mil-spec'ed, too: http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/02/24/74521/

If you can afford to, do shell out some money to get extended warranty on your X60 to enjoy worry-free ownership should your machine require service & support. It's worth every penny in the long run as electronics have a finite life and wear & tear accelerates as a machine reaches its eventual EOL. Also machines under warranty enjoy privileges like no-fuss exchange of your legendary ThinkPad keyboard if for whatever reason you're not completely satisified. Yup. They just courier it to you, you followed the video installation instructions (link below) and you're good to go!

One compelling reason why we are ThinkPad owners is because of the ThinkVantage blue button. It brings up ThinkPad's useful suite of utilities that make driver updates a breeze and rescue & recovery possible.

The only way to restore full function to the blue ThinkVantage button would be to restore your machine back to factory state via your machine's recovery CDs/DVDs which I gather you've bought, since that partition has been wiped from your machine. Running your recovery CD/DVDs will also help clear the junk from the previous owner.

In answer to your other query, I believe these are what you're looking for:

Hardware removal and installation - ThinkPad X60, X60s:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 64835.html

Important Information - ThinkPad X60, X60s:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... idate=true

Cheers and have your virtual choice of a Guinness/lager/ale on me. Or a hot cuppa of java/tea if you're a teetotaler.

[nitro fan]

Hi nitro fan,

First up, congratulations on being a ThinkPad owner! ThinkPads are well-designed, well-engineered, well-built, reliable and hardy machines that'll serve you well.

Want to impress your friends and confound your enemies? Open your X60 and with a firm grip, pick it up via a corner of your display. Yep. Those solid stainless steel hinges are THAT strong. No other notebook short of specialized ruggedized laptops comes close. ThinkPads are mil-spec'ed, too: http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/02/24/74521/

If you can afford to, do shell out some money to get extended warranty on your X60 to enjoy worry-free ownership should your machine require service & support. It's worth every penny in the long run as electronics have a finite life and wear & tear accelerates as a machine reaches its eventual EOL. Also machines under warranty enjoy privileges like no-fuss exchange of your legendary ThinkPad keyboard if for whatever reason you're not completely satisified. Yup. They just courier it to you, you followed the video installation instructions (link below) and you're good to go!

One compelling reason why we are ThinkPad owners is because of the ThinkVantage blue button. It brings up ThinkPad's useful suite of utilities that make driver updates a breeze and rescue & recovery possible.

The only way to restore full function to the blue ThinkVantage button would be to restore your machine back to factory state via your machine's recovery CDs/DVDs which I gather you've bought, since that partition has been wiped from your machine. Running your recovery CD/DVDs will also help clear the junk from the previous owner.

In answer to your other query, I believe these are what you're looking for:

Hardware removal and installation - ThinkPad X60, X60s:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 64835.html

Important Information - ThinkPad X60, X60s:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... idate=true

Cheers and have your virtual choice of a Guinness/lager/ale on me. Or a hot cuppa of java/tea if you're a teetotaler.

Hi There
Thanks for the reply.
I have now restored my X60 to its factory state with a set of restore discs I bought on eBay for 1/4 of what the IBM dealers in the UK want for them! I have been a X system fan for some time since I bought my first X20 from eBay upgraded to a X30 and now my X60 and have never paid more than £260 for any of them!

This latest purchase makes my 1 year old £800 company Dell lappy look the pile of doggy do it is it just obliterates it in terms of speed and overall performance and stability.

At home The X60 is fast replacing my Dell Tower System as my my main puter The X60 runs better and faster even though it has less memory and a slightly slower processor!! just goes to show the value of matched components and a decent build quality the X60 runs Photoshop the way it is supposed to run, not the way my Dell used to attempt to!

I will not buy any other brand of kit in future, it is clear to me now any other manufacturers offerings are clearly a false economy.

A pint of virtual Stella Please! Cheers

[pkiff]

Glad to hear things are going so well with your X60. I recently acquired an X60 myself, and am also very happy with it. I've had some frustrations with Vista, and so am going to try XP Tablet edition instead (my X60 came with Vista Business).

I have now restored my X60 to its factory state with a set of restore discs I bought on eBay for 1/4 of what the IBM dealers in the UK want for them!

I searched on eBay for some X60 tablet XP edition restore disks just a week or two ago and the cheapest I found were going to be shipped from Australia (to Canada, where I live) for USD $40/50 + shipping. I see today that there is another Australian seller offering them for about half that price, though they only have 12 feedbacks showing. Based on the first price, I opted to order from Lenovo, who shipped me them for CAD $40 + tax, but including shipping (approx. USD $35 + tax), and they arrived within 48 hours. So within Canada at any rate, I actually found the direct Lenovo sale of the disks to be cheaper (and faster) than eBay. I guess it depends a bit on the luck of what people are offering at any particular time in your country.

Phil.

[nitro fan]

Hi there my X60 runs XP so I am spared the Vista issue! In the UK the IBM dealer wanted £75+ delivery! I paid £22 inclusive of delivery from Australia! now you know why the UK is referred to as "Rip off Britain" in our domestic press. and they worked like a dream:-)