Thinkpads Forum

In connection with getting laptops ready to donate, our apprentices have wiped the harddrives on a few dozen machines (T410,T420,T430/s) and thusly zorched the recovery partition. What's the best way to get these machines' recovery CDs/files? I did not see an obvious repository with them on first search.

[NorwayPad, I am sorry I did not ask you first but I know you were busy at work today!]

Ask hubby if he has any Lenovo Recovery CD/DVD set from T400/T500 upwards, preferably W7-Pro/SP1 64-bit.
If so, do one HD, take an image, then install that on the other HDs.
Alternatively, buy a set cheap here: https://www.lenovorecovery.com/Extranet/PriceList.aspx
They are the official Lenovo European outlet in the Czech Republic.

Mrs.Sveigdalen wrote:In connection with getting laptops ready to donate, our apprentices have wiped the harddrives on a few dozen machines (T410,T420,T430/s) and thusly zorched the recovery partition. What's the best way to get these machines' recovery CDs/files? I did not see an obvious repository with them on first search.

[NorwayPad, I am sorry I did not ask you first but I know you were busy at work today!]

You dont have to use the recovery CD. Alternatively you can install windows from scratch on it and all the software are in lenovo websites.

And how do you activate it if you use a non-Lenovo Windows?
Call up M$ for every install? Bah...

All those T4x0 should have Slic2.1 in their BIOS, which will automatically activate W7 when using Lenovo Recovery disks.

RealBlackStuff wrote:And how do you activate it if you use a non-Lenovo Windows?
Call up M$ for every install? Bah...

All those T4x0 should have Slic2.1 in their BIOS, which will automatically activate W7 when using Lenovo Recovery disks.

This is the key for me. I am a sys admin for, among other systems, SCCM so if I wanted to roll them in an efficient way I'd roll them that way, but then we'd be licensing them from the school. I really need that OEM license and there is no way I want to build them by hand.

If you want to check if there is indeed Slic2.1 in the BIOS, run Slic Toolkit from here: http://www.afterdawn.com/software/deskt ... oolkit.cfm

I don't quite understand "we'd be licensing them from the school"...

I think these are old machines they are planning to donate with a working OS. The school she works at uses MAK volume licensing for OSs, but for the donates that go out to users outside, I think they prefer to not let go of them with the school's MAK licensed install. Rather activated to the OEM license they once came with.

I only have a Win7 recovery set I burned from the T440 at home, but not sure how compatible this is with the older ones and how much work it will be to install all the correct drivers for each machine type. I'll look into buying a disc set for, let's say, a T410 or T420?

Get W7-Pro/SP1 64-bit for the T420, it will work in all those T4x0 models.
If those machines all have Slic2.1 in BIOS (and they should), you don't need that MAK key.
The Recovery disks include the OEM Lenovo VLK which automatically activates with the above Slic.