Upgrade to Vista 64 on T61

[freeform]

Hello to all of you,

Needing a new PC and discovering this vibrant forum, I recently purchased a NOS T61. As supplied, it is running Vista Business 32 bit. I am planning to remove the installed 160 GB HDD and assemble a new installation of Vista 64 on an SSD.

Would anybody be able to provide, or point me to, a step by step guide, please? (Searches on the forum have not found anything). I do have access to a Vista 64 OEM install disc.

Following installation, will I have a recovery partition? (Do I need one? Is it desirable?)

Additionally, I understand that the Middleton Bios is recommended for SSD users. The friend who usually helps me out of trouble with PC problems is very wary of meddling with Bios, so local support may not be available. It is an easy and foolproof installation?

Finally, with SSD, I believe I should have TRIM. How is that enabled?

So many questions for a first post!
Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

Andy

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the forum.
Unless yours are IBM/Lenovo disks, you won't have a recovery partition (which IMHO is a waste of space anyway).
If you are using other disks, go online and download SystemUpdate from the Lenovo website: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloa ... MIGR-66956
Make sure to read the requirements.
You should also D/L the correct driver for your wifi card and ethernet port: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/researc ... MIGR-67853

To install Vista-64, just put the SSD in the drive bay, using a proper caddy/screws/rails.
Then boot from the first CD/DVD and follow the instructions.
Only if non-IBM CDs: install the ethernet/wifi drivers first, followed by installing SystemUpdate (plus DotNetFramework if req'd), and then run that.
Finally run Windows update.

[TTY]

The first thing to install after having installed the operating system should be the Intel Chipset Device Software, i believe Lenovo calls it the Intel Chipset Support.

Your notebook has a user's manual on the hard drive. Click Start>All Programs>ThinkVantage>Access Help. It has instructions for installing Vista. So if the System Update route doesn't work, you could try to follow the instructions in Access Help.

[freeform]

Thanks to both of you. I'll give it a go once I free up the SSD from my old PC, and report back.

[ZaZ]

Finally, with SSD, I believe I should have TRIM. How is that enabled?

As far as I know, TRIM isn't enabled in Vista. You'll need Windows 7 or a newer version of Linux to get it. Depending on which drive you have, the manufacturer may have firmware or a utility that offers it. Intel for example offers their SSD Toolbox software that runs it via the optimizer, which you can schedule.

[freeform]

Thanks to those of you who replied. I initially thought, 'Is that all?' but the answer proved to be 'Yes'.

Everything seems to be working. At first, I thought I had some glitches, and I may still find some but the system settled and really, the order of things pretty much defined itself. Wish I been less hesitant and done it sooner as half the work has been reinstalling all the audio software I had already set up in 32-bit

I did read after my initial post that Vista does not support Trim, and also that modern SSD pretty much mange themselves much better now so I am not expecting any trouble.

Of course, my T61 supports only SATA 1 at present so it is not very much faster than with HDD. Could anyone advise on installation of the Middleton BIOS? It looks straight forward but I have heard you can brick the motherboard if it goes wrong?
(I might re-post this question in the T6* section)

Best regards,
Andy

[Cigarguy]

Yes fresh install is really that simple. IMO, it's the only way to go.

As for the Middleton BIOS that to is simple. Download the ISO file. Burn the image to CD. Insert CD. Power on T61 and press F12 during POST. Select CD option as boot drive. Let the BIOS updater do it's thing. Enjoy. The increase speed difference is well worth the time and risk.

As for the risk. Yes there's always a risk of bricking any device whenever you update firmware. Just as there's a risk by turning on your machine. The risk is minimal. Don't do anything stupid like turning off the machine while it's updating. This is true for any firmware on any device. A lot of people have done this successfully, otherwise you would hear about it.