Help - Need original windows installation CD for thinkpad 1844-69U (R51E?)

[gkx]

Help! I have wiped the Lenovo Windows XP operating system on my Thinkkpad 1844-69U (which I think is the equivalent of the R51E - am I correct?). Now It will not boot even into Bios with the standard copy i.e. non-Lenovo non-Thinkpad of Windows XP Professional I installed . I did this overwrite/new installation because I had a virus on the laptop. I had no idea that the Windows XP on my Thinkpad was specific to the Thinkpad.

Naturally, I cannot find any CDs that came with my Thinkpad or even remember if there were any (a friend who worked for IBM got it for me).

Hence I desperately need a copy of the Lenovo Thinkpad Windows XP CD for this Thinkpad or ones similar to it (I assume that any Thinkpad Windows XP CD for the 'R' or 'T' Thinkpad series would install on my 1844-69U/R51E Thinkpad - am I right in this assumption?).

Unfortunately, Lenovo no provides or even sells Windows XP re-installation disks for its Thinkpads now that Microsoft no longer supports XP. I have searched with Google and on eBay and Amazon, but I cannot find any XP Thinkpad Windows XP/Vista CDs. I do not want to buy Windows 7 or anything higher. I imagine that the price would be more than the cost of a used Thinkpad on eBay or a cheap Tablet.

So I would be grateful if anyone could send me

1) a copy of a Lenovo Thinkpad Windows XP/VISTA CD (it is not the drivers I need, BUT the whole operating system)
2) sell me such a CD
3) tell me how I might reinstall Windows on my Thinkpad without having the original Lenovo Thinkpad CD

I would be eternally grateful.

My thanks for your suggestions and help in advance.

Graham

[sarbin]

Saw your post over on Lenovo Forums.
Glad you found your way over here, too.

You do indeed have an R51e. You can confirm the original specs using the MTM query tool near the top of the forum page. You might also like to take a look at your hardware manual, which can be found via the HMM link near the top of the page, too.

Looking through your HMM, you need P/N 42J4606 for your WinXP Home restore. You may want to make a "Looking For" post in the Marketplace board, or maybe a moderator can move this post over there.

Cheers!

[BillMorrow]

just ask in the marketplace..
someone might have a copy of the original recovery CD and be willing send it to you for postage..

[gkx]

Thanks for your responses. I very much appreciate your suggestions.

Question: where is the marketplace you talk about? I can't see or find any link to it.

[theterminator93]

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=11