problem with new installation from recovery disks 7k100

Message

mamamia · #1 Post by **mamamia** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 5:27 am

i don't think it has been covered (at least i can't find it), but i'm trying to install a new hard disk.
the disk works, as i'm currently typing on my computer with it in it (i installed windows just using the winxp cd), but when i try doing installing the ibm setup with the recovery disks, it just hangs after the last screen. there is a blank screen (well, greyish) with a blinking cursor, and it stays there forever.

so, i put in the first disk, it boots from the cd (using base for cd-rom), and then i go through all the rest of the cd's. there is an error in the beginning about command not found for some of the things they call, but it seems to go through fine.
and then, i finish the 5th cd, and it tells me to remove all disks/CDs and press enter, which will restart it. and then i get the blank screen.

i called ibm tech support, but they said since i didn't buy the disk from them, they don't support it. obviously.

i don't think it's a problem with the hitach 7k100 (100 gig version), as people have successfully used it on x31's before.

would anyone know what the issue is? or, even afterwards, how to get the windows installation to get started? i can boot into dos using the recovery CD utility. but i can't find any command to run that will get me going with my windows installation.

#2 Post by **jdhurst** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:28 am

There are two causes (at least for that problem). One cause is bad recovery CD's. This happens and has happened to me. The other cause is hard drive firmware revision level. This has happened to me as well (going to a 7K60 on a T30).

Also (on older models and going from memory), you can break out of the recovery and run FDISK from the ram drive (X:\recovery). Then use FDISK to delete all partitions and delete/repair the master boot record. IBM led me through that once to (in effect) remove everything from the hard drive before recovering. I set up a newer T43 recently and the recovery was quite different.

... JD Hurst

brooklynboy · #3 Post by **brooklynboy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:30 pm

jdhurst wrote:There are two causes (at least for that problem). One cause is bad recovery CD's. This happens and has happened to me. The other cause is hard drive firmware revision level. This has happened to me as well (going to a 7K60 on a T30).
... JD Hurst

Uh-oh. I was about to order a brand-new 7K100 to replace the old, slow 4200-rpm drive on my T30 and clone it using the EZ-Gig diskette provided with the IBM 2nd HDD Adapter.

Is there trouble ahead? Thanks.

Edited to add: The T30's BIOS and all other drivers and system software are fully up-to-date.

#4 Post by **jdhurst** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:51 pm

I had to go to the T30 support site (IBM), retrieve the hard drive firmware upgrade, apply it, and then re-run the recovery. This happened in 2003, so it's a while back now, and newer drives should have newer firmware.
... JD Hurst

brooklynboy · #5 Post by **brooklynboy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:43 pm

Was your drive IBM-branded, or basic Hitachi? My understanding is that the Hitachi I'm planning to buy cannot be updated using IBM firmware, and that Hitachi doesn't provide firmware updates. (For those reading along, there's a new thread about IBM and Hitachi driveshere.)

So, then, is it your opinion that a brand-new Hitachi 7K100, manufactured in September 2005, will be compatible with a three-year-old T30 with an August 2005 BIOS?

Thanks again.

mamamia · #6 Post by **mamamia** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:39 pm

jdhurst wrote:There are two causes (at least for that problem). One cause is bad recovery CD's. This happens and has happened to me. The other cause is hard drive firmware revision level. This has happened to me as well (going to a 7K60 on a T30).

Also (on older models and going from memory), you can break out of the recovery and run FDISK from the ram drive (X:\recovery). Then use FDISK to delete all partitions and delete/repair the master boot record. IBM led me through that once to (in effect) remove everything from the hard drive before recovering. I set up a newer T43 recently and the recovery was quite different.

... JD Hurst

how does one tell if the recovery cd's are bad?
they worked before, but i still had the hidden partition when i restored. and now, it's a clean disk.

as for firmware upgrading the hard disk, i thought it was only for certain T series, not for X. and it's not giving me the 2010 error, just won't install windows after going through the 5 recovery cd's.

my disk is basic hitachi

and when you noted the person led you to fdisk and delete all partitions and repair MBR--i have a clean disk. as in, it is new. should i still do that? would it do anything?

#7 Post by **jdhurst** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:23 pm

The drive I used was branded as Hitachi. It was listed in the firmware updates under IBM and the firmware update worked. I do find this information by researching it on the support site. I cannot answer all the other questions. I do this with IBM at the other end of the phone. That is what the support desk is for. ... JD Hurst

brooklynboy · #8 Post by **brooklynboy** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:22 am

Hmm. Other posters have indicated that IBM support will not help customers with questions or problems involving non-IBM-supplied equipment.

Guess the only way to find out for sure is destructive testing: buy the thing from a reliable vendor and see whether it works.

Edited to add:

jdhurst, was your Hitachi drive purchased from IBM? The IBM-supplied Hitachi drives I've seen have both a Hitachi label with the usual Hitachi part # and an IBM part-# sticker.

There have been reports in the forum that IBM firmware updates did not work with a non-IBM-supplied drive, and even (speculation) that vanilla Hitachi drives do not have updatable firmware at all.

My speculation: Perhaps IBM firmware updates work on Hitachi-branded drives similar to those that IBM supplies except in those cases where IBM has modified the firmware to accommodate some proprietary feature, e.g., the T43 SATA-PATA bridge.

#9 Post by **jdhurst** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 5:08 pm

My Hitachi drives (2) were purchase (1) from Bill Morrow here and (2) from Evergreen in Toronto. Neither had IBM labels on them. The first drive (from Bill) in my T30 required firmware and IBM support did assist me. That was in late 2003 however, and not now. ... JD Hurst

mamamia · #10 Post by **mamamia** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 4:52 am

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... are+update

yea, i think i did have to do a firmware update (i did it, but i'm not sure whether that was the trick, or wiping the mbr and disk using a low-level utility, like hitachi drive fitness). link above shows how to. if you just run ibm's utility it will say no drives found that qualify.

problem with new installation from recovery disks 7k100

problem with new installation from recovery disks 7k100

to finish this off ...

Who is online