Not everything shows up in Software Installer?

[shinjiplus]

OK so I followed the instructions to make a clean SP2 install CD.

After installing I only had drivers for the ethernet card and Software Installer setup, because I assumed I could get the rest from Software Installer.

However, TONS of things, such as Presentation Director and Battery MaxiMiser don't show up! Does anyone know why this is the case? I've gone and manually downloaded everything one by one and things still aren't showing up.

[GomJabbar]

After you manually download each file, double-click on each one to extract it's contents. Next launch Software Installer, click Next, then uncheck box to Retrieve latest information on the internet, now continue to check for updates. It will find the updates that you extracted above. Let Software Installer install the updates. I would suggest doing the wireless driver install/update by itself, and before you install/update Access Connections.

[Nick Y]

...such as ... Battery MaxiMiser don't show up! ...

Battery Maximiser is old, I believe. You may want Power Manager instead. (Possibly depending upon your laptop,)

[shinjiplus]

I have an X41 (2527-6LU)

One thing it keeps asking me to install is Access IBM (which I understand is useless now?).

So basically, Software Installer only gets "updates" and doesn't tell me what is available for my laptop to download? Is there a program that does that?

ThinkVantage System Updater doesn't find anything other than Access IBM either.

Thanks!

[Nick Y]

If you go to the lenovo site (e.g. http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/ -localise if required) Look for 3rd column fom left, with Support at the top. Click 'downloads and drivers'. Enter the info for your X41. It will then return a list of updates for your laptop. If you select one, for example, it will take you to a webpage with both the driver to download and the .txt file, describing it. The txt file will also list the systems the upgrade can be used on.

Hope this helps.

[GomJabbar]

One thing it keeps asking me to install is Access IBM (which I understand is useless now?).

I'm not sure what you mean by useless. Of course, some here consider anything other than Windows and WOW useless. Yes, it may be useless for you, but it is the ThinkPad Online User's Guide for helping one understand all the features of their ThinkPad. With it, one can learn about BIOS settings, find warranty and installed parts information, learn about IBM supplied software - among other things. Access IBM can also bring one to the Driver Matrix page for their model ThinkPad, so they can find all the drivers and software available for download.

As far as Software Installer, I am not exactly sure how it works. But it does seem to write entries to the registry when it installs software. From these entries it knows what is installed. If you install the software without using Software Installer, these entries are not made in the registry, so Software Installer does not know that the program is installed when it searches for available updates.

Software Installer may use egatherer to send info to IBM/Lenovo's website for determining which software you should have. If you don't have egatherer installed, that part of Software Installer may not work. I am not sure about this, but I think that may be the case.

[shinjiplus]

To clarify I just wanted to perform the much recommended "clean install" that a lot of people said speeded up their system.

My friend re-installed his X31 and from the posts I've read around here that both gave me the impression that all I needed to do was install windows, install network driver, install Software Installer and run Software Installer to get everything back on.

@ Nick Y: thanks for the reply, that is what I spent a few hours doing last night.

@ GomJabbar: I don't play WoW AccessIBM wasn't installed on my laptop from the factory and when I did install it, it didn't provide anything extra that could see over the other ThinkVantage programs I had. That's why I thought it was useless, because they chose not to include it.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I guess I expected too much from IBM/Lenovo.

[bill bolton]

If you install the software without using Software Installer, these entries are not made in the registry, so Software Installer does not know that the program is installed when it searches for available updates.

Well, I sometimes install updates manually when they first appear (that is I download them from the IBM/Levono support site and install without using SI) but SI does detect them somehow! If it is via registry entries, I suspect that the entries are made by the installation of the update through any means, not explicitly by anything SI does.

Cheers,

Bill

[GomJabbar]

Well, I sometimes install updates manually when they first appear (that is I download them from the IBM/Levono support site and install without using SI) but SI does detect them somehow! If it is via registry entries, I suspect that the entries are made by the installation of the update through any means, not explicitly by anything SI does.

Could be. I know that some months in the past I manually installed updates, and Software Installer did not see the updates. Who knows, Software Installer may be evolving to be smarter these days. Either that, or IBM/Lenovo is improving the manual installation feature to properly write the entries in the registry so that Software Installer can see them. It might be a crap shoot whether it works properly or not. I do know that Software Installer writes the program names in the registry, as I have seen them.