Creating basic Windows XP install disk from Lenovo media

[sbjoe]

I had good success doing this on my T42p -actually using the I386 folder as delivered - using one of the available recipes. However the T60p has been another story. I managed - don't ask, please - to lose the I386 folder that was preinstalled before shipment from IBM refurbished and as that's a necessary requisite to creating a basic fluffware free windows installation I resorted to ordering a set of recovery cd's from Lenovo. Once I figured out, after running the recovery, where to find the MS Product Key that was in the I386 folder from the Recovery installation I thought I was home free. I created an installation disk using that key, apparently successfully, and when I run the installation it seems to work flawlessly until the Windows Installer reboots at which point startup stalls shortly into the boot sequence with a black screen message apologizing the Windows is not able to start successfully - no error message as such. I'm simply offered the option to try again to boot normally, to the last successful boot configuration or into safe mode, with or without network support. It will boot into safe mode, even with network support but that's as far as I've been able to get with this. Anybody been there, fixed anything like that?

I don't suppose my world will come crashing down if I'm unable to resolve this, but I would like be able to do a clean Windows installation without either the Lenovo fluff or engaging in the ebay crapshoot for a legit disk.

[RealBlackStuff]

On a T60 you can use the official Lenovo Fluff-Remover
It's called Base Software Administrator: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... .html#TBSA

It might also be worth your while to look into nLite: http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html

[dorronto]

On a T60 you can use the official Lenovo Fluff-Remover
It's called Base Software Administrator: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... .html#TBSA

It might also be worth your while to look into nLite: http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html

Interesting Dominic...

A Fluff remover...I never heard of it or used it...I'm going to have to check it out..

Any suggestions in using it??

Thanks,
Ron

[RealBlackStuff]

This only works if you want to do a fresh install from the recovery partition, or install from scratch from Recovery CDs.
You need to have an intact recovery partition, and a working Windows installation.
Don't install anything else nor run any updates.
Only install that BSA program in Windows, then run it.
It lets you permanently remove all the crap- and bloatware (like Symantec/Norton, Outlook Express, Google-junk, etc.) from the recovery partition.
When done you need to repeat the Recovery from the recovery partition (press Blue Button or F11) to get rid of the bloated initial Recovery.
Enjoy a slimmed-down Windows.

[sbjoe]

This only works if you want to do a fresh install from the recovery partition, or install from scratch from Recovery CDs.
You need to have an intact recovery partition, and a working Windows installation.
Don't install anything else nor run any updates.
Only install that BSA program in Windows, then run it.
It lets you permanently remove all the crap- and bloatware (like Symantec/Norton, Outlook Express, Google-junk, etc.) from the recovery partition.
When done you need to repeat the Recovery from the recovery partition (press Blue Button or F11) to get rid of the bloated initial Recovery.
Enjoy a slimmed-down Windows.

Guess I need to go stand in the corner and don my dunce cap again. I've tried a couple of times with no success. Ran BSA, saved & deployed the manifest file set for custom factory recovery only. Rebooted to finish the deployment and rebooted again to R&R. I'm not finding any way to access the options the help file suggests ought to be there. I just get an all or nothing scenario or the opportunity to select individual files from the hdd, nothing that remotely resembles the Base Software Selector that help refers to. There's nothing resembling the console I expected. All this on a fresh install from the recovery disks.

I've not found any indication this is dependent on the R&R version. Mine is 3.x as shipped. Any ideas?

[RealBlackStuff]

I've done it when I had my first T60, about 1,5 years ago, so I'm not very clear on it any more.
From what I remember, it showed a list of all the programs (and/or extras), and you could select which one(s) to remove.
It should be a very straightforward operation, it only took me a couple of minutes to perform.

See also this: http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkVantag ... e/m-p/1070

[sbjoe]

That's after you save the manifest from the bsa window, deploy it, reboot to implement the deployment and reboot again to R&R -- correct? The BSA window shows a list of programs, but my understanding is that all you're doing there is selecting those that should show up in R&R after the deployment; that sound right?

[sbjoe]

Sorry to change the focus a bit, but something just occurred to me. Some time ago in bios I changed the sata controller mode to compatibility from ahci as that was the only way I could find to get my backup program to recognize the usb drive when booting from the cd. I just now went back into bios and changed it back to ahci. Oddly it still recognizes the usb drive from backup cd boot, but the only way I could get it to boot into windows was to switch back to compatibility mode and then select "use last known good config...", when it next failed to boot.

Pretty obviously this oversight should be rectified. First step presumably would be to switch back to ahci, after which the options that come to mind are:
1) try the windows installation disk I had made previously that had stalled during windows installation reboot while in compatibility mode;
2) or do a fresh install with the Lenovo recovery disks, probably after deleting the R&R backup from the usb drive. The deletion would apparently have to be done by manually selecting files & folders from that drive as the backup doesn't appear in the delete backups listing from within windows. It is kind of annoying that the backup process doesn't allow for saving in a more narrowly defined location that the root of the usb drive.

Any input/suggestions will certainly be appreciated

[Harryc]

Not sure what you're trying to accomplish, but if you simply want to boot up with AHCI active, install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-70477

[sbjoe]

Thx Harry, but too late, as I'm in the middle of restoring from the recovery cd;s right now. What I'm trying to accomplish is simply a clean relatively fluffware free installation of xp. After it finishes I suppose I'll try the BSA tool again and then decide whether to try another home cooked xp install disk. Before I initiated Recovery I tried the disk I'd made previously and installation didn't survive the 1st reboot; it'd gone a lot further than that when the machine was in compatibility mode. But then the disk was created in compatibility mode.

[sbjoe]

Gives rise to another question or 2 about the BSA tool. When creating a manifest for deployment to the service partition to control options there are 3 fields, required, optional, and restricted. By default, the indicators in the optional field are all lit indicating I think that they can be selected for omission in a subsequent restoration. The indicators in the required field are all greyed out but can be individually turned on. this presumably means that those that are turned on can also be left out of a restoration. There are also 3 radio buttons in this field that when depressed will make whole categories disappear and thus unavailable for omission. If the O/S and drivers buttons are depressed that leaves only applications to be considered. A lot of these *look* like fluff, identified by wireless providers, Symantec and the like. Is omitting a lot of these likely to leave a restoration fubar? Anybody been there precisely?