ThinkPad Drivers Snapshot: just in case Lenovo deletes them

[twistero]

I think this deserves its own thread.

So Lenovo revamped its support site and removed downloads for many older ThinkPad models.

For now, everything is still up at http://download.lenovo.com/express/. Just in case Lenovo decides to remove them from the express site too, I've downloaded all files offered for older ThinkPads, up to the two-digit era (T61, etc.)

The files add up to 55GB of data, and here's a torrent for them all: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B08nIG ... sp=sharing

So, download them all for your own ThinkPad stash, and seed them to help others! I should be able to seed it 24/7 for the foreseeable future.

A couple of things:

The readme.txt file in that torrent uses Linux EOL conventions, so if you open it in, say, Windows's Notepad, all line breaks will be gone. The easiest solution is to open it in a browser.

For those of you who don't have an always-on computer yet, it's time to consider setting one up as a home server, especially if you have a stash of unused computers. Use it for central file share, long-running downloads, and torrent seeder.

It might be a good idea for someone else to also download a copy of these files directly from Lenovo, and compare hashes against my files, just in case some of my files get corrupted.

[twistero]

Here's a copy of readme.txt in the torrent, which also contains a list of ThinkPad models included.

Code: Select all

This torrent includes drivers, software and their respective readme txt files for older ThinkPad models, up to the double-digit era (T61, etc.). A complete list of models can be found at the end of this document. 

These files are downloaded from Lenovo's support website on August 14, 2014, as a response of Lenovo seemingly removing support information for older ThinkPads from its main support site. Let's hope the removal is temporary, but in case Lenovo decides to kill off support for legacy systems, this archive is the backup. 

If you have an always-on computer, and have the hard drive space and bandwidth to spare, I suggest you always seed this torrent so as to keep it available. 

How to use this archive: 

The easiest way is to download everything and open index.html in the topmost directory with your favorite browser, and follow the link to the ThinkPad model you're interested in. All download links have been converted to relative links, so you'll be pointed to the correct local file, even if the file is no longer on the internet. 

If you do not wish to download the entire torrent, you would need to download the webpage for your model, and follow the links to determine the files you need. One way of doing that is to get index.html and follow the links inside. Or, use the table below to help you: the webpage for each model is located at (root)/download.lenovo.com/lenovo/content/ddfm/(model key).html

ThinkPad models included in this archive:

=========================================
Model Key        Model / Series name
-----------------------------------------
1200             ThinkPad 1200, 1300
1500-2611        ThinkPad 1400, 1500 (Type 2611)
1500-2621        ThinkPad 1400, 1500 (Type 2621, 2651)
240              ThinkPad 240
240x             ThinkPad 240X
240z             ThinkPad 240Z
365c             ThinkPad 365C, 365CD, 365CS, 365CSD, 365E, 365ED
365x             ThinkPad 365X, 365XD
380              ThinkPad 380, 380D, 380E, 380ED, 385D, 385ED
380xd            ThinkPad 380XD, 385XD
380z             ThinkPad 380Z
390              ThinkPad 390, i Series 1720, i Series 1721
390e             ThinkPad 390E
390x             ThinkPad 390X, i Series 1700
560              ThinkPad 560
560e             ThinkPad 560E
560x             ThinkPad 560X
560z             ThinkPad 560Z
570              ThinkPad 570
570e             ThinkPad 570E, i Series 1157
600              ThinkPad 600
600e             ThinkPad 600E
600x             ThinkPad 600X
701c             ThinkPad 701C, 701CS
750              ThinkPad 750, 750CSE, 750CS, 755C, 755CS
755cd            ThinkPad 755CD, 755CDV
755ce            ThinkPad 755CE, 755CSE, 755CX, 755CV
760c             ThinkPad 760C, 760CD
760e             ThinkPad 760E, 760ED
760el            ThinkPad 760EL, 760ELD
760l             ThinkPad 760L, 760LD
760xd            ThinkPad 760XD
760xl            ThinkPad 760XL
765d             ThinkPad 765D
765l             ThinkPad 765L
770              ThinkPad 770, 770E, 770ED
770x             ThinkPad 770X
770z             ThinkPad 770Z
A20m             ThinkPad A20m
A20p             ThinkPad A20p
A21e-2628        ThinkPad A21e (Type 2628)
A21e-2632        ThinkPad A21e (Type 2632)
A21e-2655        ThinkPad A21e (Type 2655)
A21m             ThinkPad A21m
A21p             ThinkPad A21p
A22e             ThinkPad A22e
A22m-2628        ThinkPad A22m (Type 2628-Sxx)
A22m-2629        ThinkPad A22m (Type 2629, 2633)
A22p             ThinkPad A22p
A30p             ThinkPad A30, A30p
A31p             ThinkPad A31, A31p
G40              ThinkPad G40
G41              ThinkPad G41
R30              ThinkPad R30
R31              ThinkPad R31
R32              ThinkPad R32
R40              ThinkPad R40
R40e             ThinkPad R40e
R50              ThinkPad R50, R50p
R50e             ThinkPad R50e
R51              ThinkPad R51
R51e             ThinkPad R51e
R52-1846         ThinkPad R52 (types 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, 1870)
R52-1858         ThinkPad R52 (types 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1958)
R60              ThinkPad R60
R60e             ThinkPad R60e
R61              ThinkPad R61
R61e             ThinkPad R61e
R61i             ThinkPad R61i
Reserve-Edition  ThinkPad Reserve Edition
T20              ThinkPad T20
T21              ThinkPad T21
T22              ThinkPad T22
T23              ThinkPad T23
T30              ThinkPad T30
T40              Thinkpad T40, T40p
T41              ThinkPad T41, T41p
T42              ThinkPad T42, T42p
T43              ThinkPad T43
T43p             ThinkPad T43p
T60              ThinkPad T60
T60p             ThinkPad T60p
T61              ThinkPad T61
T61p             ThinkPad T61p
X20              ThinkPad X20
X21              ThinkPad X21
X22              ThinkPad X22
X23              ThinkPad X23, X24
X30              ThinkPad X30
X31              ThinkPad X31
X32              ThinkPad X32
X40              ThinkPad X40
X41              ThinkPad X41
X41t             ThinkPad X41 Tablet
X60              ThinkPad X60
X60t             ThinkPad X60 Tablet
X60s             ThinkPad X60s
X61              ThinkPad X61
X61t             ThinkPad X61 Tablet
X61s             ThinkPad X61s
Z60m             ThinkPad Z60m
Z60t             ThinkPad Z60t
Z61e             ThinkPad Z61e
Z61m             ThinkPad Z61m
Z61p             ThinkPad Z61p
Z61t             ThinkPad Z61t
Transnote        TransNote

[600X]

Thank you very much for your efforts! However, one of the guys who is in contact with Mark claims that all files and drivers for older machines sum up to 500-1000GB, not 55GB. (see http://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/178429 ... ost1796989 )

According to him we might get a hard copy of all files (because downloading 1TB isn't something that is done easily) and quite a few people over at the German forum have also offered to host all these files. But who knows if it will actually happen, so thanks again for the work you have done!

[twistero]

one of the guys who is in contact with Mark claims that all files and drivers for older machines sum up to 500-1000GB, not 55GB. (see http://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/178429 ... ost1796989 )

I would guess the 500GB-1TB number includes all previous versions of the drivers as well.

[RealBlackStuff]

Problem with possible hosting in Germany: a lot of those files will probably be in German, i.e. useless outside of D/A/CH/FL.
With hosting facilities nowadays, it shouldn't cost Lenovo more than the equivalent of one used T40 per year to continue hosting those files.
Their idea of deleting anything older than 7 years is utterly ridiculous and will cost them even more customers!

[ilakast]

Got a copy of all .exe and .txt files from this index

Code: Select all

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/00index.txt

using the following wget command (here is a copy of the "urls" file):

Code: Select all

wget -i urls -N -w 1

Downloaded: 985 files, 523M in 16m 23s (545 KB/s)

Additionally to the torrent above (kudos to twistero) included are pre-1994 models. Just a small "retro" backup for vintage TPs.

[rkawakami]

Some files cannot be downloaded from that 00index.txt listing. For instance, all PC Doctor for DOS files return a "File not found." message. This is due to the fact that PCDR and Lenovo discontinued their licensing agreement. Do you have a list of the files that were not transferred by the wget command?

[ajkula66]

Make no mistake: Lenovo WILL delete them, sooner than later.

Mark Hopkins wrote:

dr_st, gannon,

Well, thanks for sharing but unfortunately that is only going to be a temporary condition. As part of the transition, the legacy site and infrastructured will be available for a limited time as we work through redirections and any post transition clean up. As we are not actively maintaining the old site, I would highly recommend customers use the new one.

Eventually (relatively sooner than later) the legacy site will be taken off line.

---------------------------------
Tuus,

Currenty position is that 7 years of content will be maintained. This is a rolling 7 year window, and we'll see how absolute we will be on removing the current oldest content (whether it will be monthly, quarterly, or an annual deal).

The T60p is technically more than 7 years, but we've made some exceptions for high traffic models.

While 7 years worth of system families are here, we may not currently have 100% of all the detailed model type combinations loaded in the selector taxonomy. Specefic model types that are probably coming up are those between 5 years and 7 years old, or older than 7 years and are otherwise here by exception.

The amount of manual work required to remedy all of these is significant, so we will try to address individual ones that are noted here and seem common / popular.

As a work around, I would recommend putting in the product family. For example a T400s model type was noted as missing (likely announced in 2008, so 6 years old and in that 5-7 year window I'm talking about) but if you put T400s in the selector box you can get to the drivers, solutions, manuals for the T400s.

Best regards,

Mark

[RealBlackStuff]

Knowing sod-all about torrents: how long would it take to download such a 55GB torrent?
According to www.speedtest.net I have a 7.4Mbps download and 0.91 Mbps upload speed.
Does that mean ~12.4 hours?

[twistero]

I'm also grabbing a complete copy of all Hardware Maintenance Manuals, and files listed in 00index.txt as ilakast mentioned.

Knowing sod-all about torrents: how long would it take to download such a 55GB torrent?
According to http://www.speedtest.net I have a 7.4Mbps download and 0.91 Mbps upload speed.
Does that mean ~12.4 hours?

It depends on the connection speed between you and me, and other people who are already downloading the same torrent. If you're able to saturate your downlink it will be ~17 hours, but be prepared for several days of continuous downloading.

Some files cannot be downloaded from that 00index.txt listing. For instance, all PC Doctor for DOS files return a "File not found." message. This is due to the fact that PCDR and Lenovo discontinued their licensing agreement. Do you have a list of the files that were not transferred by the wget command?

I've also downloaded everything listed in 00index.txt. Here's a list of 404 Not Found errors returned by wget:
http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=qs5viRXG

[rkawakami]

Thanks, that helps out a lot!

[ilakast]

I've also downloaded everything listed in 00index.txt. Here's a list of 404 Not Found errors returned by wget:
http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=qs5viRXG

Well spotted. If the $ symbol is removed, the following files are downloadable:

Code: Select all

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$034.exe:
2014-08-15 22:53:02 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$035.exe:
2014-08-15 22:53:04 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$037.exe:
2014-08-15 22:53:05 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$037.txt:
2014-08-15 22:53:06 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$038.exe:
2014-08-15 22:53:08 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$038.txt:
2014-08-15 22:53:09 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$040.exe:
2014-08-15 22:53:10 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$040.txt:
2014-08-15 22:53:11 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$049.exe:
2014-08-15 22:53:13 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$049.txt:
2014-08-15 22:53:14 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$057.exe:
2014-08-15 22:53:15 ERROR 404: Not Found.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/yptf$057.txt:
2014-08-15 22:53:16 ERROR 404: Not Found.

00index.txt has typos in it, after all.

[RealBlackStuff]

And 140 of the missing 144 files can be found here: http://greyghost.mooo.com/pccBBS/mobiles/
INCLUDING the filenames with a $ in them...

The 4 missing (and so far nowhere to be found!) files are:
spsdim52.txt (570 BIOS)
spsdin25.txt (600E BIOS)
spsdir60.txt (240 BIOS)
spsdix1m.txt (i1400/i1500 BIOS)
Don't think this will cause much grief to anybody!

Other places I have looked:
http://ps-2.kev009.com/pccbbs/mobiles/
http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/ft ... s/mobiles/
http://www.mmnt.net/db/0/7/ftp.oldskool ... S/mobiles/

[Norway Pad]

The files add up to 55GB of data, and here's a torrent for them all: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B08nIG ... sp=sharing

I should be able to seed it 24/7 for the foreseeable future.

Twistero: Is this still up? I am at the local university IT-office trying to download it through the 670Mbps connection here, but it just hangs at connecting to peers. So seems like it isn't available. Other torrent downloads just fly, so torrenting isn't blocked. I will just leave it up during the weekend, so we'll see.

Thanks!

[pkiff]

Twistero: Is this still up? [....] it just hangs at connecting to peers....

? Ditto. Maybe there was too much traffic and you hit a bandwidth cap or something?

Phil.

[twistero]

Twistero: Is this still up? I am at the local university IT-office trying to download it through the 670Mbps connection here, but it just hangs at connecting to peers. So seems like it isn't available. Other torrent downloads just fly, so torrenting isn't blocked. I will just leave it up during the weekend, so we'll see.

Thanks!

? Ditto. Maybe there was too much traffic and you hit a bandwidth cap or something?

Phil.

Whoops, looks like there's some problem with my torrent machine's hard drive.

I'll try fixing it, meanwhile could people who have already downloaded the torrent seed for a bit?

EDIT:
After a quick look, the hard drive may very well be dead. Oh well, it had a rough life.

If you have a Linux shell and wget, use these commands to download all the same files in the torrent:

Code: Select all

for model in $(< systemnames-legacy.txt); do
wget http://download.lenovo.com/lenovo/content/ddfm/$model.html -r -l 1 -k -p -N -w 0.2
done

Get systemnames-legacy.txt here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B08nIG ... sp=sharing

The only files missing will be the readme and index page, both written by me. Not a huge loss, eh?

[dr_st]

Strange. I've downloaded the file and I'm still seeding it, but no one seems to be pulling it from me. Earlier this week, while I was downloading, I saw some upload too, as if someone was pulling, but now it's inactive.

[Saucey]

The Purge is here!

Going to download and seed this afternoon!

[Norway Pad]

Great. I left the machine there, so we'll remote into it from home later tonight and restart the download. I assume it eventually times out. So we'll see if we can get it from any of you other guys.

[pkiff]

Strange. I've downloaded the file and I'm still seeding it, but no one seems to be pulling it from me. Earlier this week, while I was downloading, I saw some upload too, as if someone was pulling, but now it's inactive.

Seems working again now, though my download rate is pretty slow. I may try to pull the files directly from the Lenovo site following twistero's instructions.

Thanks everyone for helping to figure out how to get these files and trying to make them available.

Phil.

[Summilux]

Thanks to OP and to the other helpers!

[twistero]

... Aaaaand I've already downloaded everything again from Lenovo's servers. Once the torrent client checks the files are the same, I should be back to seeding.

[Norway Pad]

Back at the university now, but nothing is downloading still. Just connecting to peers. Another test download of Slackware was just flying, so I don't see why the Thinkpad download won't work. So I'll leave it sit for another while. If I can manage to download this, I have made an agreement that the torrent can be seeded here for a week, until Monday the 31st of August. With a 560Mbps upload speed, there should at least be fast access to these files for users in Europe who might want them.

[dr_st]

Well, my hard drive also seems to have crashed.

Well, not really, but the machine BSODed, and upon reboot the hard drive reports SMART errors (reallocated sector count is too high). Running a full disk check now to see if anything got actually damaged.

Bad luck this Lenovo drivers thing. Will have to reconsider.

[pkiff]

I may try to pull the files directly from the Lenovo site following twistero's instructions.

This worked well for me, though it took more than 24 hours to download the 55GB.

Well, my hard drive also seems to have crashed. Well, not really, but the machine BSODed....

Once the torrent client checks the files are the same, I should be back to seeding.

Possibly this is just a coincidence, but I tried to do the same thing as twistero - after downloading the files I then attempted to check them in my bittorrent client (I use Deluge for Windows), but I failed twice, once with a BSOD.

I don't have much experience with torrents that are this large and with this many files inside. Maybe it is just my client is breaking. It's no great loss, as I would not have been able to seed at a high rate, but I'm posting as an FYI for others who might experience crashes with this torrent.

Phil.

[twistero]

Well, my hard drive also seems to have crashed. Well, not really, but the machine BSODed....

Possibly this is just a coincidence, but I tried to do the same thing as twistero - after downloading the files I then attempted to check them in my bittorrent client (I use Deluge for Windows), but I failed twice, once with a BSOD.

I don't have much experience with torrents that are this large and with this many files inside. Maybe it is just my client is breaking. It's no great loss, as I would not have been able to seed at a high rate, but I'm posting as an FYI for others who might experience crashes with this torrent.

Phil.

No, this is clearly Lenovo's conspiracy to stop people from accessing those files.

I also use Deluge on my Windows seeding machine. The recheck did take a long time but went through without a hitch. That said, grabbing those files directly from Lenovo really is the better choice now that they are still available. Glad to hear it worked out for you.

[pkiff]

No, this is clearly Lenovo's conspiracy to stop people from accessing those files.

Inspired to try the hash checking again, and this time it made it through, so I should also be able to seed (on my limited bandwidth, not-always-on, not-a-real-seeding-machine-at-all thinkpad).

[Norway Pad]

If you have a Linux shell and wget, use these commands to download all the same files in the torrent:

Code: Select all

for model in $(< systemnames-legacy.txt); do
wget http://download.lenovo.com/lenovo/content/ddfm/$model.html -r -l 1 -k -p -N -w 0.2
done

The torrent seems to never connect, so I think I might try to download them directly from the source. Does this work from any Linux distro as long as the wget function is there? I will try to see if I can do something from my T30 with Linux Mint. Where in the file system do i put the .txt file, by the way? I am once again fumbling here with my lack of Linux skills, so excuse me for asking questions again.

[pkiff]

Where in the file system do i put the .txt file, by the way?

Wherever you are running the command from. So, for example, I created a new folder in my root drive, then copied the systemnames-legacy.txt file to that folder, then opened a command prompt and navigated to that folder, then ran the command from there.

Phil.

[twistero]

The torrent seems to never connect, so I think I might try to download them directly from the source. Does this work from any Linux distro as long as the wget function is there? I will try to see if I can do something from my T30 with Linux Mint. Where in the file system do i put the .txt file, by the way? I am once again fumbling here with my lack of Linux skills, so excuse me for asking questions again.

It should work from any Linux distro that have a recent-ish wget (which is most of them) and a shell (which is all of them, perhaps except a few specialized ones). The shell commands should be universal across different shells, though I've only tested it in BASH. Your Mint machine should work just fine.

And, as Phil said, put systemnames-legacy.txt in the current directory, where you execute the command from (which is also where the downloaded files will be stored).