Before the crash.......

[doktrred]

I bought a used T30 (2366 85U) recently, it had a "'fresh" copy of XP pro on it. I was wondering what I need to do to prepare for any trouble in the future (crash and burn type problems). I'm assuming that a recovery disc was probably made at some time, if so, I won't be able to make another-right? Can I (or should I ) rely on "system restore" in XP or how about Norton system works ,I think it has you burn a recovery disc as part of it's normal operation.....as best I can remember.
I'm not sure I am using correct terminology (restore vs. recovery).
Thanks
Mike

[Daryl Jones]

Your copy of XP Pro should be bootable. However, you can go www.bootdisk.com and create an emergency 3.5 disk.Sometimes the CD will not allow you to rebuild the system. The emergency 3.5 disk will allow you to fdisk and format the drive. After that, the XP Pro will take over the rebuilding of the system disk.

[doktrred]

Your copy of XP Pro should be bootable. .

This T30 didn't come with an XP disc, just the OS installed on the computer( if thats what you meant by "your copy of XP").
I've been trying to research some and seem to be getting more confused. In the event of a crash, I will probably need some way of booting up the computer, right? And I might be able to find a solution for this part at bootdisc, I assume.
From there ,can/should I rely on the XP restore utility to restore the computer to a point somewhere in the past once I am able to boot up, or should I look for another way of getting back up and running. Please let me know if I'm totally not understanding what needs to be done to protect this computer in the event of a crash. Anyone have a link to a good article about things to do to protect your computer before it crashes (for dummies).
Thanks, Daryl for the response
Mike

[LtTPfan]

There are many options but you are very limited if your system is still configured as it was new, i.e. equipped with a DVD player only. While you can backup to your hard drive, even backing up to a hidden partition on your primary drive is not a very good solution as you will be SOL if your operating system crashes, or worse yet, your hard drive crashes.

IMAO, the first thing you should do is get a floppy drive. You can get a good used one for about $10 shipped. With a FDD you can at least get an operating system up and running. They are also handy for running the IBM Harware Maintenance program, transfering small files, etc. I'd also suggest getting an external adapter cable for the FDD, allowing you to use the FDD and a device in your UltraBay simultaneously. These can also be acquired for just a few dollars.

The next thing you need is alternate media for your backup. You have several options here. IMAO, your best bet is a DVD burner, though a CD burner will suffice, the DVD offers much more. Another good option, some might prefer over optical drives, would be buying a second hard drive adapter and a spare hard drive to put in it. This option, while argueably more expensive than the former would definitely provide the easiest solution for backing up and restoring.

I would stay away from external USB drives for backup as I believe (not sure, though) that you would need your OS running for them to work. With a built in device you are ready to start restoring. Besides, most external drives I've seen lately are USB 2.0 which run very slowly in a USB 1.1 port, and a USB 2.0 PC card would put you right back to needing your OS to make it work.

I recently bought a T30. FWIW, here's what I did: I bought a new NEC-6500a 8x DVD multiburner off eBay for $45 shipped. (The best price I could find from a store was $87 less shipping.) I put the rails from my 24x CD-ROM onto it and used a Dremel tool to cut the notch in the lower right corner of the face so it would fit into the UltraBay slot. (The new NEC drive had a completely rectangular face.) Alternatively for approximately $150 shipped, I could have bought a true IBM drive or one already modified by someone. My T30 came without an OS so I installed WinXP Pro, installed all my favorite apps, downloaded IBM's Software Installer and downloaded all the drivers and stuff for my machine, then used IBM's Rescue & Recovery to back up my hard drive, which had 26gb on it. I used CD-Rs because they will work in a CD or DVD. The first CD was a bootable disc, the next 8 were data. The entire backup process took about 2-1/2, maybe 3 hours.

[Daryl Jones]

I believe the reply by LtTPfan gave you enough information to accomplish the deed of backing of the system for the purpose of a system restore. I had forgotten about the need of the separate FDD.

My view of a restore process is the capability of reproducing the information that was on the disk drive at a given time. My view of a recovery process is the accidentally deleting a file or a directory and then the deleted items are recovered.

Backup strategies are generally for restoration of data due to disk failures or to completely rebuild your disk drive. To make the restoration easiest and complete, you plan where you going store the information. I would plan to keep the C drive for system and application software. Data should be stored on another device (USB Thumb drives). Keeping the data off the C drive will reduce disk fragmentation and C drive backups.

I hope this additional information bring clarity.

[doktrred]

I really appreciate the info., maybey this should go in a FAQ section for other computer challenged people, like me.

What I was wanting to do(and didn't know how to ask about it), was to make a boot disc I guess; something I could use to try and fix things in the event of a crash and the computer wouldn't boot up. It sounds like Rescue and Recovery can be used to make one.
I was planning on using the CD burner on this computer to make the boot disc and for back ups. A FDD probably wouldn't be a bad thing either I suppose.

I haven't had much time to explore this laptop yet, I hope rescue and recovery is installed on this 'puter. I'm not sure what the prev.owner did to/with this T30. Where would I find Rescue and Recovery; off the start menu/ control panel ? IF it isn't on the computer,can I download it from IBM ?
THanks again for all the info and time.
Mike

[LtTPfan]

If installed, R&R should be found in your start menu under "All Programs." Also look there and on your desktop for "Software Installer." The Software Installer is the easiest means of updating all your IBM drivers and software. If you don't find it, download it HERE. When run, it automatically downloads all the IBM drivers and software you need (and just those needed) to keep you updated. It will download and install the latest version of R&R if you don't already have it. Alternatively, you can manually select and download all drivers and software for your T30 HERE.

[doktrred]

Thanks