T43 recovery CD question

[Thinkpad_T43_Fan]

Hello all, I'm a huge Thinkpad fan. I used to get issued Thinkpads at previous jobs, but at my current job I get junky laptops by HP and others.

Anyway, I recently purchased 2 T43s for personal use.

One is a model 2668-43U. This was new in box and works just fine.

The other is a lightly used 2668-46U. The previous owner had wiped out the hard drive and installed linux software, but reverted to a copy of XP he had.

I want to restore the 2668-46U T43 to factory state.

However, the only recovery CDs I have are the 2668-43U's, created from the IBM recovery partition.

Would the 2668-43U recovery CD work for the 2668-46U?

I called IBM support, and their techs seem to think that I should order the 2668-46U recovery CD, as the product number (for the recovery CDs) is different from the 2668-43U model.

The main difference between the two is the screen. The 43U model has the XGA screen, whereas the 46U model has the SXGA screen.

If you can clarify I'd really appreciate it.

PS - the other thing I'm not cleary on is how the recovery CDs recognize the unique XP key. In other words, how does the IBM recovery CD record / restore the unique XP activation / serial key, as those are unique for each PC?

[mysbca]

Would the 2668-43U recovery CD work for the 2668-46U?

PS - the other thing I'm not cleary on is how the recovery CDs recognize the unique XP key. In other words, how does the IBM recovery CD record / restore the unique XP activation / serial key, as those are unique for each PC?

Yes, you can use the 43U recovery CD on the 46U. After recovery, run the software installer to get the latest drivers.

I think using the recovery CD will pre-activate XP for you. If not, use the key on the COA on the bottom of your machine when Windows ask you for it.

[Thinkpad_T43_Fan]

Would the 2668-43U recovery CD work for the 2668-46U?

PS - the other thing I'm not cleary on is how the recovery CDs recognize the unique XP key. In other words, how does the IBM recovery CD record / restore the unique XP activation / serial key, as those are unique for each PC?

Yes, you can use the 43U recovery CD on the 46U. After recovery, run the software installer to get the latest drivers.

I think using the recovery CD will pre-activate XP for you. If not, use the key on the COA on the bottom of your machine when Windows ask you for it.

Interesting.

Thanks!