Problem restoring T42p

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Utwig · #1 Post by **Utwig** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:26 am

So I have gotten restore CDs (downloaded from friend USA, they don't ship them in EU and want 120$ to restore your system here), backed up data and I'm now in the process of restoring my T42p.

It was bought used, hard drives ereased and with test XP install.

When I booted of restore CD and tried to restore to factory settings, I was given a note "The product recovery option has been removed from this system".

I have the 7 CD set for T42/T42p, the laptop is 2373-HTG.

On advice from Arstechnica forums I zeroed the HDD, now none of the 7 recovery CDs boots, whether I presss Access IBM button or not.

It still boots normally from Knoppix CD, otherwise I just get the Intel Boot Agent's attempt to boot from network.

#2 Post by **GomJabbar** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:04 am

Make sure that the CD/DVD optical drive is before the hard drive in the boot order in BIOS setup. Make sure that Predesktop Area Security is set to Normal in BIOS setup. The Startup Disk should boot. If it still will not, then IMO the disk is defective or the optical drive is defective. Since you say the Knoppix CD will boot, the last sentence does not seem to be the problem in your case.

From your comment about pressing the blue Access IBM button, this leads me to believe you were trying to get into Rescue and Recovery on the hard drive, not from the CD. Since Rescue and Recovery was not installed you got the error message: "The product recovery option has been removed from this system". When you zeroed the hard drive, you removed what was in the service partition on the hard drive, so that there was nothing to boot.

I believe the following is your problem. You said you downloaded the CD's from a friend. When you burned the CD's did you specify to make the Startup Disk bootable in the burning software that you used? Even if you did, this does not always work. I have experienced this problem trying to make a bootable XP CD. The burning software used, did make a difference for me. If you have access to another T42, burn a Rescue Media CD (Start > All Programs > Access IBM > Create Rescue Media). The Rescue Media CD is apparently the same thing as the Startup Disk in the Product Recovery Disc set.

Utwig · #3 Post by **Utwig** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:36 am

The first CD doesn't seem to be bootable. HM...

I used Nero burning ROM and just burned the .iso images to 7 CDs.

Also there was supposed to be some quick recovery CD only about 25MB in the set but that one seems to be some other software CD (nothing IBM or recovery related).

I wouldn't have access to another T42p (not from anyone I know directly).

#4 Post by **GomJabbar** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:44 am

Nero has an option to make a bootable disk. On my current version of Nero, after I use Smart Start, I click the Data icon in the top menu, then choose Make Bootable Disc that appears in the side menu.

Utwig · #5 Post by **Utwig** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:46 am

Yes, but with that you provide boot image and burn some data as when making slipstreamed XP CD. If I were to make CD bootable, I'd have to extract data and provide some boot sector image.

#6 Post by **GomJabbar** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:59 am

You can use isobuster (still free I believe) to extract the boot image from the CD. I believe you will have to get your friend to do that for you, then send you the image.

http://www.isobuster.com/isobusterdownload.php

EDIT: I actually haven't needed to do this except when slipstreaming an XP CD. The above is how I did it with the slipstreamed XP CD.

Utwig · #7 Post by **Utwig** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 6:31 pm

I need Rescue & Recovery disc, then to boot off it and then insert restore discs. So, where I'd get the Rescue & Recovery disc

.

#8 Post by **GomJabbar** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:42 pm

As I stated above: "If you have access to another T42, burn a Rescue Media CD (Start > All Programs > Access IBM > Create Rescue Media)." Of course this T42 would have to have Rescue and Recovery intact. You may be able to use a Rescue Media CD from a different model ThinkPad. See following thread (esp. posts by the OP, cchsiao). There is no download of this disc that I am aware of.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=35052

bontistic · #9 Post by **bontistic** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 9:10 pm

I believe you can use the same startup cd with the same product numbers:

R50/R50p/T41/T41p/G41/R51

I think others may work as well as long as it has the same R&R version loaded.

Problem restoring T42p

Problem restoring T42p

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