Fresh install of XP?

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Komp55 · #1 Post by **Komp55** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:34 pm

This is my first post as a new owner of a T30. I just acquired a nice 2.2MHz processor unit. First update was bumping the memory up to 1024 (limited by bad slot so far, but will fix in near future).

My next update was installing the new 160 Hitachi drive to replace the original drive. My plan was to do a fresh install of Windows XP Pro on the new drive, but that's where my luck ended. For reasons unknown to me (but hopefully known to some here), my T30 wouldn't even read the XP install disc, which is a genuine MS disc.

I've searched the forum here and didn't find anything precisely on point, so my obvious questions is how do you do a fresh install of XP Pro? TIA for any assistance; I'm a little frustrated at the moment.

T23FUN · #2 Post by **T23FUN** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:48 pm

Sorry about your frustration but then again these are computers.
If you're able to do updates off the Lenovo site I recommend it.
I've had a few issues installing a new OS on these computers. One was a bad drive, one was a bad OS CD, one was a virus. It's all running fine but took a little time.

First check the BIOS information. In the T23 there is a boot up menu or start up menu that will hopefully show that your drive is recognised by the BIOS. HDD or CD. this is important that the BIOS recognise your devices.

Then in BIOS there is the start up menu where you can change what devices are prioritized for start up. Pick CD.

I'd try those things first and if changes are needed save them and reboot.

If you still have problems make sure you have the latest updates from Lenovo. If this still doesn't work you may have to try to reseat the HDD and use HDD utilities to figure out what's going on with the HDD. I've done this but it's not something I'd like to do in the future.
Good Luck.

#3 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:12 pm

Welcome to our Forum.

First thing to check: does the CD/DVD drive work? Without that you can't even start.
Drives from an A20/A21/A22 or T20/T21/T22/T23 will also fit, so if you have a friend with one of those, bum their drive to try, or try yours in their laptop.

Before you swapped the HD, did this CD work?

Wingnut · #4 Post by **Wingnut** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:45 pm

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I have to ask. Is the boot order set to boot from the CD/DVD ROM first? Sometimes its the simplest things that can throw us off. I have been known to overlook something so simple I felt really stupid after someone pointed it out. We are all human. Hope that helps.

robert213 · #5 Post by **robert213** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:53 pm

When I purchased my new Hitachi 7K100 HD, I phoned IBM 800-426-7378 (800-IBM-SERV) and purchased a Product Recovery CD (01R6864).

Then, I browsed Microsoft's website and ordered a Service Pack 2 CD. The CD is free, but you have to pay for shipping.

The Product Recovery CD contains all of your machine's original device drivers. The other advantage is that you will not need to visit Microsoft's website to activate Windows XP.

#6 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 5:14 pm

You never said if your CD was working before....

Komp55 · #7 Post by **Komp55** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:34 pm

My CD RW / DVD drive (original) is working but is suspect. I plan to replace it with a new CD RW / DVD RW drive.

I appreciate all the responses; I'm sure I will get this sorted out in the near future.

NovaKnowledgeNow · #8 Post by **NovaKnowledgeNow** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:23 pm

Are you sure it's booting to the cd rom?

#9 Post by **schen** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:23 am

Komp55 wrote:My CD RW / DVD drive (original) is working but is suspect. I plan to replace it with a new CD RW / DVD RW drive.

I appreciate all the responses; I'm sure I will get this sorted out in the near future.

If your drive is "suspect", now would probably be a good time to upgrade. I'd start with what has already been suggested by borrowing a drive and making sure that everything is OK with a "know good" drive. If everything goes well and you can pinpoint it down to a flaky optical drive, then you have some options.

You can actually just buy a "bare" drive or even a drive from another laptop manufacturer (like HP or Dell), then move the drive caddy from the bad one you have to the new one. It's a pretty simple process and many users of this forum have done that to get a cheap DVD burner, so you can do a search and find thread about some of the models that others have used with success. I have an NEC dual-layer burner that I bought and move the caddy over for just $29. The only real work involved is to modify the faceplate for the knotch on the right side that most IBMs like your requires.

Komp55 · #10 Post by **Komp55** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:47 pm

A belated update. First, thanks for all the suggestions.

The culprit turned out to be the original CDROM/DVD combo drive. I hooked up an USB external Pioneer CD/DVD drive and loaded the CD I had created of XP with SP3 slipstreamed into it. No problems were encountered with the install. I then installed the missing drivers necessary for my use, and it's now totally good to go. I already have a replacement internal drive on order, so I should be good to go.

As a final note, I can't say enough about using the slipstreaming process to save time. It was great to do a single install without then having to separately install the service packs.

Fresh install of XP?

Fresh install of XP?

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