Finding OEM Vista CDs for my T61P

[NovaKnowledgeNow]

When I first got my T61P I wiped it clean and put a fresh load of XP on it... I keep getting the itch to install Vista back on it and try it out again... I can't seem to find any of the recovery disks for it. Anyone know where I can get some with out spending $200 for it? I have the code on the bottom or computer, but that's about it.

[basketb]

call Lenovo.

[hellosailor]

MS licensing imposes fairly rigid terms on all the OEMS. They are not allowed to provide restore media with Vista systems. You are supposed to run an obscure utility to MAKE a set of restore DVDs after you get your system, and the restore discs that ship with it actually are the "XP downgrade" set.

If you do something like blow away the OS before you've made those recovery discs, the only options you have are to call Lenovo and beg for a set--which may cost you $45 unless you beg exceptionally well--or to call MS's licensing division and ask for the "fulfillment department" which can and will sell you replacement generic Vista install discs. Those discs will work with your existing product key codes (they don't come with codes, they are just media, no license) but will install a generic Vista, without the Lenono additions. You'd have to download and install those as necessary--including key drivers that might be needed for the first boot. (If you can borrow a generic Vista install disc, that should also work the same way, all versions are apparently on all discs.)

So...Call Lenono and beg nicely, or hang around Starbucks until you see another T61 user, and beg them nicely.

The "make restore discs" utility can only be run ONCE and then it locks out, but you can and should make a backup set of those DVDs when you do make them.

This situation is imposed by MS on all the OEMs, MS doesn't seem to understand it will mainly po the users and encourage bootlegging--exactly what they don't want.

Then remember to call the MS 1-800-RU-LEGIT hotline and give their legal department a piece of your mind.

[Eudoxus]

You may want to try instructions in this link
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=144783

It explains, how to reinstall Vista without the need to activate the copy from MS.

[closersource]

This is an old topic but still hilarious. Honestly it's misinformation like this that makes people scared of using Vista. Vista might be bad, but stuff like this makes it sound worse. Moral of the story is, if you ask the right person at Lenovo nicely you will get the recovery discs - and no you do not have to activate.

[hellosailor]

"if you ask the right person at Lenovo nicely you will get the recovery discs -"

Well, you're right about misinformation.

No, you "will" not necessarily get anything from Lenovo. You might, or you might not, regardless of how nicely you ask and how many times you call.

On the other hand, Microsoft's Fulfillment Department has specific policies that allow them to replace missing media, including sending out retail media when an OEM is unwilling or unable to replace OEM media. At a way more reasonable price than Lenono's.

Lenono ain't what IBM used to be, and even IBM over the years sometimes gave good reason to say "I Been Mugged, they took my money and ran." Sad to say, although the performance of the IBM business divisions usually was outstanding.

[closersource]

Well I meant you might get charged $45 or not. Either way you will get the discs. Plus with the OEM-discs you have the convenience of all the drivers and you do not have to activate. I honestly don't know if Microsoft's option is cheaper?

[hellosailor]

Microsoft Fulfillment typically charges $15 and typically ships by 3rd-day courier. So yes, they're cheaper, but the product isn't exactly the same. (The full metal emboss job on the retail discs certainly is prettier than the roll-your-own Vista discs.<G>)

[closersource]

If you wanted pretty packaging go get an Apple. Bottom line is, if you need recovery discs you can get them from Lenovo for a fee at worst. They include the drivers and you do not need to activate EVER. You certainly don't need to make any recovery discs. What Microsoft might explicitly state somewhere and at least what Dell and Lenovo do are two different things.

[GomJabbar]

If you can borrow a Vista OEM DVD, you should be able to use the Product Dey on the COA label on the underside of your T61p to install Vista to your computer. This will only work with an OEM version DVD, not a retail version DVD. At least I know this works with XP, so I see no reason why it shouldn't work with Vista.

[hellosailor]

"At least I know this works with XP, so I see no reason why it shouldn't work with Vista."
Or, no reason why it should still work with Vista. MS has been regularly changing the activation process and taking steps to lock out loopholes, ever since they started. What works with one version of one OS, often stops working with the next version or next SP or next batch of OEM or corporate numbers.
It is always worth a try--but MS has folks who get paid full time to play "whack a mole" with smacking down these things.

[GomJabbar]

@hellosailor

We get it that you don't like Vista. But I see no reason for you to keep spreading FUD in regards to it. If you have something concrete to say, then back it up with proof from somewhere.

[archer6]

If you can borrow a Vista OEM DVD, you should be able to use the Product Dey on the COA label on the underside of your T61p to install Vista to your computer. This will only work with an OEM version DVD, not a retail version DVD. At least I know this works with XP, so I see no reason why it shouldn't work with Vista.

You are 100% correct.
I just completed this very same task on a friends ThinkPad that came with Vista, using the media that came with my W500 which I ordered choosing Vista Business with XP downgrade. During the install I used the numbers off the license on the bottom of his ThinkPad.
.
Next I installed Vista on my W500 after finally deciding to migrate from XP. Its the first ThinkPad I've used Vista on and my first Vista experience of any length and I must say that I like it. While its only been a few hours I can already see the advantages and I'm glad I finally made the move.
.
Cheers
posted via BlackBerry Bold

[hellosailor]

I have to say I have mixed feelings about Vista, I think MS screwed up the deployment and still hasn't figured out which way is up. For instance, my first six months (Vista32 OEM on this machine) were hell, with the blink of an eye being all it took to lock up this machine. It turns out a major part of that was (as another forum member contributed) that simply having an SD card present in the computer would cause explorer to crash or lock up!

Hell, that's basic hardware and drivers, and should have been caught, documented, and fixed before the machine ever shipped with a "for Vista" logo on it.

Then there's performance. With all the changes MS made behind the scenes in Vista (new audio system, new boot/file configurations, etc.) they put folks to a disadvantage. By not publicizing and emphasizing the changes, they left most of us having no idea what was different and might be vulnerable.

And Vista64. Couple of months ago we got an HP Pavilion for a family member (Lenono lost that sale!) and found out after the fact that it had Vista64 installed on it. No mention of that presale. Well...with the same CPU as this machine, but 4GB of RAM, that machine does a number of things much faster at the system level. Dunno if that's from the extra RAM (Task Mangler says I always have enough free) or from V64 doign some things intrinsically faster.

Confusion is rampant. Is that a great way to ensure the consumer can't make informed decisions, or what?

[bill bolton]

Confusion is rampant.

Only for those that pay no attention at all, and charge ahead making assumptions.

[hellosailor]

Bill, I begin most every day by making assumptions, and I suspect you make the same ones as well.

I put my feet on the ground without checking for alligators, snakes, or scorpions. All things that I have checked for in other places at other times, but I assume I'm in a place where they are not an issue currently.

Even more so, I assume the basic laws of physics still apply, and that some electromagnetic forces that no one really understands are still working, so my feet won't simply pass into the floor, since my feet and the floor are both mainly made of empty space between the atoms.

And when I get into my car, I assume no one has planted explosives under it, or cut the brake lines. I don't check for those things, although I know some people have died by making those same assumptions. Ooopsie.

Assumptions are a [censored] handy thing. Sometimes.