A few questions concerning Think Vantage

[Schwenker]

Hi,
I am deciding on my first IBM, a T400 or T500
I have a few questions concerning the Think Vantage Function:
a) Does the recovery DVD set back the hard drive partitions to factory settings?
b) Does the Think Vantage function set back the hard drive partitions to factory settings?

This means the original size of the partitions, when they have been changed manually.

c) Does Think Vantage work with a self buyed Windows Vista?
d) Does Think Vantage work unter Windows XP
e) Does Think Vantage need drivers/ anything else to work or is it entirly working on the hardware side, so no software/ windows is needed
f)Will Think Vantage work under Windows 7 in a T400/500
g) How was the past situation? Did a under Windows XP working Think Vantage also work on Vista / have there been drivers delivered, when needed, for the new OS
h) Is it possible to set up a new OS (like Vista Ultimate) and then backup it up on a external hard drive and later recover from this?

What do I want to achieve?
I want to recover the factory settings at all times, this means partition size, number of partitions etc. and Windows Vista Business. Then I want to install Vista Ultimate do my settings and backing it up to an external drive or whatever and then recover from that all 3 Months. In the end I should be able to set back factory settings with the earliest/ first backup from Windows Business; Furthermore I might want to install Windows 7 sometimes.

Thank you for your help! Greetins

[Superego]

a) Does the recovery DVD set back the hard drive partitions to factory settings?

Yes the recovery DVD that you make will restore the entire hard drive to the factory settings. So, if you have multiple partitions they will be erased.

b) Does the Think Vantage function set back the hard drive partitions to factory settings?

Sorry, not really sure what you mean by this. Thinkvantage is simply the name of the suite of software/drivers provided by Lenovo.

c) Does Think Vantage work with a self buyed Windows Vista?
d) Does Think Vantage work unter Windows XP

Yes and yes. You just need to download the appropriate drivers and software from Lenovo's website.

e) Does Think Vantage need drivers/ anything else to work or is it entirly working on the hardware side, so no software/ windows is needed

Hmmm...sorry if I'm dense but I'm not sure what you mean. I think the confusion is because you use the term "Thinkvantage" as if it were a single piece of software when it's more a software suite. You can get Thinkvantage programs (Access Connections, Client Security Solution, etc.) and you can also get drivers (Ultranav driver, wireless driver, etc.).

f)Will Think Vantage work under Windows 7 in a T400/500

No idea. Probably, but don't quote me on that .

g) How was the past situation? Did a under Windows XP working Think Vantage also work on Vista / have there been drivers delivered, when needed, for the new OS

It depends. Some things work on both XP and Vista and for most of the Thinkvantage software and drivers there is an XP version and a Vista version. You don't really need to worry about it, because you can either download the version you need or System Update will automatically take care of it.

h) Is it possible to set up a new OS (like Vista Ultimate) and then backup it up on a external hard drive and later recover from this?

Yes. You should do some research on imaging software. Acronis TrueImage is a very good one (I use it and it seems like a number of people on this board do too). O&O makes an imaging program that I might try as well. The Thinkvantage Rescue and Recovery program allows you to make backups and restore them but, personally, I don't like it; I just don't think it's as robust as something like Acronis TI. In particular Acronis TI and other programs allow you to backup and restore individual partitions, while I think Rescue and Recovery does not.

It sound like you want the ability to install multiple operating systmes, not necessarily at the same time, and

a) restore your system to either the factory settings (you can use the recvery discs for this)

or

b) restore a different operating system (Vista Ultimate instead of Vista Business), in which case you would use imaging software like Acronis.

Hope this helps.

[Schwenker]

Thank you a lot superergo you helped me out!