R51 2888 -w73 recovery? with XP OS disk

[Edwardcali]

I have a r51 2888 -w73, with an os that doesnot have proper license. I bought XP sp3 disk and IBM recovery disks. I have tried to load/ recover original factory defaults using IBM disks with no luck. What are the steps to using recovery disks, they loaded with no OS. I have the XP disk to load however the reovery process never asked nor displayed an option to load. Any assistance would be great thanks.

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

My usual method to run the recovery disk(s) is this:

- test and wipe the hard drive using a suitable disk diagnostic program such as PC Doctor or one provided by the drive's manufacturer; testing insures that the drive doesn't have any problems and erasing the contents provides the recovery disk with a "clean slate"
- boot the system using the recovery disk; pressing F12 during the initial power up displays a boot device menu so you can select the optical drive
- install just the OS; I don't bother with the hidden recovery partition usually because I'm dealing with older systems (i.e., T23s)
- update Windows to the current Service Pack level; again, which is why I don't bother with the hidden partition on these older systems
- run Windows Update to get the latest critical patches
- install all of my needed programs
- image the drive onto DVD media using Norton Ghost; doing so usually allows for an easier re-install later on

[Edwardcali]

Thanks for reply,
I am at the point OS winXP loaded updating drivers. Loaded newest Bios for thinkpad and it does not recognize Wireless adapter, read somewhere that the BIOS may cause this. It suggests to load newest bios or reload driver for adapter. That was tried no success. It is a 802.11a/b/g modem combo mini card. Will tryto load older version of Bios.
Thanks again.