How to restore restore

[JimL]

I just copied my T42's XP Pro system from an ailing hard drive to a new one. I now have no Restore.

I originally installed XP from a set of 8 IBM CD's. One was named "Rescue and Recovery." The other 7 were named "Product Recovery CD." I thought IBM had sent me the wrong disks, but they said it was OK. They stepped me through installing XP using them, but if I wrote down the instructions I lost them.

I know IBM set up a sort of hidden partition on which to store the Restore data. I'm pretty sure there is no such partition on the new HD. (Apparently no copy/image/clone program will back up your entire drive, only a single partition at a time.) It would seem that this is why there is now no Restore. And the old drive is playing dead, so no way to pull the original partition.

I apparently need to reinstall Restore. But I've pored over these CD's for years trying to figure out how to reinstall anything, without success. The Rescue and Recovery disk appears to be pretty simple to use, but not knowing what it really does I'm not convinced I want to turn it loose on my system. I'm not at all interested in back dating everything on my system.

Each of the 7 Product Recovery disks has the same thing at the root level, two folders. One is named MFG. One is named RECOVERY. They hold files with extensions of CRI, IMZ, INI and AOD. There are some HTM files in MFG, but I can make nothing of the contents. I find no instructions or setup.exe files anywhere. The only TXT files look like INI data.

If anyone knows how to use these things or where to find instructions for them I'd greatly appreciate any pointers.

JimL

[rkawakami]

There's this thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=52133

[sktn77a]

The recovery CDs first install a recovery partition on your HDD. The computer then installs the OS from the recovery partition. To get all this on your new drive, first make sure the optical drive is the first boot device and then feed all 8 disks in order (R&R first) into the computer and it will load the recovery partition. Everything is automatic, just follow the onscreen instructions.

[JimL]

The recovery CDs first install a recovery partition on your HDD. The computer then installs the OS from the recovery partition. To get all this on your new drive, first make sure the optical drive is the first boot device and then feed all 8 disks in order (R&R first) into the computer and it will load the recovery partition. Everything is automatic, just follow the onscreen instructions.

Feeding in all 8 disks upon boot sounds very much like a complete reinstall of the system. As I mentioned, won't this reinstall and thus backdate everything? Isn't that kind of overkill just to reinstall a single missing feature?

Or are you saying it will load ONLY the recovery partition - doubtful? Are you saying it will handily ask me what I need done and do only that? That would be a first in my 25 odd years of computing.

The words "everything is automatic" are scary as ____. No offense, but please, throw me a bone here. I have years of stuff on this system.

JimL

[JimL]

There's this thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=52133

Thanks. Looks a lot like a jackpot.

JimL

[JimL]

There's this thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=52133

Oops.

This faq page is about the Lenovo CD set for Vista. (To think I got chewed out royally for asking a Lenovo question here once.) As I think my first post said, I have the IBM CD's for XP Pro. The Lenovo instructions seem to have very little, if anything, that helps with the IBM disks.

If you have anything on the IBM disks please post it.

JimL

[JimL]

The recovery CDs first install a recovery partition on your HDD. The computer then installs the OS from the recovery partition. To get all this on your new drive, first make sure the optical drive is the first boot device and then feed all 8 disks in order (R&R first) into the computer and it will load the recovery partition. Everything is automatic, just follow the onscreen instructions.

OK, does or does not what you describe above do a complete reinstallation of XP?

JimL

[killer]

My understanding is this:

If the recovery disks are originally from IBM then you will load a factory restore onto your machine. This will put you back to the day the machine was first used ... which could be some years back. You will then need to use MS Windows Update and Lenovo System Update to get your operating system, drivers, and Thinkvantage programs up to date. Hopefully you have backed up your data onto an external medium so you can restore everything else.

I hope this helps.

[dsvochak]

Apparently no copy/image/clone program will back up your entire drive, only a single partition at a time

Not entirely true. I've had no problem cloning and/or backing up both the restore and "c" partitions using various versions of Acronis True Image.

killer's understanding is correct. If there is data you want to save, back it up before doing the system restore. You'll also have to reinstall any applications that aren't part of the factory image.

[JimL]

My understanding is this:

If the recovery disks are originally from IBM then you will load a factory restore onto your machine. This will put you back to the day the machine was first used ... which could be some years back. You will then need to use MS Windows Update and Lenovo System Update to get your operating system, drivers, and Thinkvantage programs up to date. Hopefully you have backed up your data onto an external medium so you can restore everything else.

I hope this helps.

Odd that they wouldn't give you the ability to reinstall parts. But then IBM always did figure in terms of a bigger bundle of bucks, one way or another.

Thanks.

[killer]

Jim,

There is the ability to restore parts ... but only if you use Rescue & Recovery. R&R backups sit on a hidden partition of your HDD. If your HDD is healthy but, let's say you have a virus, then you can restore parts or restore back to an earlier date.

If the HDD fails then you have lost everything. Sh!t happens. It happened to me last year.

A factory restore will reformat ALL your HDD and then, as part of the restore will create a new R&R partition.

However, as dsvochak says, if you have a cloned image then use that instead of the factory restore and then do an R&R recovery to the last R&R backup.

I hope this is making sense, because I fear I may be confusing you more.

[JimL]

Jim,

There is the ability to restore parts ... but only if you use Rescue & Recovery. R&R backups sit on a hidden partition of your HDD. If your HDD is healthy but, let's say you have a virus, then you can restore parts or restore back to an earlier date.

If the HDD fails then you have lost everything. Sh!t happens. It happened to me last year.

A factory restore will reformat ALL your HDD and then, as part of the restore will create a new R&R partition.

However, as dsvochak says, if you have a cloned image then use that instead of the factory restore and then do an R&R recovery to the last R&R backup.

I hope this is making sense, because I fear I may be confusing you more.

Actually it confirms most of what I thought all along.

Of course the problem is that there is no possibility of restoring from the R&R because the R&R is what's gone. And of course you can't even back up the R&R because they hide it.

If I'm confused it's in whether, for certain, the R&R you speak of is what's "behind" the XP Restore facility functionality I'm missing. I've been assuming it is. It seems like being unable to get a new R&R is purely IBM's way of forcing you to buy support.

But even if I could copy it I'd be sunk now, because the old drive seems to have gone south. Therefore my quest to Restore Restore.

Thanks

JimL

[killer]

Jim,
In our local vernacular, I think you are knackered with a capital F.
Sorry to be unable to help further but I hope it all makes some sense now.
All the best.

[dsvochak]

If I'm confused it's in whether, for certain, the R&R you speak of is what's "behind" the XP Restore facility functionality I'm missing. I've been assuming it is.

It's not, they're different things. And the restore disks are a 3rd.

"The XP restore facility" or system restore is an XP process which "turns back the clock" so the parts of the system are in the state as of the date/time the restore point was created. XP system restore doesn't over write data files.

R&R is an IBM/Lenovo utility that creates a back up of the system on the system hard drive.

The restore disks return the system to the state it was in when it left the factory. All software and data installed by the user are lost.

Having said the above I now realize I'm confused about what you're trying to accomplish. Could you perhaps explain?

[JimL]

Having said the above I now realize I'm confused about what you're trying to accomplish. Could you perhaps explain?

XP has no Restore since I copied my system onto a new drive.

Accomplish? Restore Restore.

Thanks

JimL

[dsvochak]

After re-reading this thread, I think the below is correct:

1) You have a working system (XP) with a new hard drive which contains all your software and data;
2) The new drive does not have the IBM system or hidden partition;
3) Your question is how do I put the IBM system/hidden partition on the drive.

If 1, 2 and 3 are correct, my short answer is: don’t bother. Simply make backups on external media to protect against another drive failure.

As killer noted, R&R is useful if the hard drive is healthy and there is reason to “back date” the system to an earlier time. A crashed drive is another problem.

An external backup (drive image or back up) serves the same or greater purpose as R&R without relying on the drive to be healthy. Should the drive fail, you get a new drive, restore from the external backup and resume computing.

Again, my response assumes my numbers items are correct. If I’m wrong about that, please let us know which item(s) are incorrect.

[JimL]

After re-reading this thread, I think the below is correct:

1) You have a working system (XP) with a new hard drive which contains all your software and data;
2) The new drive does not have the IBM system or hidden partition;
3) Your question is how do I put the IBM system/hidden partition on the drive.

If 1, 2 and 3 are correct, my short answer is: don’t bother. Simply make backups on external media to protect against another drive failure.

As killer noted, R&R is useful if the hard drive is healthy and there is reason to “back date” the system to an earlier time. A crashed drive is another problem.

An external backup (drive image or back up) serves the same or greater purpose as R&R without relying on the drive to be healthy. Should the drive fail, you get a new drive, restore from the external backup and resume computing.

Again, my response assumes my numbers items are correct. If I’m wrong about that, please let us know which item(s) are incorrect.

1. is correct with the Restore exception.

2. may or may not be correct.

3. ...

Maybe you wrote this before you saw my last message.

When I do Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System tools -> System Restore, I get an error saying "System Restore Application has encountered a problem and needs to close."

This is what I want to fix and have no idea how.

JimL

[dsvochak]

Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System tools -> System Restore

That is the Windows XP system restore utility.

These links may help:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/usin ... may19.mspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302796
http://forums.techarena.in/windows-update/255211.htm

[JimL]

Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System tools -> System Restore

That is the Windows XP system restore utility.

Yup.

These links may help:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/usin ... may19.mspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302796
http://forums.techarena.in/windows-update/255211.htm

That last one got it. I could have sworn the message being responded to was mine - to the letter. Even the size of the new hard drive.

Thanks a bundle. It's working now.

JimL

[killer]

It's good news that you've found a solution.