"invalid machine type" error during recovery

[alfio]

hello all

having a problem with the recovery CDs for my T43. i am restoring everything to factory specs using official IBM recovery CDs for my machine type. after the stage where all the CDs are loaded and the installation customizes XP, i get an "invalid machine type" error. i've done the whole process a couple of times and it keeps happening. after i hit ok, it goes through and finishes the installation. all looks ok but it makes me a bit uneasy to have that error pop up again and again. should i be concerned?

i have the latest bios and can't really think of what might be causing this, i'd appreciate any ideas. thanks

alfio

[Neil]

Has the machines serial number been changed or removed from the BIOS?

[alfio]

Has the machines serial number been changed or removed from the BIOS?

good question - it may have in fact. last summer i had the motherboard replaced (under warranty) while i was abroad. the place seemed OK (it was an official IBM outpost) but they might have missed that detail. i will check and report back (i'm assuming this can be corrected?). thanks

[alfio]

Has the machines serial number been changed or removed from the BIOS?

not sure how you knew that but i'm glad you did (thank you).

the serial number was in fact missing. i found the how-to (where else? in the thinkpads.com forum, duh!) and have completed the relevant fix and am currently recovering all over again. i hope it works without errors this time.

btw, what were the IBM techs smoking when they thought that it would still be a good idea to do this via floppy drive in 2005!

[alfio]

that did it - added the machine type and serial number as per the instructions and voila, it worked perfectly. thank you very much