Found website selling windows 7 for $40-$50.

[andre#4]

I found a website that sells all the IBM and Lenovo recovery media cd.s and dvd's for thinkpads. They mostly cost $25.00 for the xp and vista ones. They also have windows 7 ones which seem to be very inexpensive, considering the cost of the os, and I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on the legality and possible reason for the low price on these. They have a disclaimer, but from what it says, it seems to me they can be used for anything.


57Y2650
IBM/Lenovo Win 7 Pro EE 32-Bit - IBM FRU P/N 57Y2650 $39.99

57Y2737
IBM/Lenovo Win 7 Pro EE 64-Bit - IBM FRU P/N 57Y2737 $39.99

free shipping usa, $6.00 elsewhere


The windows 7 dvd's have the following disclaimer:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER
"This media is good for an upgrade install or for a fresh install on a new or existing hard drive for all IBM/Lenovo Desktops and Laptops Product Key is Included for Upgrade Installation & Activation. Unique Product Keys are provided by Lenovo/Microsoft and come with DVDs. No COA is Included.

Order Contents:

2 DVD Set

1 Operating System Disc & 1 Companion Disc containing updated drivers and applications."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[rkawakami]

My guess is that this is the same web site which is not permitted to be linked here as Lenovo is on record that they are not a designated provider of recovery disks.

[bill bolton]

I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on the legality and possible reason for the low price on these. They have a disclaimer, but from what it says, it seems to me they can be used for anything.

They certainly can't be legally used "for anything".

What they can be legally used for is specifically the installation of the exact same OS that is specificed on the Microsoft COA that is attached to the relevant Lenovo system, or in a (very few) cases where the specific EULA attached to the COA had an upgrade right associated with it for another specific Microsoft OS, for installing the specific upgrade entitlement version of the OS.

In other words, legal use is quite restricted. In general, if you don't have a very good grasp of Microsoft licencing conditions, these are best avoided if you need to be running on a legal licence.

In terms of the low price..... the original cost was nothing as these are upgrade products that were intended to be supplied to users who had a specific "free" upgrade entitlement at some time in the past. How the seller got hold them is unknown, but presumeably their buy cost was very low.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[JonathanGennick]

What they can be legally used for is specifically the installation of the exact same OS that is specificed on the Microsoft COA that is attached to the relevant Lenovo system,

I would not even use them for that. Why trust media from a business that plays fast and loose with the rules? I do income-generating work on my Thinkpad. I don't have the time to mess around.

I'll share a recent experience. I recently bought a Thinkpad T410 from someone who had used media from the so-called Thinkpad Recovery CD site to upgrade from Win 7 Pro to Win 7 Ultimate. The Win 7 Ultimate reported my T410 as an Ideapad S10. That alone should give you pause.

I ended up spending the $50 on proper recovery CDs from Lenovo, and rebuilt my laptop with the Win 7 Pro that it is properly licensed for. In a sense, the site we're talking about cost me $50, and also a whole bunch of my time.

[blink]

I have ordered some of these but unfortunately they havent arrived yet but as stated in another post i will report back when i get them (If i do!!) So may be an idea if you want to hold fire before ordering yourself.

As Jonathan says, if you can get official ones direct from Lenovo that is surely the best way to go.
However if you have an older machine out of warranty say like mine with a vista coa, i dont think that is an option?

@Jonathan, Am i correct in thinking that the Official Lenovo ones for 7 require you to input a key on set up (unlike older rescue & recovery discs for xp or vista) How many Discs in the set, 2? Did they come with a new COA or did you enter one from your laptop?
Thanks

[JonathanGennick]

@Jonathan, Am i correct in thinking that the Official Lenovo ones for 7 require you to input a key on set up (unlike older rescue & recovery discs for xp or vista) How many Discs in the set, 2? Did they come with a new COA or did you enter one from your laptop?
Thanks

I received two CDs from Lenovo. No key was printed on those CDs. I did not need to reenter the license key from my laptop. Windows did need to activate itself after I had an Internet connection up and running. That activation went through without any difficulty.

When it comes to entering a license key, I believe there is some mechanism in place to save us from having to enter one when we're simply restoring a Thinkpad back to its factory state. I don't know the details of that mechanism, but I have read that it exists.

[JonathanGennick]

[quote="JonathanGennick"When it comes to entering a license key, I believe there is some mechanism in place to save us from having to enter one when we're simply restoring a Thinkpad back to its factory state. I don't know the details of that mechanism, but I have read that it exists.[/quote]

OEM Pre-activation is the term for what I'm talking about: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr ... 57078.aspx

[bill bolton]

However if you have an older machine out of warranty say like mine with a vista coa, i dont think that is an option?

Whether your ThinkPad is under warranty or not, if your ThinkPad did not come with a Windows 7 COA attached, Lenovo's licence with Microsoft will simply not allow Lenovo to supply a Windows 7 "Factory Restore" disk set to you.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[JonathanGennick]

Bill is right. But I'd bet Lenovo still can make a Vista set available for a Thinkpad that is properly licensed for Vista. It'd be worth a phone call to find out.

[DOS_equis]

I bought a Windows 7 Pro 64 bit set of those discs from that place in October of last year. The discs look legit but they are kinda sketchy. They have Windows 7 loaded on the one (the other just installs system update) which is the one with the key printed on it. All was working well for the 6 months it was running then, after a Windows update it went black and told me that I had a non-genuine copy. I contacted them and told them about it. They sent me 3 keys via email before it would activate properly. I looked at the product ID found on the system page of Windows 7 and it had a MSDN identifier 00371-221. That is why the discs are so cheap. They are taking a legit copy of windows and activating it with a MSDN key. In the end I believe that this machine will go black again and I will have to break down and buy a legit OEM copy to fix this permanently. I tell you that these things have a real, commercially made look and feel to them and look like they came from Lenovo. They don't resemble a MS copy at all though. I can post some pics up if any of you are interested. I had no idea that they were fakes. I guess I should have resisted the urge to save money on the OS.

To anyone considering buying these discs: Do yourself a favor and buy an OEM copy. Looking back in hindsight it's not worth the headache IMO.


DOS_equis

[blink]

Sorry took my eye of this thread,
Thanks to jonathan for the OEM activation clarification, that is certainly useful to know.

To anyone considering buying these discs: Do yourself a favor and buy an OEM copy. Looking back in hindsight it's not worth the headache IMO.


DOS_equis

I would echo that, I found these people not good to deal with, eventually i got a refund through paypal

[DOS_equis]

I would echo that, I found these people not good to deal with, eventually i got a refund through paypal

Yeah I probably should have demanded the refund but i gave them a chance to "make right" on it, even though I knew in the back of my mind that the discs aren't what they advertised. I expected them to just ignore me after responding to my first email and never get back to me but they did finally give me a good key. It is another MSDN key though I will just ride it out until it blacks out again and then ask for the refund to see if they will do it. They claimed that they would refund me if I had any further problems. By then it might give me a reason to buy windows 8 (or whatever they're going to call it when it's released) and try it out. I won't be upgrading all of the machines I have (deskto and notebooks) every three years as Microsoft hopes I will. I have slowly been moving to Windows 7 from XP and I'm not going to start over again so soon. IMO Windows 7 will be around a long time like XP. If MS is going to keep sticking to their "tick tock" schedule then that means Windows 8 will suck like all of the others have done. They think they have to release an OS every 3 years but they refuse to look back at all of the utter failures due to that paradigm.

Sorry for the micro-rant.


DOS_equis

[blink]

Different folks, different approaches i suppose, I hope it all goes well for a long time at least with your new key but am glad i got a refund. Wondering if the family pack may be the best way to go for me on 2 or 3 machines?
Really enjoyed your lttle rant btw

[DOS_equis]

Different folks, different approaches i suppose, I hope it all goes well for a long time at least with your new key but am glad i got a refund. Wondering if the family pack may be the best way to go for me on 2 or 3 machines?
Really enjoyed your lttle rant btw

Yeah thanks. If I don't get the refund I won't be too upset about it since I only spent $45 on it and I will essentially be "renting" it for a year if it lasts that long. I would be more upset about it if I spent a lot more. The thing that bothers me about the family packs is it's only available for home premium. I like to run Pro and they don't offer that version in the multi-packs. Ultimate is a waste unless you need bit-locker.

DOS_equis

[blink]

The thing that bothers me about the family packs is it's only available for home premium. I like to run Pro and they don't offer that version in the multi-packs. Ultimate is a waste unless you need bit-locker.

DOS_equis

Yeah i know what you mean, i normally run pro rather than the home stuff,. I have checked the wiki page for the different features on the versions & trying to see what i need.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions

May be a good idea to try ultimate for 'evaluation' purposes for a while & see what i dont need?

[DOS_equis]

Yeah i know what you mean, i normally run pro rather than the home stuff,. I have checked the wiki page for the different features on the versions & trying to see what i need.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions

May be a good idea to try ultimate for 'evaluation' purposes for a while & see what i dont need?

Basically, home premium is the base OS with Aero, Homegroup, etc. Pro allows you to join a domain if your in a corporate environment (instead of creating/ using a workgroup like you would in a home network), gives you access to the XP mode download for older legacy applications and also has the remote desktop connection (available at least since XP I think) so you can log into a remote PC on your LAN or in another building via a VPN. Ultimate has the bitlocker HDD encryption and the 35 language packs (waste of $$ unless you really need it). I've found that the baked in compatibility mode doesn't do much for clearing up issues for older apps. XP mode allows you to run a separate "virtual machine" kinda like VMware or VirtualBox does so you can use older apps incompatible with Windows 7. I haven't had the chance to try out XP mode yet so I can't comment on that. I've heard that it might be better to use virtual PC 2007 for that instead of XP mode (more user friendly) when trying to run a virtual machine so if you need it try that instead if you find that you need it. I think MS has a check box style comparison chart on their site to make it easy for people to see what they need so you might want to check that out as well.

DOS_equis

[eecon]

Okay, so let me try to sum up what I think the gist of this thead teaches me:

As of yesterday, I now have 4 ThinkPads (2 with WinXP Pro COA stickers w/o any upgrade rights and 2 with Vista Business COA stickers w/o any upgrade rights).

My 3 T6X units are all nearly identical as to hardware and I have swapped hard drives between them during emergencies w/o any technical isssues (legal licensing issues not withstanding).

Now, in order for me to upgrade from WinXP Pro and Vista through Lenovo to Window 7 Ultimate and still have all the Thinkvantage stuff and a Lenovo Windows 7 Recovery Partition, I need to buy new laptops?

Is that truly correct? ...... That seems like cruel and unusual punishment.

What other alternatives do I have?

Thanks

[Neil]

Now, in order for me to upgrade...to Window 7 Ultimate and still have all the Thinkvantage stuff and a Lenovo Windows 7 Recovery Partition, I need to buy new laptops?...What other alternatives do I have?

Sounds about right. But, the only thing not available by other means is the recovery partition. It is possible to buy a Win7 license and use it on any computer that can support it, and install most/all the Thinkvantage tools you want. I don't see any need for a recovery partition if you burn disks for the originally installed OS. That way when it comes time to sell or donate the laptop, just restore to factory, and keep your 7 license.

[bill bolton]

w/o any upgrade rights?

Any time-limited upgrade rights would have only got you a standard retail edition of the equivalent version next release of the Windows OS anyway. The Microsoft OEM/VLK(ish) licences available to vendors simply do not allow vendors to do otherwise.

What other alternatives do I have?

There are some 3rd party utilities, such as Acronis True Image, which provide the equivalent of a recovery partition if you need that specific sort functionality. All the Thinkvantage tools that are applicable to T61 models can be downloaded and installed on a retail version of Windows 7.

That seems like cruel and unusual punishment.?

The world changes, whether we like it or not.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[eecon]

Sounds about right. But, the only thing not available by other means is the recovery partition. It is possible to buy a Win7 license and use it on any computer that can support it, and install most/all the Thinkvantage tools you want. I don't see any need for a recovery partition if you burn disks for the originally installed OS. That way when it comes time to sell or donate the laptop, just restore to factory, and keep your 7 license.

When you say "buy a Windows 7 license" do you mean buy a Windows 7 Retail or OEM disk set (one for each machine so we technically are talking times 3 here) .... correct?

[DOS_equis]

Okay, so let me try to sum up what I think the gist of this thead teaches me:

Now, in order for me to upgrade from WinXP Pro and Vista through Lenovo to Window 7 Ultimate and still have all the Thinkvantage stuff and a Lenovo Windows 7 Recovery Partition, I need to buy new laptops?

Is that truly correct? ...... That seems like cruel and unusual punishment.

What other alternatives do I have?

Thanks

Lenovo doesn't have an upgrade path to follow since your machines didn't originally have Windows 7 offered when new. Your only option is to buy a retail or OEM copy and install it just like you would any other PC or notebook. Next step would be downloading Lenovo System Update and let it get your machine loaded up as current as possible. Lenovo has most, if not all of their apps updated to Windows 7 now (graphics drivers can be a bit sketchy on some games but otherwise they work well). The only downer is the Recovery Partition but it shouldn't be a big deal if you rip a crash disk to CD before doing any updates or app loads so you have a clean base to start out from if needs be. Windows has the utility to burn the disc baked-in so no need to get an app for that.

I've always wondered if you could create a custom "Service Partition" using the crash disk burner and then cloning that disc to a small partition on the hard drive. And then make it bootable and have it show up as a OS choice during boot using BCDEdit. I may have to play with it to see if that will work or not. I have a spare drive from my T60 so I don't screw up my good drive.

If you do decide to install Windows 7, do not try to upgrade from either Vista or XP, especially XP. It can get messy from what I've heard. It's always best to backup your data (or use a new drive) and do a complete fresh install. Then manually migrate your old data to the fresh OS load. PITA part of that is any app settings won't be saved but I would rather do it that way than "trust" MS to do it for me and twist it up royally. They have migration wizard (not sure of the name off hand) but like I said I would just rather build up the fresh install slowly by hand.


DOS_equis

[Neil]

When you say "buy a Windows 7 license" do you mean buy a Windows 7 Retail or OEM disk set (one for each machine so we technically are talking times 3 here) .... correct?

Correct. Or, one of those multiple license packages.

[DOS_equis]

Correct. Or, one of those multiple license packages.

Not sure if it matters but the Family Packs are Home Premium only, have only three licenses and MS doesn't always have them for purchase. They come and go on the market from time to time.


DOS_equis

[eecon]

Okay ..... Let's say someone finds for sale a really nice reasonably priced non-stolen late-build used 15.4" T61p T9300 with recently replaced mainboard, Nvidia GPU, LCD, Keyboard and Cover (all under Lenovo's Onsite Warranty with a recent reference case number that checks out), but was originally preloaded with Vista and has the Vista sticker on the bottom.

However, the current OS was found to be a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate with the Lenovo wallpapers and all, including a Windows 7 Recovery Partition on the HDD along with user burned Windows 7 Recovery CDs ...... what should be made of that discovery, and how could that affect the remaining 16 months of Onsite Warranty?

[Harryc]

I don't think it effects the warranty at all unless you have an obscure issue where the OS must be running to see the problem. In fact I usually remove the hard drive before service. If you sent the hard drive in to depot repair, and if Lenovo caught the fact that an unsupported OS was installed, they could claim it's not supported, particularly if the OS is part of or must be running to see the issue.

[eecon]

I don't think it effects the warranty at all unless you have an obscure issue where the OS must be running to see the problem. In fact I usually remove the hard drive before service. If you sent the hard drive in to depot repair, and if Lenovo caught the fact that an unsupported OS was installed, they could claim it's not supported, particularly if the OS is part of or must be running to see the issue.

I wonder how the seller would have found real Lenovo Windows 7 CDs to make the install .... could one scenario be that he borrowed them from another ThinkPad owner?

[Harryc]

Could be, or else he purchased them from a website as has been discussed here, or genuine discs for another machine from EBay or a forum like this one.

[DOS_equis]

I don't think it effects the warranty at all unless you have an obscure issue where the OS must be running to see the problem. In fact I usually remove the hard drive before service. If you sent the hard drive in to depot repair, and if Lenovo caught the fact that an unsupported OS was installed, they could claim it's not supported, particularly if the OS is part of or must be running to see the issue.

I agree with that. Having a "non approved" OS loaded on a warranty covered machine would open up the opportunity for Lenovo to dismiss warranty coverage on a repair. It would be the same as someone flashing a product with non factory firmware and then needing an unrelated repair later on. The firmware may not have been the culprit in the failure but it gives the manufacturer an easy out to deny a warranty repair IMO since it was changed from factory specs by the owner. it only makes sense to upgrade the OS install on a machine that is out of warranty or where the owner is going to handle troubleshooting/ repairs on their own.


DOS_equis

[bill bolton]

However, the current OS was found to be a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate with the Lenovo wallpapers and all, including a Windows 7 Recovery Partition on the HDD along with user burned Windows 7 Recovery CDs ...... what should be made of that discovery

I'd be wondering what could be missing on the install, or unnecessarily installed, as Lenovo has never made any Win 7 factory install disks for a T6x, so the install must have been done from a factory install disk for a later model (and this would also be reflected in the user burned Windows 7 Recovery CDs) ........

Cheers,

Bill B.

[eecon]

I'd be wondering what could be missing on the install, or unnecessarily installed, as Lenovo has never made any Win 7 factory install disks for a T6x, so the install must have been done from a factory install disk for a later model (and this would also be reflected in the user burned Windows 7 Recovery CDs) ........

Cheers,

Bill B.

Me too, unless the Lenovo wallpaper stuff can be downloaded separately like System Update, Lenovo Toolbox, etc?