IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

This is a bit subjective, but the Thinkpad T41 (with 40GB drive) looks to be a bit unreliable. Getting replacement disks looks to be a real pain in the neck. The good news is you don't (necessarily) need IBM though.

For the uninitiated, the IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 machines are really very nice indeed. They have loads of great features, and look to be pretty tough (certainly their predecessors like the T21 and especially the 600 range were good).

Previous models came shipped with a "recovery CD". This CD was (for all intents and purposes) a clone image of Windows that could be loaded onto the machine (thus losing all the data, but installing "factory fit" windows). The recovery image, or the initally shipped image of Windows wasn't bad - unfortunately only a single partition, but contains all the right drivers and toys to make the Thinkpad work. For business use, we tend to remove a few bits, and configure a few things differently, but all in all, it's pretty good (if you're just getting into this - you can almost certainly strip out vast quantities of stuff in the IBMTOOLS directory).

On the T40/T41, the recovery CD is gone. Instead, there's a hidden partition on the hard disk. It's completely inaccessible from the OS because it's enforced by the Bios. There's a Bios option that turns off this protection, so you can use the whole disk if you want (provided you don't mind losing the recovery image). If you do have it though, then you can just boot into it (via a Bios option) and rebuild your machine, losing the data, in about 20 minutes (and about 15 reboots). Again, pretty good.

This hidden partition is potentially an IBM stitch up. If your disk fails (as they seem to be doing frequently in our recently purchased batch of T41s), then you'd seemingly have to get IBM specific replacements (after all, no one else will put the recovery partition on the drive, right?).

If your Thinkpad is on warranty, then you can call IBM Service & Support and just get a new one sent to you (it takes a couple of days, but they'll also pick up the old one from you). However, having just taken delivery of a replacement, I found it doesn't have the recovery partition on it (despite specifically ordering the correct FRU part number). A few calls to Product Specialists reveals that replacement disks don't have the recovery partition on them. Service & Support have to send you a CD which puts that partition back on the disk.

If you look after a few T41s, you may be thinking about getting a spare drive to replace all the failed ones a little more rapidly than you could do using Service & Support alone. If you order the drive from IBM, it could take up to four weeks to be delivered (unless by some miracle they have stock). Alternatively, you could use an 'ordinary' drive from any supplier you like, probably delivered to you in a day or two, and simply apply the recovery image.

My advice for any T41 owners: If your hard disk fails, get a replacement from IBM but make sure to ask for the recovery CD that puts the hidden partition back (they may not ask you, and won't send it unless it's been explicitly requested). If you want it done a bit quicker than that, buy a drive from your favourite supplier and use that (along with the recovery CD). Since we use Ghost images we don't immediately need the recovery partition, so we can get moving quickly. We'll need those partitions back on the machines when we come to sell them on though, so it's worth thinking ahead.

Submitted by coofercat on Thu, 2004-04-22 12:35

Comments

IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I just bought a 60G HDD for my T41 as the 30G that came with it run out of space. Anyway to clone the hidden partition?

Submitted by Ionic Breeze (not verified) on Fri, 2004-04-30 12:33.
T40 recovery disk

can any one put the iso sof theT40 recovery diskS on utorrent and seed them for us all?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Mon, 2007-12-31 19:41.
Ordering Thinkpad Recovery CDs for T40 T41 T60 T42 T43

These Cds can be ordered for half the price of what ibm would charge you directly.

The genuine cds are available from

http://www.thinkpadrecoverycds.com/Restore_Disks_1.html

I ordered mine from there and I received it within 3 business days. Great service.

You can always enquire for more cds, if its not available in their website and they will get it for you

Submitted by Thinkpad Recovery CDs (not verified) on Wed, 2008-09-17 15:51.
Order Thinkpad Recovery CDs DVDs for TSeries RSeries XSeries Z

http://www.thinkpadrecoverycds.com

Submitted by Pegazus (not verified) on Wed, 2009-03-18 17:06.
T42 recovery CDs

Hi,
I would really appriciate having T42 restore CDs.
Any chance you can share them on Emule or Torrent?
If so, please provide a link.

Thnaks,
Mark

Submitted by mark (not verified) on Mon, 2009-03-02 14:28.
ibm thinkpad t42 recovery disks

Hi Mark,
I was on Coofer Cat's site and reading your request for t42 recovery disks. I am looking for the same info.Did you find out if there are any available on emule or torrent?If so could you please let me know. I'm trying to save a few bucks.
Many thanks,
Peter

Submitted by Peter (not verified) on Tue, 2009-04-07 22:56.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

You could possibly clone the hidden partition, but you'd have to do some hacking to do it. No non-bios program will see the hidden partition because the Bios enforces the hiding (so the system just sees at 35GB disk (if you have a 40GB drive)).

However, the bios does allow you to disable the partition hiding feature. You could switch it off and clone it that way. Once restored, switch partition hiding back on. There's no guarantee Ghost will even work on the hidden partition though. I think you're better off dealing with IBM support (provided you're under warranty).

Submitted by coofercat on Tue, 2004-05-04 09:31.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Does anyone know how much space a fresh, factory-installed T41 occupies on the hard drive?I can't remember if I chose to install or not install the hidden partition.I have 5.16 gb used, and I have a feeling that of these 5.16 gb, 2+ are the hidden partition.What does everyone else think?

Submitted by Mike (not verified) on Wed, 2004-05-19 07:04.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Not sure what you mean - factory fit, around 5GB of the quoted disk size will be consumed by the hidden partition (so a 40GB system will have 35GB usable).

Of course, inside the usable space IBM pre-install umpteen things (Windows XP, drivers, toys, and 'value add') which (from memory) use up something like 5GB. So, on a fresh machine, "C drive properties" will report a 35GB disk, with about 5GB used, leaving 30GB free space. If you're looking to save yourself some space, have a look in C:ValueAdd - it's got installers for all kinds of rubbish you almost certainly don't need.

You don't really get a choice about installing a hidden partition. If you do a 'system recovery', this actually comes from the hidden partition and writes over the other part of the disk.

If you get a new disk for your T41, then it obviously has no hidden partition. In this case, there's no way to do a 'recovery', but assuming you can get an OS on there, you'll get the whole disk to play with.

If you have a new disk, and you want to get the hidden partition back (so you can then do a product recovery), then you have to use the 5 CD set which IBM will supply if you ask them. Running those CDs will wipe the disk completely, create the hidden partition, fill it with stuff, then hides the partition. The system then reboots, and does a product recovery, which gets you Windows back again.

All very silly(!)

Submitted by coofercat on Wed, 2004-05-19 01:17.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Thanks for the info, Coofer.I got an empty 40gb disk and the 5 CD set from IBM.During the restore, they asked if I wanted to install the hidden partition and I *think* I said no.That's why I asked the previous question, because I wasn't sure how I had answered that question.I did some tinkering last night, and today, magically, I had only 3.7 GB of used space on the disk (after a "clean restore").I am pretty sure that I don't have the hidden partition anymore, but that's ok since I have the restore disks.I also plan to buy an external drive to do regular backups.

Thanks for your help.

Submitted by Mike (not verified) on Wed, 2004-05-19 21:41.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hmm... I just did a full 5 CD restore onto a 40GB T41. I didn't get asked about the recovery partition, and it didn't create one. It did however, take something line 90 minutes to do :-(

Submitted by coofercat on Wed, 2004-06-23 11:27.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hi,
I'm owning a T41 with 40 GB HD. I want to remove the recovery partition and to join the free space to the c: by using e.g. partition magic.
I just wonder if my HD now is completely used by c: whether (in case of recovery) it is possible to restore directly from the 5 IBM CDs without re-creation the recovery partition for which no space is left anymore. Any experiences?
Thanks,
-- Boris

Submitted by Boris (not verified) on Tue, 2004-08-17 14:42.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Anybody in the UK have a set of these T41 recovery disks that I could buy a copy of?

Submitted by billnotben (not verified) on Sat, 2004-12-11 21:58.
t41 recovery discs

hi,i have full sets of discs for sale,you will receive a set of 5 discs.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Thu, 2009-11-26 20:54.
Whats the cost for the

Whats the cost for the recovery disk set of 5??

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Tue, 2009-12-15 16:21.
Recovery disks for IBM T-41 laptop

What would be the cost including shipping, I purchased the IBM over the internet at UBID and it didn't come with instructions or operating system disc.

I have been told there is a operating system backup built in a hidden partition, buying premade discs would be a lot better.

Thanks for your reply.Hank..

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Mon, 2010-01-04 09:11.
T-40 Recovery Cds5

Please provide information on receiving the recovery rescue set for ibm thinkpad t-40

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Thu, 2010-12-30 08:02.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Here's something entirely annoying about the "hidden partition":I took a ghost image of a T42 and saved it to an external hard drive.I then got a fresh T42 out of the box, hooked up the external hard drive, and attempted to clone my image onto the new T42.Wrong!This doesn't work like other computers... it destroyed the hidden partition, making my computer un-bootable EVEN with a Windows XP installation CD.It gets to the part where it "examines hardware" then gives a black screen.How annoying is that that it is impossible to do anything with the hard drive unless you have a special cd from IBM?

Submitted by Casidy (not verified) on Fri, 2005-01-28 13:11.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I have a t41 and want to use two different clients with it, however my spare drive (a 20Gb fujitsu with an OEM XP on it) will just not be recognised by the laptop.. how can I get this working, one with my work HDD and for provate use with my XP client?

Submitted by Mark (not verified) on Tue, 2005-03-01 11:55.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=0&context=HWM48&dc=DB500&q1=t41&q2=bios
&q3=bios&uid=psg1MIGR-57590&loc=en_US&cs=utf-8&cc=us&lang=en

look here, this explains why this is such a pain

Submitted by Mark (not verified) on Tue, 2005-03-01 15:10.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I have a 80gb travelstar hdd for my t40 that has been recently replaced. I was able to keep the old drive and it actually wasn't the culprit of the warranty service and so I would like to now access my old data and use it as a backup drive. So I bought an ultrabay slim 2nd hdd adapter for the t40. However, I win XP is unable to recognize the drive in the adapter module. I was wondering if I need to do something with the jumpers (so that the 2nd drive becomes a slave). However, I don't have jumpers for the travelstar drive and don't see how any could fit on the pins of the drive anyways.
Please any help would be greatly appreciated!

Submitted by Grant (not verified) on Thu, 2005-03-31 23:57.
I have the same issue with the ultrabay adapter

for some reason the HDD in the ultrabay *will* be recognized after the machine has woken up from standby, but not earlier.

Very, very, strange.

Please let me know if you have any better luck...

-Patrick

Submitted by Patrick (not verified) on Wed, 2007-03-21 00:41.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I've done something similar with a USB drive enclosure and a laptop-to-normal drive connector converter. I just plugged it all in and it worked - no jumpers or drivers to mess with.

USB enclosures cost less than ?50 (mine also has firewire, which is handy) and the converter things should only cost a pound or two at most. If memory serves, I got mine from http://www.directusbstore.co.uk.

Submitted by coofercat on Tue, 2005-04-05 11:10.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Question:
I have one IBM T40 with windows XP
and one IBM T41 with linux on it.
is it possible to just switch their Hard drives so that i can use the T41 with the windows XP?
Any suggestions?
Thanks!!

Submitted by wuli (not verified) on Fri, 2005-05-13 21:19.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

wuli: Yes, you can switch disks as you suggest. Windows (amazingly) does this quite well - it just figures out which drivers it needs to add and loads them. A couple of reboots and a Windows Update later and you're all good.

Linux should also be okay, depending which distro you use. It's possible you may have to do a bit more playing around there though.

Submitted by coofercat on Fri, 2005-05-13 21:46.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Thanks Coofer Cat,
Do you think it is "returnable", i.e. how much trouble can it do?
OH and another thing, how do you think the smartest way to clone the disk on the T41 linux?
Thanks AGAIN!!

Submitted by wuli (not verified) on Fri, 2005-05-13 22:38.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Windows will reload all the drivers it needs, so a few reboots etc. later and you should be fine. To keep your system running nicely, I wouldn't do this more often than necessary though. Linux is better at this sort of thing, if it does it at all. Reverting the system is entirely possible, and won't knobble it along the way.

As for cloning - you're on your own there. As far as I know, the only way currently available is to do a dump and restore of the system. Not as convenient as Ghost, but allows incremental changes if you need to do that (like before and after moving the disk between machines, for example).

Submitted by coofercat on Sat, 2005-05-14 11:58.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hi there.
I have a T41 with a 40GB drive in it.
I want to replace it with a 80GB drive from Toshiba.
When I place the disk in a USB2 external enclosure, Norton Ghost recognizes it, clones the original drive onto it, and after switching the 2 drives, my XP reboots fine...
Untill it reaches the logon window. When I logon with my name&password, the session logs-in & immediately logs off.
When I switch drives again (put back the 40GB) the logon goes well.
I tried to use a command line switche recommended by Norton : "Force Disk Signature Preserve" (http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ghost.nsf/pfdocs/1998082612540625)

No effect.

I have an ultraslim HDD adapter. So I was wontering, maybe it will work in this one...
But Ghost 2003 won't recognize it... And no DOS drivers exist for it :-(

Any idea on how I could finally clone my disk ?

Thanks in advance.

Submitted by Laurent (not verified) on Sun, 2005-05-29 16:55.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

It sounds to me like Ghost has done it's job, and it's a Windows issue. I've had similar problems cloning user profiles in the past (although they've resulted in not being able to use certain apps, rather than the whole system).

I'd suggest using the 40G drive, and creating a new user which you should put into the administrators group. Make sure that new user has a default user profile with no special settings in it. Clone and switch drives and try logging in as that new user - if that works, then it's just a profile issue, probably meaning you'll have to scrap the one you have and create a new one.

Submitted by coofercat on Mon, 2005-05-30 11:48.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hello there,
Can anyone tell me if there is an option to install a Win XP Professional Recovery CD from Thinkpad T40 on different PC?. I have search 4 CD (one package that uncompress when you do recovery) and there is no setup file. I understand that it is recovery Cd and it' modified by IBM, but is there a way to use those CD to install on different box?
Thanks,

Submitted by peter K (not verified) on Tue, 2005-05-31 22:13.
The recovery image, or the

The recovery image, or the initally shipped image of Windows wasn't bad - unfortunately only a single partition
GA Kids Birthday Parties Moonwalk Rentals

Submitted by Chris Neutron (not verified) on Mon, 2012-01-09 11:29.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hello there,
Can anyone tell me if there is an option to install a Win XP Professional Recovery CD from Thinkpad T40 on different PC?. I have search 4 CD (one package that uncompress when you do recovery) and there is no setup file. I understand that it is recovery Cd and it' modified by IBM, but is there a way to use those CD to install on different box?
Thanks,

Submitted by peter K (not verified) on Tue, 2005-05-31 22:15.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Recovery CDs for any IBM machines only work in *exactly* the model they're designed for. There were two (or more?) variants of the Thinkpad 600E for example, each requiring it's specific recovery CD.

Nowadays with XP and such like (that can adapt to different hardware much more easily) it may be possible to do a recovery to the intended machine and switch hard disks to another machine. Technically that's an MS (and maybe IBM) license violation, even if the IBM never runs Windows. I guess a one-off is probably okay, but doing this en-masse for work might be a bad idea.

Submitted by coofercat on Fri, 2005-06-03 23:31.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hello there,
I won a ThinkPad T40 recently and played around with it a bit too much, now I would like to access the recover image of Windows XP that is on the hard drive. In the first comment on this Weblog there is a vague description of how to do this, but I am afraid that is not enough for me. Could you anyone help me out with a step by step guide for recovery?
Thank you very much.

Submitted by LJM (not verified) on Thu, 2005-06-16 12:52.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Can anyone help me with replacing the IBM image on my thinkpad 600e with 12 geg HD.
Please email me at erpearce1@aol.com

Submitted by Thinkpad 600e Recovery disk (not verified) on Mon, 2005-07-11 00:14.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hi,
Following my 29 May message, I wanted to share my results : Don't use Norton Ghost. It always fails with XP.
The best cloning application that I found is from Acronis : TrueImage.
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
Fast, easy, reliable. It took me about 2 hours to set everything up and clone the drive. It's been working fine for the past 2 month now.
AND it's cheap : 50 US$
Thanks for all your help.

Submitted by Laurent (not verified) on Wed, 2005-07-27 01:27.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

let say i formatted all my drives in my T41(except the hidden partition for recovery),can i get back windows xp like before without using any windows xp installation cd(does the recovery partition comes with windows xp installation cd image)?

Submitted by beginner (not verified) on Wed, 2005-08-03 04:47.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Okay, the recovery partition isn't normally available to the OS, so you'd be hard pressed to format it (although a number of circumstances exist that may make the partition available to format, so don't get too comfy!).

The recovery partition is an IBM specific "bunch 'o stuff" that happens to install the original factory-fit OS and software. On a T41 that's WinXP SP1 with a load of extra drivers and software (eg. drivers for the hardware, software for CD burning, DVD watching etc).

In theory, no matter what state your visible bit of the hard disk gets in, you should be able to restore it by pressing the blue button when the IBM logo is shown when you power on.

In reality, the recovery partition can get messed up. If so, it can be recreated by calling IBM and getting a handful of CDs and running those. Once done, press the blue button, and you're recovering your system to factory-fit once again.

I hope that clears it up a bit...?

Submitted by coofercat on Wed, 2005-08-03 22:14.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I have a T41 and want to use a canon BJC-80, but when ever I switch the printer on the computer freezes when using the parallel connection, but it works fine but slow if I use the infra red connection. any suggestions?IBM says it could be that the printer is not compatable!!!!

Submitted by tony (not verified) on Thu, 2005-08-11 19:10.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

NEED T41 RECOVERY CD SET, PLEASE CONTACT ME , UK>>

Submitted by nigel (not verified) on Wed, 2005-08-24 19:35.
t40 Recovery disk

Hi, Could you please provide me the T40 recovery disk. thanks//wisdom

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Fri, 2007-10-05 08:41.
T40 recovery disk

HI DID YOU GET THET40 recovery diskS....
AS IM AFTER THEM AS WELL CAN YOU HELP!!!!!!!!

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Mon, 2007-12-31 19:32.
R40 Recovery Disks

Nigel

I need a set of R40 recovery cd's. My hard disk died on Sunday. I have a replacement drive but no CD's.

Please contact me.

Thanks

Marsh

Submitted by Marsh (not verified) on Thu, 2007-11-08 20:52.
Recovery CD for Model R40 (laptop)

Hi,
I am looking a recovery cd model no. R40 and installed windows xp pro. Please suggest me how can I get it.
Thanks,
Bhim
mangla100@yahoo.ca

Submitted by Bhim (not verified) on Sat, 2009-01-10 05:35.
T41 recovery CD

Hi Nigel,

I just run into this topic and you were offering T41 recovery CD (image?) Could you possibly help me out?

Submitted by asztro (not verified) on Mon, 2010-02-15 11:09.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I made image of that hidden service partition and then formated whole hard drive. Then I installed new system and restored service partition from my backup image. Is there some way how to boot from service partition? After pressing 'Blue button' there is a menu where I can select booting from HDD, CD and LAN... Do I need Recovery Disks??

Submitted by carney (not verified) on Tue, 2005-08-30 23:12.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I seem to be having a similar problem. I have a Thinkpad T42 with its original 40GB drive. I want to upgrade to an 80GB drive and used Apricorn's nice EZ Upgrade product to clone the 40GB to the 80GB drive. I wasn't sure what to do with the hidden partition; instead of proportionally increasing the size, on IBM service's advise, I could get by with going from about 4GB to about 6GB. But when I put the 80GB drive in to boot, after accepting the drive's password, I get a blinking cursor. I wonder if it isn't because of the hidden partition, and I found this discussion. Can anybody offer any advise? Thanks!

Dilip

Submitted by Dilip Barman (not verified) on Sun, 2005-09-11 07:42.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

If any body needs IBM recovery cd's for
Thinkpad, R40, R51,T42,T42p. email me.
I also have recovery cd's for A20, 360, Ill draw up a list and post if here shortly.

Submitted by nigel (not verified) on Thu, 2005-09-22 14:58.
I need an original (or copy)

I need an original (or copy) recovery CD set for the IBM R40 (type 2682).I prefer Windows XP Pro (I own a complete installation CD), although Home edition is OK, too.Other than ordering from IBM for $47 plus shipping, I don't know where else to go.Suggestions??

Submitted by Sandee (not verified) on Sat, 2006-10-14 23:37.
i need a copy of a recovery cd

i need a copy for the t42 and t42p

Submitted by eddie (not verified) on Tue, 2007-01-23 14:01.
T42 Recovery CD

Did anyone answer your request?I also require a copy of the recovery cd(s) for a t42 running Windows XP Pro.IBM will sell a set for $45+ tax & Shipping.

Submitted by lenny (not verified) on Fri, 2007-01-26 19:31.
You don't happen to have a

You don't happen to have a recoverycd for a t40 2373-un1 do you.

Submitted by Jamal (not verified) on Tue, 2007-02-06 16:27.
I have the recovery CD's

I have the recovery cd's for thinkpads 2373 t40/41 /p 5 cd set. if you are interested, send me an email. 19.99 + 3.99 shipping. paypal accepted.

btw. does anyone know if it is legal to sell copied recovery cd's?

regards.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Thu, 2007-04-12 18:00.
Very Dodgy...

Sorry, no it's not legal to sell copied recovery CDs. The reason being that you may sell me an XP recovery CD, when my computer only came with Win2K - in other words, I'd have got XP for £20, and MS would have got nothing. If I'd done an upgrade, they'd have made ~£200. You can understand they get the hump about that sort of thing.

That said, there's a technicality: Actually copying the disk is not illegal (well, probably isn't - it's not well tested in court, and depends what country you're in). Performing an upgrade as I describe is the illegal bit, but re-installing the same OS as you had before probably isn't (or shouldn't be, at the very least!). You're going to have a hard time convincing anyone that's what you're doing though.

Submitted by coofercat on Thu, 2007-04-12 22:39.
T41 Recovery CD

Please drop me an email if you still have them

Submitted by Victor Saldarriaga (not verified) on Sat, 2007-06-16 06:09.
T41 recovery CD

Please let me know if you still have this.Need it desperately.Thanks!

Submitted by Victor (not verified) on Fri, 2007-08-03 18:43.
T40 recovery disk

T40 recovery disk you can give the copy cds away for free that way its ok!! wink wink

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Mon, 2007-12-31 19:47.
Is your T40 recovery CD

Is your T40 recovery CD still available?
Can ship to Singapore?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Tue, 2008-04-01 09:18.
IBM T41 and R51 product recovery CDs.

I bought a T41 from a windows instructor.I got an R51 from spoils of my black sheep brother-in-law who decided to plug 110AC into the power jack after he had roughed up the connector from 'the brick'.So, I got another MB from e-bay recently (mangy-mutt) and would like to change one from frankenstien and reserect the other.

Could I get the current prices and PP you?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Tue, 2008-05-20 07:11.
r51 recovery disk

Hi do you have the recovery disk for r51. is there any ways i can get a copy of it.

Submitted by diaz (not verified) on Mon, 2011-12-19 23:48.
would like to obtain cd

would like to obtain cd package to recover t40

please advise availability

Submitted by bill (not verified) on Thu, 2008-07-24 15:14.
recovery cds for IBM T42 2373 WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL

CAN YOU SEND ME COPIES OF THESE I AM WILLING TO PAY

I WILL RETURN THESE IF THEY DONT WORK FOR ME

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Wed, 2010-12-29 16:33.
recovery CD's for ibm R40, type 2722-5MG

Hi there!
I would be really grateful if you somehow could send me the recovery CD's for min thinkpad r40.
My harddrive is dead (40 gb) så I have bought a new (60 GB), but since there is no guarantee left on the product I will have to pay IBM for the cd's, and as any other student i am poor as hell, hehe

Thank you for helping me out here :o)

Jakob, Denmark

Submitted by jakob (not verified) on Mon, 2007-02-12 18:20.
i need the t40 recovery CDs.

i need the t40 recovery CDs. Please let me know how i can get it.

Submitted by Jack (not verified) on Thu, 2007-02-15 20:00.
Recovery CDs

Did you find the recovery CDs for your t40? Please let me know how i can get it too.

Submitted by t40 in USA (not verified) on Thu, 2007-07-05 01:23.
Need recovery disks for T42p

Nigel,

I really need the restore or recovery disks for my T42p computer?
Could you contact me at agn20102010@yahoo.com?

Thanks,
-Al

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Mon, 2007-03-12 20:16.
CD Recovery disks for IBM R40e

I was directed to you as you stated that you have them CD Recovery disks for IBM R40e

Would be gratefull to get a set!!

Sincerely
J. J. Both
jonboth@mts.net

Submitted by Jon Both (not verified) on Mon, 2007-04-02 00:35.
t42 recovery cds

i need a recovery cd for my t42 with the win xp and drivers how much do you want for them?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Fri, 2007-04-20 17:21.
R40 - 2722 Recovery CD

Hi,
I tried for the past 2 days to find a way to create my recovery CDs for the pre-installed windows and othr pre-loaded applications for my IBM ThinkPad R40 (2722), but I couldn't find out how.

I will appreciate your help on how to make them, or if you can send me the CDs.

Appreciate your prompt reply.

Best Regards,

Raed Azab

Submitted by Raed Azab (not verified) on Sat, 2007-06-02 14:14.
hello do you have the

hello do you have the recovery cd's for ibm R40 (2722)!
I need it, too!

please contact me!

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Tue, 2007-12-18 17:49.
T40 recovery disk you can

T40 recovery disk you can give the copy cds away for free that way its ok!! wink wink
Alpharetta Kids Parties Moonwalk Rentals

Submitted by Jim Connel (not verified) on Mon, 2012-01-09 11:24.
ThinkPad R40 Problems

G'day,

My R40 Laptop has gone all weird and takes a long time to run things in windows. I've tried reformatting but it still runs everything slow. I'm not sure whether its the RAM or hard disk.

It would be great if i could get an IBM Recovery Cd.

Thanks,
Jye

Submitted by Jye (not verified) on Sat, 2007-11-10 02:03.
Recovery CD R51

After 2 Years it is unlikely that you still have a recovery CD for a IBM Thinkpad R51 but it is worth trying any way.

Hope to hear from you, axel

Submitted by Axel (not verified) on Thu, 2007-11-29 13:10.
Recovery CDS for T42

Do you still have the recovery CDs for T42 - I would be interested in purchasing them at a reasonable price.

Thanks,
Hassan

Submitted by Hassan (not verified) on Wed, 2007-12-26 23:33.
recovery restore cd s

Hi I saw your comments on the home page that you have the above I need t42 my daughter thought she was doing good by trying to put back to factory conditions done a recovery cd but not the rest and we cant do nothing with it now just keeps booting up no system whatsoever seems to have wiped the lot clean can you help please.

regards

Submitted by joe (not verified) on Fri, 2008-01-18 10:24.
my hard drive kinda packed

my hard drive kinda packed up and write disk error apered but an enineer told me that you could see the hd and with a recovery disk acces it could you ple have a recovery disk available

Submitted by sam (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-31 21:11.
Recovery disk Thinkpad a31p

hi do you have recovery cds for TP a31p?

Submitted by spur (not verified) on Mon, 2008-03-10 14:31.
i know this is from like 3 years ago...

do you still have the r51 recovery cds available?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Thu, 2008-03-13 03:35.
Thinkpad R51 Recovery Cd Set

Please send me a price for these. Thanks. And respond to my email. Thanks.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Thu, 2008-04-03 20:16.
t40 recovery

Hi,

I badly need t40 recovery cd. the hd failed. I bought a new one from the market, but can not install ANY xps. It does not boot.

Thanks

Submitted by bob (not verified) on Sat, 2008-05-03 15:09.
need r40 recovery cds

need r40 recovery cds please reply

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Wed, 2008-11-12 07:54.
I need cd's for a T41

Please let me know if you can help?

Submitted by David Howard (not verified) on Thu, 2009-02-05 00:13.
cd's

hey i need a recovery cds for a t42 2373 can you help if so let me know at jeramihbowar@msn.com thanks

Submitted by joe bowar (not verified) on Mon, 2009-03-30 11:29.
r51 2888 recovery cd set

Do you still have the CD for the IBM r1 type 2888 which restore the system to the factory default?
Reply me and let me know the cost also
Thanks

Submitted by San (not verified) on Sat, 2009-04-18 19:21.
recovery cds for T-42

Did you say you have these and can send them? I would like to have these. Will you send?

Submitted by wilkster (not verified) on Wed, 2009-08-26 05:06.
R40 2723

HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE FOR THE RECOVERY CD'S? I'M TRYING TO FIX AN OLD LAPTOP FOR MY KIDS, AND THE HARDDRIVE WAS DEAD WHEN I GOT THIS LAPTOP. POPPED MY SPARE DRIVE IN AND NOW I NEED THESE EXPENSIVE DISKS TO FIRE IT UP.
THANKS
CRAIG

Submitted by Craig (not verified) on Thu, 2009-09-03 16:35.
ask

i need recovery cds for my t42p to reinstall hidden partition

Submitted by marius (not verified) on Thu, 2009-10-08 09:08.
t42 recovery disks

Do you have the recovery disks for the T42 type 2373? Do they contain the drivers and xp operating system? If yes, how much do you want for them?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Sat, 2010-01-30 20:58.
t42

Hi I need a set of recovery discs for a T42. Can yuo help me out there?
If so how much to post to the Philippines. Gotvirus and it screwed everything.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward too (not verified) on Fri, 2010-06-25 03:30.
ibm\recovery disc

hi if u want to email me the recovery discs because i dont have them please..thank u very much

Submitted by vaggelis(not verified) on Thu, 2011-07-07 22:40.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hello
[Sorry for the caps lock]

IS IT POSSIBLE TO CLONE THE RECOVERY PARITION AND BURN IT TO MULITPUL CD'S THEN BE ABLE TO RESTORE THAT RECOVERY PARITION TO ANOTHER SAME MODEL THINKPAD.

If some body explains how that is done and your answer is cast iron I will send you ?1 or $1 VIA paypal instantly.

Thank you

Submitted by nigel (not verified) on Thu, 2005-09-22 15:05.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Nigel, what's your email ?! Cannot find it anywhere ... I want T40 R-CDs ....

Submitted by Eric (not verified) on Mon, 2005-09-26 20:27.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Nigel, I am in need of Boot Disk and Recovery CDs for T42.How can I contact you?

Submitted by Mike (not verified) on Thu, 2005-10-06 02:39.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I can be contacted at the following address, maynigel@hotmail.com
Mike I will drop you an email.

Nigel

Submitted by nigel (not verified) on Wed, 2005-10-19 20:19.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

by the way my address was a few lines up the page were I was looking for a set for the T41.
nigel

Submitted by nigel (not verified) on Wed, 2005-10-19 20:21.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

anybody has an X24 recovery CD, I need it to restore the system with my hidden partition, my warranty is gone.

thanks

Submitted by alex (not verified) on Wed, 2005-11-02 05:22.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Anybody got a IBM ThinkPad T30 2366-R6G Recovery CD set they would like to share? Over net or by snailmail? Give me a hint...

Submitted by Vegard (not verified) on Wed, 2005-11-30 01:59.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I need the Recovery CDs for my T41. Anyone can help?
Nigel, have you got yours?

Submitted by kelvin (not verified) on Mon, 2005-12-05 18:49.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I know this might sound stupid, but couldn't you just make an unattended Windows XP install disk which you could just stick all the drivers and apps on ?

Submitted by Tim (not verified) on Fri, 2005-12-09 00:37.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I have a IBM thinkpad T41.I build this system from scatch without the hidden partition.Now I tried to build this image from Ghost and the image went well but when I tried to restore it, window doesnt come up.Kept on blinking.I need help.Do we have to have the hidden drive?The image that I created doesn't have it the hidden drive but it works just fine.How come when I do the ghost image, it doesnt work?Need help really bad.

Submitted by Andy (not verified) on Tue, 2005-12-13 20:09.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I currently have a t42, and was using ghost to image the hd, everytime it boots into dos mode ghost it closes and shoots out Error: "(40213) . . . could not find the image file 'IMAGE.GHO' . . . load additional drivers . . . " when creating an image file
I am trying to clone it to a mapped drive on my network, the solutions that symantec provided are not helpful since it references the hidden partition.anyone get this error?

On another note, for the people who are restoring a image on a t41/42, if you choose disk to partition it shouldn't mess up the hidden partition, I had problems when I did disk to partition because it removed the hidden partition and created issues.

Submitted by Matt (not verified) on Fri, 2005-12-16 22:53.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I mean don't do disk to disk!

Submitted by matt (not verified) on Fri, 2005-12-16 22:54.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

i have a thinkpad R51 and I think i may have erased the hidden partition while reformatting. this is bad, because now I don't have a driver for my ethernet card and i can't figure out how to get one since i can't geton the internet from the thinkpad because i don't have a driver for my ethernet card.... any help would be greatly appreciated.

Submitted by allan (not verified) on Wed, 2005-12-28 19:27.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I have a t41 2379-dku i bought on 5/2004 and my hard drive is 40gb. but it says that theres only 27gb. and that theres only 18gb of free space after a fresh reinstall from the recovery partition. and theres also 8gb of unallocated space that isn't used by anything and i cant get it back onto the c: drive. i want to delete the recovery partition but i dont have the recovery cd's and i dont wanna risk it. does anyone know if i can delete the partition and reclaim the space on the c: drive without having to format and could anyone please please please tell me how to get back those extra 8gb of unallocated space onto 1 drive, the c: drive. thank you

Submitted by Gregory (not verified) on Wed, 2006-01-04 12:06.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I am trying to recover an IBM thinkpad T42p and the recovery disk I made when I first got it doesn't work.It got about halfway and then asked for another disk, which I didn't have since there was only one.Now its stuck in this recovery mode, and won't go on because it wants another disk.Do you have a recovery disk that would get me recovered?thanks for any help.

Submitted by abby martinez (not verified) on Tue, 2006-01-24 23:18.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

hi,

I'm trying to rebuild my T41, but everytime I try booting off the Windows XP CD (not the IBM 'tweaked' one but a standard one), I get as far as the line where windows is chedking the hardware, and then the screen blanks out.Has anyone seen this before and/or know how I can get around it?Thanks

Submitted by tazmad (not verified) on Sun, 2006-01-29 01:14.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

If any body is stuck with the following models (Factory recovery) contact me.
T42, T42p, T43, R51, R52.

Submitted by nigel (not verified) on Wed, 2006-02-01 12:29.
Recovery CD

Hi I need the Recovery CD image (iso) file
or the set of CD's in ISO format
Can you please help

Submitted by Ash (not verified) on Fri, 2007-03-30 11:06.
recovery disk

Hi was reading the blog & i noticed you had asked if anyone needed help returning thier cpu to factory setting i was wondering if u could help me i dont have any of the recovery cds

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Mon, 2007-09-24 00:51.
T43 -Type 2687

Do you have Recovery Cds for T43 ? Type 2687. If yes then please e-mail me so we can work it out.
Thanks,

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Tue, 2008-06-17 17:04.
recovery disk r51

hi do you still have the r51 thinkpad recovery disk. and on what windows is it...

Submitted by diaz (not verified) on Mon, 2011-12-19 23:52.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I'm trying to use the IBM Recovery CD's (7 total) for a T-42p, but disk 1 is not bootable (no boot files on CD). What gives??

Submitted by Colin (not verified) on Mon, 2006-02-06 21:02.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I have a t42p and bought it without a hard drive I have put in a new drive but not ibm , i dont have a recovery cd and now cant get the wireless or modems to work . I have installed windows xp pro

Submitted by Adam (not verified) on Thu, 2006-02-16 15:17.
T42 P Non Boot disk

Hi,

Did you find the answer to your problem? I am having the same issue with my desk. I am trying to factory install. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Tue, 2007-02-20 18:56.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I no longer am able to provide any support with the laptop recovery disks.

If you need recovery disks for your hardware platform please seek help from the manufacture of your machine. Alternatively seek advise from your local Microsoft partner. You will have one in your area.

[img]http://www.new-dream.de/image/wallpaper/auto/porsche/porsche-09.jpg[/img]

Submitted by nigel (not verified) on Tue, 2006-03-07 22:44.
T43 Password problems

Hi. Nigel. You seem to know about i.b.ms So I thought i'd contact. Just bought T43p off ebay. Downloaded the manual and that say's about Supervisor password and Harddisk password. Contacted my seller he know's nothing about them. Suffice, I dont have these. Can you tell me what these are needed for exactly as it's hard to tell. reading forums isn't helping. Please, please help.Simon.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Sat, 2007-01-27 00:48.
any luck

I was wondering if you had any luck on unlocking the hard drive password and if you did could you share some knowledge please.

Submitted by donnietruss (not verified) on Sat, 2010-12-18 08:03.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

hello I really need help, does anyone have recovery cd's for IBM laptop I am not sure if it is a T41 or T42, I bought it for a family member it powers up and has no OP and I tried to use my XP Pro and windows ME and cannot get them to work.The bottom of laptop saystype 9547-U9C S/N 78BLXZ1 97/09, can anyone tell by those numbers which it is and if you have any recovery cd's I can purchase? please reply to gymbrat283@adelphia.net Thanks everyone

Submitted by Mary (not verified) on Tue, 2006-03-21 06:27.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

I've got an R40 and was toyi9ng around with various recovery disks to see just what was compatible and what wasn't.Suprisingly, alot of drivers (i.e. audio, video, etc.) from dell recovery disks worked.Unfortunately I went a step too far and deleted the partition with the recovery option.Aside from waiting for IBM to get around to helping me, is there any other way?It's basically a program, yes?Couldn't it be e-mailed, or sent to my home pc somehow?Any help in expiditing my dilemma would be most appreciated.

Thank You

Submitted by Steve (not verified) on Thu, 2006-04-13 20:29.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hi, does anyone know where I can obtain/buy a copy of the recovery disks for Thinkpad 600E - the Windows 98SE version?Please email me at bubblesinlondon@yahoo.co.ukThanks!

Submitted by Danielle (not verified) on Mon, 2006-05-01 14:21.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

Hi all, i currently hold a T40 and i think i have make a big big mistake. As in some previous message in this page, it memtions that T40 has a hidden partition that hold those recovery information. As my fault i have installed a linux on the hidden partition, and now my XP having big trouble, any one know how can i recovery it. Also now when my T40 bootup, i cannot interrup it with the blue "Access IBM" button. Please be advice and i am quite urgen. Thanks

Submitted by Ricky (not verified) on Sat, 2006-05-27 06:01.
IBM Thinkpad T40/T41 Hard Disks and Recovery CDs

hello. enybody has the recovery cd's of thinkpad t41? i just had a very strange problem with my hdd and changed it with a brand new toshiba 80g 7200rpm. now it's all clean with no OS installed.10x.

Submitted by t41 (not verified) on Thu, 2006-07-20 23:34.
power error

hello, everybody ,i have a big problem that my notebook computer IBM thinkpad R40e is automatically start whenever i plug the power cord ,i cann't shutdown the computer,how can i repair it?
can you give me a good advise ,

Thank !

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Mon, 2006-09-25 04:27.
Boot up problems

Hello, I found a IBM thinkpad T41 and i cant get into it...when i turn it on the IBM logo shows and then the next screen that shows is black with a little picture of a lock (padlock). and im suppose to put a password in but i dont know it cuz i found it..... does anyone know how to get passed that screen? i tried booting with F1 to get to the BIOS but it doesnt open up the BIOS.. it says booting in BIOS but thats all it does... anyone can help?

Submitted by Rob - Low (not verified) on Mon, 2006-10-09 02:14.
It's supposed to do that!

It's called the BIOS password, and it's designed to make the laptop useless if someone 'finds' if off you. Doubtless there are ways around it, but they'll be gnarly and poorly documented. You could always try tracing the previous owner and asking them?

Submitted by coofercat on Sun, 2006-10-15 20:44.
I Heard Of A Way To DO It

I heard that you can remove a chip from the moteherboard and replace it with a new one for about $50 on E BAY.... they give you the chip and a step by step manual on how to do it..... any other info would be highly appreciated.By the way, how would i track down the original owner

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Tue, 2006-10-17 03:00.
Forgot power on password for T41 IBM.

Hi have forgotten the power on password for TP T41.

Is there any cheap way of either by passing it .

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks Nash

Submitted by nash (not verified) on Sat, 2006-10-28 21:47.
Forgot power on password for T41 IBM. (REPLY)

if you are talking about a bios password ( thats when you turn on the laptop and its a black screen with a lock )you cant bypass it.. i also have a t41, u have to buy the kit and solder a new chip on to the motherboard.

Submitted by Rob-Low (not verified) on Sun, 2006-10-29 23:57.
Need IBM T40 AND T43Recovery CDs

T40 - I really screwed up and wiped the drive on the T40 deleting the partition and tried poading XP PRO before reading up.I'm hoping a T40 recovery CD will bring it back - I have the system working after loading lot's of drivers from the IBM site but still missing some and IE keeps crashing.

T43 - Problem here is I picked up a virus or something and stopped accepting my password ...Bottom line, I'm locked out of my own computer.Again, hoping that a Recovery Disk for Windows XP Pro will resolve this.

Any help is appreciated ...

Submitted by Rick (not verified) on Wed, 2006-11-22 02:40.
how can i recover my T40 into its factory setting?

this may sound silly but i have to ask you people about my problem.
1.can i restore the factory setting of my T40 without its recovery disc?
2.if yes,how to do the restoration?

thanks all,please give me some advice...i need it bad

ps:sorry for my bad english...:D

Submitted by Jody (not verified) on Tue, 2006-12-26 16:31.
Recovering a T40/T41/T42

On the T40 onwards, IBM put the recovery image onto the harddisk (in a hidden area, not normally visible from inside Windows). Pressing the blue button during boot up will take you to a menu that allows restoring of the system, provided the hidden image is available.

If your machine has ever had it's harddisk changed, or otherwise had some advanced work done to it, the recovery image will not exist. The system can't be restored without it, so it has to be rebuilt using a set of CDs (available from IBM support). This set of CDs only rebuilds the recovery image, not the system, so after they've done their work, you still have to recover the system from the harddisk image (as above).

In short: The only way to recover the system to factory settings is through the recovery image on the harddisk. If that's not working (or missing from the harddisk) then you have to put that on first using the recovery CDs from IBM support.

Someone above mentioned using Windows XP installation disks to get the system back up and running. This works fine, but you won't get all the IBM tools and many of the drivers, although these can be downloaded from IBM's site and installed manually (although that's a lot of work).

I hope that clears things up...?

Submitted by coofercat on Wed, 2006-12-27 14:13.
Missing partition on motherboard that is needed for restore

The hard drive on my wife's T41 failed, and a new one was installed at an IBM certified dealer, along with Windows XP. However, now the T41 does not work quite right (e.g., a scanner that used to work no longer does after installing the drivers). So I ordered and paid $45 for the recovery disks (out of warranty), but they do not work, apparently, according to IBM folks, because some partition on the motherboard that is needed by the recovery disks is not detected. I don't know what happened to it, but I suspect that it may well be blown away, since the computer does not respond to repeatedly pushing F11 when powering up, apparently an indication that that motherboard item is gone. The IBM folks say that all we can do is to mail the computer to them and they can hook it up to some machine and restore that motherboard partition. I don't know if it is an EPROM or what.

Does this all make sense to you? Is there any way I can get around this gatekeeper that seems to be blocking the restore process? I hate to go to the time, trouble, and expense of sending in the computer. We may be better off buying a new one.

Submitted by Terry (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-24 21:59.
T42 Recovery CD

Does anyone know where I can get a recovery CD for a IBM T42?

Thanks in advance

Submitted by gnirts (not verified) on Fri, 2006-12-29 05:15.
How to Get a Recovery CD

The official route to a recovery CD is now via Lenovo. They have a page about T42 recovery CDs (and other products). If your machine is under warranty, you ought to be able to get a free CD via your support centre (otherwise a fee may be involved).

Unofficially, you may be able to get CD sets via Ebay and places, but beware this sort of thing is NOT the same (although may be fine, but I'd say probably more trouble than it's worth). Personally, I would only use the official IBM/Lenovo CD set, but that's just me...

Submitted by coofercat on Fri, 2006-12-29 12:17.
recovery CD's

I have IBM r51. I tried to create recovery CD for it. I quit after the 7th cd. Looks like I am doing something wrong. How many CD's I would need.

Thanks,

Samil

Submitted by pegasus (not verified) on Tue, 2007-01-02 23:19.
Create CDs?

How do you mean "create recovery CDs"? Are you trying to make some sort of CDs by backing up your system? If so, this won't work very well (because Windows doesn't like to be restored like that).

If you wanted to create a backup of your system, I'd suggest using something like Norton Ghost. It'll create an exact copy of your system which you can restore at any time (putting your system back exactly as it was when you took the ghost of it). Most other "backup" solutions you'll find won't do that - they'll require Windows to be installed first.

"Recovery CDs" as IBM mean it are CDs that build your system to the same level it was at when the machine was initially sold. Put simply, they wipe the system, install Windows and then a load of IBM specific software and drivers. These CDs come in sets from IBM only (and are normally supplied with the machine, unless it's a later model, probably including the R51, in which case the CDs have been replaced by a special hard disk partition (see above for a full description of that!).

Submitted by coofercat on Wed, 2007-01-03 00:09.
Help! I can't log on to my IBM A30p

I have an IBM Thinkpad A30p. It switches on fine and allows me to get to the welcome page where my user icon is displayed. However when I click on the icon it starts to load my personal settings for a few seconds and then automatically logs me off and returns me to the welcome page. I can't even get to the desktop or anything. Has anyone heard of this problem or know why it may be doing this. The problem happened suddenly and it was fine yesterday.

Submitted by missy (not verified) on Sun, 2007-01-14 00:31.
Norton Ghost sucks!

After wasting days and days trying to get my harddrive on my t41p to ghost to a new drive and receiving the same login error as Laurent, I finally gave up and tried Acronis : TrueImage.

OMG...worked the first time with ZERO issues. It was like magic after having struggled with Norton. It copies the hidden partition etc...save yourself the headache and use trueimage.

Highly recommended:
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

Tim

Submitted by Tim (not verified) on Sun, 2007-01-28 21:53.
You need to go into the bios

You need to go into the bios and enable or make visable the hiden parition under security, Once it is made visable you can copy the drive, once the image is taken reneble the hidden area, to implement the image you need to enable the hidden area, the disable it etc etc...

If this helps you, donate a few pounds toworth while cause.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Thu, 2007-02-01 14:46.
Problem using recovery CD's

I have a T40 (type 2373) and had some trouble with it. Scandisk reports a few bad sectors, so I am thinking of replacing the hard disk. I obtained a set of four original IBM CD's that say "Product Recovery CD for Thinkpad T40, T40p, Type 2373, 2374"FRU PN 01R8046

The problem I am having is when I put disk 1 of 4 into the drive and boot from CD it says "Operating System Not Found"

Are these disk supposed to be bootable?
Do I possibly have the wrong set?
Any advice would be gratefully received.

Submitted by Albert (not verified) on Thu, 2007-02-01 05:35.
na

albert there is a disk 1of1 which you start with.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Thu, 2007-02-01 14:43.
IBM Thinkpad Recovery Disk

Please post me your model and type'

*jtfeelfree@gmail.com

Submitted by Anonymous Coward (not verified) on Thu, 2007-02-01 15:09.
tp r40e system hdd password

my thinkpad was carelessly left out and my little counsin got to it and had set sum passwords and now i am unable to access anything.. i know its the hdd pass. due to it bypassing bios with just and enter strok and it continues to not load and stops at an icone of the battery and lock... please help~!!! much appreciated

thinkpad R40e 2684-qzc

Submitted by minh (not verified) on Tue, 2007-05-22 00:08.
T43 HDD replacement

It took a few tries but I was able to restore factory settings to a Seagate Momentus 100G hdd.
My 40G Hitachi stock HDD was occasionally making some "screeching" noise (likely a stuck bearing) so I took the preemptive step of replacing the HDD.

Now, this HDD is not "Thinkpad approved" so I have to endure the warning message at boot up time.

The key step is to create the 5-CD Restore and Recovery Set. (You have to use CD-R, not DVD-R.)
Going to factory defaults means that the entire drive is reformatted by the Recovery process.

In Rescue and Recovery ver. 3, I didn't get asked whether I wanted the hidden partition. Maybe because I chose to install factory settings.

I have a Windows backup file of my settings and I'll see if this restores successfully. Of course, now I have the task of reinstalling all apps again -- but at least this is from a clean starting point.

Submitted by bruce matsugu (not verified) on Thu, 2007-02-01 20:50.
T43 HDD replacement

I think the first time the Rescue and Recovery failed because the HDD brand new and not formatted. Even though, RR did seem to install 2 partitions.
The 2nd time I tried it, I followed the same steps to get to factory install settings and this time the procedure worked.

Submitted by bruce matsugu (not verified) on Fri, 2007-02-02 17:50.
Do I need to replace my hard drive?

Thank you for the advice, after starting with the correct disk 1 I was able to reload everything just like new. Then I ran check disk and this is the log.

Question: do I need to replace the drive?

Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is IBM_PRELOAD.

A disk check has been scheduled.
Windows will now check the disk.
Cleaning up 26 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 26 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 26 unused security descriptors.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
Free space verification is complete.
Adding 25 bad clusters to the Bad Clusters File.
Correcting errors in the Volume Bitmap.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

35577328 KB total disk space.
4306756 KB in 23731 files.
6204 KB in 1534 indexes.
100 KB in bad sectors.
94032 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
31170236 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
8894332 total allocation units on disk.
7792559 allocation units available on disk.

Internal Info:
57 69 00 00 bc 62 00 00 dd 71 00 00 00 00 00 00Wi...b...q......
02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 69 00 00 00 00 00 00 00........i.......
70 e8 ef 00 00 00 00 00 d0 0b 42 09 00 00 00 00p.........B.....
90 6c 42 01 00 00 00 00 40 54 d8 d0 00 00 00 00.lB.....@T......
d0 ac 21 b9 03 00 00 00 d0 cc 57 9e 04 00 00 00..!.......W.....
99 9e 36 00 00 00 00 00 b3 5c 00 00 00 00 00 00..6......\......
00 10 dd 06 01 00 00 00 fe 05 00 00 00 00 00 00................

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Submitted by Albert (not verified) on Fri, 2007-02-02 04:36.
T40 harddisk

hi there, my t40 harddisk broke recently down... do i have to buy a special hd now? or can't i just get any notebook-hd and replace the old one..

does anybody know?

Submitted by crisi (not verified) on Tue, 2007-02-06 10:42.
ibm t42 2378 HARD DRIVE REPLACEMENT

Hi~ I have a T42 and the 40GB HD is full. So, after contacting IBM, I received the recovery disks and bought a seagate 100GB replacement in spec for this model. I took out the 40, placed the 100 in, and used disk 1 of 1 to start the "recovery process".... it failed as it stated in its note that came up wjile initiating for restoring the factory defaults onto the new frive and so I shut it back down, replaced it with the 40GB drive only to noticed that the light for the hard drive stay on constantly and the HD is no longer recognized. I have rebooted several times, looked thru the bios and tried to start up with the recovery disk booting up the 40 without luck. Is there something I need to "reset" to make it boot up again?? My father has a T42 as well, so I took his out and put mine in and works fine. Does the hardware have a memory re: hard drives?! I need some serious suggestions please!! shouldn't the recovery disks work with the new hard drive as well? Thanks in advance! CHRIS

Submitted by Christof (not verified) on Wed, 2007-02-07 19:10.
Recovery 8 CD Set for R51 T42 T42p

i have the complete 8 CD Recovery set for the IBM Thinkpad R51, T42, and T42p..

if anyone is interested in purchasing a copy email me, i only take paypal because its fastest. my email is

cristoforo (at) gmail (dot) com

Submitted by cristoforo (not verified) on Fri, 2007-02-09 05:27.
just want to add

the discs i have will only work on those models, and i currently dont have the Cds for any other models before anyone emails me asking, sorry

Submitted by cristoforo (not verified) on Fri, 2007-02-09 05:29.