Question

Reload XP Pro on a Thinkpad T60P using other media

Asked by: 1williamquinn

Reload XP Pro on a Thinkpad T60P

My Question is how do I reload XP Pro on a Thinkpad T60P system.
 The system was purchased from CompUSA and the OS came preloaded no media.
There is legitimate COA sticker on the Bottom.
The Original Hard Drive is dying, and will not boot the system any longer.

Can I use a Dell OEM disk and change the product key code to the one the system came with?
Thank you

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Asked On
2009-09-21 at 11:46:39ID24749372
Topics

Operating Systems Miscellaneous

,

Microsoft Operating Systems

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Microsoft Windows Operating Systems

Participating Experts
3
Points
500
Comments
14

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Answers

 

by: gtworekPosted on 2009-09-21 at 11:50:38ID: 25386175

You cannot use dell disk. You may order recovery CD from your local IBM reseller or use any OEM XP media with the key printed on your sticker.

 

by: techdcPosted on 2009-09-21 at 12:13:12ID: 25386436

gtworek is right. The reason you cannot another recovery disk for your system is because each Restore CD goes to that vendor, Dell, IBM or HP.

 

by: edbedbPosted on 2009-09-21 at 13:20:06ID: 25387185

Yes, you should be able to do it with the Dell OEM disk  As long as it is XP Pro.

 

by: 1williamquinnPosted on 2009-09-21 at 13:22:58ID: 25387207

Thank you both for your response
Is it possible to copy the restore partition on the failing hard disk to a brand new Hard Drive and then do a re-install?

 

by: techdcPosted on 2009-09-21 at 13:26:44ID: 25387237

No, you can't http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081101101521AArnDxg

No. Recovery disk only works with which computer it had been created from. There is a special encryption that will detect the recovery disk that you have created and it can't be used on another computer. Can't take a Dell OEM disk and use it on a Thinkpad because of this. Need to order the disk, when you do a restore on a IBM laptop, it installs the drivers from the disks.

 

by: techdcPosted on 2009-09-21 at 13:28:42ID: 25387251

You could do a clone of the drive.  But it has to be the exact same drive and size for a free cloning software. But if the drive is bad, I would suggest just ordering the disks and reinstalling it on the new drive. It could corrupt the data on the drive if it is bad.

 

by: edbedbPosted on 2009-09-21 at 13:30:23ID: 25387271

That's not true. I do it all the time and it almost always works. The worst that will happen is that you will get a message that says you can't when you try it.

 

by: 1williamquinnPosted on 2009-09-21 at 13:31:17ID: 25387279

Thank you edbedb:
The T60P shipped with XP Pro SP2
The Dell XP Pro disk I have is XP Pro SP3&..So do I have to do anything special to activate it using the original legal key?

 

by: edbedbPosted on 2009-09-21 at 13:34:16ID: 25387308

It should work, but I never tried it with a SP3 OEM disk. it can't hurt to try.

 

by: 1williamquinnPosted on 2009-09-21 at 13:43:44ID: 25387395

Thank you
I own Acronis True Image 10 Home Edition, and want to upgrade the drive from the failing 100GB to a new 500GB.  If I clone the restore partition how do I go about booting - launching it and reinstalling the os?

Because the system didnt ship with a CD, what are users supposed to do when their hard drive fails?

 

by: edbedbPosted on 2009-09-21 at 14:08:34ID: 25387644

I don't know if a T60P has a restore partition. If it does then I guess you could use Acronis to clone the original drive to the 500GB drive. Install the new drive and follow the directions to activate the restore process. But if you can't get it started with the old drive that probably won't work.

I would just install the new drive and try your friends SP3 disk. If it doesn't work try to locate an OEM SP2 disk. It shouldn't be hard to find.

 

by: 1williamquinnPosted on 2009-09-21 at 14:14:54ID: 25387698

At what point of the installation will it ask me for the Key on the COA?
Will I have to use the MS Product Key Changer App ?

 

by: edbedbPosted on 2009-09-21 at 14:23:44ID: 25387779

It may never ask you for the key during installation. Some do and some don't. You will be able to enter your key during the activation process.

 

by: 1williamquinnPosted on 2009-09-22 at 07:40:28ID: 31631562

Thank you for your help
Worked the first time !!

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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