IBM (Lenovo) ThinkPad Recovery CD
Most IBM (now Lenovo) ThinkPad laptops no longer come with recovery cds or even operating system installation cd-roms. Replacing the cds, on the expense of ThinkPad users, is a hidden service partition that contains all the recovery images and files, and provides interactive rescue and recovery predesktop workspace, which is an operating environment specifically designed for rescue and recovery operations independent of the Windows operating system.
The problems with the ThinkPad’s service partition are that it’s easily taking out some 4 to 5 GB of precious hard disk space. Beside, since it’s residing on the harddisk itself, when the harddisk is spoilt, the recovery partition will be gone too. If you change the hard drive, the Rescue and Recovery partition will not be available on the new harddisk too, so there is no way to restore the ThinkPad to the original factory state pre-load only just as when it was manufactured.
So it’s wise to create the ThinkPad product recovery cd. To get hold on the recovery cd, there are several ways:
1. Create Rescue Media or Product Recovery CD
Go to “All Programs > ThinkVantage > Create Rescue and Recovery Media. Then select your desirable type of rescue media. To create recovery CD, check the “Create a set of Product Recovery Discs now” and then click “OK” to start the creation process.
You will need about 7 cds or 1 cd and 1 dvd for the product recovery cd. And you also need to have CDRW or DVDRW drive. An external USB driver will do the job too as alternative.
2. Order Product Recovery CD from IBM
You can get a ThinkPad product recovery cd from IBM/Lenovo. However, you may not be able to do so if you’re out of warranty, and even if you’re in-warranty, you may need to pay for the cds.
To order, contact IBM/Lenovo support centre. You can find contact number of support centre here.
Related Articles
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- Lenovo ThinkPad R60 Review by NotebookReview
- Lenovo (IBM) ThinkPad X60s Review by PC Magazine
- Lenovo Thinkpad T400 With Widescreen Display
- New Lenovo ThinkPad X301 Notebook With Greater SSD Storage Capacity
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- Lenovo (IBM) ThinkPad T60p Review by NotebookReview
- Disable and Remove ThinkPad Hidden Service Partition
Entries (RSS)
January 23rd, 2008 18:06
Kan iemand mij vertellen wat hier staat?
Dit is volkomen onbegrijpelijk… ja wat eigenlijk??? Er staan nederlandse woorden, maar voor de rest kan ik er geen verhaal uit destilleren…
December 17th, 2007 08:28
Based on my experience with my T61, I will never be buying a Lenovo product again. (Significant since I’ve purchased about $500,000 in computing hardware over the past four years.)
Custom OS with no recovery media is unacceptable. The recovery disks that I burned for myself do not work now. Downloading the ThinkVantage software from IBM is a major pain. The updater doesn’t work correctly. It is nearly impossible to find a way to leave customer feedback to Lenovo.
This is no way for a company to do business, unless their plan is to not build loyal customers.
November 29th, 2007 21:22
Ahem.
There exist alternatives to “rescue CDs” and “recovery partitions”. Not that I would admit to doing this, but I understand (wink, nudge), that there is something called “bittorrent”, where one could, if one was of that persuasion, locate copies of volume license install disks (which I understand don’t require activation) for certain popular operating systems, and key generators for same. To download these would be wrong, of course, and I would never suggest that you do it. However, if you’re not getting the support you require from your hardware or OS vendor, you might feel justified in exploring alternative ways of restoring the operating system that you paid for…
November 24th, 2007 00:47
Download the latest version of dban and nuke the entire hard drive. That will destroy the hidden partition and you can start from scratch. Lenovo will send you recovery disks for free within 30 days of purchase.
dban beta can be found here:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=61951&package_id=72235&release_id=504756
November 17th, 2007 21:24
Sam
> Yes of course once u restore back to factory state thinkpad will allow you to create the rescue disks…
If only – the disks messed up on creation and I can’t make new ones, unfortunately restoring factory config only restores the main partition, the flag for how many disc sets you can make is in the recovery partition which is not altered!
Very annoying!
November 13th, 2007 08:11
I can’t even access the rescue boot. It claims I didn’t configure my password…and I’ve got no idea what’s he talking about.
For the windows login password, I got one that I remember better then I remember my name, other then that, I’ve got no clue as to what password I can give when that damn prompt asks for my “windows password”
November 8th, 2007 17:06
I re-installed WindowsXP on my Thinkpad T42! No luck downloading the drivers from IBM website. No luck with IBM/Lenovo support after 45 mins. So I do not want to wait 4-6 weeks for them to order the CD.
Does anyone have a T42 that I can use to create a Recovery CD? I’m desperate and will drive to where you are in Gauteng…Call me on 082940917.
October 17th, 2007 17:51
why don’t they just ship the discs with laptops like any normal business would do?
why aren’t the recovery discs widely available for download on the lenovo site? why don’t they have the most current and updated recovery media specified by model so we don’t sit through hours of downloading and installing bullshit updates when restoring the o/s, only to find out that half the updates didn’t take?
why does system update not fucking update everything.
why does system migration assistant not want to fully install?
why has access connections been screwed up for the past 3 updates?
why are all the thinkvantage software products so damn overly integrated and rely so heavily on each other. what if i only want to make use of the fingerprint software and the password manager. why do i have to have client security solutions installed?
all of this shit could be solved if lenovo would take their heads out of their collective ass and provide their clients with the latest fucking versions of factory state recovery media. or at the very least, send me a copy of MY windows (that I PURCHASED from you assholes) and let me do a fresh installation of your 2GB’s worth of thinkvantage crap from your website, at my choosing. your update software is a piece of shit.
October 15th, 2007 14:27
I ran the recovry CD on my old thinkpad, hoever I cant pass the registry key cod cause i lost my MS window CD.How can pass the required key # to enable windows to operate again.
Regards, Andy Kovac
September 25th, 2007 07:41
i need to download the recovry information onto another computer and transfer it to my T60. Is this possible?
My system won’t boot up beyond the welcome screen and when i sign in to the dos set up (F1 or F12) changing any of those setting doesn’t seem to help.
I simply can’t logon and need to restore and/or recover EVERYTHING.
September 16th, 2007 01:39
[...] Here’s a web page I referenced, though it doesn’t say much more than what I’ve said. [...]
August 26th, 2007 13:00
Dann –
The recovery set is NOT a form of backup – it only recovers you to the state the machine was at when you opened the box. You need to use something like ibm’s Recscue + Recovery (free if u own any Thinkpad) or Acronis for that purpose.
OEM’s buy Windows in bulk and have numerous restrictions on what they can do with it. I’m guessing that’s why u can only make 1 recovery set, though since home burned cds/dvds can easily be bad I think 1 set in not enough.
Thinkpads were originally meant to be bought/supported by corporate IT deptarments who have their own company sw images; support for individual users is spotty. I got my thinkpad because… the people who get nagged when company laptops go bad buy thinkpads exclusively.
August 22nd, 2007 00:15
Why is it not allowed to make a recovery at anytime, as many as we like? for exemple after installing a new software. Does the recovery not taking into account the installed applications?
July 20th, 2007 01:17
Does anyone know how to re-create the cds again? There must be a configuration setting/flag that can be updated to allow the recovery cd to be re-created again.
July 17th, 2007 20:19
Reply to MG
“I just bought X60 and burn the product recovery cd. But i make a mistake, i wanted to burn 1 dvd and 1 cd. but i insert the dvd as disk 1. now i have total of 7 disks, including the dvd. i do not know if this is ok. But i want to keep just 1 dvd and 1 cd.
But as thinkpad now dont allow me to create again, can i restore the x60 to factory state using the F11/hidden partition, then go to the program to create again?”
Yes of course once u restore back to factory state thinkpad will allow you to create the rescue disks….
July 17th, 2007 20:18
Can Recovery disks created from one lenovo notebook work for other notebook (of same model).
Actually i got 2 lenovo 3000 n 100 series laptops and one’s hard disk is crashed can i create recovery discs from other laptop and use it to rescue the damaged one…. reply will be appreciated thanks
June 28th, 2007 23:04
I just bought X60 and burn the product recovery cd. But i make a mistake, i wanted to burn 1 dvd and 1 cd. but i insert the dvd as disk 1. now i have total of 7 disks, including the dvd. i do not know if this is ok. But i want to keep just 1 dvd and 1 cd.
But as thinkpad now dont allow me to create again, can i restore the x60 to factory state using the F11/hidden partition, then go to the program to create again?
June 22nd, 2007 15:47
[...] If your OEM doesn’t provide you with recovery CD/DVD discs and Windows setup media discs (it’s because they’re stored in the hard disk in hidden location), you may want to burn a copy of recovery CD to CD/DVD first before you proceed, just in case the hidden partition is lost and you want to recover your computer to original state. (How-to Guide: IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad recovery CD) [...]
June 2nd, 2007 00:40
IBM/Lenovo is crap for customer service. Who would think of not giving you CDs with the operating system that you paid for with their crap computers. Only a company who doesn’t care at all about customer satisfaction. I would never buy a computer that didn’t supply CDs with it. And you shouldn’t either. Say no to IBM/Lenovo.
Rocky Shepheard
Very dissatified customer!
April 19th, 2007 12:25
Thank for your help
February 3rd, 2007 22:15
Je ne crois pas. Mais je suis pas certain.
J’espere que vous compreney mon francais
January 31st, 2007 19:42
Les cd de restauration sont-ils multilingues?
Merci
January 25th, 2007 10:46
I think it may depends on your model of laptop. As long as it can work it should be fine.
January 25th, 2007 01:22
How come it created only 6 CDs from
my Thinkpad T60?
March 12th, 2006 00:52
[...] Important: Once you remove the service partition, you will not be able to restore your ThinkPad notebook system to original state at it leaves factory, unless you have prepared or have the recovery cd. [...]