#OS#
Restoring to factory status

The IBM PREDESKTOP area is fine.... but can I really use it??? I wanted to experiment further....

I was worried because I read in certain posts that if you use the PREDESKTOP area to restore the system to factry defaults, it will delete all partitions on the HDD and bring it to the same state as it started from the factory..... yes this made sense.... but I wanted to test it....

I called up another techy friend (Shekhar)... though he did not have the answer....but agreed that this was the only time that I could test this.... a test like this can not be done at a later date.... so it was choice between Now or Never!!!

I entered the PREDESKTOP area and clicked on restore to factory settings.....
The setup started and the next 1.5 hours, my machine was busy installing XP and select apps again......

After it finished, I booted the machine....it came up nicely..... AND...
1. The NTFS partition was still 25GB...... which is good news
2. FAT 32 was not visible...... I was initially clueless what happened to FAT32 ....but soon learnt that after the instalation process the recovery software hides all other partitions.

I booted with KNOPPIX again and tried to unhide the other partitions....... and it worked....

So this experiment was also successful.....

#HDD setup#
Everything seems fine...... XP still boots smoothly

I was scared when I turned on the machine..... but to my SURPRISE I found :

1. ACCESS IBM button was still functional..... which means that PRESDESTOP area is fine.

2. XP booted very smoothly... it did give a message suggesting some changes have happened in the HDD and asked me if this needs to be fixed.... I chose the option of not fixing anything and to carry on with normal boot up.

3. FAT 32 partition was showing in MyComputer

So, all is well so far.....

#HDD setup#
Saving the PREDESKTOP area
After doing a lot of research, it was clear that I would need to order the recovery CDs from IBM. Therefore I decided that I am gonna go ahead and try different solutions that came up in my research.

I started with Linux's KNOPPIX Live distro. It booted my machine smoothly. I tried to check my HDD using qtparted. It could not read my HDD partition information because I had set the PREDESKTOP area to secure. So I went back to BIOS and changed the secure setting. This is despite the fact that all sites/ forums I read had warned me on changing this setting.

Booted with KNOPPIX again.... and now qtparted could read the partition information. It had :
1. NTFS Partition (~53GB)
2. Free space (~4GB)
The above Free space was not really FREE. This is where the PREDESKTOP area is.

qtparted allows you to shrink the partition and this is what I intended to do. Here is what I did :
1. Noted the numbers for the start and end of the current Free space (i.e. PREDESKTOP area)
2. Shrinked the NTFS partition to 25 GB
3. Created a FAT32 partition starting at 25GB and going up to 40GB (The trick here is to ensure that you stay away from the cylinders on HDD where the initial Free space was)
4. Created another 5 GB ext3 partition (for /homr)
5. Created an extended partition - and created root, swap and boot on this partition
PLEASE NOTE: ALL THIS WHILE I ENSURED THAT NONE OF THE NEW PARTITIONS OVERWRITE ANY OF THE SECTORS WHERE THE INITIAL FREE SPACE (I.E. PREDESKTOP AREA) WAS.

I rechecked the above thrice before committing the changes to the disk.

#HDD setup#
IBM PREDESKTOP AREA - my first challenge
My T41p shipped with preinstalled WIN XP Professional. Unlike earlier times, I did not get any recovery CDs with the system. Thus, I was in a fix - how do I repartition my hard disk and make space for installing a Linux distro without losing my licensed Win XP installation?

Repartitioning would mean that I lose the predesktop area where all the installation files are stored....

I started with a google search to see if others also faced this problem.... YES they did and I also came across a number of solutions. But every solution suggested that I create a set of recovery discs before doing anything. And if creation is not possible then connect with IBM to send me a set.

I looked up IBM website and learnt that recovery discs can be created. some other websites....like the one below also suggested the same. I tried all options but could not create the discs...
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2006/01/18/ibm-lenovo-thinkpad-recovery-cd/006/01/18/ibm-lenovo-thinkpad-recovery-cd/

I called up IBM and they requested me to download the latest Rescue and Recovery program (around 475 MB) from their website. I did that.... but still the option for creating recovery discs was not available. They also could not help me create the discs.

Later I learnt that T41p does not carry the image that allows creation of recovery discs. Other T series models however offer this option.

All this had not solved my problem..... but atleast I knew the limitations by now.....

A Thinkpad? .... that ugly looking black box?
....this is how some of my freinds reacted when I told them I was buying a new Thinkpad T41p.

My response to them and to all others who think similarly......"Wait till you start using a Thinkpad... you will not think about using any other machine after that"


Yes, my Thinkpad is a black beauty.... a good friend (KB) recommended one to me a year back. I started with an R50e notebook and when I had to upgrade I could not think of anything but another Thinkpad to replace it. And T41p...... its a powerhouse....
1. Great keyboard (well.... every Thinkpad has one)
2. Pentium M 1.7 Ghz processor
3. 1 GB RAM
4. 60 GB 7200 RPM HDD
5. SXGA display (its very very crisp..... better than Truebrite)
6. Five and a half hours backup with the extended 9 cell battery
7. FireGL T2 128 MBb Video card (...needless to say that I can play Need for Speed without any jerky screens)

All this in a sleek ~1" thick body....
It does lack one thing..... 802.11g (it only has 802.11b capability with its centrino technology)

I have started to play with this powerhouse...... and am loving every bit of it.....