Windows XP Clean Install

Note: For a less overwhelming but just as 100% working clean install guide, please check out the ThinkPad SuperGuide.

Welcome to the Windows XP Clean Install/Downgrade Guide!

I've seen a lot of threads asking how they should do a clean install and what they should do when problems occur. So I've made this thorough guide so everyone can have a stable, clean, and complete installation of Windows XP without any 3rd party software. ThinkVantage applications are considered 3rd party software. This Clean Install Guide can also help with slow boot up times (mine went from 90 seconds to 30 seconds from the moment I press the power button to a usable desktop), BSOD's (Blue-Screens-of-Death), a slow, unstable system, adware, spyware, viruses, and many more problems. The Guide can be used to install XP on any ThinkPad, e.g., T61(p), R61(i/e), X61(s), T60(p), etc.

The guide is somewhat tedious to follow due to its length. Please follow the guide carefully and make sure not to skip anything or else your computer will be incomplete. This guide can also be used as a downgrade from Vista to XP.

<table><tr><td><table cellpadding="5" class="usercontentFunctions"><td>Content:<br />Author's Note<br />Tested Notebook Specifications<br />What You Need<br />Summary<br />STEP ONE: Backup Data<br />STEP TWO: Download Drivers<br />STEP THREE: Install Windows XP<br />STEP FOUR: Install Drivers<br />STEP FIVE: Run Windows Update<br />HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Defrag Boot Files<br />DVD/Sonic Software<br />DISCLAIMER</td></tr></table></table>
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Author's Note:
A clean installation of Windows XP can be very intimidating at first, but through my experiences, I found it to be very easy. I know I was very nervous doing my first clean install because it was my first and only laptop. I've searched all the threads on www.notebookreview.com and it seems as though there had to be a trick to performing a clean install on a ThinkPad like installing the audio driver before the chipset driver; I just knew that wasn't right. So now, with this guide, I provide you with straight-forward, no hassle, step-by-step instructions to installing a fresh version of Windows XP on your ThinkPad. I assure you that this guide is 100% stable and contains the most up-to-date links. It took me quite awhile to complete and I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

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These are the basic specifications of the system I installed Windows XP Professional on:

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What you will need to perform a clean installation:

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Summary of what we will be doing:

So basically the whole process is broken down into two parts: preliminary work (steps 1 & 2) and the actual clean installation (steps 3-5). Step 6 is optional.

Now the step-by-step installation:

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STEP ONE: Backup Data

Prior to the installation, make sure you backup all your user data.

Create Recovery Discs*: Open the start menu and click on Search. Search for all files and folders. Type in "recovery media" (without the quotes) then click on Recovery Media from the results window. Make sure you have either CD or DVD blank discs. For DVD burners, it takes 1 CD and 2 DVDs (CD will be the startup disc). For CD burners, it takes 7-9 CDs counting the startup disc. Follow the on-screen instructions. Once you have created these disc, put them in a safe place. You will not be needing them for this installation, it is just to have so you can delete the hidden recovery partition and use the discs instead.

If you decide not to burn them, that's OK too because you can always recover your system by using the blue ThinkVantage button at startup. The hidden partition size takes up about 6GB. It's your choice if you decide to keep it or not. Personally, I deleted it. Having the recovery discs is also good in case something goes wrong with your Hard Drive and you lose that partition. If you ever decide to revert back to the original factory state (when you first booted up your laptop), use these recovery discs or boot up with the blue ThinkVantage Button.

If you decided to keep the hidden recovery partition and wanted to use it AFTER you performed the clean install, you must reinstall ThinkVantage's Rescue and Recovery software from here: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-61432

*NOTE: YOU CAN ONLY MAKE ONE COPY OF THE RECOVERY MEDIA. IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG, YOU HAVE TO RECOVER YOUR SYSTEM USING THE BLUE THINKVANTAGE BUTTON AT STARTUP IN ORDER TO BURN THEM AGAIN.

Backup this folder and the files contained**: C:\SWTOOLS
(place them on a USB drive or a separate disc)

**RECOMMENDED BUT NOT NECESSARY FOR THIS GUIDE, YOU WILL NEED TO IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THE DVD SOFTWARE

Backup the Lenovo Wallpapers***: Found here: c:\windows\web\wallpaper

***OPTIONAL. The wallpapers can also be found in c:\windows. That's where I found mine.

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STEP TWO: Download Drivers

Download the drivers while you have an internet connection. It will make your installation safer because you can install all your drivers without an internet connection later. This also allows you to install all your drivers before you activate your Windows XP. Place the following files onto a USB drive or separate disc. It is recommended you create separate folders (name them appropriately) for each driver to make installation easier. YOU ARE DOWNLOADING THESE FILES, NOT INSTALLING THEM YET UNLESS I STATE OTHERWISE SUCH AS THE BIOS AND THE HARD DRIVE FIRMWARE.

Download the two following Intel drivers:

Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility*: http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/

*Also known as the INF Update Utility. Do not download the ZIP Format version. If you are unsure of which laptop chipset to install, use CPU-Z and identify your chipset. No installation required.

Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver for Windows XP**: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70477

**The following operating systems are supported:
Windows Vista 32-bit
Windows XP Home Edition or Professional
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
Windows 2000
**The following systems are supported:
- ThinkPad Reserve Edition
- ThinkPad R60, R60e, R61, R61e, R61i
- ThinkPad T60, T60p, T61, T61p
- ThinkPad X60, X60s, X60 Tablet, X61, X61s, X61 Tablet
- ThinkPad Z61e, Z61m, Z61p, Z61t

The next set of drivers come from the following Lenovo Webpages:

Download the appropriate drivers for your Operating System. Keep in mind that some drivers may not pertain to your ThinkPad model. If any of the following drivers do not appear in the download page for your model, then you don't need it.

BIOS Version (not BIOS Utility or BIOS Settings): If you decide to update your BIOS. It is highly recommended you create a BIOS Bootable CD and install it from that. The instructions to create and install are at the bottom of the BIOS download page. DO THIS BEFORE THE CLEAN INSTALLATION. MAKE SURE YOUR LAPTOP IS CONNECTED TO AN AC ADAPTER AS WELL AS HAVE A 100% CHARGED BATTERY. REMOVE ANY USB DISKETTE DRIVE OR DOCKING STATION THAT IS ATTACHED BEFORE UPDATING THE BIOS.

THE BIOS AND THE HARD DRIVE FIRMWARE UPDATE ARE NOT NECESSARY. IF YOU ARE WARY OF BIOS UPDATES, THEN I SUGGEST YOU SKIP THESE TWO UPDATES AND CARRY ON WITH THE GUIDE.

Hard Drive Firmware: If you decide to update your hard drive firmware, I recommend updating the hard drive firmware before the clean installation also. The instructions to create and install are at the bottom of the firmware download page. MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING THE STOCK HARD DRIVE THAT CAME WITH YOUR THINKPAD. DO NOT USE AN EXTERNAL DRIVE. ALSO MAKE SURE IT IS PLUGGED INTO AN AC ADAPTER AND IS USING A 100% BATTERY.

THE BIOS AND THE HARD DRIVE FIRMWARE UPDATE ARE NOT NECESSARY. IF YOU ARE WARY OF BIOS UPDATES, THEN I SUGGEST YOU SKIP THOSE TWO UPDATES AND CARRY ON WITH THE GUIDE.

ACPI Power Management

Video Driver: This may vary. I am using the nVidia 140M driver. Make sure you download the correct driver for your system.

Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) High Definition Audio: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-68974

Audio Driver

Modem Driver

UltraNav/TrackPoint Driver

UltraNav Utility: The X series will not have this to download. Just install the Mouse/TrackPoint driver if you own an X series ThinkPad. You won't be needing it because UltraNav is a combination of the TrackPoint and Touchpad; the X series only has the TrackPoint.

Hotkey Driver

Atmel TPM (Trusted Platform Module)

Intel PRO/1000 LAN Adapter

Wireless Drivers: This also varies depending on the wireless card that you have. Download the correct wireless driver for your system. Mine was the IBM Wireless LAN Mini PCI Adapter.

Card Reader Driver: This also varies depending on the card reader that you bought with the system. In this case, mine was the Ricoh 4-in-1 card reader driver.

Windows XP Update Module Q909667: You will need this hotfix if you have an integrated webcam. If you don't have one, then ignore this download.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-68107

Also download these if you have them:

Disabling Tool for Intel Turbo Memory Driver: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-68244. This is only needed if you downgraded from Vista w/ Turbo Memory to XP. It will disable Turbo Memory as a missing driver from XP since XP does not support Turbo Memory. If you do not have Turbo Memory, avoid this download.
Bluetooth Driver: There are two different drivers; Bluetooth Enhanced Data Rate software and Microsoft Bluetooth support. I recommend installing the Bluetooth Enhanced Data first, but if your Bluetooth device still does not work, then install the Microsoft one.
Integrated Webcam Driver
Wireless WAN
Wireless USB
FingerPrint Reader Software

Author's Recommendations:
ThinkVantage's Power Manager - It's just labeled "Power Manager"

So in the end, you should have something like this:



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STEP THREE: Install Windows XP

So you've done the long process of downloading and organizing all your drivers onto a storage USB Drive or separate disc. Now insert the XP Install disc. Restart. Press F1 when you see the ThinkPad Splash screen. Enter BIOS. Set the following settings in BIOS:

I recommend the following sites to guide you through the process of installing Windows XP:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/xp_pro_install_-_graphic.htm
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp
http://www.petri.co.il/install_windows_xp_pro.htm
http://tweakhound.com/xp/installxp/installXP1.htm

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STEP FOUR: Install Drivers

So now you're at your desktop feelin' all squeaky and clean.

Now this is the most crucial part of this guide:

The instructions to install each driver are located at the bottom of the download page of each driver that you downloaded from the Lenovo Website. The only Lenovo instructions that do not work and should be ignored are the audio, modem, UAA, and integrated camera. In order to compensate, I provided the proper way to install them.

Also, when you double-click on the file you downloaded, usually it will not install. Instead, it will extract itself to your C: Drive. You can install it from there, depending on what the Lenovo instructions say to do.

One last thing, DO NOT INSTALL ACCESS CONNECTIONS! DESPITE WHAT THE INSTRUCTIONS SAY, IT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR ANYTHING. SO UNLESS YOU NEED/WANT IT, DO NOT INSTALL IT!

Example of where the installation instructions are located(circled in red):



RESTART AFTER EVERY DRIVER INSTALLATION EVEN IF IT DOESN'T PROMPT YOU TO.

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INSTALL IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
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Intel 3 Series Chipsets

Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver for Windows XP: Use the alternative procedure that does not need a diskette drive. You will set BIOS back to AHCI during the installation of this driver as stated during the Lenovo installation instructions. Since we've already done steps 1-5, skip to step 6.


ACPI Power Management

Video Driver

UltraNav Driver

UltraNav Utility

Hotkey Driver

Atmel TPM (Trusted Platform Module): Install this using these instructions:


Intel PRO/1000 LAN Adapter: There will be two unknown "Ethernet Controller" in your device manager.


Wireless Drivers: Even though it states Access Connections as a requirement, you do not need it.

Card Reader Driver

Also install these if you have them:
Bluetooth Driver

Wireless WAN

Wireless USB

FingerPrint Reader Software

Author's Recommendations:
ThinkVantage's Power Manager

And that's it for the drivers!

IF IN THE END YOU STILL HAVE UNKNOWN ITEMS IN YOUR DEVICE MANAGER, YOU CAN ALWAYS DO THE FOLLOWING:

Thanks ZaZ!

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STEP FIVE: Run Windows Update.

Connect to the internet.
Activate your Windows XP.
Run Windows Update and install the preliminary updates.
Skip SP3 for now and only install the program updates you want (i.e. IE7, WMP11, etc.) because SP3 will take care of the hotfixes.
Restart when prompted.
Run Windows Update again.
Now you can install Service Pack 3.
Restart.
Run Windows Update once again and check for any more updates.
If there is, install them and restart.
If there isn't, continue following the Guide.
Unless you absolutely need to, do not download any driver updates under the Hardware category in Windows Updates.

You can now install any programs you want (Firefox, Foxit PDF, Office, etc.). You can also delete the driver installation files you've extracted into your C: drive; you won't be needing them anymore.

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Defrag Boot Files by Command Line.

Not a lot of people know about the following command line, but what it does is defragment your boot files and moves applications to a faster location on your HDD. It can really improve boot time whether you're doing it from a clean install or not. I did it on my desktop computer and it decreased boot time by 43 seconds!

Here are the steps:

1. Click Start.
2. Then click Run...
3. Type in "cmd.exe" (without quotes).
4. Hit the Enter key.

The following window should pop up (yours should look similar):



5. Now type in "defrag c: -b" (without quotes):



6. Hit the Enter key.

DO NOT CLOSE THAT WINDOW YET

7. Now right-click on your taskbar.
8. Select Task Manager.
9. Switch over to the Processes tab.
10. Sort the processes by Image Name by clicking on that column.
11. Identify these two processes:



NOW WAIT FOR THEM TO DISAPPEAR, IT MAY TAKE AWHILE BUT BE PATIENT.

12. Once they are gone, close Task Manager.
13. Switch over to the original cmd.exe window.
14. Type in "exit" (without quotes).
15. Hit the Enter key and the window will close.
16. Download JkDefrag. (no installation required to run the program)
17. Restart into safe mode. (keep tapping F8 while it's booting; select safe mode)
18. Double click on the "JkDefrag" application (not jkdefragcmd, etc.) and let it finish its process.
19. Restart and rejoice!

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And that's all there is to it. Not so hard was it? Now you have a perfect, fresh, and clean installation of Windows XP on your awesome ThinkPad with all the latest drivers. And please, feel free to ask any questions or post a comment; I check this thread regularly. Thanks for using my guide.

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DISCLAIMER:
It is not my responsility if you follow this guide and your installation does not work. I do not guarantee that this will work for everybody although I am very confident it will. I am in no way associated with Lenovo or NotebookReview.com. This guide was made to assist those who own a Windows XP licence. Please do not duplicate this guide in anyway and/or claim it to be yours. Thank you.

 

Well done.

 

Thank you. I worked hard on it.

 

Thanks, I will be doing this soon.

Makes me way more confident with this write up!

Anyone body use this yet?

 

I've used this guide multiple times. I've tested it and retested it and it works perfectly. I actually wrote it as I was performing the clean install.

 

Is it necessary to update your BIOS? Can I skip that section and making the bootable CD?

Also why update the hard drive firmware?

 

Sure you can. The BIOS section and the Hard Drive firmware are optional. If your system is running smoothly with the versions you have, then by all means skip that section. I just included it in case anybody wanted a completely up to date system. I'm running both updated versions and it runs perfectly, but it's your choice if you decide to do any.

 

What Thinkvantage software do you have installed?

Someone recommended me to download the Power Manager software to get the most out of your battery and the Active Shock Protection for your Hard Drive.

 

I installed the Power Manager. I like the charge thresholds you can set. I didn't see the need for the Active Shock Protection as I am very careful with my computer. It's quite useful if you choose to have it though.

 

Thanks.

I will try this install in a few weeks. My computer is a few days old and I kind of dont want to do a clean install just yet. I want to get used to it before I attempt this.

 

Awesome. Thanks for using my guide. I'm confident that you'll love the results.

 

Hi all!

Nice work Arkit3kt. You made just what I needed. I am installing WinXP SP2 for the first time on my new Lenovo T61.

But I have some trouble installing the &#8220;RAID/AHCI Software&#8221;

It reports an error saying my system dose not meet the requirements.

I did not use any drivers under the XP install procedure or any RAID setup.

Is the driver needed?

 

I don't think it's necessary but you can't install the software before you install the Intel Matrix Storage Manage Driver. Once you download the Intel Matrix Storage Manage Driver, go into start>run then browse for C:\DRIVERS\WIN\IMSM\PREPARE. In that folder there should a file called "install" (without quotes). Run that file. Then restart. On that restart, hit F1 at that first thinkpad logo screen and it'll go into BIOS. Here, hit the F9 key to restore everything to default. Then hit F10 to save and exit. The computer will restart again. At the desktop, it will detect new hardware.

The Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard appears.
Click Next.
Select Search for a suitable driver for my device (recommended), and then click Next.
Select Specify a location, then click Next.
Specify the path, C:\DRIVERS\WIN\IMSM, and click OK. The Driver Files Search Results window appears.
Click Next. The Completing the Found New Hardware Wizard appears.
Click Finish.
When the System Settings Change window appears, click Yes. The computer restarts.

And that's all there is to it.

 

I am impressed

That did the trick!


Thank you!

 

You're very welcome.

 

btw, I presume that the clean XP install can be done without win XP cd, correct? In other words, I can just use the XP pro license that came with my thinkpad.

Thanks.

 

I think you need an XP CD.

 

Thanks for the very detailed and well-written guide, including the very important preparation steps of backing up and downloading drivers! Coming from someone who's rebuilt his and other's PC's and laptops with "clean XP installs" at least 15 times, for the Lenovo, I'd recommend avoiding the "driver-and-error" process as much as possible. I personally spent far too long trying to identify and install the "correct" drivers for my T61p. Save yourself hours of troubleshooting and frustration by letting the ThinkVantage System Update tool do the tedious driver identification and installations for you. It does them right the first time, for all devices in your system, and you can save/backup all of the driver installers afterward, using Windows explorer to copy the driver cache from the program directory.

Here's a short, easy guide I wrote for the T61p, which could be used as an alternative to most of steps 2, 3, and 4 of Arkit3kt's guide (except for the HD firmware and BIOS updates, which are really only for particularly masochistic people anyway):
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=136351&page=5&p=2650048

Don't forget to set your CD-ROM drive to boot before your hard disk, like Arkit3kt suggests. I followed exactly these steps, creating a nice clean xp install that loads from power-on in 30-34 seconds, with 43 processes. I could easily trim it down to fewer processes, but I think certain ThinkVantage tools are useful enough to keep.

 

Can I use these instructions for a webcam like this http://www.webcam-list.com/blog/2007/11/notecam-pro-a310.html?

 

wow... i love your attention to details.. great job.. thanks for the information