wrote:
Well, mine came for my W700! I had previously downloaded a digital river version of Win 7 (with instructions that are somewhere in this thread).
My upgrade process was this -
1) Entered the key that came with the package - instant success - registered immediately
2) Inserted the Lenovo drivers disk and ran the installer - I already had the latest versions from the Lenovo site.
The Thinkstaller finished instantly.
The whole process took less than five minutes!
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wrote:
So you installed your Windows 7 from it and the activation status still shows no problems? And you got all the Lenovo software installed without problems
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There are some small problems with driver installs. I'll get to that later. I did a "clean" install this way -
1) Had Windows Vista 64 up and running with no changes from the Lenovo pre-load. I did this by using the recovery disks I had made. You can also do this by doing a full RnR restore from your first backup. Do not delete the Lenovo "S" drive. It is needed for, at least, RnR. The "Q" drive can be deleted if you want to.
2) Insert Win 7 disk. The one I used was downloaded from Digital River for the students. Using the instructions in this thread I modified the ISO image so I had the choice of which Win 7 to install. Don't try to go from 32 bit to 64 bit. It won't work. Don't install any operating system except the one you got from Lenovo. It won't work. This is because the KEY you will get from Lenovo is tied to what you bought from them.
3) Follow the prompts. Have Win 7 do a complete install on "C". You will lose anything you have installed there, but it's better to do it this way. If you must save things installed on "C" then choose the upgrade. Be connected to the internet wired, not wireless. This way Win 7 stays connected the whole time. It needs to do this to download missing drivers. It will download some problem drivers, but you can fix that later.
4) After Win 7 is through you will have a pretty good OS. Some drivers will be missing. Install your anti-virus software NOW. Download the "system interface driver" for your machine and install it. Download "Power Manager" driver and utility and install it. Download the "Hotkeys" driver and install it. If you are going to use "Access Connections" download and install it. Download and install RnR and take a full backup and create the "Rescue Media". Now you have a pretty good basic machine. You can now download and install "System
Update Manager". It will work for some things, but not all.
5) There are many Lenovo drivers left to be installed. Each machine is different. For some there may be pre-requisites, so read the "readme.txt" to see if there are. I suggest you load the drivers this way -
a) Download and save.
b) Disconnect from the internet
c) If the software you are installing is not associated with a hardware device then skip this step. Otherwise -
1) Go to "Device Manager"
2) Find the associated device.
3) "Right Click" it and select "uninstall".
4) On the screen that comes up there may be a box at the bottom left to check that says "delete the drivers
for this device". If it's there - check it and do the uninstall.
5) Restart (remember - no internet connection)
6) Run your downloaded file. Some install automatically in a two stage process. Others just put the drivers
in either DRIVERS or SWTOOLS on your "C" drive. You may have to manually install some. I can't tell you
which ones because there are too many combinations. If you have to manually install then -
a) Go to "Device Manager"
b) Find the device and "right click"
c) Pick "update driver"
d) Pick "browse my computer" and point it at the appropriate location in DRIVERS or SWTOOLS.
7) Restart your internet connection.
This should work for MOST things. The reason for stopping the internet connection is because, when you restart, Win 7 will try to find drivers for the device you are working on. It will install them and undo all the work you just did.
Also, some of my devices still weren't found. If that happens try this.
1) Go to "device manager"
2) Right Click and pick "upgrade driver"
3) Pick "browse my computer" and point it at "C:\" and let it search. I was surprised at how many things can
be cleared up this way.
When you get your kit from Lenovo, use their key to activate - you're done.
Jack_Lenovo1
23
hausman
18
Dex_Lenovo
14
tt177
13
MarkRHPearson
11