Rescue and Restore Problem on a NetVista

bobstockler · **Posted:** Tue Aug 28, 2007 4:39 pm

I have a Rescue and Recovery Problem (it's the same on 3.x and 4.x):

IBM NetVista M42 8303-SB2 - Windows XP SP2 and All MS & IBM Updates.
Planar PL170M 17" TFT LCD Color Monitor.

I use the screen resolution of 1024x768 for better visibility in
my regular work, but the monitor is capable of up to 1280x1024.

The problem is that after booting, on pressing [Enter] to go into the
Rescue and Recovery Environment, when the screen is displayed it is
larger than the monitor screen - parts of it to the right and bottom
are hidden from view. If I elect one of the choices on it, the window
for that choice can be dragged leftwards so the the entire window can
be viewed, but I can do nothing about the main screen.

It has been this way since I bought it refurbished from IBM in 2006
(I was using a 17" CRT monitor at the time), but I wasn't concerned
about it because I was using it with a KVM switch, and had read that
R&R would have problems when used with a KVM switch.

The computer that was sharing the keyboard, video and mouse with the
NetVista had to go to the repair shop, so I hooked up the NV directly,
but that didn't fix the R&R screen. I also tried with the resolution
set to 1280x1024 in Windows, with no change.

Way back when, I had read on IBM's web site a document about the problem
I was having, and how to fix it, but, blaming it on the KVM switch, I
neglected to follow it up.

I now regret that, and can't find the article I then found. I searched
the web site for "Rescue and Recovery Environment" and for "Rescue and
Recovery" and looked at over 100 hits.

Rescue and Recovery works fine from within Windows, but I'd sure like
to be able to use it in the R&R Environment.

Any help will be appreciated.

ryengineer · **Posted:** Tue Aug 28, 2007 8:39 pm

Sir, you can find it here.

From Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore Customization and Deployment guide:

Quote:

Changing the video resolution:

You can change the video resolution by changing the default Predesktop Area resolution settings of 800 × 600 × 16-bit. To change the settings, complete the following procedures:

1. Get the \MININT\SYSTEM32\WINBOM.INI file by using the RRUTIL process described in “Using RRUTIL.EXE” on page 25.

2. Open the file for editing.

3. Add the following entries:

[ComputerSettings]
DisplayResolution=800x600x16 or 1024x768x16

When the Rescue and Recovery environment starts, you see an additional window during startup that is titled ″Factory preinstallation″. The colors are reduced from thousands to 256.

4. Put back the \MININT\SYSTEM32\WINBOM.INI file by using the RRUTIL process described in “Using RRUTIL.EXE” on page 25.

Page 25:

Using RRUTIL.EXE

The RRUTIL program is designed to access the Rescue and Recovery service partition and virtual partition data. This utility will work with both virtual partitions and type 12 partitions. This utility allows customization of the Predesktop Area (PDA) by administrators. Only an Administrator user can use this tool by default.

You can obtain rrutil.exe from the Download Rescue and Recovery and Client Security Solution Web site located at:

http://www.lenovo.com/support/site.wss/ ... TVAN-ADMIN

The RRUTIL program works with the Rescue and Recovery filter driver on virtual partitions, and mounts type 12 partitions as a drive in order gain access. The opening of these partitions is only done long enough to perform the requested commands then closed again.

Note: The RRUTIL program for Version 4.1 is not backwards compatible with earlier versions of Rescue and Recovery.

This program allows administrators to perform the following functions:

-View directories in the Predesktop Area.
-Add or update files in the Predesktop Area.
-Delete files from the Predesktop Area.
-Rename files in the Predesktop Area.
-View the files in \RRbackups directories.
-Add backups to \RRbackups directories.
-Get files from \RRbackups directories.
-Display the disk space usage of \RRbackups directories.

You can find a copy of Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore Customization and Deployment guide in .pdf format here.

bobstockler · **Posted:** Wed Aug 29, 2007 10:46 am

Thanks, ryengineer, that looks to be -exactly- what I need.

I had searched the Lenovo web site for RRUtil.exe yesterday with no luck.

I'll report back with my results after I follow the guidance you've provided.

bobstockler · **Posted:** Wed Sep 26, 2007 3:53 pm

I downloaded RRUtil.exe and the Deployment Guide and got the file
\MININT\SYSTEM32\WINBOM.INI from the Predesktop Area, then
edited it to add to it the two lines:

[ComputerSettings]
DisplayResolution=1024x768x16

and then copied it back to the Predesktop Area. All to no avail.

Then I elected to edit my BIOS, and I increased the shared memory
used by my display driver. Whee! I now can see all of the screen.

Maybe I should have tried that first - it was a PITA reading the
Deployment Guide (and trying to understand it).

Oh well, all's well that ends well,

Rescue and Restore Problem on a NetVista

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