My T40 2373-72U began showing the classic signs of a failing GPU, so I purchased a replacement motherboard that had been reballed. At the same time, I also upgraded the CPU from the original 1.5 to a 1.8 Dothan. Both were purchased from vendors with good reputations here.

I completely wiped my hard drive, a 160GB Samsung, using DBAN. I reset the BIOS to default values. Then I started the process of restoring to the factory configuration using the recovery CDs I had bought from IBM. My recovery CDs are for any 2373 (and many other models), so they should work just as they have in the past.

The factory restore process always hangs after installing Norton AntiVirus 2004. Not that I care about NAV--it will be uninstalled promptly! But I DO want to finish restoring the machine to its original state. The Windows Task Manager shows an MSIEXEC.EXE process is pegging the CPU at 97-99%. I've been very patient, waiting over eight hours just in case something really needed to take a long time.

All I can think to do is put the old 1.5 CPU back in, and try again. The BIOS is up to date, but 2007 is as good as it gets. But if the BIOS didn't like the faster CPU, why can the restore get nearly to the end before hanging?

Everything else in the system was present during a successful factory restore about a year ago, including the Samsung HDD. I'm running off AC power, the battery is not installed, the machine is not in the mini-dock, and the LAN is disconnected.

I have searched all over the Internet, but everyone always says a factory restore fails because the HDD wasn't completely wiped (leftover MBR). That's not the case here. Some posts have mentioned windows hidden behind others, but I don't have any of those.

Does anyone know the factory restore process well enough to say why it is choking at this point every time, and what I can do about it? The NAV installation immediately follows the RecordNow and DLA installations. What comes after NAV? Is NAV not finishing, or is the next step not starting or hanging? I can't tell from the screen output.

Ideas? I could use some fresh ones!

Remove the old wifi-B card, then install again from scratch.
That should do it.

Somebody just shoot me now.

I followed the advice to remove the existing, original IBM 802.11b wireless card (which is perfectly functional despite being very slow), and tried the factory restore again. Just to be safe, I ran DBAN first for about 25% to get rid of any trace of the partition table or MBR.

It hangs in the same place after the NAV installation. This makes no logical sense whatsoever!

Here's my guesses in order of probability:

- The CD has a bad spot on it. Could be a smudge or an actual scratch in the plastic. Clean the disk that's in the machine when NAV is being loaded or try another set if you can.
- The CD drive has a problem with reading the disk. Swap out the drive with another one.
- Memory has a problem. Run a diagnostic like memtest86+ for at least three full passes. Replace if it detects any errors or locks up.
- Disk drive has a bad sector. Use a hard drive diagnostic like one found in PC Doctor for DOS or use Samsung's HUTIL program. Hmm.. looks like Seagate has bought Samsung's disk drive business last year. That's something I didn't know. Seagate SeaTool's might now support Samsung drives. Full disclosure: I currently work for a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung.

Ray,

This is a factory restore to a bare drive. I boot from the first CD, which then requests me to insert CDs 1-7. The system reboots a few times while installing Windows, various patches, IBM software, etc. It is during this later stage where NAV is installed and the hang occurs. So there isn't a CD in the reader at the time.

I followed your advice and ran MEMTEST86+ for over 24 hours and 10 passes. I ran Samsung's HUTIL program (my drive is supported) three times for all tests, include a full surface scan. I cleaned all of the CDs with a proper cleaning kit (none have any scratches). I ran DBAN once more to zero out the entire drive, including partition table and MBR.

Despite these measures, which revealed absolutely no errors whatsoever, the factory restore still hangs at the same point.

I don't have another CD drive for my T40, nor do I own a second set of recovery disks. None of this hardware is giving any indication of a problem now, nor has it in the past. What has changed is the motherboard and CPU. Putting the old motherboard back is not an option since the GPU was dying. Can't do a factory restore if you can't see what the screen says.

I had a Dell machine that would always hang during factory restore. If I did a hard power off after it hung and rebooted it would continue and finish restoring without errors. Give that a try since you have not found any hardware problems.

BillP,

Interesting suggestion.

I did a hard power off. That set the dirty bit on the hard drive, of course, so it wanted to run CHKDSK when I powered back up. No problems found. The machine started, and appeared to go back into some part of the installation routine. It then rebooted itself.

Now I am faced with a dialog box titled, "System Preparation Tool 2.0". Here's what it says:

System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) prepares a computer's hard disk
for delivery to the end user. Additional options are available from the
command line.

To skip Windows Welcome or Mini-Setup and
configure the installation as scripted in Winbom.ini,
click Factory.

To reboot this computer and manually test the
installation, click Audit (available only in Factory
mode).

To prepare the computer for the end user, click
Reseal.

Below these three buttons is a box labeled "Options". The choices are:

Don't reset grace period for activation
Use Mini-Setup
Don't regenerate security identifiers
Detect non-plug and play hardware (grayed out)
Shutdown mode (list box with choices to shutdown, reboot, or quit)


Well, I took at stab at it and clicked on the Factory button. I had neglected to choose the reboot option, so the machine powered off. I powered it back on, and the same Sysprep dialog box appeared.

No progress.

I suspect that the recovery CDs I have are not be 100% compatible with the new motherboard, despite the fact that the model number is listed on the CDs.

There is a CD labeled Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore. This is the only CD that is bootable. There is no FRU on the CD. After booting from that CD, it chugs along for awhile, and then asks me to feed it discs 1 through 7. Those CDs are not bootable. They are labeled FRU 24R7684.

The T40 Hardware Maintenance Manual says that the recovery CDs FRU for a 2373-72U is 01R8046. Hmmm...not even close.

So I called IBM in Atlanta this afternoon. They were entirely uninterested in the possibility that a) I may have been sold the wrong FRU, and b) would not replace the set I have. They told me FRU 24R7684 should work (well, they don't). They were willing to sell me another set that would arrive in 30 days. This was not acceptable to me. I asked for a supervisor. The representative told me he had already spoken to a supervisor, and was told there was nothing more they could do. I voiced my displeasure calmly, but forcefully. THEN THE IBM REP HUNG UP ON ME!

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product ... MIGR-46479 lists 01R8046 (replaces 01R7637) as the part number for Windows XP Pro discs for a T40.

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product ... MIGR-55337 lists 24R7684 (replaces 24R6600, 24R4832, 01R9887) as the part number for Windows XP Pro discs for a T42.

Evidently you don't have exactly the right disks but should be able to get a set by placing a want ad here in the marketplace forum.

One last valiant attempt.....but Sysprep won.

The replacement motherboard came from an R51 1829. The recovery CDs I have, FRU 24R7684, say right on the discs themselves that the 1829 machine type is supported. IBM, despite their lack of manners, said this set should also work for a T40 2373. T40 isn't written on the discs, but 2373 is. My guess is that this is an updated FRU that rolls up some fixes and updates to support multiple machine types. The discs probably should have worked.

But perhaps the factory restore is extremely picky about the machine type read from the BIOS and the detected hardware. On that flimsy premise, I used the Hardware Maintenance Diskette (on a USB flash drive) to change the machine type in the EEPROM from 2373 to 1829. Now the BIOS matches the motherboard.

Sadly, even that trick wasn't enough. I saved the IBM Americas Map wallpaper on to the USB drive, and will proceed with a vanilla XP Pro installation from my own CDs.

Thank you to everyone who has offered a thought, suggestion, or encouragement. This board is always the first place I look for answers to my Thinkpad questions. I always learn something new.