W700ds: Enable RAID using created recovery media

Hello!
I own a ThinkPad W700ds, though I'd imagine that my question would be just as well answered if it were a W700... Please, any help would be great!
I purchased a 'used' W700ds with Windows Vista Business (COA and recovery partition intact, but no media supplied). The laptop was advertised with RAID0 but I was always dubious that it was set up correctly. I spent some time investigating it this afternoon and noticed that the BIOS was not configured correctly - It was set to AHCI rather than RAID.
I did the following:
1) Created Recovery Media using the facility in ThinkVantage software.
2) Enabled RAID in the BIOS
3) Entered the RAID configuration (Ctrl+I) during boot up. I configured the drives as RAID0.
4) Reinstalled Windows Vista using the recovery media created in (1) above.
After completing the installation Windows Vista would did not manage to boot - Always BSOD'ing.
I repeated step 3 & 4 above, selecting RAID1 instead. Exactly the same issue.
I have since returned the BIOS setting to AHCI and reinstalled Windows Vista using the recovery media and I am back where I started (Windows installed but in a RAID array).
I have done some research and it would seem that in the RAID drivers are not included in the recovery media and this is the reason for the BSOD. I have included some of the numerous websites that I have read, both for your perusal and, in some way, to verify that I have really spent some time considering this issue before requesting help.
The recovery media that I have created is all that I have - Is there any 'self-contained' way for me to enable RAID? I'd prefer RAID1 (I would favour redundancy over speed) but would be happy with RAID0 if this is not possible. It seems a terrible shame that Lenovo (aware - and obviously not 'intended' as using alterative installation media is considered a 'work around') offer the opportunity of creating recovery media, which cannot be used to reinstall Windows using a valid configuration.
It seems that it is not possible to maintain RAID configuration through Lenovo R&R, which probably explains why the seller listing the ThinkPad as RAID but it did not come to me as such (the seller used the recovery partition to restore the laptop to factory state for me before completing our sale - makes sense!). Still, it seems a shame to have a laptop which offers RAID functionality and has the necessary hardware (RAID controller and two drives) and hitting a brick way over software restrictions. Can anybody give any advice how I may proceed to reinstall Windows with the drives in a RAID array, considering I've only the Lenovo recovery media?
Lenovo support are closed today due to the UK public holiday but I will try at the next opportunity - However, I fear my fate is in your hands already, as the ThinkPad is out of warranty.
Thank you!!
Links:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=SF08-D0154
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=SF08-D0109
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/W700-2757-Raid-Setup-Configrations/td-p/76134
http://support.lenovo.com/en_ID/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=SF08-D0112
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=69559
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=86428
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi LavaChild, welcome to the forum,
here's a thread missing from your list where I describe how I have done this in the past using recovery discs created from the system.
http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/How-to-enable-RAID-0-on-my-W700/m-p/82856#M2048
That said I remember a rather long thread where one member had difficulties going this route, the solution turned out to be that for whatever reason their optical drive didn't want to play ball. Unfortunately I haven't found it after a quick search. I'll give it another shot tomorrow.
Edit; found the thread, it was about creating a RAID1 on a W700ds, but the steps aren't really any different. Please note the solution.
http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Re-Can-t-Set-Up-Raid1-on-W700ds-with-Windows-7-...
Regards
Andy ______________________________________
Please remember to come back and mark the post that you feel solved your question as the solution, it earns the member + points
Did you find a post helpfull? You can thank the member by clicking on the star to the left awarding them Kudos Please add your type, model number and OS to your signature, it helps to help you. Forum Search Option T430 2347-G7U W8 x64, Yoga 10 HD+, Tablet 1838-2BG, T61p 6460-67G W7 x64, T43p 2668-G2G XP, T23 2647-9LG XP, plus a few more. FYI Unsolicited Personal Messages will be ignored.
Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español English Community Русскоязычное Сообщество
PepperonI blog

Similar Messages

I cannot create Recovery Media that is to be used for an OS reset

Hello,Recently I upgraded to Win 10, and decided to go back to 8.1 because I thought it was bogus - too slow, not so good looking. But in order to go back to Win 8.1, i needed to get rid of some things in order to free up space. Because there were no pictures, just program files and data, I started picking out Program Files folder to delete (I know, one of the stupidest things you could, but I was MAD). The folders that I deleted were folders from Steam, MS Office, and other folders that were added on by me, not my system. After I came back to Win 8.1, I was so happy to see my faster, better running OS. But not for long. The problems came on the next day. I couldn't open my XBOX Music App, which I was certain was something I must've done with my quest for freeing up space. I tried looking for installation files and .exe files for the Music app, but they all came from unreliable sources. So I uninstalled the Music app and attepmted to install it in the Store. I wasn't successful at that beacuse of an error that I believe was 0x80070057. So I decided to just go ahead and give my system a reset. Now here comes the real issue: When I try to reset, it says that I need a recovery media which i can acquire with installation media. But the problem is I DON'T have installation media. I went ahead and looked for a Windows 8.1 with Bing edition, and found the MS Media Creation tool. I started following a procedure with the appropriate info (such as Windows 8.1 Single Language edition, x64 architecture, and English Language) and it stayed there on 0%, with "Please Wait." And so I waited, waited, without any change. Now, I have REALLY high speed internet access, which is unlike the internet proivded in the States (eugh) and so it shouldn't be a problem on my side. I gave up on that, and decided to go ahead and create myself a recovery image using the HP Recovery Manager. I went ahead and clicked "Create recovery media for your system" and clicked Next on the little window that popped up. It started doing something, and shortly after that it came back with "We can't create a recovery drive on this PC. Some required files are missing. To troubleshoot problems when your PC can't start, use your Windows installation disc or media." Great, back to something I DON'T have. So that is where I run out of solutions. I usually hate posting problems on forums (because I solve the problem myself), but this where I fail in my everlasting quest to be a lone wolf in the world of PC problems. Some ideas I came up with were to go back to Win 10, and try to reset my sys there, but I'm afraid that if I do that, I won't be able to go back to Windows 8.1. I really need some help, because it truly is interupting my workflow. Sincerely,QWEW

I had a Win10 upgrade fail on my HP laptop and, in the process, it corrupted the Recovery partition. I think there's a warning somewhere in the upgrade instructions mentioning that the upgrade will prevent you from using any Recovery option already on your PC -- but that's not much help now. You're probably going to have to contact HP support to order a set of Recover Media. That will be a DVD or a set of CDs, and when you use them, they will reformat your drive -- so do whatever you can to save off any data or valuable files before you use them. And, you will (most likely) have to PAY for the media. HP charges somewhere around $30 for the media, but your cost might vary.

ThinkStation S30, Adaptec RAID 6405E and Recovery Media

I have a working TS S30 with W7 and I've created my Recovery Media set of (4) DVDs. I then bought an Adaptec RAID 6405E and 2 SAS HDDs and created a RAID0 (I know... it isn't fault tolerant). Booted the S30 using the 1st Recovery Disk in order to install W7 but the setup doesn't recognize the RAID0. Perhaps because there's no driver for the Adaptec RAID 6405E on the Recovery Media.
The question is: how do I add the Adaptec RAID 6405E driver to the Recovery Media in order to run the W7 reinstall on the RAID0?
Thank you.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Recovery media is designed to work with the system configurations as they ship from the factory. Adding a third party RAID card not sold or supported by Lenovo is outside the intended design of the recovery media provided by Lenovo. HDD controllers are particularly troubling in that drivers for the controller are needed to do any sort of image recovery. Think about the number of available HDD controllers on the market and the sheer number of different drivers we would have to support to attempt the type of design you're implying. We couldn't possibly cover them all, much less make sure they're up to date and the process works smoothly.
Conversely, we're limited by Microsoft with exactly what we can provide as recovery media and what their functionality is. This is mainly due to piracy concerns. We can't hand out recovery media that function essentially as OS install CDs that will work on any platform as there's not much we could do to stop users from using that recovery media in unauthorized ways.
Adaptec isn't officially supported because it's not a device that we qualified during system development. Devices that are qualified (i.e. you can order your system directly from Lenovo with the device installed) are fully supported by Lenovo.
As I see it, you have two options to make the Adaptec card function correctly in your system:
1. Install the card, set up any arrays you require, and reinstall the OS from scratch manually using the Adaptec drivers.
2. Figure out some way to possibly migrate your current (I'm assuming Intel controller based) image over to your new Adaptec controller.
I'm not super familiar with what sort of image migration methods that might be popular today, so you'll probably have to do a bit of searching to figure that out. The last time I migrated an image, I think I used Acronis software, but I also wasn't migrating to a platform with a different HDD controller.

Why only once for create recovery media???

When I created recovery discs for my laptop using HP Recovery Manager, I got the message:
You can only create recovery media once for your system. So ensure that you keep it in a safe place
why only once?? what is the problem with creating the same discs again?
what is the difference when creating the recovery discs with the Backup and Restore utils in Windows 7? is it also once only? what is the difference between discs created with Windows 7 versus HP Recovery Manager?

I believe it is due to MS license agreement that only 1 set is allowed. You can of course use a CD/DVD burning program to copy the set you made.
The Recovery set you burn restores the laptop back to factory shipped state. Recovery made with Win 7 utility is an image of the hdd that includes added programs, data ,photos,etc.You also need to burn the System repair disc to use with the backup. You can use it as often as you like.
******Clicking the Thumbs-Up button is a way to say -Thanks!.******
**Click Accept as Solution on a Reply that solves your issue to help others**

ThinkPad Twist s230u and ThinkPad x201 Tablet Creating Recovery Media

Hi Lenovo Customer Support,
ThinkPad s230u( model number: 3347CTO) - Window 8 Pro.
Before I start using my Laptop, I want to create a Recovery Media as is shown when installed with all partitions. Meaning if I format all contents of Laptop I want a recovery Media brings back computer as I go it in the first place include all partitions. By default there are five hidden partition and one ntfs.
What is the procedure how to Create a Recovery Media? I heard only Flash Recovery exist for Window 8.
Also I have Window 8 Pro but when I tried this link procedure http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/Create-Win-8-recovery-media-in-ThinkPad-Thi... I saw only Window 8 option and even then it reboot and did not work.
Also I did Flash Recovery and Took Faster with USB 3.0 Flash around 10 min around 16GB Space
Is it possible to do CD Recovery too ?
ThinkPad x201 Tablet(Model Number: 30933PG) - Wundow 7 Pro
Can you do Flash Recovery Media and CD Recovery Media under Window 7 Pro Enviro.
If you upgrade Hard drive to 1T and RAM to 16 G RAM , Can you Still do the Recovery Media?
What is the Procedure to successfully create Recovery Media.
Thanks.
saad

Reasons am asking this questions:
Sometime you test your computer doing a lot of things learning new technologies etc and suddenly you decide ok I want to take it back to factory state. Until now, most Thinkpad laptop does not come with recovery media. So how can I assure that my Recovery Media includes everything I used to have when I first receive unit.
I want to learn how to do that by myself by learning from the experts.
Until now what I know as follow:
ThinkPad x201:
I tried recovery media 3 DVD only with original hard drive works. I did not try Flash and not sure there is option yet.
If I upgrade unit with 1T hard drive and 16G Ram, How can I do Recovery Media?
ThinkPad Twist s230u:
I tried Flash and followed procedure on link in previous post. I took me less than 15 min to recovery whole. The question is does this process recover all the parts that is included when I receive unit.
I was unable to do recovery since I am not sure when in the Flash and during process showed to choose operating system was only Window 8 option not Window 8 Pro which came with unit.
I was able to do reset within system took longer and worked.
Is the recovery part build-in in the hardware or software partition? Is it included in the recovery Flash with all partitions?
Thank You. Awaiting for anyone to reply.
saad

Create Recovery Media Windows 8 without USB drive

Hi,
I recently bought a T530 with Windows 8 pre-installed. I want to create recovery disc(s). However, in the "Create a recovery media" wizard, I don't have the option of selecting DVDs if tick the option "Copy the recovery partition to the media". I have a bunch of DVDs lying around and I would like to use them. Not to mention that I don't intend to buy USB drive just for this purpose.
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you,
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi egrivel,
As stated above, there is no option to create optical recovery media. You can use a flash drive. 8G 16G I believe, but verify that when running the utility. Make sure "copy the recovery partition" is checked.
Methodology to create Recovery Media and reload a Lenovo system with Microsoft Windows 8 preload
Z.
[edit] 16G flash drive size.
The large print: please read the Community Participation Rules before posting. Include as much information as possible: model, machine type, operating system, and a descriptive subject line. Do not include personal information: serial number, telephone number, email address, etc. The fine print: I do not work for, nor do I speak for Lenovo. Unsolicited private messages will be ignored. ... GeezBlog
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español Русскоязычное Сообщество

Cannot Create Recovery Media - USB

Hi, I have a Toshiba P875, Windows 8. Tried creating recovery media on a brand new Transcend 16GB USB 3.0 flash drive. I get the error code 'Format failed! (Error Code: 040E87-0A-000000000) What could be the issue? Couldn't find any answer on the forum. Disabled Anti-virus but still did not help. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Anand
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Here’s how I got my Toshiba to create recovery media on a USB drive that gave the following message:
'Format failed!
It appears that Recovery Media Creator recognizes some USB drives as having two partitions even though one only shows up under windows. I tried 2 different USB drives the first was a Team Group 16G USB 3.0 thumb drive and the second was a Kingston Datatraveler 16g 3.0 USB thumb drive. Recover Media Creator work flawlessly with the Kingston drive and gave me the error with the Team Group drive. I tried formatting the drive with windows which didn’t help. I downloaded HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool located on the cnet website and formatted the Team Group drive (run as administrator). After that it also worked flawlessly. So my advice to anyone who gets the “Format failed” message with Recovery Media Creator is either try using a different thumb drive or download HP’s format tool and let it format the USB drive.
http://download.cnet.com/HP-USB-Disk-Storage-Format-Tool/3000-2094_4-10974082.html

Cannot create recovery media on T61

Hi, two days ago I got my Lenovo Thinkpad T61 with Vista Business. I decided to downgrade to Win XP, so I found out, that I need to create a recovery media. I looked to Start > Programs > Thinkvantage, but there was no such option as create recovery media. So I was googling and I figured out that I didn't have installed Rescue and Recovery software. I downloaded (English) Rescue and Recovery 4.21 for Windows Vista from Lenovo webpage and installed it. Then I went again to Start > Programs > Thinkvantage and there was the option Create Recovery media. I clicked there, but there was only option to create Rescue media. Here is the screenshot :
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/4570/97770442.jpg
Also I was trying to find if I have that hidden partition. In windows I found some 513MB partition, but there was 100% free space.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4834/20885840.jpg
In linux I found only one partition, where is installed windows. Is there any way that I don't have this hidden partition, so I cannot create recovery media, or where is the problem? Thanks in advance.

If it is the official Lenovo downgrade discs, it is actually a XP pro recovery media, so you don't need the Vista OS to work. It will create its own recovery partition on your hdd. But once you done it, there is no way of going back to VIsta, unless you image the hdd using a third party software like Acronis TrueImage (need to be purchased) or Easeus Disk Copy (free).
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

Creating recovery media error

Hi,
Happy owner of a t530 system. Unfortunately did the old mistake: upon starting to use the laptop i had not create recovery media. Quite soon the system collapsed and the only way to use it again was to use another recovery disk set (12 something CDs) made from another t530 purchased at the same time. After recovery every thing worked fine system is up with q and s partitions. Recently i decided to install an msata sdd drive to migrate the os there. Byut before the process i remembered to make recovery media. Started the thinkvantage create recovery media. However it allows to make boot media only but not both boot and data media. Checked partiton q and there 12 or something individual swim file. Googled for help but non was successful. Any idea? Thanks

Good day.
I sorted out the "missing" posts, and removed the extra one.
Thanks for your patience.
Regards.
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español Русскоязычное Сообщество
Community Resources: Participation Rules • Images in posts • Search (Advanced) • Private Messaging
PM requests for individual support are not answered. If a post solves your issue, please mark it so.
X1C3 Helix X220 X301 X200T T61p T60p Y3P • T520 T420 T510 T400 R400 T61 Y2P Y13
I am not a Lenovo employee.

Re: Unable to create recovery media flash drives

I recently purchased a new Toshiba netboo NB305-N440BL and upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium. Using the "Create Recovery Media" wizard, as suggested, I attempted to create the recovery media on two flash drives. The flash drives were brand new and had never been formatted.
When inserted the "wizard" program stated that the Flash drives needed to be formatted, but when I asked that they be formatted, the program said that there was an error and they could not be formatted. I then formatted the drives using Windows Explorer Disk Management, reinserted the drives and received the same "...needs to be formatted, but wouldn't format ..."message. I also received "error code 040E2D-00-00000000".
I Googled this error message and found two others who had the same problem with their Toshiba net books when they attempted to create the back up material. There were no responses to their requests for help.Is there another approach to making the back ups?
Thank you

I finally gave up and returned the computer to tech service at Fry's where I bought it.They found that the OS did not recognize the flash drives at any of the USB ports, so they exchanged the computer for a new one ( I was still within the 15 days after purchase for a return) and the new computer works perfectly, Thanks for all the suggestions.

Attempting to create recovery media on P500-ST6822 but fails

Just received my Satelite P500-ST6822 laptop with Windows 7 OS, and want to create recovery media before I start normal use.
While creating the system recovery media the process fails at the same location indicating -
"Diferences were found between the following files.
Source Path:
Z:\ZZImages\ZZImages\PREINSTS.SWM
Targe Path:
D:\ZZImages\ZZImages\PREINSTS.SWM
(Error Code 02016F-3C-00000000)"
Tried this twice, and both attempts fail at same location. Next message indicates failed to create recovery CD 1, and gives three choices, retry, next , and cancel. Have wasted two DVDs, would like to get past this so I can a complete set of recovery media. Any ideas on how to get around this failure?
Thanks in advance...
Solved!
Go to Solution.

You'll need to contact Toshiba Support about this and have them send you a working set of recovery disks as the files on your hard drive are corrupted. There's nothing you can do to change that on your end.
See this post on who to contact to order the disks and be sure to explain the problem you are having so they don't charge you for them.
If you don't post your COMPLETE model number it's very difficult to assist you. Please try to post in complete sentences with punctuation, capitals, and correct spelling. Toshiba does NOT provide any direct support in these forums. All support is User to User in their spare time.

Satellite T230D fails to create recovery media

I have a Satellite T230D running Windows 7 Home Premium. When attempting to create recovery media using a USB drive, the process starts by advising that the USB drive will be formatted.
At this point it fails with the error code 040EAE-57-00000000. The USB drive is left in an unusable state and cannot be reformatted by Windows.
The HP USB Format utility does manage to reformat the USB drive.
Before starting to create the recovery media application I disabled virus control, the firewall and Internet access to ensure that nothing got in the way. I have tried this twice with the same result both times.

Hey mate,
Very interesting. I have the same model and I also created the USB recovery medium but at the end it was no problem for me. I also got an error message during creating the medium so I tried another USB stick. Before that I formatted the USB stick with default settings. So I started creating the recovery medium and this was done successfully with the second (other) USB stick so no problems at all.
I have used 8GB USB stick from CN Memory, model Spaceloop XL. What USB stick you are using?
By the way: I would recommend verifying the medium after creating (just mark this option in recovery media creator). That means the files on USB stick will be checked if they were copied properly or not. This could be important if your notebook doesnt start anymore.

NB305-02P Attempt to create recovery media damaged format of USB drive?

Twice now, I've tried to created a recovery record using 16 Gb USB drives. Different makes of drive, one I have been using previously on an XP computer, works fine there. In both cases, the attempt to create the recovery record resulted in a USB drive that was unusable. The Creator program calls for the re-format of the USB drive, that fails, and then the drive is indicated in Windows as having zero capacity, plus it cannot be re-formatted by any method I've tried so far.
What I'd like most, of course, is a way to repair the failed drives. Failing that is there a specific method I can use, with a new drive, to avoid this problem?
Thanks for any help!
Larry Van Wormer

Hi egrivel,
As stated above, there is no option to create optical recovery media. You can use a flash drive. 8G 16G I believe, but verify that when running the utility. Make sure "copy the recovery partition" is checked.
Methodology to create Recovery Media and reload a Lenovo system with Microsoft Windows 8 preload
Z.
[edit] 16G flash drive size.
The large print: please read the Community Participation Rules before posting. Include as much information as possible: model, machine type, operating system, and a descriptive subject line. Do not include personal information: serial number, telephone number, email address, etc. The fine print: I do not work for, nor do I speak for Lenovo. Unsolicited private messages will be ignored. ... GeezBlog
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español Русскоязычное Сообщество

Creating Recovery media failed - Files missing!

Hello! This is my first post to this forum. I have recently purchased a Thinkpad T400, I am however having some issues, and was hoping that you guys could help me.
I have received my Thinkpad with Windows XP pre-installed, together with a few Windows Vista recovery discs. I have never used Vista before, and so I am trying to create some recovery discs for XP, just in case I want to stick to XP.
However, when I try to create the recovery discs, I only get this message: "The files needed to create recovery media is missing."
I have just tried updating Rescue and Recovery to the latest version, but still the same error message. I have tried to search the forums to see if someone else have had this problem, but they all seem to be slightly different from my own problem.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

After my 4th call to Toshiba tech Support, I think I finally got my "create recovery media" issue resolved. The tech today had me uncheck the "verify" box on the "create recovery media" screen, and now the process seems to be working as it should. --it worked! I just got the screen message telling me the recovery media was successfully created. Yay.

Creating recovery media HP Probook 4330s

Hi All,
Just got my new Probook which I'm very happy with, but there is no option to create recovery media. Pressing F11 on boot up only gives the option to restore, not create disks. there is no recovery manager software installed on the OS. So in its current state, if the hard disk dies, I would not be able to recover.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Ben
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
If there is no HP Recovery Manager installed, then no, you will not have this option. Nor is the program available for download.
I had the same thing on my HP Elitebook 6930p.
Recovery partition could be used to restore the OS to factory settings using the F11 key, however, I had no option to create recovery media. And no recovery disks were provided with the notebook.
Having lots of experience with HP business PC's, I knew I could order a set of disks from them.
Normally I buy my PC's used and off lease, so I have had to pay $10 for recovery disks, because the machines were out of warranty.
I bought the 6930p new, and HP sent me the disks for free. Maybe they will do the same for you too.
Paul

W700ds: Enable RAID using created recovery media

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for