How in the world do I restore this thinkpad?

whiskey dove · 10-22-2008, 01:23 AM

Howdy brethren! I got a IBM thinkpad from my sis and its full of pop-ups ect; she said I can restore it to its factory state and quickly eliminate these problems but niether of us can figure it out. Can it be done? Is this laptop even worth it? HELP!!

KamisoriX · 10-22-2008, 03:06 AM

well, depending if you set up the restore feature. but even that makes trouble sometimes. I would recommand to reinstall windows after a juicy HDD format to be sure you got a nice n clean sys

GMtm · 10-22-2008, 10:28 PM

Download Ubuntu Linux on a LiveCD. You dont have to install it to try it out. Just pop it into the CD Drive, restart your laptop and follow the onscreen instructions. Ubuntu is FREE and a nice alternative to Windows for the non-tech savvy PC user. Try it out and see if you can get to grips with it!

It will run A LOT quicker than Windows XP or Vista!

Richard_Rahl · 10-22-2008, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMtm

It will run A LOT quicker than Windows XP or Vista!

In case you really install it, a live session is of course quite slow because you run it from the cd.

@GM: I know that you know that, I just informed the thread starter.

GMtm · 10-23-2008, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard_Rahl

In case you really install it, a live session is of course quite slow because you run it from the cd.

@GM: I know that you know that, I just informed the thread starter.

Sure mate, no worries.

Does Ubuntu create a RAMDisk?

KamisoriX · 10-23-2008, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMtm

Sure mate, no worries.

Does Ubuntu create a RAMDisk?

just for the sake of being part of the nerdhood: dunno about the RAMdisc but ubntu has a GUI that makes using it much easier

GMtm · 10-23-2008, 02:52 PM

All distros come with either KDE or Gnome GUI and decent 2D SVGA graphics.

If you want a fast responsive linux system without installing then take a look at Mandriva 2008/9 on USB stick. Supremely fast and reliable and I used Mandriva (Previously known as Mandrake) for years and I would say its in the top 3 distros.

Richard_Rahl · 10-23-2008, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMtm

Sure mate, no worries.

Does Ubuntu create a RAMDisk?

I suppose you mean a swap partition? You actually have the choice when you choose for the "advanced" partitioning during the installation (instead of the normal one). On systems like we have it isn't really necessary, but it may come in handy if you run big applications, I think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMtm

All distros come with either KDE or Gnome GUI and decent 2D SVGA graphics.

Not completely true, Xubuntu for example uses XFCE, which is said to be lighter then KDE and Gnome. Though I assume then only the "light distros" like the beforementioned Xubuntu, Puppy Linux, etc. use different GUIs then KDE and Gnome.

GMtm · 10-23-2008, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard_Rahl

I suppose you mean a swap partition? You actually have the choice when you choose for the "advanced" partitioning during the installation (instead of the normal one). On systems like we have it isn't really necessary, but it may come in handy if you run big applications, I think.

Not completely true, Xubuntu for example uses XFCE, which is said to be lighter then KDE and Gnome. Though I assume then only the "light distros" like the beforementioned Xubuntu, Puppy Linux, etc. use different GUIs then KDE and Gnome.

Never used the lightweight distros, but no doubt you are right. I am going to have a look into XFCE and see what its about.

Also by RAM Disk I mean an accessible partition created in available system RAM. It is rare to do so, but it can make a huge difference when trying Live distros out.