Before I begin, I would like to say that if someone can solve my problem, I will be eternally grateful to them. I will begin by saying that I have a Lenovo 3000 N500. So, here's my story. After installing Windows 7 and modifying my BIOS, I had a dualboot with Windows Vista and Windows 7. I wanted to reset my laptop back to it's factory settings, so I attempted to use ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery. It removed Windows 7 for me, but Windows Vista stayed in it's same state. To solve this, I updated my copy of ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery, and after running the updated copy, sure enough it reinstalled Windows Vista. However, nothing would run. The whole installation had f**ked up. I could just about make it to my desktop. I found out that a partition I had created previously to backup my memory stick called KINGSTON had rebranded itself as the C drive. What I would call the primary drive had rebranded itself as the D drive. As I could no longer access ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery, or install a new copy of it, I seeked out a portable partition manager. I stupidly deleted KINGSTON, and now I can't boot up my laptop. What do I do? Here are some questions that I have. - I have ordered a Lenovo 3000 N500 recovery disc from IBM. Will this be able to boot and fix the problem? It's meant to reset my laptop back to it's factory settings. - I don't own a copy of Windows Vista. If I were to burn the Windows Vista ISO onto a disc, and use my product key, would it install successfully onto what I would call my primary drive as there's no longer a C drive. - Is there anyway I can still boot somehow? - Are there any other ways that I can go about fixing the problem? I'm in a lot of trouble if I can't fix this. Please help me!
All you have to do is run killdisk and nuke your drive, then install windows or 7, but if you like the preinstalled OS go with the IMB recovery disc.
IBM Recovery Disk I would say just wait for the recovery disk to come from IBM. You will probably need to remake the c: partition and reinstall Vista from the recovery disk. There are other ways but this is the simplist.
Thank you Thank you for your replies so far. I'm in the process the downloading the Windows Vista Recovery Disc. I'll let you know my progress.
Fortunately, from your description, it seems like your computer is very fixable. This will more than likely re-write your partition table and reinstall windows and whatever else the manufacturer put on the computer. Your computer will work, but any data (music\photos\documents\etc) that you may have had on your previous installation will basically be lost. You can either use the product key found on the sticker on your laptop or use the Lenovo SLP key/cert (can be found on this site) and it should install and activate successfully. If you don't want to wait for the recovery disc, or don't want all the extra bloat the manufacturer installs, go this route. There are a number "live" windows and linux discs floating around that will let you boot an operating system straight off the disc. If your partitions aren't too hosed you may be able to recover some of your personal data this way as they can often read from the hard drives of the computer. This will let you at least use the computer until you either get the recovery disc or reinstall windows. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask, and good luck!
i know vista didn't have it but with a xp disc. you can erase your partitions. then reboot pop in vista and do a fresh format.
boot off win 7 dvd and run startup repair. you an access it right after the "install windows" screen- "repair your computer". It should fix any startup, boot manager problems.
I was dual booting XP and win7 but wanted to do away with Win7 until my pvr program gets updated. I tried to undo the dual boot with easybcd but horked my system and in would not boot any more. I booted from my XP disk, went into recovery console and used fixmbr and was up and running. Isn't something similiar available with vista?