20 Most Recent IBM ThinkPad R51 Notebook - Page 4 Questions & Answers

Hi anumehaitsme...

How to format your hard drive:
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To set you computer back to factory fresh settings you will need to format the hard drive and reinstall the operatins system and the drivers.
You will need to have the CD's that either you made when you got your computer or if your lucky you got the CD's that the factory furnished with the computer at the time you bought it.
1.Format the hard drive:
You do this by double left clicking on "My Computer",then double left click the main drive (normally C drive).
When the window pops open, you will choose "Format"
Keep in mind that once you format your hard drive you will loose all your files,programs,pictures,etc that you installed since the computer was new. So make your back up on a portable hard drive,thumb drive,etc.
2. Once the formatting of the hard drive is complete you will need to reinstall the operating system along with the drivers.
That will bring your computer back to factory new condition as far as operating is concerned.
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Re-installing the Operating System:
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Start your computer in the Safe Mode.
To start in Safe Mode.
Turn your computer on.
Keep tapping F8 while the computer is starting up
When the computer starts select Safe Mode
1. Uninstall any softwear you may have put on the computer before the problem started.
2. Do a complete System Restore: Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore.
This will bring your system back to a time before you installed the softwear or Microsoft installed drivers,etc.
Note: Just be sure to use a date in a darkened box, that is before your trouble start date.
When you have done the above, restart the computer and if your still having the problem, then the installed drivers,updates,softwear,etc might have
corrupted the Operating System.
If that happened then that means either repair or reinstall the operating system.
You will need to do the following:
1...Repairing the Operating System...
A...You will have to have the Operating Dics that came with the computer.
Note...If you do not have the disks that came with your computer or the ones you should have made when you first got your computer...then you will have to go to the manufacture's webpage and see if they have a recovery disk available for your computer, if they do not a recovery disks available then you can also try ebay to locate the recovery disks.
The original disks will have your product key number that came with the computer, you can also find it on the tower, or under the bottom of your laptop, or maybe the piece of paper that the CD orginally came in may have the number on it.
You can also download a small program and it will tell you your product key number.
Go to the following webpage to download your FREE key finder.
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/
B...You will now insert the disc into the CD/DVD player
C...Restart the computer
D...When the window opens that tells you to press "Any" key, you will press any key you want to press.
E...If you do not receive a message that says "press any key to boot from CD", then then the computer is not ready to boot from a cd.
To correct this problem you will have to go into your computer's Bios and change the computer to boot from a CD.
To get into the Bios, shut the computer off,restart, while the computer is starting up keep tapping F1 as the computer is starting up.
When you are in the Bios, select to boot by CD by moving the cursor with the direction arrows on the keyboard.
Once you have selected to boot by cd the exit and restart the computer...the disc is already in the cd/dvd player.
Your system will then boot from the cd.
F...After a minute or less it should ask you if you want to Quit Repair, or Continue.
You will select Repair this time, but you may have to come back here and select Install if the repair does not work.
It will ok the agreement document if it asks you too.
Tap F8 on your keyboard to pass it when ready.
It will ask you if you want to Install, Repair, Delete Partition, or Quit.
Select Repair
Inside the box there will be one or two partitions.
Choose the largest partition.
After you have chosen the largest partition, you will then press the "r" key to start the repair
After the repair is complete, then you will need to restart your computer.
G...Computer Restart
After the repair is complete, shut the computer down (the computer will shut down a few times during the installation of the operating system
that is normal).
Then restart your computer, when the computer restarts it will have a box to put your product key...put the product key in the box and click.
The computer should start up and run as if it was a new computer.
You do not need to re-register
You can now remove the disc.
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If this fails to clear your problem then you may have a hardware problem.
It could be faulty ram
If you still have the same problem, then you have two choices.
1.Reinstall the entire Operating System and you may have to update some drivers.
This will require you to go back to the start of the repair info and select Install instead of Repair.
2..Take your machine in to have the hardware tested.
Keep in mind that if you do a complete reinstall of the Operating System you will lose all the information on the computer,such as pictures, programs, videos, everything you installed will be gone.
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IBM R51 Driver download and Recovery CD webpage:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/default.page?
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Hello there,
When a laptop tends to be performing very slow. There are different factors that could be contributing to the problem. It acting sluggishly tends to be quite annoying, frustrating, time consuming and not encouraging to use.
The cause could be from the RAM size, the RAM is what determines the speed of the laptop, if it is large, it will perform faster but if it is low, it will perform very slowly. RAM can be upgraded, and that involves you turning the laptop to the back and unscrewing it open, you will see a processor connected to the mother board, that is the RAM, check the size and try to replace it with a larger RAM.
Also, if there is a virus on the system, it can contribute to making the IBM perform slowly. Try to install AVG anti-virus free edition 2011 on the system. That will help you eraze the corrupted file and protectyour laptopfrom being exposed to any virus of any kind.
Ensure you are not running on windows vista or windows 7, try to ensure you are running on windows XP, as the IBMs mother board will act sluggishly if windows vista or windows 7 is the current operating system.
Be sure not to have too many load on the hard disc also. Try to ensure you are using an external hard disc for the laptop to save large files. As saving too many applications and folders on the hrd disc can make the laptop act very slow.
Would be glad to know if this information washelpful to you. All the best. Elect_Comp

From the microsoft support website:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330135

This issue may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:
* A version of Roxio Easy CD Creator that is earlier than version 5.02d is installed in your computer.
* The AutoPlay feature is turned off in the registry.
* Your CD-ROM drive is using an outdated driver.
* The Restrict CD-ROM access to locally logged on user security option is turned on.
* The CD drive is using an outdated driver.
* The CD-ROM driver is not incompatible with Windows XP.

Instructions for correcting any of these items are located at the link above.

Good luck

you must replace lcd

Sounds like at least a corrupted OS, but most likely a bad hard drive. I'd try reloading Windows (if that's your OS) first, which should take well under an hour; if reloading takes excessively long, then the system is probably having a hard time formatting the hard drive due to physical bad sectors and the easiest thing would be to replace it. The R51 uses good old ATA/IDE 2.5" 9mm height hard drives, which are not available in most stores any longer, but you can probably get the same size or larger ones on eBay for pretty cheap and replace it yourself. Expect to pay about 50 cents to 75 cents per gigabyte - anything more would be considered tourist prices...

You can use your Windows installation CD to format the hard drive and install Windows again.
Boot up the ThinkPad with the Windows installation, follow the instructions to delete the existing partition, then create a new partition, then format the hard drive - do a full format, NOT a quick format.
You can then continue to complete the Windows installation.

Maybe you've activated the number lock in the letter keys, try to push another time Fn+NumLock or (try) to tell us the model of the notebook; if that combination doesn't work check the color of "Fn"on the key and search for a block num symbol on the others keys, then push both together.

Download wot info!

Hi.

Hold down the Fn key which is located at the bottom right of the keyboard and tap the "Home" key which will be on the right hand side of the keyboard, that will increase the brightness. Also to decrease the brightness hold down Fn and tap the "End" key.



Regards.

The same model ThinkPadcan have different types of network, video and audio drivers and unless youknow exactly which one is installed in your ThinkPad, you need to download allthe drivers and install each driver until you find the right driver. When you download thedrivers, write down the device driver and it's file name so you have a recordof which driver you are installing and which directory the unzipped files arelocated on your hard drive. Go to the IBM/Lenovo WEBsite - support/download page and download the latest Windows XP or Vista devicedrivers for your model computer, Use this link: - http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/product.do?template=%2Fproductselection%2Flandingpages%2FbrowseByProductLandingPage.vm&sitestyle=lenovo&brandind=10&validate=true You can download thevarious drivers and then you click on and run the various driver files, theywill then unzip and expand into a sub folder on C:\drivers Then install thevarious drivers from this folder (run the set-up file).

You must have the number lock key active. Try to use the fn key and deactivate the number lock.

move to windows vista 32 bit processer the drivers to new windows want work

Hi

you could try this

start
all programs
windows updates
then check for updates

if you have not found what you are looking for there

try here


www.ibm.com


and search for your model and operating system

many thanks

When the CPU overheats then it will shutdown (i.e. thermal overload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down.If this is the problem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes this problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are cloggedwith dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan. If the fan and heat sink is clogged withdust the remove the dust and make sure the vents are clear and dust free. Use acan of compressed air to do this.

First would be to try to clean it with a CD/DVD cleaner disc. If this did not help, next is to try to clean the lens with a lint free cotton cloth. If this either did not work, then the last resort is to replace the drive.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-55029.html

Hi,

It is using Wireless LAN Mini PCI Adapter, and to download this, go to http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-55029.htm.
Select the first option for Wireless LAN and make sure you select thecorrect operating system your computer is using, like VIsta or XP.

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I've your using Windows 7, you can't do anything about it (yet)

Windows 7 is knows for connection errors.
It wants to check everything that a connection requires, and i've 1 " part " fails, the whole connection goes down.

Unmountable boot volume = The file system is damaged and cannot be mounted.
To fix that do the following:
1.Put the CD first in the boot order and boot from the XP install disk.
2.When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
3.Select your partition - it should be C
4.When you are prompted, type the Administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
5.At the command prompt, type chkdsk /r , and then press ENTER. 
6.At the command prompt, type exit , and then press ENTER to restart your computer. 
This takes a bit longer, but the system should boot back into Windows.

the switch is probably disabled by accident check for a switch or a fn +f1-f12 key (it looks like a radio tower or a computer with waves on it)
try checking for a connection after you turn on the wireless