Returning my ThinkPad P51 to its original factory configuration
Returning my ThinkPad P51 to its original factory configuration
I need to reset the ThinkPad P51 back to factory settings. Pressing F11 shows a loading message but it still triggers Windows. There seems to be no alternative method mentioned, and information about Lenovo OneKey or the NOVO button isn't available for this model.
By "factory settings" do you refer to the aspects of the Windows setup or the BIOS configuration?
If you're referring to the Windows installation, then you likely don't want to revert the system back to its original factory state. Instead, you should consider a fresh installation. The point is that almost every ready-made desktop or laptop that reached consumers, with very few exceptions, was loaded with a lot of unnecessary and often unwanted files. Similar to the situation with preinstalled viruses or malware, these OEMs installed after Windows was set up usually contain irrelevant tools and programs. They are designed merely to transmit your personal data, which is even worse than the operating system itself. Software that offers no real practical advantage but consumes excessive system resources.
No. I would avoid installing anything other than the operating system itself, provided by the manufacturer (such as Lenovo), unless absolutely necessary. For some laptops, installing specific OEM software is sometimes required to enable full driver or BIOS updates. However, I would strive to prevent installing any of those unnecessary programs first. In most cases, it's not needed at all because many OEMs provide complete driver support through downloads from their websites for features Windows doesn't natively support, or even better, full-featured drivers without installing any of their proprietary software. Since certain hardware only offers basic functionality, it's usually wise to search for device-specific drivers on the manufacturer's site after installing Windows, or even better, before doing so, so you already have them ready on a backup drive once Windows is cleanly installed.
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What you're describing involves restoring your notebook to a clean state, focusing only on wiping the C drive while keeping D and E drives intact. You plan to reinstall all programs, specifically using Windows 10. Lenovo suggests using F11 repeatedly with the LENOVO logo to access recovery options, but you noticed the message "Launching recovery utility" flickering instead of the confirmation prompt. You're unsure if clicking the Confirm button is the correct approach.
A restore partition offers little value since the Windows version built inside it is outdated and doesn’t receive updates once the main Windows release changes. For instance, a 2017 laptop with Windows 10 1709 won’t support newer versions like 22H2. The best approach is to create a fresh Windows installation from a current USB drive instead of relying on the old partition. If you wish to retain some preinstalled software, restore 1709 and then use the 22H2 install media from within Windows 1709’s desktop to perform the upgrade manually. A clean installation should avoid affecting drives D and E, especially if they’re on the same disk as C; otherwise, disconnect them before installing or risk the system failing to boot without a boot partition.
Yes, a fresh setup remains the best choice. As BFG pointed out, and it was a solid observation, any "factory" or "Restore" partitions will be extremely outdated even if the machine is only a few months to a year old, but this becomes more true the longer it has been. You aim for your installation to stay as current as possible for two main reasons. First, including all the initial fixes and patches in the setup ensures a cleaner OS installation compared to adding those updates later, piece by piece. Second, doing so now avoids unnecessary delays and can lead to unexpected issues. Always opting for a clean install with the newest OS image is the preferred approach.
Also, as BFG mentioned, be cautious when cleaning up. Most guides suggest removing every existing partition on the target drive for Windows. However, if you're using a laptop with just one drive and have non-OS partitions that hold important data, make sure not to delete those. On desktops, it's usually better to leave other partitions off the OS drive, disconnect secondary drives during removal, and then reconnect them afterward. This prevents accidental loss of data from hidden EFI/Boot partitions on secondary drives.
For laptops, multiple storage capabilities are increasingly common, but it’s still not widespread like with desktops. During a clean install, choose the "Custom" option. Then, remove the existing C: (Windows) partition, the EFI/Boot partition (often hidden except in Windows installers), and the factory/restore partition. Next, pick either the unpartitioned drive or any remaining free space, and install there.
Hi,
One week after the reinstall I am pretty happy with the result. My Thinkpad P51 is back to its old self and ran fast again. I guess the installation I made since I got it, more than 3 years ago, took its toll: I had 3 different SQL Server versions, 2 SQL Management Studio, 2 Visual Studio, 10+ DevExpress components versions, and the list goes on.
Here are the steps I took:
1) I created a Recovery Media from Lenovo website
here
and stored it in a pendrive
2) Using MiniTool Partition Wizard I backed up my disk onto a brand new external drive. It took about 1h50 to save my 1Tb SSD to my external drive
3) I disconnected the external drive
4) After some fiddling around in the BIOS I eventually managed to make the notebook restart using the pen drive. The F12 allowing to choose the boot drive didn't work then, this has been fixed since, but I don't know why.
5) Reinstalling the OS went very smoothly, in about 3 hours I had it up and running including all Windows Updates. That was it for the first day.
6) The following day I copied back the data from my backup disk took more time than I expected but at this stage, I went out gardening while it happened.
7) Then it took a few more hours to reinstall all my tools such as SQL Server, SQL Management Studio, and Visual Studio.
Some issues:
-
Remote Desktop Connection
: password issue I had saved the connections I was using under .rdp files and as I had used them prior to reinstalling I know they were working. Strange enough when I wanted to use them after they asked me for users and passwords as somehow the OS detected the machine change.
-
Sticky Note
: if you're using them you might want to back up the plum.sqlite file located in C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Sticky Notes. I got back mine with my OneDrive login
-
SOS Backup
: One of my backup systems is SOS Backup, when I reinstalled my machine I thought it cool to change its name. Not a wise move, as it was under a different name SOS Backup consider it as a new machine and started to back up all my selected folders again therefore I almost ran out of disk space on their server. Solution: I renamed my machine back to its old name and cleaned up what had been copied. Side effect from that renaming process: the SQL Server I had installed running under the new name: I didn't want to take any chance so I uninstalled it completely and reinstall it again with the new/old name.
-
MiniTool Partition Wizard
: license issue, as I had a license covering one year of updates I had to search for a backup of the installation file according to my license because their support told me "We no longer have the download link to the old version you purchased as it has been discontinued for a long time"
-
SQL Server Management Studio
. I got back the annoying beep sound while working on it. It can be disabled by going to the menu, Tools > Options > Query Results > SQL Server > General, and unchecking the “Play the Windows default beep…” option. And also under the Analysis Server
-
Fonts
: I had forgotten to copy my fonts, got them back from my saved C: drive
-
Visual Studio
: I am using that tool for my work and when reinstalling it they are 2 options that are coming as a defect that required action: one was to run the setup again and check the option ".NET Framework project templates, item templates" because some templates were missing and the other was the new Web Live Preview designer that was messing up with DevExpress components, I had to go in Tools > Options > Web Forms Designer, select the "Legacy Web Forms Designer" Options
-
ApexSQL SQL Diff
: this is still an ongoing issue. I have purchased a "perpetual license" of the product but it seems that despite being perpetual I can't reinstall it as I am getting an "Invalid activation code" message. I contacted their support but they don't seem willing to help as the support and upgrades contract expired in January 2020. They are saying "
While the license is indeed perpetual and you own it / can use it, technical support is available while the license is under maintenance.
"
UPDATE
: Eventually I had it working, and support put me on the right track, instead of using the Automatic activation process I used the manual activation process, bingo !
-
Firefox
: this is the most serious issue I am having, I have lost all my passwords that I was using in both Firefox versions I had, the developer edition and the standard one. The reason? I didn't remember my Firefox Account password and had to reset it and I have been told that "
Resetting the password for the Firefox Account because you do not remember the password will remove all data stored on the Sync server because this password is used to encrypt your data before it is uploaded to the Sync server and only this password or a possible recovery key can decrypt this data.
" I managed to switch on my previous machine where I managed to backup the passwords I was using up to 2019 in a CSV file, and got to rescue one I really needed
-
Speed Dial 2
: I forgot to export my settings and therefore lost them. I got them back again using my previous machine but as it was a different format I had to tweak the JSON file and reload that one.
- Reinstalling
GoodSync
went smoothly as I had backed up all the jobs before, and the licensing process went fine as their website allows to disconnect/reconnect software.
- I am using
TheBat!
as email software. reconnecting to the folders where data went smoothly. But anyway, next time I will perform a complete backup before thru the software, just in case.
-
Whatsapp
reconnected fine including historical conversations.
- Docking station.
The loudspeaker jack on the back of my docking station didn't seem to work anymore as no sound was coming from the speakers when connecting them thru the docking, but were working fine when connecting thru the notebook. I had to go thru the Lenovo website and install a driver.
One piece of advice: if you need to reinstall software requiring license numbers try to save them in a text file before going thru the whole process. Mine were stored in my email client software and before accessing them I had to restore the data and the software. And as the data restore was done thru a tool requiring the license key I got almost trapped in catch 22 situation, luckily MiniTool Partition Wizard free version allowed me to perform the task without a license key
Thanks guys for the advice I got, I hope sharing my experience will help people avoid hitting some snags in the process.
Again I am very happy with my reinstallation process, it is a bit scary at some stage but with a proper backup, nothing should be lost in the process. And I got a speedy notebook again. I just hope to be able to sort out the ApexSQL SQL Diff issue as they are now selling it at a price beyond what I am willing to pay.