[ltp] Need a crash course on T60 boot loaders, SVP

[Chris Schumann]

> Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:17:05 +0100
> From: James PEARSON <pearson33j@wanadoo.fr>

> Where is the boot loader installed on T60s... and how is it setup???

I went through this issue myself, James.

As noted at ThinkWiki.org (somewhere), the MBR of the drive has some very
special code and is not a generic boot loader. It checks for the
ThinkVantage button being pressed, and can call the code in the normally
hidden service partition.

To use grub to load that code, the partition type must be 0x0b, but it is
normally 0x12 (Compaq Diagnostics). That code also will only run the boot
loader from the first partition, no matter which is marked active.

Installing grub in the MBR will work just fine, as you noticed before,
except for the blue button functioning as designed.

I have restored my T60 using the recovery discs I made, but I think the
diagnostic partition is still type 0x0b. But one way to proceed is to fix
your MBR somehow, install grub on the boot partition, then use Windows'
boot.ini to load that.

Or install grub on the first partition and let it load Windows. I'm not sure
how to do that.

I'll be updating thinkwiki this week, and posting my restored MBR there, but
later this week.

HTH,
Chris