1) there is apparently code in the MBR (Master B

[ChocoNutDancer]

1) there is apparently code in the MBR (Master Boot Record) that detects if you have the blue button pressed. so if your MBR gets overwritten with a new one the blue button functionality during boot goes away. an install of Windows overwrites the MBR! why I have no idea, there is no reason for it. the most it should want to do is set that newly installed partition to be the active partition but changing that shouldn't affect the rest of the MBR.

2) I've saved a copy of the Blue Button (BB) MBR using a DOS program called aefdisk. so for those of you reinstalling XPTE you could save the MBR, install XPTE, then restore the MBR (if you haven't changed the partitioning).

3) from what I read, the BB MBR is hard coded to boot partition 1 by default and partition 2 if the BB is pushed. that's lame. that means you also would lose the BB functionality if you split your big XPTE partition into a XP partition and a data partition.

4) is anyone here able to disassemble the code in the BB MBR so we could figure out what it is doing? it would be nice to merge the BB detect code with a standard MBR that finds which partition is marked active. or to merge it into other MBR's. or if you split your XP partition into two, once we have the disassembled MBR it should be easy to patch what partition number the BB jumps to.

[alpha192]

You might also try the IBM provided tool to fix the MBR to work with rescue and recovery.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...cid=MIGR-62978

It supports both the original and updated versions rescue and recovery. (The hidden partition version and then the Windows PE version).

[ChocoNutDancer]

alpha,
do you have any further info on exactly what the repair kit does?

I recently ran Rescue and Recovery from my burned DVD's to rebuild the hard drive back to the initial factory state. all was fine. it rebuilt the diagnostic partition, the XP partition, and the MBR and everything boots fine (both XP and the diag partition).

now if you install XP from scratch you will lose the blue button functionality in the MBR because an XP install writes over the MBR. but from the description it looks like this DOS repair tool exe is for the opposite - you have a working XP and an install of R&R results in XP no longer being able to boot.

I've been disassembling the X41 MBR and learning about MBR's. it's been interesting and frustrating. I've had to use the old DOS program "debug" to disassemble the code which doesn't know anything about some of the P6 op codes that are in the X41 MBR. the last time I worked with assembler it was on Z80's back in the old days.

I've been away at a weekend intensive of dance workshops and been dying all weekend to get back to this "puzzle" of disassembling the MBR and figuring out what it does.

[k0lo]

Choco:

Here's some more info that you might want to read:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Rescue_and_Recovery

[ChocoNutDancer]

Wow, this MBR is huge!

Normally (IFAIK) an MBR is usually all within the first sector of
512 bytes. And that includes the partition table and error messages.
I knew something was up when I didn't see any error messages in the first sector. I've been disassembling it and figuring out what it does. Part of the code in the X41 MBR also reads in sectors
2, 3, 4, and 5 with a loop for three more sectors if needed! They aren't stored in consecutive locations either.

sector memory
2 7C00
- 1200
- 1000
- E00
5 C00
4 A00
1 MBR 800
3 600

So you know that section of "unused" sectors in the partition table prior to the XP partition? Don't destroy them or you'll break the MBR and won't be able to boot until you replace the MBR. Note: an XP install from CD will replace the MBR anyway.

[t0ni]

For some reason after I did a clean install of windows XP on my x41t, my Blue Access IBM button still works when I want to log on to the BIOS. (When the IBM splash screen first comes up) However it does nothing after it's inside windows.

I'm probably being paranoid, but is this normal?? I feel like i didnt really did a clean install!

[k0lo]

t0ni:

The behavior of the Blue Button in Windows depends on whether you've installed any of the IBM apps that use the button. Some of these include the Help Center, Access Help, and the Productivity Center. If you don't have any of these installed then the button won't do anything.

Or, you can map the button to your favorite program using the following tip:
http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/forum/to...TOPIC_ID=33891

[t0ni]

Thanks for the reply Mark.

I'm still confused whether I did a clean install because if the blue access button works when booting up, then somehow there is still pre-installed IBM software within the BIOS. Is that correct?

[ChocoNutDancer]

If you install XP from scratch it will blow away your existing MBR
and replace it with it's own. In one of the posts here someone said
that if you install R&R it will "fix" the MBR. Did you install R&R
after installing XP?

[t0ni]

The only IBM software I installed after the clean install was the following:

- IBM software updater
- IBM power manager
- IBM thinkpad configuration
- Active Protection system
- Keyboard customizer
- Tablet Shortcut Menu

I don't think I installed rescue and recovery - if I did my computer would load a lot slower than it should.

The Blue Access Button ONLY works during the few seconds while the IBM/Lenovo Splash Logo appears when I turn on my tablet. The splash screen shows the logo, and a description at the bottom of the screen saying "Press the Access IBM button to access the BIOS" - and it works when I press it when the screen shows up.

I was wondering if I forgot to uninstall some other program that enables the use of the button. I deleted the hidden partition before the clean install (My C drive has a total of 55.8GBs free), or did I?

thanks for your help!

t0ni