Thinkpad x220 restore factory settings after installing ubuntu

Question

I've been using ubuntu in dual boot for a while now and it works great. I've got a new laptop and I want to bring my old x220 to factory settings.

The problem is that I can't find this option.

That's output of fdisk

$ sudo fdisk -l 

Disk /dev/sda: 128.0 GB, 128035676160 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 15566 cylinders, total 250069680 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa40f18a2

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *        2048      206847      102400    7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda2          206848   149714943    74754048    7  HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda3       170194944   250068991    39937024    5  Extended
/dev/sda5       170196992   237725695    33764352   83  Linux
/dev/sda6       237727744   250068991     6170624   82  Linux swap / Solaris

Can I still restore Windows 7 or was recovery partition overwritten by ubuntu?

Answer 1

Firstly, Back up all your files and serial keys. Windows included.

The easiest way to look for that is to:

1. Restart your laptop
2. Press F11 as soon as the Lenovo Logo appears.
3. If you partition is intact, it will take you to the recovery manager.
4. If not, you can try F8/F7 at startup for Windows Recovery. It should give you an option for the Recovery partition.

If you see the program but are not able to run it, or you don't see it; then the partition is gone.

Usually, when you are asked for dual boot, have to choose a partition. the chosen partition get formatted so Ubuntu can be installed on it.

the best way to make a Dual-boot partition is to either:

1. Have an empty partition
2. Shrink an existing partition to make an extra partition

Warning: You must back all important data before shrinking a partition. Although designed to preserve data, an error can mess up 1 or more OS installs.

hope it helps!

Answer 2

If this system had a recovery partition, you may still be able to recover it via a tool such as cgsecurity's testdisk , with one caveat: Over-writing a partition table will result in the loss of the current partition table and its; partitions. What the tool does is scan the partition table for deleted partitions and offers the option of restoring it. That will depend on whether the original partition is overwritten or not.

It's recommended that prior to an operation such as setting up dual boot and new installations, do image the drive so that you're able to restore it in case of disaster or warranty claims. Some vendors (such as Lenovo) may insist on having the OEM drive with the standard Windows installation it came with as a requirement prior to processing RMAs.

For imaging requirements, I'd highly recommend clonezilla for its' speed and broad compatibility with various storage setups, including NVMe drive support out of the box.