[Thinkpad] Seeking help re: TP i1400 Recovery CD / CD-ROM problems

I am having difficulties restoring Windows 98 on my TP i1400 (2611-451)
using the IBM Recovery CD 1.0. The problem seems to be in the recovery
script's ability to install and/or recognize CD-ROM drivers it needs to
conduct the full recovery off of the CD.

Note that the Recovery CD ships with a floppy-sized boot image as well as
the rest of the recovery software on the CD itself. I have attempted
recovery via the following configurations:

A. Using Recovery CD on internal CD-ROM for both boot image and recovery
images
B. Using separate floppy boot disk (made from Recovery CD) to boot TP,
using Recovery CD on internal CD-ROM for recovery images
C. Using separate floppy boot disk (made from Recovery CD) to boot TP,
using Recovery CD on external PCMCIA CD-ROM (Panasonic 783, one of the
three drives recommend by the IBM Recovery CD)

In all three instances, the TP boots off of the boot floppy disk (and off
the boot image on internal CD-ROM) just fine, but when it attempts to
complete the recovery process by installing CD-ROM drivers (internal and
external) and reading the rest of the Recovery CD, it fails. Specifically,
it each case it is unable to see/find the CD-ROM, whether internal or external.

(As context, after booting from the boot image, the recovery process asks
the user to select an internal or external PCMCIA drive from which to read
the Recovery CD. The user can then test this CD-ROM before beginning the
actual recovery.)

I find case A most odd because although it properly boots from the CD-ROM
it seems unable to find the CD-ROM and read the rest of the Recovery CD.

I have checked the BIOS to ensure that proper boot sequences, etc., amongst
the drives. I have scoured the web using multiple different Google
searches. I have read the Mini-FAQ and checked-out those URLs. I have
typed "RESETC" after each time the recovery process failed.

Any and all suggestions and/or pointers would be most appreciated. Thanks
in advance.

sj

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