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R40 Wireless G mini pci cards?

R30/R40, A30/A31, G40/G50 and Z60/Z61 Series. NOT for AMD-Ryzen.
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Jethro Bodean
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R40 Wireless G mini pci cards?

#1 Post by Jethro Bodean » Fri Jun 30, 2006 9:32 pm

Is there a compatible mini pci card that works with R40's I don't want to mess with error hacks- just want to replace my wireless B with a wireless G?
Anyone have one for sale?
thanks
Jethro

Kendas
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#2 Post by Kendas » Sun Jul 02, 2006 10:48 pm

Same question for an A30. With a part number if possible. I'd like to replace my 26P8472 802.11b MPCI wireless LAN/modem combo card with the like 802.11b/g.

BTW - Not hard to tell but, I'm new on this forum.

Thanks.
A30 2652-46U (used to be a 2654-BC2 Originally a 2652-35U)
15 inch XVGA 768MB, DVD 1-Dual layer R/W DVD 2 RO, Dock Ultrabay 2k Battery Modem daughter card, 802.11A/B/G...
And anything else I can stuff in.

Any one else here old enough to have used an IBM 029 Keypunch? :}

iminj
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#3 Post by iminj » Wed Jul 05, 2006 4:20 pm

Is there a compatible mini pci card that works with R40's
Yes, there is.

I purchased the IBM a/b/g mini-pci card a couple of years ago for my R40. It works perfectly assuming you have the latest BIOS and the correct drivers (... I think it's x:\DRIVERS\WLLANPHL) The IBM Part No. is 31P9701.
-iminj

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crazyfrog
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#4 Post by crazyfrog » Mon Jul 10, 2006 8:57 am

I upgraded my R40-2681 with a standard intel 2200 B/G mini PCI card a year ago. I did hack the CMOS with a tiny DOS program, which is fairly easy and safe to my laptop.

It worked fluently over the year, though I cann't use Fn+F5 to open a control window, instead, I use the program and software drive provided by Intel to set and control the Wi-Fi card.
Core 2 Duo T7600, 3GB DDR2-667 RAM, Main 7K320 320GB 7200RPM + Ultrabay 320GB 5400RPM, ATI FireGL V5250, 15" IPS UXGA, DVDRW, Bluetooth, Atheros ABGN, NMB Keyboard, Fingerprint, Win7 Pro X86 + Vista 64-bit SP2, Advanced Dock.

Pookster
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For more info

#5 Post by Pookster » Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:01 pm

Hiya,

If you want some more info about how to hack your CMOS to allow it to accept cards which are not one white lists by IBM, the best place to check out if the Linux guys at ThinkWiki.

Follow link: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... twork_card

really helpful, I used this method on my R40e and worked a treat.

Hope this info helps you make an informed decision

mustafa
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New BIOS supports 802.11b/g?

#6 Post by mustafa » Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:05 pm

R40's latest BIOS update (1OET61WW 1.27) released on 2006/07/01 supposedly adds support for certain 802.11b/g Mini PCI card(s).
<1.27 - 1.27 (1OET61WW)>
- (New) Support for IBM 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Adapter.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-46055
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... uj24us.txt

The question is: Which FRU's are supported? How do we find out?

btw, my R40 model is 2681-69U, whose user guide only mentions 802.11b compatible cards. Am I correct to understand that the new BIOS will allow certain 802.11b/g cards as well?

mustafa
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#7 Post by mustafa » Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:55 pm

I have successfully installed the IBM 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Card (93P3475) on my Thinkpad R40 (2681-69U) which originally supported only 802.11b Mini PCI cards.

Here's what I did:

1. Downloaded the drivers off Lenovo's website: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-52527
1. Downloaded and updated to latest BIOS (for my model, v1.27 which brings support for Thinkpad 11b/g cards)
2. Ordered part# 93P3475 off eBay.
3. Opened Mini PCI door and inserted card.
4. Attached both antennas.
5. Turned on R40 and installed drivers.

Everything works:

1. BIOS doesn't complain
2. Wireless works flawlessly on secure network.
3. Wireless LED works.
4. Wireless On/Off Hot Key works.

Hope this helps!
ThinkPad R40 2681-69U

JEBB
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#8 Post by JEBB » Thu Aug 03, 2006 5:16 pm

What is the advantage of 802-11g? The 802-11b is faster than current highspeed Internet connections.
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#9 Post by underclocker » Fri Aug 04, 2006 6:24 am

What is the advantage of 802-11g? The 802-11b is faster than current highspeed Internet connections.
Not really, the effective throughput of B wifi is around 5mb/s. Many broadband carriers offer 7mb/s plus - for instance RCN (formerly Starpower, in Maryland), which I personally use.

Also, with a home server, copying photos in particular between a laptop and the server is many times faster with G wifi (or A).

It's a noticable and inexpensive upgrade at this point. Routers and wifi cards are very reasonable now.
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mustafa
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#10 Post by mustafa » Fri Aug 04, 2006 7:06 pm

JEBB wrote:What is the advantage of 802-11g? The 802-11b is faster than current highspeed Internet connections.
In addition to what underclocker said, 802.11g offers much better range while maintaining excellent speeds. I can use it at home and campus in places where the signal would drop with an 11b.

It's a matter of what you need. 11b doesn't cut it for many situations, and for $25 it's an inexpensive upgrade.
ThinkPad R40 2681-69U

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#11 Post by dorronto » Fri Aug 11, 2006 4:38 am

Just received a R40. It was wireless upgradeable(ie, no wifi card installed). I purchased an Intel 2200 b/g mini pci card, performed the no-1802 hack, and the card is up and running fine with no problems. I use the Intel software to run the card. Very easy to do.


Ron
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jonny b
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#12 Post by jonny b » Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:56 pm

Hi everyone i'm totally new to this forum but having looked at lots of your posts you seem to know what your doing .Hopefully some one can help me , i have an ibm r40e model 2684 L8G will i be able to run the bios upgrade as described earlier to enable me to use the intel 2200b g mini pci wireless lan card in this machine as the model 2684 isn't show on any of the upgrade instructions .I hope it's not too daft a question for a first post . Regards jonny P.S i also have a 600x which is still a fantastic machine and used a lot .

underclocker
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#13 Post by underclocker » Thu Aug 17, 2006 6:08 am

Welcome.

The R40 and R40e's do have different BIOS and EC images. I have personally used the hack with R40's successfully, as have others here.

There doesn't seem to be a reason why the hack shoudn't work with the R40e - since it was released around the same time as the R40's and is a very similar model.

Perhaps someone with a R40e can try and/or comment, too.
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#14 Post by jonny b » Fri Aug 18, 2006 3:12 am

Hi Underclocker many thanks for reply i am going to give it a try at the weekend as i also have not found anything to suggest that r40e bios can't be modified.

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#15 Post by underclocker » Fri Aug 18, 2006 1:31 pm

Your results will be a fine addition to this forum!

Good luck.
T510, i7-620m, NVidia, HD+, 8GB, 512GB Intel 545s SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Home
T400s, C2D SP9400, Intel 4500MHD, WXGA+, 8GB, 160GB Intel X18-M G2 SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Travel
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jonny b
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#16 Post by jonny b » Mon Aug 21, 2006 7:45 am

I can now happily confirm that bios hack no 1802 does work on ibm r40e 2684 L8G card running is intel wm3a2200bgrw thanks to everyone who posted the info was invaluable . jonny b

ottadel
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Hi Mustafa

#17 Post by ottadel » Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:33 pm

mustafa wrote:I have successfully installed the IBM 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Card (93P3475) on my Thinkpad R40 (2681-69U) which originally supported only 802.11b Mini PCI cards.

Here's what I did:

1. Downloaded the drivers off Lenovo's website: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-52527
HOW MUCH DO YOU PAY FOR THE CARD ??, THANKS

1. Downloaded and updated to latest BIOS (for my model, v1.27 which brings support for Thinkpad 11b/g cards)
2. Ordered part# 93P3475 off eBay.
3. Opened Mini PCI door and inserted card.
4. Attached both antennas.
5. Turned on R40 and installed drivers.

Everything works:

1. BIOS doesn't complain
2. Wireless works flawlessly on secure network.
3. Wireless LED works.
4. Wireless On/Off Hot Key works.

Hope this helps!

LeeCravens
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Location: Louisville, Kentucky

Re: R40 Wireless G mini pci cards?

#18 Post by LeeCravens » Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:43 am

Anyone remember how to do this?

I recently got a thinkpad r40 2682-6gu, bought an 802.11g mini pci card for it, and have tried updating to the latest BIOS (1.27)

I can't get the BIOS flash to work. I downloaded it straight from the Lenovo site. When I get to the second 1 through 4 screens, it restarts without any luck updating the BIOS. I have tried this at least 30 times now with unsuccessful results.

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Re: R40 Wireless G mini pci cards?

#19 Post by RealBlackStuff » Fri Nov 20, 2009 7:51 am

Have you updated first (or is already at it) the Embedded Controller Program to 1.14?
Only then should you update the BIOS.
How are you trying to do it, using a floppy or from within Windows?
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Re: R40 Wireless G mini pci cards?

#20 Post by ajkula66 » Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:25 am

@LeeCravens:

I've given you all the correct instructions on Lenovo's forum.

http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/R-Series-Thi ... d-p/176147

Your machine has a charging circuitry problem. Keep on pushing the BIOS upgrade and you'll eventually brick it.

Get a proper IBM/Atheros card with a FRU number and move on.
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