Thanks. Looks like that fixes both things.

I guess the CPU Cache Utility was working fine, I just thought there was a problem because the GUI doesn't give any feedback after you click on the "Configure Cache" button, and I couldn't remove the checkmark indicating that it is using the default settings. Regardless, CPU-Z reports my L2 cache enabled with this other utility now.

And the start up key sequence you provide seems to work smoothly too. Perhaps my problem was coming from waiting too long between key presses, rather than from not waiting long enough! Regardless, using your quick key method I just rebooted 3 times in a row without the video problem that I've seen before. And it's quicker than my method of waiting between strokes.

Phil.

NEW INFORMATION ON PIII CPU UPGRADE FOR 770X/Z!

Recent experiments have resulted in two success stories installing a non-Speedstep PIII into a 770X/Z series machine in a way which allows it to boot cleanly into Windows without requiring any additional keystrokes. The trick involves editing a single bit in the ThinkPad CMOS in order to disable the L2 Cache, and then using a software utility to re-enable it after the OS boots up.

At least two separate users (pkiff, sickofit) on two distinct machines (770Z, 770X) have succeeded in upgrading to a PIII and found a way around the classic 127 error on boot. The only difference between these cases and other cases already recorded in this thread is the modification of a single bit in the CMOS area. By turning this particular bit "ON" (giving it a value of 1), the L2 Cache is disabled. As a result, when the ThinkPad goes through the POST, it no longer runs into the 127 error (which is a cache error). After booting into the OS, it is necessary to run a utility to enable the L2 cache. Not all OSes appear to have a functional utility which can do this, but one is certainly available for Windows 98SE.

Further information about which bit was modified, how it was done, and who deserves the credit is available in the thread titled 770Z CPU Upgrade Problems - PIII 500, 100MHz Mem, 127 Error

It is unclear what effect this will have on machines with a faster, SpeedStep-enabled CPU. The Intel Pentium III 500MHz is the fastest non-Speedstep CPU that was manufactured by Intel in the MMC-2 form factor.

Happy upgrading!

Phil.

Congrats and thanks Phil!

Looks like I'll be doing some additional upgrading this weekend.

Regards,

James

hi - was hoping someone could answer a few questions for me...

1 - when upgrading memory, i know that i can use pc66 sodimm ram. can i also use pc100 sodimm ram? is there a particular pin layout i should be looking for?

2 - when upgrading my processor, i should be looking for a mmc-2 processor. is that right? are there particular processors i need to avoid?

3 - when upgrading my hard drive, what should i be looking for?

thanks all. keep in mind that i really am a newbie, and that i've never opened up a computer before, save to change a cmos battery.

1. [SO DIMM Speeds]: There are two different classes of 770. The 770 and 770E vs. the 770X and 770Z. I have used PC-100 SO-Dimm's in both, but one slot will only work with PC-66's on the 770/E. If you change the SODIMM on the System Board on the 770X/Z, I have used PC-100's in both slots; otherwise I have to use a PC-66 in one of the slots (I forget which one). If you put a PC-100 in the slot that requires a PC-66, either the memory will not be recognized, or the system will hang.

2. [Processor]: The 770/E use MMC-1 processors, maximum speed 400 MHz. I haven't had any success with a Celeron; you need to use Pentium II. The 770X/Z use MMC-2 processors. You can use up to a 400 without any special effort, but with care (see the rest of this thread) you can get most of the others to work (but the Speed Step processors will only work at slower speed).

3. [Hard Drive]: You can use any laptop hard drive. It will have to be put in the "caddy" that holds your current hard drive. When reassembling the caddy, be careful not to short any of the pins on the connector that plugs into the computer with the caddy housing (ask me how I found this out ).

Make sure you download the Repair Manual for your Thinkpad. Without the disassembly diagrams you may have some trouble putting the thing back together properly (a hint from the wounded).

Hope this helps.

Hello,
I am trying to download the 'Cache-enabler 1.2' for several days, but alwasy get following error:

The page can not be displayed...

Anybody knows what's wrong? Anyhbody can send me the files?
My email:noblame@163.com.
Thanks

Hi, noblame.

I once contacted the author of the utility "cache-enabler" a couple
of month ago. He said he set up a personal web server at home and
was distributing the utility on his own server, and also he would move out
soon and the server would not be up and running for while. Perhaps
he is now cleaning up and organizing a new room.

I have this utility so can send it to you. Check with your mail box.

Thank you very much!

So, I'm almost at the point where I'm ready to make the first incision. Just need some clarification.

I'm planning on installing a pIII-500 mmc-2 processor. if i understand correctly, once i do that, i will have to install ms-dos on my computer? all i have is my original tp770x recovery disks. how do i go obtaining a copy of ms-does, and then installing windows 98 from ms-dos? or am i misunderstanding something?

also, if i understand correctly, i will have to replace all of the ram, including the ram on the motherboard, to pc100 ram. this can be anywhere from 256 mb to 64 mb. or does the chip on the motherboard have to stay at 64 mb? is it possible to get 768 mb going? i'm going out to buy the ram, so just want to know what sizes i should get for the three sticks. also, is pc-133 backwards compliant in this case?

thanks very much

greg

No need to install DOS,just make sure you're CD is set as the first boot device,then there will be a prompt at boot to boot from hard disk or CD......BUT you will have to go into bios first and make some changes so the PIII will work....see here http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=1199 ,make the changes where he added the two stars....read the whole thread,as there was different entries for the 770X and the 770Z !!



Yes you will have to change it all to PC-100....doesn't matter the sizes,its up to you....I have a 256Mb for a 390X and 2-128Mb for a 390x,both from kingston.....you have to make sure the 256 chip has 8 small chips per side instead of the more common 4 per side....others won't work....as for 768MB...Not sure,never tried....ANYONE????..



Again,never tried.....ANYONE????

Also,I'd recommend w2K or XP over 98 once you get some ram.....lots of drivers to load for 98....just a couple for w2k or XP

Have Fun....

Greg St.L

TP770X/Z cannot go to 768MB. The maximum memory TP770X/Z can take is 512MB.
I heard one guy tried to install various combinations of DIMMS to go any higher than
512MB with no avail.


PC133 low density DIMMs may work.My TP770X is actually working with a PC133 DIMM.
you can try if you already have such one. But it is not advisable to buy a new PC133
DIMM unless you can return it since there are some reports saying that it doesn't work.

I'm wondering if this bios change will allow a Celeron to work! correct me if i'm wrong but doesn't the celeron 500 have as much cache as a PII 400. I'm wondering if it will work. We shall see since i just bought one. Anyone tried this yet?

Thanks
Nate

Anyone have the BIOS update that came with there Processor Upgrade? I need the one for the 366 or 400mhz upgrade from IBM.

Thanks
Nate

BIG NEWS!

for me atleast. I figured out why my Frankenpad was having problems booting before. Turns out the PII 300 processor I used in my first upgrade had External L2 Cache. The new PII 400 I upgraded with had Internal "on-die" L2 Cache. System boots without any problems. So for all those getting processors off eBay or other vendors, make sure you get the version with the On Die L2 Cache.

-=Peace Out=-
Nate

Hi guys. I succeeded in overclocking my TP770X by 8%.

I had hoped to overclock my TP770X so I asked Sharedoc, a thinkpad
guru who first succeeded in overclocking a TP600E, a question about the
principle of what he did and he kindly provided me with the essential
information. (Thanks, Sharedoc!)
If you are interested in overclocking a TP600E, see this thread.
http://www.wimsbios.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4046

I also succeeded in overclocking my TP770X by applying the same
technique as he did for overclocking his TP600E.
I posted an article explaining how to overclock a TP 770X to share this
knowledge with other thinkpad maniacs. If you are interested in this
modification, check with the following URL.
http://mav.nifty.com/ahp/textview.cgi?burmygreens-room2+28067+106

Some cautions,
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY DANGEROUS MODIFICATION.
If you can't understand what is explained in my article or not handy in
soldering very tiny objects, don't go for it.
If you decide to dare to try, go ahead upon your own responsibility.

I DO NOT REPLY ANY PERSONAL INQUIRY ABOUT THIS MODIFICATION,
simply because everything that I know is already explained in the article.
if you have any comments or questions, post here and share it with
others.

Hope you will find this post interesting!.

hi folks, sorry to activate a dead thread but I have a question. I have a 770 and well Id love a p2 400, so my question is i find the 400 processor and put in? How? BTW im a serious newbie at this. This is my 2nd laptop my first one was a toshiba 486 almost 5 yrs ago, Made good target practice.
Any help would be great thanks.

Heyl please don't say like that way. I believe this thread is one of the
most comprehensive information sources for taking full advantage of
TP770 seriese, and that many people appreciate this thread!


You can put a MMC-1 PII-400. Just pop it in and you are ready to enjoy.
How? The first thing you should do is to obtain the hardwave
maintenance manual for TP770 series from the IBM web site.
It describes how to do it in detail.

well thanks for the Info, im looking for the processor right now and some more ram as well. Thanks for the info and I must say, i have ALOT of free time at work so what do I do? I surf the web. Usually looking for stuff that intrigues me at the moment. I spent 4 days looking for information about this laptop that i could undestand. Ive yet to learn how to speak technical. I know in other forums, if u activate a thread thats more that a month or 2 old they throw a fit. This has got to be the most informitive site that ive been able to find yet. You guys speak english, that i can understand, and thats a big thing.

Thanks so much

John

Regarding the ol' question of putting 768 MB in the ThinkPad 770X/Z.

I have posted this at Wim's BIOS forum.

http://www.wimsbios.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6493

I hope the good guys over there, can reveal something about this annoying fact.

Kindest regards
Brian

is anyone here? i got someone selling pII 400 MMC1 cpus in the US! but i don't know whether the price is reasonable, you know, economic enough. does a new such CPU still worth 65 USDs now?? if anyone read this post, please answer me as soon as possible!
this is his HTTP: http://cgi.ebay.com.cn/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 77900&rd=1

I bought a CPU from this person and it was in brand new shape, excellent shipping. Factory sealed to exact. I think $65.00 is fair if you're going to keep the laptop. I sold mine, and probably didn't recoupe the investment.

thanks alot for your information, ndoggfromhell! but 65USD added by over 10USD international shippment and transaction fee is still too high a budget for me. i'll try to find one domestically first before turning to him. but still thank you.

New to the forum. Some great information here!
Quick question that may seem a little stupid :d
My GF's dad just purchased a TP770X off of eBay. It had several things taken out of it, Battery, HDD, CDrom etc.

I read the post saying any HDD will work, however it has to fit in the caddy. I've also read elsewhere that people remove the caddy's and such. I know much about computers, but very little when it comes to laptop upgrading. About the caddy, does it slide out? Is it fixed? How can I even tell if it's still in the laptop or not?

Also, for purchasing laptop batteries, would I need to purchase a specific IBM TP770X battery? Or can new ones be bought?


Thanks!

Welcome to the forum..!!!

Okay,the hard drive goes in a metal caddy,and then slides in under the power switch...take the door off and see if there is anything there or just empty....Flash to the newest bios(if not already),before adding a bigger than 20Gb drive.....

Batteries,new and used are readily available on ebay if you want to that route.....some are IBM branded,some are not....

If your going to get a DVD drive instead of a CD drive,then you will also need a DEVA card(to watch DVD's anyway) that would slide in under the main battery...unless you upgrade the CPU,then you can just use an older copy of PowerDVD...

There is also people selling Hard drives with caddies for the 770 series on ebay.....may be cheaper to go that way...

Hope this helps....Have fun..!!!

Greg St.L

Great! Thanks for the info.

Until there is a way to be certain one can protect themselves against Palladium/TCPA intrusions I am restricting all my machines to 98SE (or Linux, but unable to run some key software such as ACAD from Linux), nothing beyond.
Am very fond of my 770x (13.7" screen) with all the bells & whistles including the large docking station, However it is running an earlier version of 98 (4.10.1998) and I'd like to upgrade it to 98SE.
Have the full MS 98SE install disk but, of course it refuses to install over top the original OS, meaning if I want to use it I'll have to reformat the disk and I don't want to lose all the drivers came with the ThinkPad, particularly the Express Video, and the excellent battery power management software. I DO have all the original IBM system disks including the selective install.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I really have enormous respect for IBM, and my 770x is as good as it gets far as I'm concerned; so I wonder if `Big Blue' (as opposed to `Blue Screen of Death' from the `other' guys!-) ever produced an upgrade disk themselves to install 98SE over top of the original IBM install.
Thanks, HBH

I've installed Windows 98SE from an OEM Microsoft disk on a 770E and on a 770Z many times. There is no "upgrade" disk from IBM, there is only the recovery disk(s) that shipped with those machines. I've never used the recovery disks, so am not 100% sure how they work, but I'm surprised that it will not allow you to upgrade your windows using a standard Microsoft 98SE disk. I don't have any experience with such upgrades so maybe that is always the case.

What I can tell you is that a clean install is usually better for Windows 98SE anyways and that you will be able to download all the IBM utility software from the appropriate IBM 770/E/ED/X/Z drivers page, EXCEPT for DVDExpress and the video capture software.

An ISO of a compatible DVDExpress program can be obtained from Bill Morrow's handy little FTP resource page here on Thinkpads.com. However, I personally have never actually been able to get that version of DVD Express to work properly in conjunction with my DEVA card under Windows 98SE when I did a clean install of Windows 98SE. Most people who use the 770X/770Z recovery disks by contrast are apparently able to get DVDExpress to work just fine under Windows 98. (Note that I can get it to work okay, but if I do, then it is not actually using the DEVA anymore). And my problem is not with my card, as it works just great under Windows 2000. You may of course be able to get it to work just fine as lots of people apparently have, but my experience is a note of caution if you are looking in particular to upgrade to 98SE and also to use the DVDExpress software.

The video capture software is somewhat more difficult to get a hold of and I don't have a copy, nor do I have a source location.

On the topic of installing Windows 98SE, I cannot speak highly enough about 98lite from litePC [professional version costs money] if you are serious about sticking with Windows 98SE as your OS on all your machines. And for ease of installation, there is nothing that beats the Windows 98SE Service Packs from exuberant software [freeware] -- and they should be compatible with 98lite. Finally, for any extra updates, I would refer to the inimitable ERPMan's Windows 98 & Windows ME System Updates Page [free to use].

If you have any additional questions about installing Windows 98SE on your 770X, feel free to PM me -- or start a fresh thread specifically on installing Windows 98SE on a 770X.

Phil.

I've got a copy of the capture software.....I can messenger it to you if you do decide to go the format way...

I remember once,trying to upgrade a plain 770 from a fresh preload with 95 on it,to 98SE using a OEM cd that it wouldn't allow it,I had to go the 98 upgrade disc way....alot harder to find than a copy of windows...

Later....Greg

So I have a 770 (233 mmx) that I'm thinking of putting back into service as a windows box (I occasionally need to run a windows program). I think I have a 128mb and a 256mb pc100 sodimm around. Do I understand that I can put these in the 770 (416 meg total including the 32mb internal)? And that's the max configuration?

Also is there a way to install Windows XP on it from my X40 restore CD? I figure I'm entitled to do that since I run Linux on the X40 (I deleted the Windows partition when I installed Linux) so I have a paid-for XP license that I'm not using.

Finally, if I get whatever the most recent bios was, can I use hd's of unlimited size? 80gb seems to be about the best deal right now at $100 or so.

Thanks.

The X40 restore CD will not work on the 770 and you are NOT intitled to use it even if you could. The Windows license from the X40 applies only to that specific machine. According to the license, you cannot use it on another machine or sell it except with that machine. You paid for the OEM version which does not include transfer rights.

I think Microsoft should sell upgrades from OEM to retail versions, but they don't.

The cheapest way to get a permanent XP license is to get another OEM version, and put that on your 770. XP likes to have a 300MHz machine, by the way.

Instead of that, you might consider VMWare or Wine.