Thinkpads Forum

Hey guys, I'm new here, very nice site!

I currently working on a project that requires a computer with a parallel port (USB printer adapters will not work). I've always liked the look of the thinkpad, so I thought I'd look for a good used one. My question is, what is the latest model that has a parallel port? If it's Lenovo, what's the latest one with the IBM name on it (I heard there were some made by Lenovo that had the IBM name still)?

Obviously, the more power/features the better, but here are some minimum specs I'm looking for:

Parallel port
2 USB posts (2.0 would be really nice)
30 GB HD
1 GB RAM
Windows XP
WiFi card
Ethernet hook up
CD ROM drive
~14 inch screen
~$150 maximum

Any model recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Welcome to the forum!

I believe the latest with a parallel port are the T4x and R5x lines. Most everything older than that also had parallel ports, later models don't.

I have a couple of machines for sale in the market place here that could be configured to meet all your requirements. Send a PM if you need more info.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=103404
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=102557

I am thinking about purchasing an Ultrabay Slim Serial/Parallel Port Adapter for my T61 and old DOS programs.

Will this work?
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Ultrabay_ ... rt_Adapter

My experience is that old software doesn't play nice with these adapters. YMMV.

I'm not an expert on what connections look like, but the connector on the port replicator for my wife's T400 looks like what I remember parallel connections were.
If so, wouldn't it be better to get a replicator for a recent ThinkPad, rather than go backwards?

Thanks for the input! Does anyone know of a site where I could look at the specs of all the thinkpads?

Neil wrote: I have a couple of machines for sale in the market place here that could be configured to meet all your requirements. Send a PM if you need more info.

That T41 is tempting, only major turn off is the absence of a trackpad. I want to look around a bit at a few more models before I make my final decision, but that sure is a great price.

RRHODY wrote:I'm not an expert on what connections look like, but the connector on the port replicator for my wife's T400 looks like what I remember parallel connections were.
If so, wouldn't it be better to get a replicator for a recent ThinkPad, rather than go backwards?

I don't really know anything about that, but I don't need a whole lot of power, and I'd like to keep things on the cheap. Also, I don't really want to take the risk of these replicators not working for what I need it for (as in the USB to parallel adaptors).

Here is description of port replicator for T2x, T30, and T4x...
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_ ... licator_II

Here is description of port replicator for T6x, T400, T500, W500...
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_ ... Replicator
(no parallel port)

Here is description of advanced mini-dock for T6x. T400, T500, W500...
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_ ... _Mini_Dock

Wickeycolumbus wrote:Thanks for the input! Does anyone know of a site where I could look at the specs of all the thinkpads?

Specs can be found by choosing the model of interest here http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... PAD-MATRIX and then getting the maintenance manual.

I think the T43 is the last one to have a parallel port and that's what I would go with given your requirements. There should be lots of them available here on the forum.

T61 is the fastest model you can get with a parallel port. It is not integrated in the machine, requieres an adaptor that replaces the optical drive as noted above.

But it is a real port, coming from the chipset, so it won't give you any issues. I've got two serial/parallel adapters myself, I bought them because I'm interested in CNC automation and it requires such ports to operate reliably. If you're interested in one I might be interested in selling it. Not for cheap, though, because it took me quite a while to get my hands on them as they are very, very rare.

Please don't confuse the issue here.
OP asked for a Thinkpad with a physical Parallel port.
But you are correct to point out that support for legacy ports (serial & parallel) has been dropped (from T400 onwards).
Instead of a T43, I would recommend an R52 with integrated Intel graphics.
They are more rugged than the T43 and have better motherboards than the T43.

PS: the IBM and Lenovo badges on lid and palmrest are interchangeable.

mikemex wrote:T61 is the fastest model you can get with a parallel port. It is not integrated in the machine, requieres an adaptor that replaces the optical drive as noted above.

But it is a real port, coming from the chipset, so it won't give you any issues. I've got two serial/parallel adapters myself, I bought them because I'm interested in CNC automation and it requires such ports to operate reliably. If you're interested in one I might be interested in selling it. Not for cheap, though, because it took me quite a while to get my hands on them as they are very, very rare.

Would it be possible for you to create a pinout of the Ultrabay Parallel Port adapter?
That way those who don't have access to it, could still hack something up to get the port running.
If it is a real parallel port, then the pins for it must be on the Ultrabay connector.

Thanks in advance!

[edit: enable notifications]

Look for Serial/Parallel Port J26 on the motherboard (between the Ultrabay Battery port and ODD port).
That one is only available on 4:3 non-widescreen T60/T61 and very few R60/R61 motherboards.
15" models also have an interposer card with the above 3 connectors (both male and female) on them.
Could be used for connecting to a real Serial or Parallel port.
For the J26 pinout, Google for "lenovo t60 schematics".
AFAIK there are no schematics for that Ser/Par-adapter
Alternative: get a docking station, see: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Parallel_Port
Or a PC-card adapter.

And looky here: http://thinkwiki.de/ThinkPad_Serial_Par ... ay_Adapter

RealBlackStuff wrote:Look for Serial/Parallel Port J26 on the motherboard (between the Ultrabay Battery port and ODD port).
That one is only available on 4:3 non-widescreen T60/T61 and very few R60/R61 motherboards.
15" models also have an interposer card with the above 3 connectors (both male and female) on them.
Could be used for connecting to a real Serial or Parallel port.

Just to confirm I understood correctly, does that means that all T60/T61 have a real port, but on some it is easier to access (the 4:3 non-wide)?

RealBlackStuff wrote: For the J26 pinout, Google for "lenovo t60 schematics".
AFAIK there are no schematics for that Ser/Par-adapter
Alternative: get a docking station, see: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Parallel_Port
Or a PC-card adapter.

And looky here: http://thinkwiki.de/ThinkPad_Serial_Par ... ay_Adapter

Thanks for the pointers man!

By the way, would the PC-card or the docking station ports be real ports at ISA compatible addresses? (0x378)

bitbanger wrote:Just to confirm I understood correctly, does that means that all T60/T61 have a real port, but on some it is easier to access (the 4:3 non-wide)?

Nope.
That J26 port is what the Ser/Par adapter connects to, only the adapter itself has the proper Ser/Par ports.
You can set the Par-address in the BIOS to 278, 378 or 3BC.

J26 looks like the middle connector on this interposer:

You can get a T43 and it is almost completely guaranteed to work

May I suggest you move away from Thinkpads. There's at least two other brands that have LPT1 baked into the back of the laptop and are DDR3 and Core 2 Duo T9000 series.

I'm not too hung up on the physical aspects of the laptop itself as in these situations you're better off running the laptop as a rpd machine.

Fujitsu is one company I use although their stuff is rare.

RealBlackStuff wrote:

bitbanger wrote:Just to confirm I understood correctly, does that means that all T60/T61 have a real port, but on some it is easier to access (the 4:3 non-wide)?

Nope.
That J26 port is what the Ser/Par adapter connects to, only the adapter itself has the proper Ser/Par ports.
You can set the Par-address in the BIOS to 278, 378 or 3BC.

J26 looks like the middle connector on this interposer:

Thanks for the reply.
By looking at the schematics, it looks like that connector J26 only has LPC Bus connections:
LEGACY_IO
PLTRST
SUS_STAT
CLKRUN
IRQSER
LPC_AD[0:3]
LPCCLK_LEGACY_33M
LPC_FRAME
LPC_DREQ1

Which basically means that the adapter itself carries the electronics for the serial/parallel ports.