T42p, Monitor Stand 2001, and Port Replicator II Questions

[mbressman]

Hi,

I have some questions about how to use the monitor stand 2001 with the port replicator II and the T42p. Everything I looked through previously seemed to indicate that all three of these should work together fine. I purchased a brand new unopened monitor stand and a used port replicator and tried to make them work together, but seem to be running into a few difficulties.

1) The monitor stand has several different ways you can set it up to use the port replicator. There is a piece of plastic that can protrude out of the back of the sliding tray or not so you can push the port replicator/dock further back on the sliding tray under the stand, and the sliding tray has three rows of slots (closest to the back, less close to the back, furthest frm the back) that you can put little pieces of plastic in that jut up and then rest the port replicator against them so it doesn't slide down any further on the sliding tray (i.e. it is seated there now). However, I can't seem to really find any configuration that works well with the Port Replicator II (the instructions that came with the monitor stand only showed two devices that could work with the monitor stand...an older smaller port replicator and this big older dock...none of them mentioned the port replicator II or mini dock). Anyone have any ideas/suggestions? Or maybe the monitor stand was made before the port replicator II and so there is no built-in configuration for it on the monitor stand and you just have to use whatever works best??

2) The online instructions that I accessed on the IBM/Lenovo site regarding the port replicator II are very confusing as to how to load the T42p into the port replicator. From what I can understand from reading them, the sliding portion of the port replicator should not be slid out. Then, you align the arrow on the T42p with the arrow on the port replicator and place the T42p directly on top of the port replicator keeping the arrows aligned. As far as I can tell, you're not supposed to slide the T42p in or out, but simply push it down to seat it or pick it up (after ejecting) to remove it. Is this correct? If so, I have some questions also. The back of the T42p is not supposed to be seated flush up against the port replicator because there are these little plastic tabs that stick out that prevent this...is this correct? What is the folding plastic piece on the right hand side in the back of the port replicator (it folds down) for? And finally, when I'm using the port replicator in the monitor stand, I seem to have a problem putting the T42p into the port replicator. I'm not able to fully push the T42p down into the port replicator, but rather I have to lift up the port replicator slightly to get it to click into the T42p. This doesn't seem right, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Any ideas/suggestions?

3) Why is there no docked and undocked hardware profiles when the T42p is installed in the port replicator? On my older Dell Inspiron 8200 and 7500, when I installed them in their docking stations/port replicators it automatically created a seperate docked and undocked hardware profiles. Does this have anything to do with the fact that the ports on the port replicator II are only pass-through where on other docking stations they might have been seperate devices?

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

- marc

[JHaislet]

What is the folding plastic piece on the right hand side in the back of the port replicator (it folds down) for?

That's used when the 9-cell extended battery is used. It folds down to make room for the battery as it sticks out past the end of the laptop. It won't fold down with the standard 6-cell.

Regarding your other questions, I JUST recieved a Monitor Stand 2001 & Dock II. I used the two plastic standoffs (one on each side) and the Dock II slides right into them (it's notched on the sides). I'll look in the instruction manual mine came with and see if there's any ref to the Port Rep II.

Also, make sure your using the correct tab. Mine came with 4 tabs, and they're specifically designed to fit on one side or the other based on the part that sticks up. 2 specifically for the left & " " for the right side. On the Dock II, I could see potentially the issues you spoke of if the incorrect tab was installed on the wrong side.

[JHaislet]

My instructions specifically mention the Port Rep II.

It says to use the furthest back notches (don't remove the center plate) and put one "snap-in" tab on each side, with the higher part of the tab sticking up on the sides, and with the lower cut-out at the top of the tabs facing towards the middle |_ _| (the vertical line is the taller one).

That's all it says you need to do to the base. The directions for mine are exactly the same, except the Dock II uses the middle set of holes.

[JHaislet]

BTW, my Monitor Stand 2001 instruction booklet has a copyright date of 2003.

Looks like you got the older instruction manual according to IBM.

Here's the new one you need, this is what came with mine that I bought straight from IBM last week.
(I think its the same doc as mentioned below)
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/op ... 2p9164.pdf

Symptom
The Monitor Stand 2001 has retention clips and an extendable tray originally designed for ThinkPad Port Replicator and ThinkPad Dock which do not mechanically fit the same with the new ThinkPad Port Replicator II, ThinkPad Mini-Dock, and ThinkPad Dock II. The instructions provided in the original ThinkPad Monitor Stand 2001 User's Guide does not cover the use of the Monitor Stand 2001 with these three new products.

Affected configuration
All ThinkPad systems using the Port Replicator II, Mini-Dock, or ThinkPad Dock II with the ThinkPad Monitor Stand 2001. This Tip applies to any ThinkPad Monitor Stand 2001 shipped prior to 1 August 2003. ThinkPad Monitor Stand options shipping after this date have been upgraded.

Solution
If you have this symptom with one of the affected configurations listed above, contact the IBM HelpCenter and reference MIGR-52887 to receive the solution.

[mbressman]

JHaislet,

Thanks for all the information. I definitely think my Monitor Stand is an older model than yours. For starters, the tabs don't have two different sides, but all four tabs are the exact same. However, I was definitely seating it the wrong way (I didn't realize there were slots under the port replicator, and so I was seating the tabs so that they would prevent the port replicator from sliding forward (i.e. at the very lower front end of the port replicator). This was obviously wrong. However, now that I've seated the tabs correctly, they are still the wrong size since they don't quite prevent the port replicator from being pushed forwards or backwards, although its a lot better than it was before. I'm wondering if perhaps I can contact IBM to get the correct tabs.

Also, from what I can tell, the way you are supposed to remove the laptop from the port replicator is to pull it out from the port replicator at the same time you are pushing down the eject button on the port replicator. However, it appears that given the configuration of the port replicator on the monitor stand, reaching that eject button and pushing it down at the same time as you are pullnig the laptop free is a bit difficult. Am I missing something here?

I also think I might have a defective port replicator. Pushing the laptop into the port replicator when its mounted in the monitor stand doesn't always fully connect, and I end up having to reach around with my hand and literally pull the port replicator up a bit to make the connection firm. Additionally, some of the connections, such as USB and power don't always take, which makes me wonder if perhaps the docking connector isn't fully making a connection (perhaps because of a defective port replicator). I bought this port replicator used, so I'm wondering if there is something wrong with it. Any thoughts regarding this?

Finally, the processor speed (as seen when clicking the WIN logo key + Pause/Break) seems to be holding steady at 599 MHz when the laptop is docked. Any ideas why its not operating at its full 2.1 GHz speed?

Thanks again for all your help!

- marc

[muffd]

JHaislet,

Finally, the processor speed (as seen when clicking the WIN logo key + Pause/Break) seems to be holding steady at 599 MHz when the laptop is docked. Any ideas why its not operating at its full 2.1 GHz speed?

Thanks again for all your help!

- marc

Do you have power going into your docking station when it shows at 599mhz?

[andyli]

Marc,

The part number you are looking for is 22P9190 - "STAND KIT". I've written about this in another thread on this post.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=13890

[muffd]

I just got my stand and so far so good. The ony gripe that I have about it is that the monitor seems to sit a bit high for me.

[muffd]

Anyone else not happy with this stand?

[andyli]

If you aren't happy with it, then return it. While mine is a little high, I like the convenience of it.

[muffd]

I like the convenience of it but just need to get used to the heighth of it. I doubt I can return it since I bought it off some guy on ebay. Granted I only spent $20.00 for it. If I bought directly from IBM I would definitely return it.