Minidock prob - am I being dumb? *Resolution* (or not?)

[Rory]

Just got a T43 and MiniDock.
Dropped the T43 onto the dock and it picks up power fine, but none of the other ports work.
I tried rebooting, removing and redocking etc but doesn't make any difference.

Any idea's? Do I have to tell the T43 that it's docked somehow?

[gunston]

after docking.
those serial and parallel ports in your thinkpad might not work.
Thus, the only functional ports are in your docking station.

[davidspalding]

Rory, I presume you're talking about the ports on the dock, right? The other ports on my T43 (that is, the USB ports, Ethernet, audio) all work fine. I would suspect that the VGA out on the right of the TP won't work; I could be wrong. Serial port ... huh?

Not sure what your MiniDock manual says, but the first time use, definitely turn off your TP, dock it, and boot it all the way up. The TP recognizes the dock, and may create a "Docked" hardware profile. Of course, ensure you're using the MiniDock's power supply.

HTH.

[Rory]

Rory, I presume you're talking about the ports on the dock, right?

That's correct - I meant the ports on the dock. LAN, USB, Mouse are connected but none work. However the laptop is picking up power through the dock.
I just looked and there's no docked profile.

This is my first Thinkpad. Coming from a Compaq Evo, I simply dropped that onto the dock and it worked.

Do I have to 'install' the Minidock, or should the machine just recognise that it's connected?

[davidspalding]

No, nothing to install. What kind of mouse?

If you have already followed my first suggestion, try the usb mouse and ethernet into the ports on the left side of the TP - do they work? Now, unplug them, and plug them in the back of the MiniDock? Any connection?

You ought to hear a little "do-dong" sound from Windows when the usb mouse is connected. And you ought to hear Access Connections (if set to its defaults) when it connects to teh LAN.

Another test: when the Ethernet is plugged into the minidock, the lights on the TP Ethernet port (left side) will operate, as the MiniDock is providing passthrough to the TP's internal Ethernet.

Also ... is this a new Minidock? If the TP and MiniDock are new, a call to Support might be in order.

[Rory]

No, nothing to install. What kind of mouse?

Tried both USB as PS2.

If you have already followed my first suggestion, try the usb mouse and ethernet into the ports on the left side of the TP - do they work? Now, unplug them, and plug them in the back of the MiniDock? Any connection?

Work fine in the T43 (even when docked) but not in the docking station.

You ought to hear a little "do-dong" sound from Windows when the usb mouse is connected. And you ought to hear Access Connections (if set to its defaults) when it connects to teh LAN.

Nope - although I do get that noise if I pop the T43 off or onto the dock. So it knows it's being docked and undocked, yet the ports are all dead. I can start and stop the laptop from the power button on the minidock.

Another test: when the Ethernet is plugged into the minidock, the lights on the TP Ethernet port (left side) will operate, as the MiniDock is providing passthrough to the TP's internal Ethernet.

Nope.

Also ... is this a new Minidock? If the TP and MiniDock are new, a call to Support might be in order.

Both brand-new yesterday. It's looking like something is broken - I hope it's not the laptop, I'm really pleased with it (after the Evo).

Thanks for your help.

[davidspalding]

USB is more plug and play. I tend to avoid PS/2 things on the dock ... a good dock will stop such devices during undocking ... but the MiniDock seems less fluent at this than my Dock II.

Sounds like your dock is kaput. Power and "docking completed" are good indications, and I would guess your TP's docking connector is alive. A more explicit test you could try is, while undocked, open DEVMGMT.MSC and expand the USB devices node. Take a screen shot. Then after booting in the minidock, do the same thing. You would normally see more USB hub objects, representing the dock.

Frankly, at this point I'd call support and tell 'em your dock appears DOA. Let them walk you through formal support troubleshooting.

[Rory]

Sounds like your dock is kaput. Power and "docking completed" are good indications, and I would guess your TP's docking connector is alive. A more explicit test you could try is, while undocked, open DEVMGMT.MSC and expand the USB devices node. Take a screen shot. Then after booting in the minidock, do the same thing. You would normally see more USB hub objects, representing the dock.

It's exactly the same either way around.

Frankly, at this point I'd call support and tell 'em your dock appears DOA. Let them walk you through formal support troubleshooting.

I guess so. I really hope it's a docking station problem and not a problem with the T43's connector etc. Funnily enough I was offered a returned mindock for a third of the price of the new one. I almost accepted but in the end went for the new one as I didn't want to risk any hassle!

Thanks for your help.

[Rory]

So I called support - quite funny really, I'm in the UK but the IBM support guys who are also in the UK are obviously Indian. So instead of moving support to India, they moved India here! (I checked, and they really are in the UK, it's not just a diverted phone).
Anyway, they all seemed pretty clueless and didn't argue with me that the dock seems be faulty and are sending me another. But they haven't got any at the moment and don't know when they will!

This is all quite embarrassing - we've mainly bought Dell's in the past, with some Compaq's. I made a fuss to get the Thinkpad and the dock is DOA!

[Rory]

So a new minidock turned up today - unexpectedly; IBM/Lenovo said they'd call when they had them available and arrange a swop out, but a courier brought it, and took the old one away.
Anyway, the new one works.
However it does seem pretty critical to get the T43 seated on the dock properly - the slightest touch of the machine and it thinks it's disconnected. The mechanical design seems flimsy and there a fair bit of movement (of the laptop) possible while docked - they don't lock together very securely at all.
I tried the old one many times and it never worked so I'm fairly sure it was faulty, but I'm wondering if the problem was more mechanical than electrical.

[bill bolton]

The mechanical design seems flimsy and there a fair bit of movement (of the laptop) possible while docked - they don't lock together very securely at all.

You are you following the correct docking procedure......

Docking movie - ThinkPad Dock II, Mini-Dock, and Port Replicator II using ThinkPad R5x and T4x systems

.... I hope!

Cheers,

Bill

[davidspalding]

So a new minidock turned up today - unexpectedly; IBM/Lenovo said they'd call when they had them available and arrange a swop out, but a courier brought it, and took the old one away.
Anyway, the new one works.
However it does seem pretty critical to get the T43 seated on the dock properly - the slightest touch of the machine and it thinks it's disconnected. The mechanical design seems flimsy and there a fair bit of movement (of the laptop) possible while docked - they don't lock together very securely at all.
I tried the old one many times and it never worked so I'm fairly sure it was faulty, but I'm wondering if the problem was more mechanical than electrical.

Definitely watch the movie and read the user manual. When it docks it locks onto the dock and won't undock unless you press the button. Not trying to be snide, but RTFM is called for here.

[Rory]

Definitely watch the movie and read the user manual. When it docks it locks onto the dock and won't undock unless you press the button. Not trying to be snide, but RTFM is called for here.

Yep done that - it's not exactly complicated.

I know you're not to lift the laptop while it's docked without also supporting the mini-dock, but mine seems way too sensitive.

The issue I have is that when the laptop and dock are locked together and working fine, even the most gentle movement of the laptop causes the double dong noise and the peripherals disconnect, although they stay mechanically connected.

Edited to say: I just nudged the machine with my elbow and it did the double dong thing and turned off the USB mouse. I'm beginning to wonder if there might be a problem with the connector on the laptop.

[davidspalding]

Sounds like you DO have a problem with your docking connector on your TP. Back to IBM support you go....