another quick and stupid question, this time cardbus

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nutjobox · #1 Post by **nutjobox** » Mon May 21, 2007 4:03 pm

in my 2373 t40 the internal wifi went on the fritz and it wasnt the card itself, something to do with the laptop that it just doesnt like to use the internal pci slot.

so i bought a trendnet cardbus card, and when i stick it in i get nothing. no lights, no driver install popups, nuthin.

so my question is, at least the lights on the card should light up right? i should at least see it in device manager, but the laptop acts like its not even there.

bios is set to defaults, but last time i tried changing it, i couldnt because i was in 'user mode' or something.... argh thats another thread i guess

thanks

agarza · #2 Post by **agarza** » Mon May 21, 2007 4:57 pm

Some cardbus devices would not light up unless the driver is installed. Example of this are the Linksys cards, you first install the software, then you plug in the card. Check for the manufacturer of the card instructions to set it up.

also, you sure the CardBus Controller is enabled in Device Manager?

nutjobox · #3 Post by **nutjobox** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:16 pm

some progress. there were no cardbus drivers installed for the thinkpad. i downloaded them from lenovo, and then i right-clicked on the ini file and selected install. this way, when i asked windows to scan for hardware changes it found the cardbus slots.

then it BSOD and reset. it continued to do so upon boot into desktop until i removed the wifi card. now the device manager shows the pcmcia texas instruments cardbus slots installed ok, so i shut down, inserted the card and started back up.

now, it boots fine but doesnt show the pcmcia slots in device manager. so i click 'scan for changes' and bam, they pop up, the card lights up and flashes, and the entire laptop locks up completely. the wifi card is still flashing like its ready to go, but i cant do nothin.

btw, this is my typical computer experience- i dont want you thinking im at wits end or anything hahaha...

ok, after about the 5th time getting to desktop and using 'scan for changes' to detect the card, it finally stays on and finds the networks! then, as soon as i try to type in the network key, the whole laptop shuts off completely.

this is almost like my internal wifi problems i had but worse. im guessing the two are related now, i know this motherboard isnt in its best shape. dammit...

agarza · #4 Post by **agarza** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:36 pm

Sorry to hear your story. It means then your T40 motherboard needs to be replaced. This is a common problem in T40 boards. Try getting a T41 or T42 board.

nutjobox · #5 Post by **nutjobox** » Mon May 21, 2007 6:00 pm

well its been recognizing the card fine now, even after a boot but when it actually installs the driver is when it freezes.

also, the latest drivers off trendnets site do try to install, but they pop up a warning saying the ini file is invalid and it cannot continue. so im stuck with the drivers off the cd.

im probably going to break down tonight and just install vista on this laptop. the hell with it i have nothing to lose. as it did with my htpc, i wouldnt be surprised if everything installs and runs awesome. has anyone noticed by now that i think XP is crap comparitively?

nutjobox · #6 Post by **nutjobox** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:21 pm

i tried updating the bios, but i wanted to clear the cmos first. so i unplugged the button battery and fired it back up. it came on fine, but it now asks for a bios password, and i didnt have one set. i cant get it to do anything now, is there a default password or did i brick this thing?

sktn77a · #7 Post by **sktn77a** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:33 pm

If everything works fine except the miniPCI and PCMCIA slots, you could try a USB wireless adapter (?)

nutjobox · #8 Post by **nutjobox** » Mon May 21, 2007 10:00 pm

well after reading up on bios passwords with thinkpads, i think i just done made a $400 mistake. i didnt reset the bios to default values before updating it. i did the automatic update, it seemed to work but the laptop just shut off. when i tried to boot again, it asks for a password and nothing i can think of works. no password i have ever used on anything works.

apparently i could spend $45 to get instructions to build a $40 device that allows me to hack my way back into this motherboard, but screw that. id much rather sell the screen and other parts for at least $100 or so and buy a new laptop. this time a toshiba, they apparently are easy to hack into. i dont care about secuirty anymore, not when you can brick the entire machine by a simple mistake.

agarza · #9 Post by **agarza** » Tue May 22, 2007 10:59 am

Sounds weird to me. Did you try entering nothing as a password ?

nutjobox · #10 Post by **nutjobox** » Tue May 22, 2007 5:10 pm

well yeah that was actually the password i had set previously, because i had been aware if i lost that password it would mean brick. it was set to blank, but it would still ask me for one and i would just hit enter. but now, no go. it does say "this machine has been tampered with" and i figure that was from resetting the cmos..

im pretty much done with it. ill sell the screen and case parts, not sure if i can ebay a bios locked motherboard but ill try. i couldnt sell it as fully functional anyway because of the minor flexing issues- i wouldnt want anyone to use it even if it were not locked. if i can get $200 for the screen and other parts all together i can then buy a used toshiba or dell for $500- and not have to worry about bricking them.

another quick and stupid question, this time cardbus

another quick and stupid question, this time cardbus

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