New T20 user...nearly!

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alasdair · #1 Post by **alasdair** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:51 pm

Hello everybody, my name is Alasdair and I'm from Scotland. I've been reading many many topics on this forum and I'm really impressed with the depth of information available.
I've recently bought a T20 using eBay and it should be with me in a couple of days. I'm really impatient and, being a bit of a gadget freak, can't wait to get my hands on it! The following description is taken straight from eBay:

"Ibm thinkpad t20 p3 700mhz laptop in very good cosmetic condition,the odd mark here and there,20gb hard drive,128mb memory,cd/dvd rom,floppy module,onboard modem,ethernet,ps2,usb,s-video,screen is good, battery has a fair bit of life in it,overall in very good condition,running windows xp professional and has office xp installed on it aswell,it come's with charger and carry case.sold as seen."

I'm happy with the price I paid and I'm already looking at upgrading it. I bought it primarily for my Parents to surf the Internet, and for them to communicate with friends who live abroad. Which brings me to my first question!

What do I need to set up a wi-fi Internet connection for the T20? I already have a broadband Internet connection; it's a Telewest cable modem setup that gives me 1.5mbps. Do I need a wireless router? Does this connect to my cable modem (a Motorola SB4100 Surfboard)? I assume I need some sort of card for the T20? I've heard that later models of IBM Thinkpads have antenna around their screens, to help with wi-fi connections?

My second question concerns the installation of a CD-RW/DVD combo drive. I've seen a couple on eBay and I'd like to confirm that I'd need a 'ThinkPad Slim Drive Adapter for Ultrabay 2000' in able to fit the CD writer? If anyone knows where I can buy one of those adapters in the UK I'd be extremely grateful!

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and thanks in advance to anyone who can help me!

#2 Post by **carbon_unit** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:17 pm

You will need to get a wireless router like a Linksys WRT54G (Example) plugged into the SB4100 and a PCMCIA wireless 802.11b/g card for the laptop.

As for the combo drive, you can use most of the laptop drives on ebay and unscrew the "Ultrabay 2000" adapter from your present drive and put it on the new one.
The only problems you may encounter will be:
(1) Getting a bad drive on ebay. (You never know)
(2) The faceplate may not fit or may need to be modified to fit.
(3) The position in the IDE chain (Primary/Secondary/Master/Slave) is set in the firmware instead of with jumpers. You may have to flash the firmware to get it to work. You can find help with that here:
http://forum.rpc1.org/

alasdair · #3 Post by **alasdair** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 6:56 am

Thanks for your reply and your help! Can you confirm that the Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook Adapter will slot straight into a T20? I'm going to go with your advice and I'm going to buy a WRT54G router. I just hope the WPC54G fits as I'm close to buying one from eBay!

#4 Post by **carbon_unit** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:36 am

alasdair wrote:Thanks for your reply and your help! Can you confirm that the Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook Adapter will slot straight into a T20? I'm going to go with your advice and I'm going to buy a WRT54G router. I just hope the WPC54G fits as I'm close to buying one from eBay!

Yes, it will fit.
Lots of linksys help here too:http://www.dslreports.com/forum/linksys

alasdair · #5 Post by **alasdair** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:47 am

Thank you very much for your help carbon_unit! I really appreciate it

New T20 user...nearly!

New T20 user...nearly!

Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook Adapter

Re: Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook Adapter

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