Is Ext. Hard Drive "Viewable" by T42 2378FVU BIOS?

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Peter_S · #1 Post by **Peter_S** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:09 pm

I will be buying an IBM T42 2378FVU in the near future. Also, I'd like to image the laptop's entire hard drive (including the HPA) to an external Maxtor hard drive. This hard drive will be connected to the laptop via a PCMCIA FireWire controller card. Since the image is created in a flavor of DOS, I need to know if the T42's BIOS will "see" or "view" the hard drive hanging off the PCMCIA card slot.

Thanks much in advance for any assistance you can provide!

gpvillamil · #2 Post by **gpvillamil** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 7:50 am

Probably not, though I may be wrong.

However, if you are using Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image, chances are that these programs will have their own drivers to recognize the external drive.

benz · #3 Post by **benz** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:09 am

Yeah, youre probably gonna have to be able to install a driver for the PCMCIA controller, but I know (with my external HD, at least) that the BIOS recognizes USB2.0 drives....theres an entry for it in the startup list (if you press F8 i think).

JHEM · #4 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:12 am

Peter,

Just use the T42's built-in USB2.0 port!

Firewire isn't any faster.

Regards,

James

Volker · #5 Post by **Volker** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:42 am

Peter_S wrote:[...]Since the image is created in a flavor of DOS, I need to know if the T42's BIOS will "see" or "view" the hard drive hanging off the PCMCIA card slot.

The only flavor of DOS for which I have seen a USB stack is Windows 95 and higher.

I doubt that the "boot from usb device" stuff in the bios emulates a full hard disk with r/w access. Has anybody tried this?

Peter_S · #6 Post by **Peter_S** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:31 am

....for the replies!! Based on the responses, and what I've gleaned from IBM's website regarding the T42's BIOS and Embedded Controller, I'll follow Jim's suggestion to use a USB external hard drive. Unfortunately, my current Maxtor external hard drive uses FireWire connectivity. That drive is
excellentugh, for high throughput applications, such as digital video editing and the like, given its 7200 rpm spin and average seek time of 9.0 ms.

Oh well. Looks like I will be buying a Maxtor USB 2.0 external hard drive!

benz · #7 Post by **benz** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:34 am

If you are set on buying another, I'd highly reccommend this excellent deal:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product ... 7&pfp=cat3

JHEM · #8 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:41 am

Peter,

You can get combo USB2.0/Firewire 3.5" external enclosures starting at around $20!

Just swap your existing HD into the new housing and you're good to go.

Regards,

James

Plinkerton · #9 Post by **Plinkerton** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 3:24 pm

Benz, do you have that Compusa HD? How is the quality/everything else on it?

Also, I was under the impression that the Maxtors had both Firewire and USB. Maybe that's only the Maxtor One Touch?

benz · #10 Post by **benz** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:06 pm

Yes I have the HD. So far (I've only owned it a week) I have had no problems whatsoever. It is fast, quiet, and not very hot at all. My thinkpad recognized it immediately with no installation of drivers. Also, it shows up in BIOS as a possible device to boot from, so this could be interesting. I havent had much time to do anything other than backup and store some movies/music on it...but so far it's perfect, and you can't beat it for the price. Besides, I read somewhere that it is a generic case that can fit any 3.5" HD....don't quote me on that, I'm still trying to find out myself (without opening up/voiding warranty).

Overall it is a solid piece of equipment, I'd reccommend it if you're looking for a good deal on a basic external HD for backup/storage.

MrBeta · #11 Post by **MrBeta** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:59 pm

JHEM wrote:Just use the T42's built-in USB2.0 port!

Firewire isn't any faster.

Oh god it is... MUCH faster, especially if you do large file transfers. USB 2.0 theoretically is faster (480mbps, vs Firewire's 400mbps), but in practice Firewire kicks USB [censored] every time!

And since he mentioned backing up the entire drive, that's typically quite large amount of data to push, and Firewire certainly would accomplish the task faster.

And then you can always go to the next level, Firewire 800, which is going to work much faster than even the 60GB 7K2 drive in Thinkpads. I have an external terrabyte storage box with Firewire 800 connection and this thing can eat data for breakfast without breaking any sweat.

I consider USB as a poor man's traveling alternative when nothing else is available, and given the choice, opt for Firewire whenever I can. Google some benchmarks or run a few test of your own, you'll see how much of a difference in real-world tests Firewire makes.

Plinkerton · #12 Post by **Plinkerton** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:15 am

As much as I hate to admit it, I think I have to agree with MrBeta about Firewire.

I am an avid iPod user, so am constantly exposed to the debate of Firewire vs. USB 2.0.

While as MrBeta said, they are theoretically very similar, USB tends not to be as "stable" or consistant with it's transfer speeds, while Firewire usually is.

I don't use Firewire as of now, and probably won't since the T42 doesn't have a port (and I don't want to use a card), but I'm sure my iPod will always dream of it...

Plinkerton · #13 Post by **Plinkerton** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:11 pm

Benz, thanks a lot for that HD recommendation. I went into CompUSA today, and they had the HD there, but the price was marked as 119, with no mention of rebates.

I asked the guy there, and he said there was a 50 dollar rebate, but didn't mention an extra 20.

I got up to the counter, and they took off 20 right there, and it has that 50 rebate also. Sweet! Feels solid, hopefully all will be well with it. The price is what I needed.

Interesting that you said BIOS sees it as a bootable device. The manual for it says you cannot boot off of it.

benz · #14 Post by **benz** » Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:02 am

The price got me too, I'd been looking for something around $90, so when a $50 one came up I didn't think twice.

Yeah the manual says it cannot be booted, but the BIOS definitely sees it....I still haven't had time to try and do this. I have the four FC2 discs, so I might try installing that on the ext. HD (assuming the linux setup sees it as well), then change the boot order manually at startup. Let me know if you get it to work.

Plinkerton · #15 Post by **Plinkerton** » Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:21 am

Haha... I definitely won't get it to work. I've never used anything but windows. (Well, macs, but they don't count...

) I don't even understand what Linux is. :p

I just loaded my 12 gigs of music to this HD tonite without a hitch, so that's nice. It's comforting to have a backup for my CD rips. I'd hate to have to do all that over again.

I'll probably do a system backup on it tomorrow. It's great so far. Seems fast, and didn't get hot at all. Not even warm.

Thanks again. It's nice to know that I have 50 bucks coming to me. Hopefully they won't jerk me around with the rebate.
----------------------------------------------

I have a question for everyone: Do you always use surge protectors? At home, when you go to the coffee shop, at school, at work, etc. etc.?

Are those very small travel surge protectors worth it? Do they actually work?

I figure better safe than sorry... I'm curious if this is a real thing to worry about or not.

Leon · #16 Post by **Leon** » Tue Oct 19, 2004 11:21 am

in general, not too many people use a surge suppressor with a laptop. I think that you are pretty well buffered anyway... you would probably fry the power supply, not the computer.....

Plinkerton · #17 Post by **Plinkerton** » Tue Oct 19, 2004 12:07 pm

Okay. When I called IBM about the problems with my first T42, she asked on the phone if I was using a surge protector. I told her yes, but I hadn't been. I was wondering if maybe that's actually what caused the dealth of my beloved... :p

I'll probably go buy a little one today anyway, since my apartment is old, and I the electrical sucks.

Any other comments on this issue are still welcome.

Thanks,
Plink

JHEM · #18 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:26 pm

It's far more important to have a surge suppressor on the MODEM line than on the power brick!

Dodgy wiring or not, it's not really necessary with a Thinkpad as the brick will filter most transients and will sacrifice itself in the case of a massive over-voltage.

But if it will make you feel better, then there's no good reason to not use one.

Regards,

James

Plinkerton · #19 Post by **Plinkerton** » Tue Oct 19, 2004 11:44 pm

Thanks JHEM. I'm on a wireless connection all the time, so I don't know if that matters.

As for the surge protector, I went to Compusa, and the guy there said with a nice brand name power adapter, it should be no problem. He said if you are using some generic crap, they may not protect as well, but for a Thinkpad, it should be fine.

So, I didn't buy one. Not like i have the money for it anyway.

So, I'm not going to use one.

Thanks,
Plink

Is Ext. Hard Drive "Viewable" by T42 2378FVU BIOS?

Is Ext. Hard Drive "Viewable" by T42 2378FVU BIOS?

Re: Is Ext. Hard Drive "Viewable" by T42 2378FVU B

Thanks Everyone......

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