Odd wireless problem and new member with a couple problems

[msidd]

Hello all, I have had my Thinkpad T42 2373-4WU for about a week now. This is my first laptop and of course my first Thinkpad. I have always loved Thinkpads as they are solid, sexy, and very class.

I have a few issues I would like to inquire about. Just as a reminder, I did do the responsible searching beforehand .

First,
Apparently I have a Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B that is a 802.11b card, right? Well on campus, I get great speed, reception, and transfer rates. The school is in downtown and I'm able to pickup numerous networks with my Thinkpad Access Connections. Actually the internet speed on campus is excellent and is just like using landline broadband.

Now when I first installed Windows and tried using the internet at home it would constantly drop signal and be very slow. So I did some searching on this forum and discovered Access Connections thanks to you guys.

After the install, the internet was much more stable and reliable but no way near as fast on campus or as fast as my wireless desktop.

My wireless desktop is in my basement right below the router. The desktop PCI card is a Linksys Wireless G WM54g. My router is a Linksys WRT54GP2A-AT which I think is a high quality router that is based off WRT54GP2.

So what could be the issue? Is it my router or some interference in my home? I don't think it's my Thinkpad Intel card...although I have read the 2100B is not such a great performer and people usually upgrade.

I'm looking at the Phillips internal wireless cards with FRU 91P7301 as an upgrade. Any experience or info on this card?

Second,

My fan is always on, rarely it is off. The fan will be on during surfing the internet or looking at Powerpoint presentations. Right now as I'm typing, I'm running Mozilla and have a few tabs open that's it. The fan is running high and the bottom is very hot. Right now I have it connected to the AC and the adapter is very hot. I would say they are hot as a steering wheel in the summer. So is my Thinkpad overheating or what?

Third,

I installed Battery Maximiser. This is the information that it displays:
Lithium-Ion 6 Cell
Cycle Count: 90
Full Charge Capacity: 29.33Wh
Design Capacity: 47.52
Manufacturer: SANYO
Manufacturer date: 2005-1-06
First Used date: 2005-03

Now do I need a new battery because the Full Charge Capacity is around 29Wh? 29 from 47 is a decent amount right?
On a full charge I can around 2 hours with the screen fully bright and everything powered.

What do brand new 6-cell batteries get?

Fourth,

I bought a Samsung PC2700 DDR 1 Gb memory #k4h1gd6408bt memory stick pulled from a HP ZX5000. I tried it and a got a few beeps indicating "bad memory." Now are these Thinkpads picky when it comes to foreign memory without the IBM sticker? Do these Thinkpads only accept the IBM approved memory with the sticker?
The optional 512 I have in there right now is Samsung but has a IBM sticker on the other side.

Bad memory or non-compatible?

Fifth (and last for now, :wink)

Right now I have a XGA screen. I would to upgrade to a SVGA or UXGA whichever one is cheaper to install and easier.

Do the SVGA and UXGA screens provide brighter and sharper resolution or just a higher resolution? For instance the SVGA is 1400x1600, does that mean I fit more tabs Taskbar or will it be brighter/sharper?

Thank you for your time as I do appreciate it. Please LMK.

[msidd]

This is a very impressive forum and I'm confident to own a Thinkpad with such a supporting community. Thank you for that. This forum gives me the pleasure and confident to own a Thinkpad and hopefully continue to own Thinkpads.

Things I have learned/done so far:

Swapped out memory - easy
Installed a single key that I removed accidentally - tried for two hours before bed and failed. Woke up next morning and took off right side Ctrl key and reinstalled Fn key.
Learned how to R&R keyboard-seems easy

Also just wanted to say my specs
Thinkpad 2373-4WU
Windows XP Professional SP2
Latest BIOS updated
1GB

[sktn77a]

You must have got the very last T4x with an Intel 2100 3b wireless card (or it was swapped by the previous owner). In any event, update the driver for the wireless card and the firmware for the router. 802.11b is usually just fine for wireless surfing as the broadband speed and, more importantly, website download speeds, rarely exceeds the 11Mbps (well, actually more like 3-5Mbps) of the card. As you get fast performance on campus, and slow at home, it suggests an issue with your router (setup, location, firmware).

I wouldn't be in any hurry to use access connections - it's the first thing to get removed when I get a new thinkpad. Nothing but headaches for me.

I also wouldn't be in any hurry to upgrade the display. SXGA+ is almost impossible for me to read on a 14.1" screen and UXGA is definitely impossible (for me)! Different folks will disagree with this but I think that XGA is just fine for the T4x.

[msidd]

Thanks for the response. I just don't understand why desktop wireless is fine while my T42 is so poor. It must be the internal wireless card. I have updated everything including the internal card and the router.
I downloaded all the drivers for the T42 from the Lenovo Support and Download so they must be the most recent correct?

As far as my current screen, I just want something brighter and sharper.

Also any input on my battery? Should I get a new one?

[sktn77a]

The fact that you can get great connectivity on campus suggests the T42 is basically OK. I'd sit tight and wait for some more responses - sounds like a software/firmware compatibility issue at home.

[msidd]

Anyone else please? I think my main priority is the wireless issue at home and the fan/overheating issue.

[lancerus]

I would upgrade the wireless card. The cards are real cheap and easy to swap - I just picked up an A/B/G card for ~22 bucks for one of my T41s. Many routers that claim to support both B & G only approximate on the B - it'll work, but the performance will suffer. I maintain an original B wireless endpoint in my house for just this reason.

[msidd]

Well I just changed the channel from Ch. 6 2.437 to Ch. 5 2.432. The internet is much faster now and I actually stream Divx videos that I love.

What is the reason for this? Is it because there might be interference throughout the house on channel 6?

Again this doesn't happen on campus.

[BeeJayEmm]

The B/G frequency band is shared by other household devices, like 2.4GHz cordless phones and even microwaves, I have heard. Maybe you have something that's interfering.

[phubai]

but, normally it's a good idea to use either channels 1, 6, or 11 as the other channels will all overlap, so if it's an interference problem, you'd still be getting a lot of it on channel 5.

Is your WAP secured? Are there other access points around that your notebook may be connecting to, or are others on your WAP? Are your speeds slow regardless of how close you are to the WAP?

Look at things like cordless phones, baby monitors, sub-woofers, anything that can create EMI or RFI and turn them off to see if it makes a difference.

If you're secured, what protocol? WEP, WPA, WPA2? Try connecting briefly with your security disabled. Did your speed improve?

I'd upgrade the firmware on both the client and WAP before I did anything else. As has been mentioned, it appears your problem is on your home network since you get great speeds at school. I'd start troubleshooting there. If you have friends who have a USB or PCMCIA card, try connecting to your WAP with a borrowed one of those and check the speed result. If it's good with one of those, that would isolate your problem to your card or it's configuration which must match the configuration of your WAP.

G'luck!

[msidd]

but, normally it's a good idea to use either channels 1, 6, or 11 as the other channels will all overlap, so if it's an interference problem, you'd still be getting a lot of it on channel 5.

Is your WAP secured? Are there other access points around that your notebook may be connecting to, or are others on your WAP? Are your speeds slow regardless of how close you are to the WAP?

Look at things like cordless phones, baby monitors, sub-woofers, anything that can create EMI or RFI and turn them off to see if it makes a difference.

If you're secured, what protocol? WEP, WPA, WPA2? Try connecting briefly with your security disabled. Did your speed improve?

I'd upgrade the firmware on both the client and WAP before I did anything else. As has been mentioned, it appears your problem is on your home network since you get great speeds at school. I'd start troubleshooting there. If you have friends who have a USB or PCMCIA card, try connecting to your WAP with a borrowed one of those and check the speed result. If it's good with one of those, that would isolate your problem to your card or it's configuration which must match the configuration of your WAP.

G'luck!

Well I'm on Channel 7 now and it's really fast. I mean it's probably the fastest I have ever witnessed. It's just as fast as my wireless desktop in the basement if not faster. My router is in the middle floor and most of the time I use my T42 on the third floor, upstairs.

My only complaint is that when upstairs, the signal doesn't go past 71% and stays in between 60-70%. When I'm right next to the router with the Thinkpad I well get 100% but as I start to walk away it drops.

[sjthinkpader]

Channels 6 is the default channel for many WiFi setups. You can use AC to see what the situation is around your place. The standard channel width is 20Mhz and the 2.4Ghz band channel spacing is 5.5Mhz. So you want to be 2 channels away from anybody else's channel near by. New 11n routers have 40Mhz channel width option and they are usually set on channel 6.

Some people may advise to remove AC. We use AC at home and at work for all our computers and it is no problem. If there is a problem, it is much beyond AC being the issue.

In the power management screen for WiFi, you want to set it to lowest power savings. The max power savings is only needed while you are on battery.

Thinkpads are not particularly picky on memory. Memory for Panasonic usually don't work but other generics such as Kingston Value RAM works.

Complete SXGA+ screen assembly for T40T41/T42 are pretty readily available and low cost today if you want a different resolution.