Wireless LAN Hell?!!? Help!!

[Mr. Bum Bam]

I swear, as soon as I fix one problem with this T30. Another one pops up. Anyway, I have a Broadcom PCMCIA card. Can someone tell me the steps necessary to setup this card so I can access Wireless LAN.

I tried he Broadcom MimiPCI driver from IBM's site but that doesn't work.

Help!!



System Model: Thinkpad T30, 2366
OS: Win XP Pro SP3 (Build 2600)
Ram: 512 MB
CPU: Intel (R) Pentium (R) 2.00 Ghz
Bios Version: 2.03



My soul is corrupted.

[jronald]

What Broadcom card are you using?
I had a huge issue getting one to run correctly on a T23
Ended up installing and deleting 6 different sets of drivers, before I found one that would work

Ron

[lifrancis]

I have a Broadcom mini PCI WLan B/G card in my T30. It works great with both Win XP and Unbuntu. Got it for $11 a couple of years ago. Best money I have spent on my T30. For Windows, you just have to get the right driver for it. For Ubuntu, you don't have to do anything at all. Works with WPA in both OS's.

[RealBlackStuff]

I use the Broadcom driver from the competition Dell

[emeraldgirl08]

I have a Broadcom mini PCI WLan B/G card in my T30. It works great with both Win XP and Unbuntu. Got it for $11 a couple of years ago. Best money I have spent on my T30. For Windows, you just have to get the right driver for it. For Ubuntu, you don't have to do anything at all. Works with WPA in both OS's.

Are you serious??!!! I've been trying to find a compatible mini-PCI card for my T30 running Ibex! The wishy-washy Cisco Aironet 350 refuses to connect using WPA. I had to revert to WEP for wireless connecting. If this is true I'm going to fleabay to order me one right away

[RealBlackStuff]

@emeraldgirl:
Look for the Broadcom BCM94306MP or BCM94306MPSG.
Or if you don't want to hunt around, I can sell you a BCM94306MP for $12.50 shipped.
Drivers can be found on the web.

[Mr. Bum Bam]

When I look on the Broadcom card, this is what I see exactly. WLI-MPCI-G54. Based on that I assume it is a MiniPCI card instead of a PCMCIA as I stated earlier. I had a "buffalo" wireless driver installed before but I am not sure if it worked because the T30 had alot of problems then. I dodn't have time for internet.


Help, please.

[RealBlackStuff]

That seems to be the Buffalo copy of the Broadcom card I mentioned above.
That is a MiniPCI and not PCMCIA.
You put that in the bottom of your T30, attach the two antenna wires to it. Then boot up and install the drivers.
Try Dell 1300 TrueMobile drivers.

[Mr. Bum Bam]

Although you said its MiniPCI and not PCMCIA, Windows XP is still detecting the card as PCMCIA. I know this because I had to disable the device in the device manager because it insisted on giving me blue screens.

So, should I disregard what windows is detecting the card as and try the drivers you suggested RealBlackStuff



My soul is corrupted.



System Model: Thinkpad T30, 2366
OS: Win XP Pro SP3 (Build 2600)
Ram: 512 MB
CPU: Intel (R) Pentium (R) 2.00 Ghz
Bios Version: 2.03

[RealBlackStuff]

Well, tell us where you put that card, in the slit on the side (=PCMCIA), or under the lid at the bottom (=miniPCI)?
Then make sure to get the appropriate drivers.
Your info is incomplete and confusing!
My guess is you are trying to install PCMCIA drivers for a miniPCI card.

[Mr. Bum Bam]

It is definately a Mini-PCI card because it goes in the bottom of the laptop and has the two antennas attached to it.

I tried installing the the dell driver you recommended and it installed perfectly. After the install, I rebooted. I went to device manager. Windows XP is still detecting the card as PCMCIA and when I right click on the device and look at the details, its says no driver is installed for this device.

Just ask for any other info. I will tell you anything you want to know that might help me.



System Model: Thinkpad T30, 2366
OS: Win XP Pro SP3 (Build 2600)
Ram: 512 MB
CPU: Intel (R) Pentium (R) 2.00 Ghz
Bios Version: 2.03



My soul is corrupted.

[RealBlackStuff]

One thing to try: open the Dell Truemobile 1300 utility, see if you can get the card going.
If not, uninstall that Dell driver.
Then install this one from Belkin: http://www.belkin.com/support/download/ ... 999&lang=1
That may give you a better result. If I remember correctly, on one of my T30s I first installed the Belkin, then the Dell 1300 driver over it.
In the end I let Windows manage my connections. Functions like a charm.

[Mr. Bum Bam]

Thanks, I will try that and post again.


System Model: Thinkpad T30, 2366
OS: Win XP Pro SP3 (Build 2600)
Ram: 512 MB
CPU: Intel (R) Pentium (R) 2.00 Ghz
Bios Version: 2.03



My soul is corrupt.

[RealBlackStuff]

Would you mind stopping the use of that " " icon?
It's very irritating to see so many without any reason at all!
Thank you.

[Mr. Bum Bam]

I know I have not posted here in over a year but the issue I am having still persists.

In fact, windows won't even detect my wireless card. Initially, I got an error "1802: Unauthorized network card is plugged in." This happened each time I tried to boot up he machine. That was an inconvenience, so I ran the below program.

http://jcnp.pku.edu.cn/~shadow/1802/no-1802.com

I do believe that the program edited the CMOS setting (approved the card) which allowed the system to boot without the 1802 error. The system boots fine however my problem now is that Windows XP does not detect the card at all. I tried using the scan feature in device manager however nothing happens.

What can I do...

1. To have Windows detect the card?

2. Install the card so I can benefit from wireless service?

Please help!

[sncdrvr]

Are you sure the card is not shown at all in the Device Manager, perhaps as a "Ethernet Device"? I ran unauthorized (non IBM branded) cards until I got tired of the "no 1802 hack" and went to used IBM branded cards such as Intel 2200 and Atmel Atheros cheaply found on EBay. I prefer the Atmel Atheros (IBM FRU 93P3475 or 91P7416) over the Intel as they seem to have better reception and seem to run cooler and live longer, several avail on ebay now http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-LENOVO-THINKPAD ... 27b786474f . This card shows as a Ethernet Device until the driver is installed, then listed as a Network Adapter. No experience with the Broadcomm cards, perhaps the card is simply bad? Note that Bios 2.10 supports these IBM branded cards. Also note the 93P3475 card works perfect in Linux, including promiscuous mode.

[Mr. Bum Bam]

It is a possibility the card may be dead...

I checked device manager thoroughly though, its not there. I installed a fresh copy of Windows XP, Windows still won't detect the device. I figure the port is not dead because I removed the card, while the machine was on, then re-inserted it. The systems freezes & I am forced to reboot.

When I reboot, I receive a message which states "Windows just recovered from a serious error."

So what is my best bet, try a new Wireless card in the machine? If that fails, then I guess I will need to get a BIOS cd to repair the BIOS... which will inevitably lead to re-installing the OS, again.

I will try the former before the latter and post here with the results. Thanks for your help sncdrvr. I will try the cards you recommended.

[RealBlackStuff]

I can't believe that it never dawned on you in OVER 1-1/2 years to try another card...
OTOH life in Jamaica must be much more interesting than trying to find a puny laptop wifi error

[Mr. Bum Bam]

Lol, its not that it ever dawned on me. I was just obsessed with getting this card here to work. I guess now I realize it never will. I will try another card. If that fails, I guess my only options are either:

1. BIOS repair CD

2. BIOS upgrade

Number 2 is a bit difficult due to the fact that the battery hasn't worked for the longest time. As I said, I will try what was suggested & post back here.

In a totally unrelated matter, what do you think of the new Lenovo machines vs Acer? I'm thinking of getting a new laptop later this year. I am only interested 1 of the 2. Dell, HP, Mac, don't interest me.

[ashbury]

I followed RBS's suggestion, got a broadcom bcm 94306mpsg and installed it , booted up and got error 1802, then removed it, and installed the driver for it as well as Dell's 1300 driver. I still got the same error 1802 upon booting. I then installed the bcm94306 while the laptop was on . It took a little bit, but I was connected wirelessly and everything was just fine untill I restarted the computer, same thing, error 1802. How do I get rid of this error code thanks

[RealBlackStuff]

NO-1802 must have been mentioned on this forum about 31,253 times.
But just in case you missed it: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... twork_card

[ashbury]

You are absolutely right the subject has been covered rather extensively but a lot of it is too technical and requires a very strong background in computers.and of course the other problem was that some of the links were not accessible.It took a bit of time but I did manage to sort thru it all and make myself a no-1802 error bootable CD and it works.