Adding Wireless

[Meta03]

I got a T40 that does not have a wireless modem installed. I would like to add one. Is it a difficult procedure and which modem is the best for it?

[killer]

Years ago I had the same problem. I bought a PCMCIA card that fitted into a slot on the side of my Thinkpad. It worked a treat.

Edit: Amazon in the US have PCMCIA wireless cards for USD 7.99 including free delivery.

[Neil]

Internal cards are not at all difficult to install. The mini PCI slot in located under the UltraNav pad. So, just removed the keyboard and palm rest, and you have easy access.

Send me a PM if you would be interest in one of the suitable cards that I have.

[Meta03]

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-WPC ... 767&sr=8-1

So would this be my best bet, or is an internal a better option and why?

[Neil]

Sure, that card should work fine. If your ThinkPad is "wifi ready", that is, if it has the antenna already installed in the lid, then internal would be better because you wouldn't have an ugly PCMCIA card sticking out of the side of your ThinkPad. But, if the antenna is not already there, it's too much trouble IMHO, to install internal, and you would be better off with a PCMCIA card like you are looking at.

[Meta03]

How do I find out if it has an antenna installed?

[killer]

From a pragmatic point of view, I wouldn't bother to find out if a solution can be had for £5 ($7.99).

What's your time worth?

[rkawakami]

How do I find out if it has an antenna installed?

Remove the keyboard and palmrest and look in the area where the MiniPCI socket is (just underneath the touchpad). If there are two wires one black, one white, with "Main" and "Aux" labels, then that's the antennas. My understanding is that all T40 systems were pre-wired with the antennas but that doesn't mean that somebody came along and ripped them out .

ref: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-46464 (Hardware Maintenance Manual for the T4x; printed page 97, page 103 of the .PDF)

[ajkula66]

Ray is correct. All T40s were shipped with wireless antennae in place.

[Meta03]

Thank you. I have the antenna. So now, which is the best internal modem to put inside?

[virge]

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=90545

I'd go for one of the Atheros cards.

[Meta03]

I bought this one and installed it, but the computer does not appear to see it. Any suggestions?

[ajkula66]

Could you elaborate on "computer does not appear to see it", please?

[RealBlackStuff]

I suppose the card was bought and installed, but no drivers were installed.
If you DID install the drivers for it, please note this is a 2-step procedure.
First step: the downloaded driver unpacks itself (in c:\drivers\win\ethernet).
Step two you need to do yourself.
Go to c:\drivers\win\ethernet\tools\drvinst\ia32 and double-click on setup.exe
That will install the driver.

[ParatoOptimal]

The Intel 2200 supports WAP2 which gives you better security. WEP can be cracked in minutes. Some of the older Atheros based cards don't support WAP. Some support WAP but not WAP2. I don't know which.

[ajkula66]

ParatoOptimal wrote:

The Intel 2200 supports WAP2 which gives you better security. WEP can be cracked in minutes. Some of the older Atheros based cards don't support WAP. Some support WAP but not WAP2. I don't know which.

I guess you've meant WPA2...

The above information is incorrect.

All IBM (Atheros-chipped) cards will support WPA and WPA2 with proper firmware and drivers applied.

[Meta03]

I am unsure if I have the right driver. No disc came with it. Would someone please point me to a download?

[ajkula66]

If you got one of the Atheros-chipped IBM cards and are running XP:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-67214

After downloading it, you must go into C>Drivers>Win>Wlanath and run the setup file from there.

[ParatoOptimal]

Others on this forum have advised me to go with an Intel 2200BG based card in the past.

I bought this one and installed it, but the computer does not appear to see it. Any suggestions?