"Down the road" t30 questions

[stevebez]

So my first Thinkpad, a t30, is going to arrive sometime this week. There are some things I was wondering about:

1. Did all t30s come with wifi?
2. If not, did they all have the antenna wires?
3. Can I use any mini PCI wifi card?
4. Can I use any 9.5mm height 2.5 inch ata hard disk?
5. Assuming the battery is perfect (I'm sure its not), how long can I run on it? If it makes much difference, I'll be running linux, probably Crunchbang.
6. Is there any reason I can't use one of those tiny USB wifi adapters?
7. Is it possible to install/boot from a mini-PCI SSD?

Thanks for any and all help!

-Steve

[ac12]

re #3 Can I use any mini PCI wifi card?
According to the Hardware Maintenance Manual
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... 2p1840.pdf
The WiFi card looks like it is a combo WiFi+modem. (just like the T23)
If so, with a WiFi only card you loose the modem.
To keep the modem you need a WiFi+modem combo card.
In my travels I have had to use the modem at hotels that did not have wired or WiFi connection, so I am not keen in giving up the modem. But WiFi is becoming more and more prevalent to the extent that maybe you don't need the modem.

re #6 Is there any reason I can't use one of those tiny USB wifi adapters?
According to the specs on the T30
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... -58227#exp
The T30 has USB 1.1 ports, not USB 2.0.
While it would work for WiFi, the USB 1.1 port will limit your thru-put.

I cannot give an actual comparison, as I am using a PC-card (PCMCIA) WiFi NIC in my T23. My T23 does not have the built in antennas, and I did not want to give up the modem, so I went with a PC-card WiFi NIC.

[ajkula66]

1) No.

2) Yes

3) Most of the newer cards will require a "no-1802" hack, but generally, yes you can.

4) Yes

5) Depends on the CPU and power settings. P4M is a power-hungry range, and Linux gives a lot less runtime on older machines than XP. I'd say 90 minutes with a perfect battery if you're lucky.

6) USB ports on T30 are 1.1 which is a pain for wireless use. You're much better off with *any* mini PCI card, or a PCMCIA one

7) No clue, but I doubt it.

[Temetka]

If the battery is still good you will get worse battery life under linux than windows. Even on brand new laptop, i have consistently gotten worse battery life under linux as compared to windows. You might want to look into getting an ultrabay batter for it if you are not going to be using the optical drive all that much.

[ThinkRob]

If the battery is still good you will get worse battery life under linux than windows. Even on brand new laptop, i have consistently gotten worse battery life under linux as compared to windows. You might want to look into getting an ultrabay batter for it if you are not going to be using the optical drive all that much.

As a counterpoint: there may not be enough of a difference to notice.

There was a very slight difference on my X61s, but my (rough) testing put the difference at about 20 minutes at most.

You will need to set up power saving, as most distros don't, but that's quite easy to do -- it takes just a few minutes and is a "set and forget" thing. (You don't have to do this on Windows, as the OEM pre-loads almost always take care of this for you.)

[stevebez]

Thanks everyone for the advice so far.

The laptop arrived today! Of course the power adapter isn't here yet, so I only had the chance to play with it for ~20 minutes before I was given the battery warning. Of course that was running from a live CD, and considering It started out showing well less than half a charge, I think the battery might actually be decent (maybe an hour?). Unfortunately it has one dead ram socket, and the screen is not very bright, nor is it the high resolution model that the listing said it was. In a word, bummer.

On the plus side, I found a Cardbus WiFi card that I had forgotten I had, so that will tide me over until I find a solution that doesn't stick out so much.

The laptop only came with the hard disk cover. Is there some real reason that I absolutely need the caddy, or can I just get a bit, shall we say, creative? It's not that I mind spending the $5, I'm just impatient.

@Temetka - If I remember correctly, you came by my place once about 6-8 years ago, when I was living in Ontario, near Euclid. I gave you a bunch of old Mac stuff. It's good to see a familiar name!

[ajkula66]

Not to rain on your parade, but why don't you return it to the seller?

Wrong resolution? Dim screen? Dead RAM slot?

What are you waiting for?

And yes, you do need a caddy for the hard drive to be seated properly...hopefully on your next ThinkPad.

[ac12]

SEND IT BACK

The dead memory slot is really bad, as your max RAM is now cut in half.
This will really limit the use of the computer.

Also it is not as advertized and what you paid for.

[stevebez]

I hear what you guys are saying about returning it, but keep in mind that I only paid $33 total for it, of which $25 was shipping. Even if I get the shipping refunded, It is going to cost me something to send it back.

[ajkula66]

You can send it back for $10 in a flat rate box...

Let's reverse the question: how much will it cost you to fix it to the point of having a properly working machine?

Once you answer that question, you'll understand why some of us believe that you should send it back no matter what.

T30s are dime-a-dozen nowadays...and you can pick a T4x under $100 so...yes, I would be returning it.

Good luck.

[cadillacmike68]

I would send it back and demand they refund your original shipping costs as well. They overcharged you for shipping anyway.

You did pay via a credit card, right??

Now if you can find a place to repair the mem slot inexpensively, then you MIGHT keep it, but still with the misrepresented screen, etc. unless it was a 2GHz or faster model, i'd send it back. I'm sure you can find a good one with both RAM slots working.

What is the machine type / model?

T30s can boot from a network device - but it has to be an boot ebabled card (the internal card is so capable).

There are gazillions of Wifi cards available, I bought one from hong kong, Intel BG2200 i think is the generic type, yes you have to run the No-1802 BIOS hack, but it worked fine with the Intel wrieless drivers i already had installed. Shpping was quick and it was under $10. There are similar / identical ones from the US, i got one of those and it works just fine as well. I can let you know the ebay sellers that i bought from. Look up WiFI in the forum and you'll get some good info onwhicxh ones are better. Intel made the lions share of these cards.

Don't bother with USB anything on a T30 other than memory sticks - the 1.1 is painfully slow for anything else.

HDD caddies are very inexpensive, you can get 3 or 4 and put them on your backup drives - which i'm sure you'll be getting. Try to find a Ultrabay 2000 HDD Tray. Look for an original IBM one, it has a "thumb" sticking out on the right side as opposed to one converted from a CD / DVD tray which will have a longer flat ledge on the overhang. You need a caddy for the ultrabay trays or you could short out the circuit board on the bottom of the drive!

[stevebez]

@ cadillacmike68:

I'm not sure I understand the 2Ghz break point - was there some sort of internal change other than the processor?

It is a type 2367. Do they have separate model numbers? To save you some effort, it has a 1.8Ghz processor.

If I get fiesty enough, I might let my soldering iron take a stab (no pun intended) at the ram slot, but then again I may just let it be and install a 1gb stick in the good slot and call it a day. Heck, Crunchbang is already running acceptably on 256mb, with only the occasional brief pause, so maybe it will be just a 512mb stick that upgrades it. Of course, there is another 256mb card in the second slot already. How bad could I possibly screw it up?


@ ajkula66:

"Let's reverse the question: how much will it cost you to fix it to the point of having a properly working machine?"

That depends on what you mean by properly. I did need to buy a power adapter, which was $8 shipped. Other than that, I haven't spent a dime, and I'm typing this message on it. I hope this doesn't sound combative, And if It does I apologize. I guess my expectations just are not that high for a ~$33 laptop.


@ everyone:

I would really like to say thank you to everyone for their advice so far. For what it is worth, I did seriously consider sending it back, and about an hour ago I sent a message to the seller to see what he was willing to do to make things right, without having to return it.

And now for a few items of good news....

#1. I found a b/g cardbus WiFi card in my collection of electronic junk, and it works perfectly. Yea!

#2. While at first I was let down by the screen resolution, I'm starting to think that such a high res screen might be hard on on the eyes from time to time. In other words, although 1024x768 feels a bit -snug- at times, in some ways I like it.

#3. You know what I re-learned for the 20th time? That older laptops are typically set in the bios to dim the screen when you are running on the battery. Doh! So the screen isn't so dim after all. Also, I'm not sure if I am just adjusting to it, or if it is actually getting better with time. I'm betting the former.

#4. The battery in this thing seems like it is next to new. I went almost an hour and forty minutes the other night. I think I kind of lucked out on that one! It is, as far as I can tell, an actual IBM battery, so maybe this laptop was used as a desktop?


I thought I would post a link to the actual auction, just in case anyone is curious:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/150693718283?ss ... 2461wt_940

I think that is it for now!

[pianowizard]

I did need to buy a power adapter, which was $8 shipped. Other than that, I haven't spent a dime, and I'm typing this message on it. I hope this doesn't sound combative, And if It does I apologize. I guess my expectations just are not that high for a ~$33 laptop.

$41 for a basic T30 is a very good deal. If I were you, I would sell it right away on Craigslist for about twice that amount to make a profit, and then get a more modern laptop. Do not spend another dime on it.

[stevebez]

$41 for a basic T30 is a very good deal. If I were you, I would sell it right away on Craigslist for about twice that amount to make a profit, and then get a more modern laptop. Do not spend another dime on it.

I'm going to keep it for the short term, as I cannot afford what I really want right now. I may even keep it after I get something new, to use as a backup / loaner laptop.

On a separate note I went crazy last night and re-soldered the second ram slot. Wo-hoo, 512 screaming megabytes! It took a couple of attempts before I figured out the trick, which is to push the iron down on top of the tabs that are sticking out, instead of heating the pad. It is very pleasant to use now!

[RealBlackStuff]

You could add more decibels to an absolutely ear-deafening 2GB of RAM.

[cadillacmike68]

$41 for a basic T30 is a very good deal. If I were you, I would sell it right away on Craigslist for about twice that amount to make a profit, and then get a more modern laptop. Do not spend another dime on it.

I'm going to keep it for the short term, as I cannot afford what I really want right now. I may even keep it after I get something new, to use as a backup / loaner laptop.

On a separate note I went crazy last night and re-soldered the second ram slot. Wo-hoo, 512 screaming megabytes! It took a couple of attempts before I figured out the trick, which is to push the iron down on top of the tabs that are sticking out, instead of heating the pad. It is very pleasant to use now!

Please Elaborate on what you did because i have 2 T30s with the bad 2nd RAM.

Don't listen to piano wizard T30s are good machines.

Do listen to RBs and get two 1GB RAM modules. searcg ebay for Kingston KTM TP0028 I think that's the part number. These are genuine kingston and can be had for $10-20 each. They work fine. I bought 6 earlier this year, no issues with Kingston, ever. Same memory will work in a T40 (don't know about T41 or T42)

On the screen. I didn't factor in you were running on battery only, yes the screen is dimmed when on battery, but there's a BIOS override. Without an external monitor i don't like anything higher than 1024 x 768 on a laptop either. My eyes are getting old...

Battery - If its an IBM, it will have IBM and their address on the label on the bottom and a PN AND FRU PN on it

2GHZ point. no real break point, other than most 2GHz & up will have the trackpad in addition to the red eraser dot mouse, many came with internal Wifi cards, and these are the latest (and therefore newest) of the T30s that were made.

The internal Wifi would still be better and only costs $8-10 shipped (look for Thinkpad wifi intel and see the chouces 2200BG is what you want. You do have to run the no-1802 bios fix, but that takes 10 seconds. Same cards will work in T40 series.

[stevebez]

Please Elaborate on what you did because i have 2 T30s with the bad 2nd RAM.

The four things that I can help you with:

1. Use a HOT soldering iron
2. Don't spend too long on any single spot
3. Don't add any solder!
4. Press the solder tabs down into the motherboard until you see the solder start to flow out from under the tabs.

On a separate note, the seller refunded me $10!