T30 Wireless Options

[herbg]

Hi all. I've been lurking here for a little while and learning a ton! I recently got myself a T30 2366-81U and I'm enjoying it.

I've done some searches and I know that my T30 has the MiniPCI slot and the antennas. I also know that there is a BIOS patch so I can use third party cards. I've been using a wireless PC Card and would like to go internal. There's a few 802.11b/g wireless cards on eBay that say they are out of T30's. Will that work work on my laptop without BIOS mods? Should I be looking for a specific IBM model card? I'd like to avoid hacking the bios as much as possible. I did upgrade the BIOS and The Embedded Controller Program to the latest versions. If I can get the internal wireless working without hacking the BIOS, that would be great. Anyone have any suggestions or experiences doing this? Any insight is appreciated.

Thanks!

[danage]

a common misconception is that a "bios hack" is necessary. while this is a possible solution to the 1802 error, it is difficult to perform and in no way necessary nor recommended.

what the no-1802 does on the contrary, is set a CMOS bit. this is RAM, meaning it can be reset if necessary. there is not a single report of any harm done through the no-1802.

the t30 originally supported only one or two wireless cards, among of which NONE had 54mbps. with recent bios updates, support for another card (possibly more) was added. which exact card that is i don't know, since ibm has various different adapters with nearly the same description.

so to any t30 user wanting to add wireless to his t30, i would simply recommend buying the cheapest card available. you don't have to get an ibm branded card.
intel chipsets are continually reported to have connection problems with some access points. atheros chipsets might require another patch or might not be fixable at all, yet reportedly deliver the best reception.

hope this answers your questions. :)

[herbg]

Thanks Danage, you indeed answered my question. It sounds like its worth going with the no-1802. I'll try it out and let you know what happens.

[herbg]

OK, I pulled a Broadcom 802.11b/g card from another laptop and decided to try it. I used the no-1802 Linux Live CD. Worked like a charm! This forum rocks!!!