Upgrading a T30 questions.

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tjm001 · #1 Post by **tjm001** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:11 am

Hello,
I have a T30 that I bought new in 2003. I would like to upgrade it. I have seen some of the posts relating to upgrading the hard drives on this and other models so I have some idea about that. But I have other questions. The machine had the mother board replaced shortly after I bought it because of the well documented memory slot problem so that is not an issue. The model number is a 2366-81U Serial number 99-GK###. My questions are:

1. Will it take a PATA 160GB hard drive?
2. Is there a built in antenna in this model for wi-fi which would allow me to insert a mini pci wi-fi card instead of the Linksys pcimia I have in the side slot now?
3. When I go to the computer supply store here in Bremen, Germany to buy two 1GB RAM sticks what do I tell them I need? Numbers, type, speed, etc.
4. Is it possible to upgrade to USB2 with a mini pci card or do I have to use a pcimia type card?
5. What else would one recommend doing?

Thanks.

#2 Post by **Harryc** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:40 am

1.) Yes
2.) Yes
3.) PC2100 CL2.5 DDR SDRAM SODIMM - Maximum Memory =1024MB (2x512MB)
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-41607
4.) PCMCIA Only
5.) Get a 7200rpm Hard drive

tjm001 · #3 Post by **tjm001** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:10 am

Thank you very much, but I'm a little confused on the link for the memory. It does not reference the T30 model 2366-81U. And are you saying that the maximum memory that my T30 will take is 1024MB? I thought I saw on some other threads that it was 2GB.

Please clarify.

#4 Post by **Harryc** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:20 am

tjm001 wrote:Thank you very much, but I'm a little confused on the link for the memory. It does not reference the T30 model 2366-81U. And are you saying that the maximum memory that my T30 will take is 1024MB? I thought I saw on some other threads that it was 2GB.

Please clarify.

The model is irrelevant with regard to RAM. That's the official line, max 1024MB. It is possible more will work. Wait for a T30 owner to stroll along into this thread. Sometimes these machines support more than they are rated for.

Edit: After a forum search I learned that 2x1GB will work in a T30 with the latest BIOS. So, you want 2 x 1GB PC2100 CL2.5 DDR SDRAM SODIMMs. For specific parts/numbers do a forum search. There has to be several hundred threads on this topic.

#5 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:58 am

Yes, 2x 1GB works, no need to update the BIOS.
Generic RAM by Samsung works well (as in my T30).
Buy RAM in our Market forum or on eBay, probably cheaper than in the shop.

tjm001 · #6 Post by **tjm001** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:14 am

OK. That's great. Thanks to all for the info & help. It is greatly appreciated.

robert213 · #7 Post by **robert213** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:58 am

RealBlackStuff wrote:Yes, 2x 1GB works, no need to update the BIOS.

It was my understanding that [1X 1GB] or [2X 512MB] will work without BIOS update. BIOS update ( for versions before a date unknown to me) will be needed to achieve RAM above 1GB.

Please correct me, if I am wrong.

Harryc wrote:3.) PC2100 CL2.5 DDR SDRAM SODIMM - Maximum Memory =1024MB (2x512MB)

You may also purchase and install PC2700 Memory Cards. The PC2700 cards are clocked at 300Mhz, but will down-clock to slower 266MHz in our T30(s).

This maybe true for PC3200 Memory Cards, but I am not certain of this.

lemmerdeur · #8 Post by **lemmerdeur** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:22 pm

tjm001, I did upgrade my T30 with CPU (2.4) HDD (80gb), memory (1gb + 512) and Athos WiFi. It works perfectly and I am very pease with all the help I got from this forum. I got all my upgrade from eBay at very reasonnable price.

m509272 · #9 Post by **m509272** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 11:00 pm

Before you buy two sticks of memory make sure both slots are working. 3 of my 4 T30s have a bad memory slot.

kboykowboy · #10 Post by **kboykowboy** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:44 pm

m509272 wrote:Before you buy two sticks of memory make sure both slots are working. 3 of my 4 T30s have a bad memory slot.

mine too!

MintyMadness · #11 Post by **MintyMadness** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:32 am

robert213 wrote:[snip]...This maybe true for PC3200 Memory Cards, but I am not certain of this.

Yes. My fiance's T30 is running 2 x 512MB PC3200 with no problems for over a year.

-Jeremy

tjm001 · #12 Post by **tjm001** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:13 pm

Thanks to all for your input. The upgrade parts are all falling into place. It looks like my wife has inherited a great machine. 100GB 7200 Hitachi HD. 160GB Ultra Bay HD. 2GB of memory. Built in Wi-Fi. And USB2 with a PCMCIA card.

Thanks again. You all are great!

lalf · #13 Post by **lalf** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:33 pm

Do the two modules have to be the same (i.e. 2x 1GB)? Would it be possible to mix a 256 with a 1GB-module?

RealBlackStuff wrote:Yes, 2x 1GB works, no need to update the BIOS.
Generic RAM by Samsung works well (as in my T30).
Buy RAM in our Market forum or on eBay, probably cheaper than in the shop.

#14 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:34 pm

No, you can mix'n'match.
512/512, 512/1GB, 1GB/256 etc.
You can use PC2100/PC2700 and some PC3200, but they will all work at PC2100 speed.

madkat · #15 Post by **madkat** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 5:51 am

just upgraded from 1x512 to 1x1G PC2700 RAM
so far so good - it's working a little cooler - but a thought has crossed my mind: what if i stick some thermal pad between the ram and the metal lid - won't that improve the heat dissipation? has anyone done this?

#16 Post by **schen** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:23 pm

madkat wrote:just upgraded from 1x512 to 1x1G PC2700 RAM
so far so good - it's working a little cooler - but a thought has crossed my mind: what if i stick some thermal pad between the ram and the metal lid - won't that improve the heat dissipation? has anyone done this?

I don't know about your suggestion, but it seems feasible since I have a pair of 512Mb Kingston RAM modules with heat spreader/shield on them. I hadn't seen that on SO-DIMMs before, but apparently Kingston seems to think that it does something.

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