Thinkpads Forum

Hi All,

I was thinking about upgrading wireless adapter on my T60. The current Intel 3945 is OK but not much more.

After doing a search on this board, I got confused about what I can upgrade to. If I am not mistaken, I can't just go out and buy any adapter I like. I have to get one that is compatible with the T60 and with XP. I would rather not have to fiddle with the BIOS.

Thanks for reading.

FRU 42T0825 if you do not want to modify your BIOS.....Many available on E Bay or post a WTB in the marketplace .

Thanks for the info. I guess this is not something that can be purchased at a store. How difficult is the BIOS modification for a more generic adapter?

You only need to flash the a modified bios which allows you install any wireless adapter.
Also checkout this topic.

hirst60 wrote:The current Intel 3945 is OK but not much more.

How so?

hirst60 wrote:The current Intel 3945 is OK but not much more.

It sometimes drops the signal and is pretty weak -- much weaker than other laptops I find.

Thanks Blackslashn1 and ms5133 for the suggestions. Very helpful. I gather the modified bios will not change anything else on the machine -- only the wireless adapter compatibility? I am a bit paranoid about updating my bios in case it messes with some other part of the machine.

If you throw in the previously suggested card (42T0825 - ThinkPad a/b/g/n) you don't have to touch the BIOS at all.

I have it in my own T60p and it works like a charm...for the record, I generally prefer Atheros-chipped cards to Intel ones in most cases...

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trkparm ... p=15&_sc=1

Good luck.

Most of the modified bios also change your slic, so you can do other neat things like install certificates to emulate a windows seven equiped oem unit (for example), but this won't cause you any problem and you don't have to use it. A bigger concern about flashing your bios is to make sure your system is stable, If you get a bad crash in the middle of a bios update, you can render your system board unusable. This is rare if done on a stable system, but I have seen people change their mind in the middle of a flash and power off the system, which in effect makes it about as useful as a "brick", which is referred to as "bricking" the board.

If your concerned, follow Georges advice and get the card he recommends. I personally have had better luck with Intel, the Arthos cards I have seem to all default to 65mb/s where my intel cards always connect at min of 130 to 150mb/s, but that might just be my router, or some settings. The Arthos cards are used by most major PC makers and are considered top quality.

Another thing you may want to check is the number of antenna your unit has. Some cards use 3, some use 2. Many report you can use a 3 antenna card with 2 antenna, but it will probably lessen your range and MIMO capabilities, but either way it will far exceed your wifi "g" range you currently have.

Thanks guys.

Funny how experiences with Atheros can be different. One would think something as logical as computer hardware would produce very little grey area. But there are so many variables to consider!

hirst60 wrote:Thanks guys.

Funny how experiences with Atheros can be different. One would think something as logical as computer hardware would produce very little grey area. But there are so many variables to consider!

The card is just one part to the chain, you have to consider the computer, it's operating system, the antennas used, location of router or access point, interference, etc... one card could behave differently in different areas/systems/networks... wireless computing is a grey area, but any original lenovo card should suffice, so I'd take Georges advice, since there is no need to flash your bios.

Having had mixed experiences on eBay, what's a reliable vendor for the FRU 42T0825 for the T60P?