questions regarding my 240X

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stefan · #1 Post by **stefan** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 12:48 pm

Hello!
I just purchased the cute little 240x! Actually im not sure if its part of the x-series, but its really small and has an X in the name, so i figured i might aswell! Anyway. Im planning on installing linux on it. Ive already ordered a 3com 10/100 ethernet pcmcia card and the ibm floppy drive. now all i still need, is a cd/dvd?-rom. I have already heard that the 240x doesnt like to boot from cds, which turns out to be quite problematically. Is it possible to put the thinkpads hdd into my other laptop(hp omnibook) and install linux on it there, and then put it back into the 240x? that would be great, but it does however sound a little too weird to be working. Also, what kind of cd roms do you recommend? Or better, which ones are compatible with my 240x(without me having to spend too much money on it)? Oh, and how do i install operating systems on it, without wasting too much effort?

bhtooefr · #2 Post by **bhtooefr** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:43 pm

Try this:

http://www.mondoinfo.com/linux240x.html

It'd be a PCMCIA CD-ROM, with the correct boot floppies for your distro.

As for the 240x being part of the X series... I'd actually say the S series replaced it.

I'd say this would go in the Legacy forum, though.

As for 500 series, they almost fit in the X forum, seeing as the 570Z was the DIRECT predecessor to the X20.

azX32 · #3 Post by **azX32** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 10:40 pm

the 240x is not part of the X series, but it could be considered an X precursor in spirit. The 240 series was certainly one of the most ultraportable Thinkpads. Nevertheless, as far as this forum goes, this post belongs in the Legacy Hardware section - as you can see if you read its header description.

Most any PCMCIA or USB CD drive should work with a 240, but a 240 will only boot from the floppy or hard drives.

You didn't mention which Linux distro you'll be installing, but some of them have a option for creating floppy disks from which you can boot and then subsequently activate USB and card socket services to get the CD running to finish the install. SuSE is one distro that I know from my own experience on a 240 will do this successfully. With your PCMCIA ethernet card you could even do an install from SuSE's ftp site (after first creating the boot floppies).

As for moving the HDD to your other laptop to install Linux and then move it back to the 240, that might work - can't say from experience - but the other method might be preferable because the installation would be tailored as much as possible to the 240.

verktyg · #4 Post by **verktyg** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 2:54 am

I have a matched pair of 240x TPs. One is running Win98SE and the other XP. I used a Sony PCMCIA Card CD drive to copy the Win98 CD to the HDD for installation.

The PCMCIA slot requires the CARD SERVICE drivers from the IBM/Lenovo web site.

I have an almost new X31 but I like these 240x's better.

Good luck

stefan · #5 Post by **stefan** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:18 am

Thanks!
I found this neat little site http://linux.simple.be/tools/sbm ! awesome! i'm going to install ubuntu. so anyway, any usb cd roms you could recommend?

lilserenity · #6 Post by **lilserenity** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 6:59 pm

bhtooefr wrote:Try this:
As for 500 series, they almost fit in the X forum, seeing as the 570Z was the DIRECT predecessor to the X20.

570Z eh.

Would love to know where I could get my hands on one of them.

570X maybe! I did love the 570 series, they were wonderful little machines; shame they had such awful LCD hinges that seemed to loosen over time in many examples...

Vicky

bhtooefr · #7 Post by **bhtooefr** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 7:04 pm

*smacks self*

How 'bout 570E?

Don't know why I thought there was a 570Z...

lilserenity · #8 Post by **lilserenity** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 7:17 pm

Excuse me a minute

*locks myself in dark room*

"The next time you try to be smart, get the [censored] facts correct"

*unclicks lock and walks back out*

I knew there was something not right about 570X when I said it!! Indeed it was the 570E, whoops, so that makes me silly

(Mind you it is 1.15am here and I am recuperating from hospital... such lame excuses!)

Anyway - I had both a 570 PII 366MHz and a 570E PIII 450MHz and thought they were both cracking machines. Very slim, in fact today I wouldn't mind a 570 just to have to do my basic emailing/word processing/web browsing, and keep my current laptop (admitedly not a ThinkPad but I have written much on this!) for the more demanding work.

Perhaps I just have halcyon memories of my 570

Vicky

bhtooefr · #9 Post by **bhtooefr** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 7:29 pm

Hey, my X21 is my main system...

570E on steroids, and then on a touch more steroids...

lilserenity · #10 Post by **lilserenity** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 7:50 pm

If I could get an X20/21/22 at the right price I'd sure get one.

Although an X23/24 would be pretty groovy...

Though the X30 form factor is dead sexy.

And the X31 is better still with Pentium M.

Though the X32 is faster...

And the X40/41 is smaller still...

...and the X41 Tablet is a Tablet...

Do you see the problem I get into when trying to work out which thin and light I may potentially invest in!!!

I'm sure though it will be either an X20, 21 or 22 though; anything else would be excessive.

(The 1.5GHz Pentium M in this laptop is great, but my T21 I used to have at 800MHz was dead fast for what I generally do, and if my T23 at 1.13GHz had the ATI Radeon 9000 this thing has, I would have kept it in a jiffy -- I do a lot of gfx work see...)

Either way, stating the X21 is the 570E on a helluva load of speed, makes me think, maybe I do want an X series after all...

And round and round we go!

Vicky

bhtooefr · #11 Post by **bhtooefr** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 8:03 pm

It's the 570E with a lot more speed, a better graphics chip (still not great, though - it's a 4MB ATI Rage Mobility M), and a smaller size.

This thing cost $305 + $27.50 shipping + $67 for the RAM upgrade (which was a total ripoff, but I wanted to be sure that it worked). (All prices USD, FWIW)

The X20 and X21 are the same laptop, but the X21 is AVAILABLE with a 700MHz P3 and 128MB on-board RAM (which mine has), whereas those two options aren't available on the X20.

The X22 is a different laptop. It's got a lot nicer graphics chip (8MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7000), better chipset (i830 versus i440ZXM), faster FSB (133MHz vs. 100MHz), better RAM support, less sacrifices if you want internal WiFi, and it costs more.

The X23/24 are the same laptop as I understand, but the 24 has a faster CPU, and is more likely to have Bluetooth.

You're probably looking at an X20 or 21, FWIW, if you want something REALLY cheap. RAM is expensive for them, because it takes a 16-chip module, not an 8-chip module.

questions regarding my 240X

questions regarding my 240X

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