Question about X41 Tablet dock / Ultrabase options

[rkawakami]

From reading through the archives I've come to the understanding that the X4 Ultrabase cannot be used with an X41T, correct? And that if I want an Ultrabay Slim device to be connected to the X41 Tablet, the X4 Dock (FRU 26R8536) needs to be used. It also appears that 41V9188 and 2506-10U are equivalent. Are there any other FRUs or type numbers that I should be looking for?

The reason for this request is that I just received an 1866-1CU which is missing the pen and a means to easily connect any Ultrabay Slim device. I don't care that this setup is deskbound; the only real purpose is for OS installs off of a CD and cloning the hard drive via an Ultrabay hard drive adapter.

[tim S]

You are correct, only the X40 and X41 share the same dock, the X41T is a longer machine so it won't fit into the smaller dock. Once you have the correct dock it will take the same ultrabay slim CD/DVD as the others.
There are some used 'T' docks on eBay but they are more expensive than the 'regular' X40/41 docks.
You could always bypass the dock altogether and use a USB CD/DVD, especially since you don't plan to use it that often.
Tim S

[rkawakami]

Thanks Tim! I've got a USB floppy but not any USB optical drive. I also want the option of being able to write to CD, DVD or a second hard drive. Since I already have all of those things in Ultrabay Slim formats, I was looking at a dock or Ultrabase solution. My preferred way to backup / clone a system is to boot a Ghost floppy and then write the disk image to either another hard drive or to re-writeable DVDs. The Ultrabase would have been an ideal solution since it's "portable" but I can live with being tied to a desk during those times.

As a side note: Running Windows XP Tablet on only 256MB (well, slightly less with some of the memory going towards the video) is molasses-slow . I've popped in a 1GB stick and am running memtest86+ on it for a few hours so hopefully it will be a little bit snappier. Otherwise, I may be looking at some sort of solid-state hard drive solution...

[sjthinkpader]

I bought one of those Corsair 2GB DDR2 SODIMM from Fry's and it worked fine. I too ran MEMTEST86 before loading OS due to prior experience with a bad DIMM.

The short PATA SSD are still prohibitively expensive so I used an ipod 60GB ZIF drive plus a IDE-ZIF adapter. There is a Samsung HS040HB 40GB ZIF drive for <$25 on eBay. The HS122JC Harry used is sometimes available but pretty expensive too.

USB housing for 12.7mm DVD drives works well using an old Ultrabay drive after removing the caddy. After I got the X41t working, I was able to find a X4 Dock at a reasonable price.

[rkawakami]

40GB to 60GB is a good range for what this system is probably destined for - my younger daughter has already claimed "dibs" on it . The existing disk usage is only 7GB, so after I get the pieces needed to make the R&R disks and clone the existing setup, then I'll start customizing it.

There is a Samsung HS040HB 40GB ZIF drive for <$25 on eBay. <snip> After I got the X41t working, I was able to find a X4 Dock at a reasonable price.

Thanks for the tip about the ZIF drive. Just got this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0299098568 I selected UPS Ground so the total cost is $21.90. I can deal with the lack of a key since I'm not concerned with it going missing inside my house and I've got all of the Ultrabay Slim devices that I need.

[tim S]

Maxing out the memory on the X40 series goes a long way in helping to speed things up. Without it the system uses the hard drive for the swap file, and that's just painful!
There is, or was, a hard drive made for Lenovo that might do the trick. It's a 60G, all enclosed in a metal housing and made expressly for the X40 series. Even though the specs are the same as the 'regular' PATA drives, it seems to run faster maybe because it's a really ZIF drive inside. They are relatively expensive, but no more so that the 'regular' drives, so given the choice I'd opt for one of them. Or, if you're up for a challenge, try Kubuntu Hardy which I think is the perfect Linux distro, for newcomer Windows users, on the X40 series. Everything works out of the box and it's really fast on 'regular' drives.
Tim S

[dwilsonfl]

Trying to decide about whether to keep a tablet or my X40, and replacing the two docks I have with either the X41T equivalent or an external cd/RW - DVD.

It looks as though the external will be the cheaper way to go.

Maybe I should just get an X41 instead and keep the rest of the setup. The X41t is snappier than the X40.

[sjthinkpader]

X40/X41/X41t can use the same dock. Ultrabase X4 doesn't fit the X41t. USB DVD drive is always a handy item. The USB housing for bare drives are very inexpensive.