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T420 34mm Express Card and Dock

T400/T410/T420 and T500/T510/T520 Series
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gullylad
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 12:30 pm
Location: Leeds, UK

T420 34mm Express Card and Dock

#1 Post by gullylad » Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:46 am

Hello All, first post.

Great forum, thanks to those who make it happen.

I’m a complete newbie to Lenovo Thinkpads having just got a good deal on a X220 and T420 to enable me to study Linux. I’ve moved over from OSX after 20 years. Never used Windoze and quite proud ;-)

I’ve been looking at a 34mm Express Card for the T420 and was wondering if anyone could confirm this would be suitable?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... A3O6&psc=1

Also, is this dock suitable for the T420

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-Thinkpa ... =t420+dock

Any other (better) places to buy from?

Another question regarding USB 3.0 and Linux live distributions.

I have a 54mm Express Card in the X220, however I am unable to boot a live Linux USB distribution from this. I’ve checked the card is installed properly and tried a few different distributions but the USB 3.0 doesn’t even show up in the boot menu after pressing F12 during start-up.

Will I encounter the same problem with the 34mm Express Card in the T420 or are additional steps required?

Hope someone can help and hope to contribute to the forum once I have waded through the 800+ page Linux Bible on my Thinkpads.

Peace
Gully

axur-delmeria
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Re: T420 34mm Express Card and Dock

#2 Post by axur-delmeria » Mon Aug 14, 2017 12:12 pm

The USB 3.0 card is an external device, so boot support for it doesn't exist in the BIOS. I'm pretty sure it's the same for the T420.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
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RealBlackStuff
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Re: T420 34mm Express Card and Dock

#3 Post by RealBlackStuff » Mon Aug 14, 2017 12:46 pm

If your X220 has an i7 CPU, you should have one USB3.0 port and two USB2.0 ports.
It is blue inside and is located on the left side toward the rear.
Otherwise all ports are USB2.0
The T420 has no USB3.0 port.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

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gullylad
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 12:30 pm
Location: Leeds, UK

Re: T420 34mm Express Card and Dock

#4 Post by gullylad » Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:30 pm

Thanks for the prompt relies guys.

Unfortunately the X220 is i5 CPU so no USB 3.0. The T420 is i7 but obviously these didn't come with USB 3.0. Doh! No point me getting the Express Card for the T420 then.

I'm just going to dual boot the T420 with an SSD.

The dock I was refering to above says it has USB 3.0. I think this means it supports it only if the actual Thinkpad you dock on it has USB 3.0.

Thanks again guys. These machines are brilliant. Never going back to Mac.

Peace
Gully

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