Type 2656, x86

[circularL7]

Hello,

I just picked up this old thing at a garage sale. It works, and the Win98SE works.

Apparently, Windows is preloaded on this machine. Can I reformat the drive and load my old 98 OS onto this machine, or does the preload cause problems with doing that?

The drive is also partitioned. It has the IBM preload in a partition. Is this standard IBM, and can I combine these partitions?

Admin note: Moved from Legacy forum

[Medessec]

You can format the hard drive and get rid of the IBM recovery partition if you don't need it. Just delete all partitions in Windows Setup. Windows 98 SE will work perfectly fine on what you've got, although I'd recommend XP.

In fact what you have is an R31, probably one of the most worthless Thinkpads you can come across(some i-series however, would beat out that title).

However, if it's in any sort of a good condition, and it's running perfectly fine(no random shutdowns, no funny noises, etc.) don't let that stop you from using it. It's still a Thinkpad, so if you can find some good use for it, by all means.

Congrats on the find!

[circularL7]

You can format the hard drive and get rid of the IBM recovery partition if you don't need it. Just delete all partitions in Windows Setup. Windows 98 SE will work perfectly fine on what you've got, although I'd recommend XP.

In fact what you have is an R31, probably one of the most worthless Thinkpads you can come across(some i-series however, would beat out that title).

However, if it's in any sort of a good condition, and it's running perfectly fine(no random shutdowns, no funny noises, etc.) don't let that stop you from using it. It's still a Thinkpad, so if you can find some good use for it, by all means.

Congrats on the find!

Thanks for the info! The hard drive makes a light, hollow knocking sound when it starts. It's almost like a very slight ping. Bad sign?

[Medessec]

Probably nothing serious, as long as it doesn't do several hard clicks constantly, and the Hard Drive stops working. The single ping is probably the head resetting itself.

[circularL7]

Great. With (internal) battery, it was $20.

Do you know if I can put a wi-fi card on it?

[Medessec]

You can install a Wi-Fi card, but you might lose the function of the modem(if that's installed in the PCI bay), and you'd have to improvise with the wi-fi antennas, because R31s don't have them as standard.

[circularL7]

LOL. I'll use an old set of rabbit ears. They'd be appropriate for its ancient appearance.

Thank you for your help.

[circularL7]

I noticed on the monitor that R30 is inked on it. Does that mean that it's even less desirable than a 31?

[Medessec]

R30s and R31s are hardly differentiable, the R31s are just slightly newer and have slightly faster processors. At this point in time, they're both equally limited in capability. It's only R32s that have some value, because the processors are much faster and they can have a Wi-Fi card option(although most don't have them.)

What I'm hoping is that you don't have a Celeron processor in your R30. But even if you do, it's still quite capable for typing, and the internet to some extent if you get it connected.

[circularL7]

It's a Celeron, but for $20. I didn't expect it to ride like a Cadillac. I'm pleased that I can look at e-books on it.

[Dos3.1]

I've got an R30. I'm running an old version of Linux Mint on it (v. 9, I believe) and it runs well. I can get online with a wireless card. Not bad at all, but it runs hot (Celeron processor!), and the fan can get quite noisy.