G41 unexpected curve ball

[cylscore]

I use OS/2 as my my main OS. I also use floppy discs on a regular basis. I wanted a three spindle machine to replace the one that I have been using for several years which was limited to only 512 Meg of RAM. It looked like the "G" series was a good candidate as it was reasonably fast and the hardware was likely to have OS/2 support.

I received a G41 today that I won on e-Bay. With some trepidation, I opened the box. It was a pleasant surprise that it seemed to be in very good condition, better than my expectations. Then I noticed that there was no floppy drive. I was under the impression that ALL "G" series were three spindle machines. There was, on the left hand side, a vent plate that was the size of a floppy drive. I removed the keyboard and found a big aluminum heatsink in the area that I thought the floppy would occupy. I didn't have time to explore further. I am hoping that I can remove the vent plastic and the heatsink and that the motherboard will have a floppy interface plug-in.

The CPU is 3 GHz. I wonder if it would be wise to get a slower CPU to use without the heatsink.

More research is in order.....;>) Anyway, it is an interesting machine and if all else fails, a good candidate for Linux.

[RealBlackStuff]

Get the HMM: http://www.thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hm ... 9t6188.pdf
It lists a floppy drive.
Some G40/G41 were sold without floppy, just with a blank bezel instead.
Check your 7-char. TYPE here: http://sm.krelay.de/tp/index.php for the specs ex-factory.

[ajkula66]

Not knowing the MTM of the G41 in question I'm going to presume that it's a machine with nVidia GPU, and none of these shipped with a floppy AFAIK, nor is there a way of installing one...

[cylscore]

"RealBlackStuff" and "ajkula66", thank you both very much for your informative replies. I hope to have some time in the next few days to disassemble this G41 further. I will explore the links that you both have provided.

There is a floppy sized plastic bezel on the side of the case, but I don't see a connector on the motherboard. It might be hidden by the heatsink. The heatsink is big. It is fully the size of a floppy drive.

Numbers on the bottom of the case are: Type: 2886-92U S/N L3-xxxxx 05/05

Again, thank you!

Admin edit: Removed serial number.

[rkawakami]

Model type returns this:

ThinkPad G41 2886-92U P4-M 532, 256MB RAM, 40GB 5400rpm HDD, 15 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, 64MB nVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200, 24x10x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, IBM 802.11b/g wireless(MPCI), Modem(CDC), 1Gb Ethernet(LOM), 12 cell Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro

[cylscore]

Thank you for taking the time to look up this information. It agrees with what I see on this G41. It has been upgraded to 2 Gigs of RAM.

I took a little time this afternoon to disassemble it a bit further. I can confirm that it will not be possible to add a floppy drive. There is no socket on the motherboard that would accept a floppy. The video card occupies the space and there are pins sticking up from the motherboard that the video card plugs into that would prevent a drive from being inserted into that space. I thought the large heatsink might serve both the CPU and the GPU, but it really only serves the GPU.

When I first started looking for another computer, I looked at the ThinkWiki page for the G41 and it showed a solid bulleted line for "Floppy Drive" without any indication that there might be other configurations.

Still, it is an interesting model and I am glad to have it. It is in surprisingly good condition and other than some random "dust bunnies" inside it is quite clean. I will continue my search. I am smarter today than I was yesterday, so all is good....;>)

Gentlemen: Thanks and Aloha to you all.

Model type returns this:

ThinkPad G41 2886-92U P4-M 532, 256MB RAM, 40GB 5400rpm HDD, 15 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, 64MB nVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200, 24x10x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, IBM 802.11b/g wireless(MPCI), Modem(CDC), 1Gb Ethernet(LOM), 12 cell Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro

[Neil]

I also use floppy discs on a regular basis.

Looks to me like you need to invest in a USB floppy drive. That way you can use the G41 now as-is, or most any other machine you happen to have, or get in the future.

[cylscore]

Hi Neil

Your point is a good one.......if I were smart enough to use a "normal" OS.....;>) The OS/2 install starts with three floppy discs. When the install process takes over from the BIOS, support for the floppy disappears and everything comes to a halt. Even if the install was accomplished, I prefer not to have to carry around and extra drive and cable and have to set it up and have desk or lap space to put another piece of kit. I am just looking for the convenience of having everything in one unit.

I also use floppy discs on a regular basis.

Looks to me like you need to invest in a USB floppy drive. That way you can use the G41 now as-is, or most any other machine you happen to have, or get in the future.

[ajkula66]

There's another way about this - albeit not as simple - presuming you don't need the media drive.

The media drive on G4x systems is removable, but not swappable. It's an Enhanced Drive, with a height of 12.5mm if I'm not mistaken. Somewhat of a PITA to take out, but doable by all means.

You could - theoretically speaking - perform a hack where you'd install an UltraBay 2000 FDD in the current media drive slot. Do bear in mind that I've never done this myself and am pretty much thinking aloud here...

Good luck.

[cylscore]

Hi ajkula66

I LIKE the way you think: creative....;>) I plan to disassemble the G41 further to clean it. I will look at the physical plug in of the optical drive and compare it to a floppy module from my T30. It is an interesting idea. In the end, I think I will leave the G41 in original condition and look for another suitable computer.

I some ways the "A" series is more attractive. The drives are easily removable and they did come with touch pads. I can get used to the track point, but I am more comfortable with a touch pad. I went with the "G" series because of good driver support the Intel PCMCIA chips. The Ricoh chips in the "A" series are problematic. I am going to look into driver availability.

Thanks to you and others that have showed interest in my quest and have given good help. The link to decode the model number that "RealBlackStuff" posted is great.

Aloha

[ajkula66]

Hi ajkula66

I LIKE the way you think: creative....;>) I plan to disassemble the G41 further to clean it. I will look at the physical plug in of the optical drive and compare it to a floppy module from my T30. It is an interesting idea. In the end, I think I will leave the G41 in original condition and look for another suitable computer.

Thank you. I happen to like the G4x series and have owned more than my fair share of these behemoths...

I some ways the "A" series is more attractive. The drives are easily removable and they did come with touch pads. I can get used to the track point, but I am more comfortable with a touch pad. I went with the "G" series because of good driver support the Intel PCMCIA chips. The Ricoh chips in the "A" series are problematic. I am going to look into driver availability.

I'm not quite certain that I understand what you mean here, since "A" series models never had a touchpad...

Thanks to you and others that have showed interest in my quest and have given good help. The link to decode the model number that "RealBlackStuff" posted is great.

Aloha

You're very welcome.

Happy ThinkPadding and please keep us posted.

[cylscore]

Hi George

Ugh! About the "A" series and a touch pad. Of course, you are right. I was relying on my memory last night. I did not have my several pages of legal pad notes on various models and features with me.

Hmmm. I wonder if I can splice a touch pad into a track point machine.....;>)

Aloha
Larry

[ajkula66]

Hmmm. I wonder if I can splice a touch pad into a track point machine.....;>)

I've spliced copper.

I've spliced coax.

I've spliced both single-mode and multi-mode fiber

but never a touchpad onto a palmrest... .. which wouldn't do you much good without a connector on the motherboard anyway...

[cylscore]

I completely disassembled and cleaned the G41 (288692u) and looked at all the connectors to see if it would be feasible to put a floppy drive into the space occupied by the CD/DVD drive. It really isn't doable in any way that makes sense. I looked at floppy drive module from a T30. The connectors on the module frame and on the floppy drive itself are very different from the connector on the motherboard of the G41. The G41 motherboard connector looks to be physically the same as the connector on the later "slim" modules. As far as I can tell, there was never a floppy drive available in the "slim" form factor.

Anyway, the G41 is all back together with new heatsink paste, maximum memory, and a 7200 RPM hard drive. I will install Linux on it.

I did find a nice, clean G40 (238851u) on e-Bay with a floppy drive. It really is sparkling clean, inside and out. I will install eComStation on it.

The "G" series are interesting machines and it is unlikely there will be another there if I take it to the cafe to use their wireless, kind of like driving a 1965 Ferrari to a Tesla gathering.....;>)