Thinkpad A31 hardware questions

[rnfolsom]

For my wife, I've got a new-to-us Win2k IBM-refurbished Thinkpad A31. But it didn't come (even when new, according to the IBM website) with a manual, and the "Access Thinkpad" utility has left some hardware questions unanswered.

1) There is an Ultrabay 2000 on the left (currently empty), and an Ultrabay Plus on the right (currently holding a CDRW drive). According to Access Thinkpad, either bay can hold a diskette drive, CD or DVD drive, or a secondary hard drive. The Ultrabay 2000 can hold also a second battery, and the Ultrabay Plus can hold a numeric keypad (which I guess slides in and out).

My question is: are the items that can go in either bay --- diskette drive, CD or DVD drive, or secondary hard drive --- identical, or different? For example, could the same physical diskette drive fit in either bay? Could I move the CDRW from the UltraBay Plus to the UltraBay 2000? Could the same physical secondary hard drive fit in either bay?

2) My own Dell Latitude C800 laptop has a plastic insert than replace the battery when the computer is being used as a desktop computer substitute. Can the A31 be operated without the battery in place without damaging anything? [When not traveling, its AC power would be downstream from a UPS (battery backup power supply).] If so, did IBM make a plastic insert to fill the "hole" where the A31 battery otherwise would be?

Thanks for any help.

Roger Folsom

[a31pguy]

The ultrabay 2000 is slightly different from the ultrabay plus.

The battery will only fit in the ultrabay 2000 slot. All other devices work in either slot. New ultrabay slim and ultrabay enhanced devices will require an adapter to work.

There is a cover that will fit in the ultrabay 2000 side - but I haven't seen this for sale. it only came with the computer. You can probably order it from the IBM part number however.


Check out this excellant FAQ on it at thinkwiki:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/UltraBay

[rnfolsom]

A31pGuy:

I gather that my main concern --- that, for example, there would be two physically different diskette drive modules, one for the ultrabay 2000 and one for the ultrabay plus --- is not a problem: if a device fits into the left side ultrabay 2000, it will fit also into the right side ultrabay plus, and vice versa. (That said, I do understand that some things, particularly the battery, do not fit into both sides.)

Thanks for the thinkwiki.org link. I'd never heard of Thinkwiki, but I've now discovered it to be a very useful resource: e.g. I now have part numbers that I need for a diskette drive (possibly an LS-240 while I'm at it) and an Ultrabay battery.

Now if I can just figure out where to buy what: IBM, Lenovo, or whatever supplier Google turns up.... For batteries I'd like to get the highest capacity that won't damage anything, and the latest manufacture date since I've recently learned that Lithium-Ion batteries die with age, even if not used.

One way that Thinkwiki has disappointed me is that although I can get battery information for the Ultrabay battery, I can't find information for the standard in the front "long tube" battery. Do you happen to know if there are alternatives for this main battery: e.g. higher watts; longer life?

Similarly, I don't know if there are any power supply alternatives.

----------------

The link you provided me referred to Ultrabay devices as having a "blending." Do you happen know what that might mean?

> There is a cover that will fit in the ultrabay 2000 side <

What my A31 (which has only one UltraBay 2000 or Plus device, namely a CDRW) has is what I would call a "filler" that does fill up the Ultrabay 2000 hole:
an approximate 5.5" x 4.25" rectangle (plus a 1+3/16" x 7/8" stickout on one corner), with two rectangular cutouts:

Front: 2+3/4" x 2+3/16"

Rear: 2+3/4" x 2"

I don't see any part number on it. Is this the "cover" you have in mind, or it is a "carrier" for something?

Thanks very much for the help.

Roger Folsom

[a31pguy]

Couple of answers.

The main battery is becoming harder to find. Get it now while you still can. IBM isn't going to maintain spare parts forever. The part number can be found on IBM's site under the Field Replacement Parts Guide for your model and type (look at the sticker on the bottom). Mine is an A31p 2653 N5U. You can find the FRU (field replacement number). Be warned - the warranty of batteries - is like 3-months. So if there is something wrong with it - when in doubt - send it back.

Power supply - there are lots of alternatives. Find a nice 500w power supply if you can. Targus makes one and so does APC (American Power Conversions). One of the nice things about owning an IBM - everybody makes accessories for them. The aftermarket Targus unit I found - puts out nice power - but is larger and heavier than the OEM PS.

The spacer/cover. Yes - that is the one. I find uses for them myself. So if you don't want it - send it my way!

[rnfolsom]

A31pguy:

You have been extremely helpful, and I very much appreciate it. I ought to stop bugging you, but unfortunately I have four followup questions.

Background for the first question (below), which is about the long front battery:

Thanks very much for the warning about the long front battery. I'm tempted to pick up two of them, in hopes that my understanding that Lithium-Ion batteries die in two years or so even even if not used is wrong.

But Thinkpad Battery part numbers make no sense to me. The long front batterh that we have now, which came with the A31 computer, according to the label, is
ASM p/n 02K7022; FRU p/n 02k6898; nominal 10.8 volt, 4.0AH.
Note the Amp Hours.
The IBM-refurbished packing list that came with the computer states that the battery is
02k6897 BATT Li-ion 6-cell 2.0ah (02k6898-02k7021.
Apparently somebody made a mistake, or an undocumented substitution.

But the Lenovo website, after I plugged in my A31 2652-CFU model number, invites me to buy a Thinkpad A series battery:
02k6878, Lithium-Ion Battery 10.8 V, no Amp Hour rating that I can find. But there is a ONE YEAR warranty. All this is at
http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... lCurrId=73

1) Do you think this is a downgraded battery (the part number is lower), or is Lenovo just redoing the parts numbers? 4.0 amp hours is a bunch more than 2.0 amp hours.

2) Looking ahead for when the (or all) my long front battery is dead and no replacement is available (my wife tells me she is going to keep this new-to-her A31 for a long long time), is it possible to operate the A31 on only AC power, without any battery in place?

I'd try it and see, but I don't want to damage anything, in case the front battery is somehow part of an excess voltage or excess current protection system (not that I've ever heard of a battery having such a role; I'm just paranoid).

3) And is it possible to operate an A31 with only the Ultrabay 2000 battery in place? (I gather from your wording that those are not as scarce, at least not yet. But I'm tempted to get one anyway --- under the same hope described above --- even though the A31 isn't going to travel much.)

4) If the answer to either of those questions is "yes": Was there ever a "cover" or "filler" that could be used in place of the long front battery, when one was either
a) on only AC power (preferably behind a UPS)
or
b) using only the UltraBay 2000 battery.

I've asked question 4) before (although not as clearly as I have now), and nobody answered it, so I guess that the answer is "no." That's too bad. On my Dell Latitude C800 and C840, the answer to all three questions above would be "yes." Which is good, because the Dell won't even boot with AC Power and a totally dead battery: remove the battery, and it boots with no problem.

[But the Dell C800/C840 keyboards aren't nearly as good as the A31 --- the feel, and especially the arrangement (particularly the pointing stick & touchpad mouse buttons, placement and shape). That's why the lady specified another Thinkpad as a replacement for her now ancient 1999 W98se Thinkpad i series 1410.]

And thanks also for the power supply information. I'll take a look at both the APC and Targus units. I appreciate knowing that 500w is not overdoing it.

The IBM power supply we have, made by Delta Electronics (Dongguan) [ASM?] P/N 02K6749; FRU P/N 02K6756
doesn''t state either input or output power in watts: only
Input: 100-240v ~ 1.6A-0.8A, 50-60 Hz
Output: 16v 4.5A

Although I DO appreciate all this help, I think I''ll keep the one Ultrabay 2000 "cover" or "filler" that I have. But I appreciate your offer to recycle it for me. <grin>

Roger Folsom

[a31pguy]

A couple of answers:

The original battery was end-of-life. I had ordered one a few months ago. The field rep told me that there are none left of the original part number but there are compatible batteries with different part numbers. So your new battery should work just fine.


On the subject of running without a battery. Up until recently I think that you could but at a lower CPU clock speed. I think one of the newest BIOS/Controller/ACPI drivers allows you to run without a battery. I haven't confirmed this - but I think I was reading it in a README.TXT file for the latest ACPI drivers.


On the subject of the Ultrabay 200 batttery - they are not as scarce since you can still use them in currently produced laptops.

Yes - you can use the laptop without the long battery and just an ultrabay 2000 battery.

On the power supply - it's made for mutliple units and can handle various draws and input voltages (becuase of internations power recepticles - the cord can be changed to handle 100 to 240 volt input) that's why it lists a input range.

Enjoy!

[rnfolsom]

a31pguy:

Thank you! It's great news that the Ultrabay 2000 battery is used in current models; I don't have to be in a panic to get one.

I run Windows 2000 sp4 Rollup 1 --- on my Dells and also on the A31, which I selected because it wasn't XP and I didn't want to learn a new operating system --- so presumably my ACPI drivers aren't the latest. On the Dells, Dell's update service hasn't told me to update them. I haven't yet run the A31 past IBM's automatic "what updates do you need" site. Instead, I've been learning how to use Apricorn's external hard drive backup hard drive and imaging software to partition the A31 hard drive (to my surprise, IBM refurbished it with only a C: partition and FAT32 vice NTFS; I'll use Windows convert to NTFS utility).

[If and only if you are curious: For where I was on that partitioning project a week or so ago, see
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=15787
I'm running some experiments today or tomorrow, and I'll put a link to the answers in that thread, and then post my results in a new thread.]

I am going to do some more investigating before I get a new Lenovo 02k6878 10.8v 2ah battery. All over the internet there are 02k6898 batteries (what I have now, although it was first used in Nov 2002 and is tired, so it needs to be replaced), but I don't know anything about whether they are old manufactures or new or what the quality of their suppliers is. And while mine is nominal 10.8v 4ah, these internet 02k6898 batteries are 11.1v with 3.x amp hours.

After I have a better feel for what my questions are, I'll post my battery questions (or answers if I discover some) in a new thread, here and maybe also on CompuServe's laptop forum.

Thank you again for the education. I appreciate it a lot.

Roger Folsom

[proaudioguy]

You have been extremely helpful, and I very much appreciate it. I ought to stop bugging you, but unfortunately I have four followup questions.

When I use NO battery at all, my CPU runs at 899MHz instead of 1.6MHz. Other than that, it runs fine. I am currently only using the UltraBay battery since my main battery is so dead it comes to almost full charge in about 20 seconds. Basically the PSU has to work like crazy to charge a battery that won't charge.

The IBM PSU yo described is 72Watts. This is very common. I had no idea I could use an aftermarket PSU and I'm going to look into that as an upgrade.

For future reference Volts x Amps = Watts
Basic Ohm's Law. You can find out any of the 3 if you know 2.

16V x 4.5 Amp = 72 Watts

The older PSUs like on the T20 were a bit smaller. They run REAL hot.

[schen]

As far as I know, power supplies that were supplied beginning with the T20/A20/X20 generation of machines were all the same. They later went to a slightly slimmer shell (without the little ears), but the outputs were still the same and identical unit were supplied with all machines.

[proaudioguy]

that's totally possible. I was just basing that on my experiences. My dad's T20 has a lower wattage PSU, but it was an ebay thing so the sellers might have screwed us on that since the taw says 72 watt. I have also seen quite a few thinkpads newer than mine with the little ears for wrapping the cable. Perhaps once they moved to the 72 Watt it was just random while the supplies of a particular supply was in stock.

[rnfolsom]

When I use NO battery at all, my CPU runs at 899MHz instead of 1.6MHz. Other than that, it runs fine. I am currently only using the UltraBay battery since my main battery is so dead it comes to almost full charge in about 20 seconds. Basically the PSU has to work like crazy to charge a battery that won't charge.

Harry:

Thanks very much for that battery information, and for the watts definition. I had vaguely recalled Ohm's law in terms if E = IR, but had forgotten the definition of watts.

The long battery supply situation has some weird aspects. Fearing that they would become unavailable, I ordered a new one from Lenovo (even though the one in my wife's A31 is still functional for a desktop replacement that almost always is connected to AC Power supply), and its specs match the old one that came with my wife's IBM refurbished A31:

Part number 02k6898
ASM P/N 02k7022
10.8v, 4.0Ah

But according to the box the new battery came in, it is
Part number 0286878
Manufactured for Lenovo 09Jan06.

And according to the IBM Final Packing List that came with the refurbished A31 (acquired last September, although not directly from IBM but instead from a third party seller, Yahoo business Nova-Texas), the long battery that came with it is
Fea Part Number 02k6897
BATT Li-Ion 6-cdll 2.0ah(0286898-02k7021)
where the last number immediately above presumably is an ASM P/N.

Never have so many numbers been so inconsistent!

The IBM PSU you [actually it was A31pGuy, fourth message in this thread] described is 72Watts. This is very common. I had no idea I could use an aftermarket PSU and I'm going to look into that as an upgrade.

If you run into a three-wire grounded power supply with the correct output for an A31, please let me know.

Thanks.

Roger Folsom

________________________________________________________________

P.S. I remain surprised that although my wife's old IBM Thinkpad i series 1411 (now replaced by the A31) power supply had a grounded three-wire cord, the newer IBM Thinkpad power supplies (e.g. for her A31) do not.

IBM Thinkpad i 1411: 19 volts x 2.4 amps = 45.6 watts
IBM Thinkpad A31: 16 volts x 4.5 amps = 72 watts

I'm guessing that low voltage does not require a grounded three-wire power supply, but that a higher voltage (above some threshold) does require a grounded power supply (regardless of amperes and watts).

That's consistent with some other laptops that I have:

An ancient Texas Instruments Travelmate 6160, two wire ungrounded power supply, 13 volts x 3.46 amps = 45 watts.

Two Dell laptops, each with three wire grounded power supplies:
Latitude C800: 20 volts x 3.5 amps = 70 watts
Latitude C800: 20 volts x 4.5 amps = 90 watts

[proaudioguy]

The grounding thing is a completely different issue. Any device that meets the NEC standards for being double insulated doesn't have to be grounded perse. At that point grounding is done for other reasons. In my industry grounding is necessary mostly for shielding purposes.

Also, the reason for using wall warts/ line lumps is typically to meet a UL standard without having to approve every product. You can instead have a single PSU UL listed and use it on multiple computer models. The added bonus is you have placed something that generates heat, fails often, and adds noise and interference (expecially wiht switching supplies) outside of the computer, making it easily replaced.