Do all A31P's have the wireless antenna's in the LCD lid?

[SaberX]

Theres a guy here in town with a A31P for sale for a good price.
Looking at it tonight.
He says there is no wireless on it.
So i'm thinking the MiniPCI slot is empty .
But i'm wondering if it may have the antenna's there.
I dont have the 7 diget #. Every time i ask the guy for it(3 times now) he just says it's a A31P.

[k2jsv]

My A31p never came with the antennas in it at all. When I got the card for it I had to put the antennas in myself. And sorry, I don't know the machine type off hand. If I get it later I'll post it.

[sjthinkpader]

Those with antennae already installed have hash marks on both sides of the lid near the top. The A30/A31 are labels where other models are molded in the plastic.

[ajkula66]

Majority of A31p machines do not have antennas, and do have an empty mini PCI slot.

While I'm at it....

No A31p has a wireless light indicator, but all of the ones with bluetooth have BT light indicator.

Retrofitting antennas is a PITA job in my modest opinion, but to each his own.

BTW, make sure you verify that the machine is actually an A31p (by 7-character model number) since A31 I have in my house right now has an A31p label along with 14" XGA screen...

Good luck.

[SaberX]

Thanks guys.
I got him to check on the video chip and screen rez.
It does have the Fire GL 7800 64meg video.And it does have the 1600x1200.
I'm almost 100% sure only the A31p's have the Fire GL 7800 64meg video.So at least it's the A31p board.
The screen rez is 1600x1200.
The only other NON-IPS UXGA screen comes on the A21P and A22p's.From what i know.I could be wrong.
But i dont think the UXGA screen from the A2xP wont fit in the A31P's. I could be wrong but i dont think so.
Any way i'll know now in a few hr's.
I'll post all the info i find out.

[ajkula66]

You can't exchange LCDs between A2xp and A3xp, so you're in the clear there...

[SaberX]

You can't exchange LCDs between A2xp and A3xp, so you're in the clear there...

Thanks
I wasent 100% sure.
The main things i'll be looking for is good overall shape
The LCD is nice and bright.
And there is no GPU problems.

He said theres no problems at all with the video.And theres no "red tint".
Most everthing else can be upgraded.
It does have the 2.0Ghz,512 ram,60gig,.
I'll find out more in the next hr.

But the price he's selling it for even if it has a bit of red tint thats fine.
That can be fixed.

[SaberX]

Well i am now a part of the A31P IPS club....
I just picked up the A31P.

Product: ThinkPad A31p 2653-CU5 [change]


Operating system: All [change]

Original description: Based on 2653-R3U: P4-M 2GHz, 512MB RAM, 60GB HDD, 15.0 UXGA(1600x1200) TFT LCD, 16x10x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, Modem(CDC), Ethernet(CDC), IEEE 1394, FDD, Secure Chip(TCPA), TV out, Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro

The girl i bought it from was the first owrner of it.She got it from her work a few years back.It's always beem in the same smoke free home.
I dont see any GPU problems,but time will tell.
Screen is nice and bright.
Theres no scratches on it anywhere,mint shape.The keyboard has just alittle shin on the space bar.Not enough to look for another keyboard.
The only problem with it is one of the USB ports has the pin's bent up.The other port is fine.Not a big deal.I'll use a pcmcia usb 2.0 card.
Theres no wireless antennas so i got to figger out what to do with that.


The spec's are all orginal.
AC adapter and even a nice carry case.
Got it all for $275.00
She dident know what she had there.
She said she put on her own coppy of XP Pro last year and said she always found the video realy slow.It was only few days ago that she put the video drivers on it for the fire GL chip.She also had it on 1024x768 rez for years.
I'm happy.

[ajkula66]

And you should be happy, you've picked up a fine machine. And for a very good price, may I add!

Congratulations!

Now the only thing that you have to do is actually be patient enough to max this baby out and enjoy it...

BTW, if you need restore disks, drop me a note...

[SaberX]

And you should be happy, you've picked up a fine machine. And for a very good price, may I add!

Congratulations!

Now the only thing that you have to do is actually be patient enough to max this baby out and enjoy it...

BTW, if you need restore disks, drop me a note...

Thanks
I have a 1 gig ddr 333 ram here now.I put that in for 1280 ram total now.Not bad. Another 1 gig stick soon.
Then a 7200 rpm drive.
The battery last about 1.5 hr's she said.I'll test it out later.
I do need a set of restore disks.When she put on her coppy of XP home last year she wiped the hard drive clean.
PM comming...

[sjthinkpader]

...

Original description: Based on 2653-R3U: ...

The only problem with it is one of the USB ports has the pin's bent up.....

2653-Rxx are the later ones. The earlier machines are 2653-Hxx. As for the USB pins, one of the pin is power. So you should type to clip it with the power off to avvoid any problems later. Replacing this USB connector is possible but a PITA job.

Two of my three A31p have GPU problems, but they still work. It just put junk on the screen in some blank area sometime. The A31p screen are IDTech IAUXxx while the A21p/A22p use ITUXxx. I think the A20p/A22m SXGA+ and the A21p/A22p UXGA are all IPS panels. But I can't find references now.

As for retrofiting antennae, it is not that hard given a LCD housing with antennae already:

Disassembly;
1. Remove two KB screws.
2. Remove 4 corner screws.
3. Remove 4 middle screws. Three in the KB hole, one in the HDD slot near the edge. Remember location of the single long screw.
4. Remove palm rest.
5. Remove Y bracket assembly with three screws.
6. Remove right side Ultrabay. Note the 4 screws in the CDC bay.
7. Remove 4 screws on the LCD assembly and lift up.

Assembly;
8. Insert LCD assembly with antenna. Secure the 4 LCD screws.
9. Route antennae leads above the fan, LCD connector, insert LCD cable.
10. Route leads down the middle over the PCMCIA cage copper land, between the Ultrabay then to the right just above the battery compartment.
11. Replace right side Ultrabay, push in the retraction lever. Make use the lever operate properly before proceeding further.
12. Secure Ultrabay screws.
13. Replace palm rest and secure 4 middle screws. Note that one is actually on the bottom. Replace the KB.
14. Sercure 4 corner screws and 2 KB screws.
15. Replace 4 CDC card screws.

IBM service techs use a nice Milwaukee cordless driver to do all this. I use a cheap $20 B&D driver.

Alternative is to use short antennae like these and place them near the WiFi card.:

Mini Antenna

I've only used these for BT. They likely will have shorter range than standard LCD top antennae.

[sjthinkpader]

Installing antennae in the LCD housing:

1. Remove six black dots covering screws. Best is to use a Xacto knife.
2. Remove the two screws on the front and 4 on the side.
3. Lift the bezel by front center with your fingers between the LCD and bezel. LCD is actually very tough. You will not damage it.
4. Lift the bezel off the LCD. It is held down by double sided tape.
5. Grasp the lower corner and pull down. The sides are held in by sliding joints. Again, IBM used very strong ABS plastic. So you will not damage it.
6. Use your hand and push down the top edge starting from the corners. The bezel will come off.
7. You can lift out the LCD from the top.
8. There are spacers between the hinge and housing near the top. Removes these because the antennae will take their place.
9. Install the antennae in place of the spacers.
10. The antenna leads go between the hinge/frame and the housing. There are molded in features for the leads.
11. The left lead goes under the small metal bracket in the lower left.
12. The right lead is routed over the rlower ight hinge frame and above the inverter and under the Flex cable. Again there are molded in plastic features to hold the lead.
13. Route both leads into the curve channel in the lower left and place a piece of tape over the curved channel to hold them.
14. Replace the 4 side screws. You will have to move the panel a little to align the screw holes.
15. Replace the bezel by placing the sides 1/4 inch lower than the housing and slide up. Press the top edge together by hand. Repeat the other side. The slide hooks in the plastic on the side are dedicate. So don't force them together.
16. Replace the front screws.

LCDs are actually very tough. Just don't strike it with a sharp object. The back are frequently more dedicate as damages show as uneven dark spots.

T4x LCD assemblies are much tougher to work on. Sometime you feel the need to be an octopus to work on it.

[ajkula66]

sjthinkpader wrote:

I think the A20p/A22m SXGA+ and the A21p/A22p UXGA are all IPS panels.

No, they're not. None of them are.

IPS hasn't been introduced on ThinkPads until A3x series.

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

[sjthinkpader]

sjthinkpader wrote:

I think the A20p/A22m SXGA+ and the A21p/A22p UXGA are all IPS panels.

No, they're not. None of them are.

IPS hasn't been introduced on ThinkPads until A3x series.

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

I did a quick search and you may be right, all the references started with A30/A31. The table in Thinkwiki is very valuable but nevertheless has mistakes and omissions. For instance, it list a T21 with 15 inch SXGA+??

[ajkula66]

I know I'm right because there were times when I've had all of these machines in my house at once, and LCDs are nowhere near comparable...

Good catch on a 15" T21, gotta check that one out...

[sjthinkpader]

Yes, I do too, I still have 2628-SSU and 2629-USU. Never had them side by side though. I have 2653-66U and 2653-H4U in use now.

Just got a 2379-DXU, a 15 inch SXGA+ IPS T42. Looks pretty good too.

Once you use an IPS, it's pretty hard to go to something else.

[ajkula66]

sjthinkpader wrote:

Once you use an IPS, it's pretty hard to go to something else.

Make that impossible in my case...

Congratulations on your new DXU, these are very sweet machines...

[SaberX]

And you should be happy, you've picked up a fine machine. And for a very good price, may I add!

Congratulations!

Now the only thing that you have to do is actually be patient enough to max this baby out and enjoy it...

BTW, if you need restore disks, drop me a note...

Thanks
I have a 1 gig ddr 333 ram here now.I put that in for 1280 ram total now.Not bad. Another 1 gig stick soon.
Then a 7200 rpm drive.
The battery last about 1.5 hr's she said.I'll test it out later.
I do need a set of restore disks.When she put on her coppy of XP home last year she wiped the hard drive clean.
PM comming...

Well i just wanted to add that i now have 2 gig ram in this A31P.
I had one stick of 1 gig ddr333 herewhen i got the system.
Last night i asked a good friend of mine(who ownes/run's) a used computer store if he had any ddr laptop ram?He said he had a 1 gig ddr333 that came from a Thinkpad R50P system.
He said for a price that he would do the half of the cheapest price i coule find online for the 1gig ddr333 laptop ram.
So i went looking on line........I found a place that sells it for $79.99 new.
I went to my buddy and he said fair enough,i got it for $40.00 cash.
It is a Kingston ddr333 1 gig chip with lifetime warrenty.
Great deal.
I also got to add that going from 1 gig two 2 gigs in the A31P realy makes a diffrence.
Also he ad a wireless card there i got for 10.00 more.It was an Atheros AR500 1X+ A/B/G MiniPCI card.I had to do the "no-1802" and the "no 01c9" patches on it.But it's in and running great.

I'm well on my way to a fully loaded A31P.I even have a new backlight on the way.
Next is a 7200 rpm drive ....

[JesseKnows]

I also got to add that going from 1 gig two 2 gigs in the A31P really makes a difference.

What OS are you running that makes the difference? Must be Vista:)

[SaberX]

I also got to add that going from 1 gig two 2 gigs in the A31P really makes a difference.

What OS are you running that makes the difference? Must be Vista:)

Running XP Pro.
It's not like going from 256 ram to 1gig. But i feel opening programs are alittle faster.Haveing a bunck of windows open the same time is better.
I feel a diffrence.

[sjthinkpader]

...It was an Atheros AR500 1X+ A/B/G MiniPCI card.I had to do the "no-1802" and the "no 01c9" patches on it.But it's in and running great.
... ....

Sound like you now have a great system. Get a full dock and put a USB2.0 PCI card in it.

When you installed the Atheros card, you probably used Atheros ver330156 driver. To get best compatibility with AC, manually update the driver to the Thinkpad 802.11abg (not 802.11abg II) driver. Don't let Windows search for it but point to the driver yourself.

Congratulations.

[SaberX]

Where would i find the "Atheros ver330156 driver driver?
I'm new to the Atheros cards.I found this Ekahau setup 3.1.3.10 file by Macrovision Corp that had the driver and Utility in it.

The IBM AC was useless so i'm not even useing that.
Just useing the one that came with Windows XP.

I have a full Dock II on the way now.One that has the pcmcia ports in the back.I have a usb 2.0 card for it when it comes in.

I also have a new backlight here ready to go in when this one gets to bad.

The next biggest thing i need to get is a 7200rpm drive.
When i get the bigger faster drive i have a UltraBay 2000 hard drive adapter for this 40 gig.
I plan to have a 80 or 100Gig 7200rpm drive for main drive.Then the UB2000 adapter with the 40 gig in one side of it.And have the cd-rw/dvd-rom in the other side.

It's realy is a great system.

[sjthinkpader]

Where would i find the "Atheros ver330156 driver driver?

It's been a while so I can't remember where I originally got it. But you should be able to find it.

...

The IBM AC was useless so i'm not even useing that.
Just useing the one that came with Windows XP.
....

I am using AC in all my machines and our IT person use it on all our Thinkpads in the office.

I was using the Atheros utility but finally wane off from it since AC can do more such as attaching different printers to different connections, auto switching by selecting the fastest or preferered connection, turn things off when changing connections.

The work machine probably has 30 profiles stored from T-Mobile, Wayport, different hotels etc.

I have a full Dock II on the way now.One that has the pcmcia ports in the back.I have a usb 2.0 card for it when it comes in.

Get a 4 port PCI card, it doesn't have power limitation like PCMCIA cards do. With USB HDD, iPod dock, camera dock, you will need the extra ports. Also note that the Firewire port in A31p doesn't provide power. So the external device has to be powered.

I plan to have a 80 or 100Gig 7200rpm drive for main drive.Then the UB2000 adapter with the 40 gig in one side of it.And have the cd-rw/dvd-rom in the other side.
...

I normally don't like to use a 2nd drive in the system since Windows may place swap file there and make maintenance and upgrade messy. I have a DVD-ROM on one side and DVD-RW in the other.

I am using a Hitachi 7200 drive but I feel a newer Fujitsu 5400 drive is almost as fast in everyday use and they are more reliable.

For main storage I have a NAS but it can be slow when accessing large photo directories over WLAN. Good thing is everybody in the house can get to it. The shut off timer improve reliability a lot since it is put to sleep when not used.

[fasterbybike]

I normally don't like to use a 2nd drive in the system since Windows may place swap file there and make maintenance and upgrade messy. I have a DVD-ROM on one side and DVD-RW in the other.

You CAN tell Windows where to place the swap file. Control Panel | System | Advanced | Performance Settings | Advanced tab | Virtual Memory Change

Whew ! they don't make it easy [/quote]

[SaberX]

Get a 4 port PCI card, it doesn't have power limitation like PCMCIA cards do. With USB HDD, iPod dock, camera dock, you will need the extra ports. Also note that the Firewire port in A31p doesn't provide power. So the external device has to be powered.

I never thought of that.
I was going to try and find a PCI video card for it.
BUT i think the PCI USB 2.0 card would be better in that PCI slot on the Dock...
There only like 10.00 from e-bay.
The Dock that i picked up from e-bay(for $5.00+$17.50 shipping,delivared in 4 days) only has two usb slots.So the extra usb card would be great.
Dock on e-bay i just picked up

[sjthinkpader]

Great buy. The newer full dock for the T4x/R5x series will also work for our A30/A31.

[SaberX]

I just wanted to say i just added a 4 port PCI USB 2.0 card (NEC chipset) in the PCI slot in the Dock. Works great and i think it's the best option to use the pci slot for.
Next thing i have to get for this A31P is a bigger or faster hard drive.And then a UB 2000 battery.The main battery still holds about 1hr and 20 min's so adding a 2nd battery would be nice.
But no rush on the hdd yet.