Which original internal wireless card for A31?

[emeu1]

Hello,

my A31 came without internal WiFi. Therefor I've been using a PCMCIA 54Mbit card (Belkin).
Works fine until I purchased a PCMCIA 2x USB 2.0 card (to have quicker access to my USB memory stick and a USB portable hard disk).
Because the PCMCIA USB card sits directly above the antenna of the Belkin WiFi card, reception of WiFi signals has dropped noticeably. I now face slower network connections and have problems keeping connected to my wireless router. Removing the PCMCIA USB solves this problem, however, I don't want to keep plugging the USB card in/out.

So I want to install an internal wireless card.
I know already that non-IBM cards either do not work at all or might? work after a software patch. I prefer to use an original IBM card. Which (part or FRU number prefered) IBM WiFi cards will my A31 accept and at which max. speed will they function? Are there 54Mbit IBM cards available that will work?

[gb_ibmguy]

From what I've read and researched, retrofitting an internal wireless card in our standard A31's is a royal pain, lots of things to take apart. There is a guide somewhere on Google that shows all the steps involved, not for the faint of heart.
Might I suggest changing your PCMCIA USB card? You can get one that does not stick out and cover the wireless card. I have one on order from an E-Bay seller. Try a E-Bay search for something called an "inside hide USB". I paid one cent for mine, shipping from Hong Kong was $8.95.

Just my $.02

[ajkula66]

All A3x units came with wireless/modem combo card as the only wireless option, there were several manufacturers involved, but it's just your plain old 11Mbps "b".

You can use Intel 2200BG (IBM or non-IBM, the patch will be needed regardless) or Broadcom 4306/4309 cards, which are b/g and a/b/g respectively.

IBM (Atheros/Phillips) cards can also be used, but will require another patch for 01C9 error.

Hope this helps.

[emeu1]

Hello,

this is going to be tougher than I thought. I'm not afraid of (dis)assembling my A31. I'm an IT professional and have (dis)assembled a lot of desktops/laptops/server. What's more a problem is, that I want 54Mb/s wireless speed. If IBM didn't offer this, it's going to be a problem.

The option with the "internal USB" sound good. "gb_ibmguy" can you give me a link to the product or an auction in which such an USB card is offered?

Thanks for your responses.

[ajkula66]

If you don't mind the hack, any of the cards listed in my previous post will give you 54Mbps...

Remember that USB ports on A3x units are 1.1...

[sjthinkpader]

To add internal antennae, look for the two long posts in this link around 1/28/2008.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... ht=antenna

[gb_ibmguy]

Here's the link for the install on a standard A31:
http://www.jordanautomations.com/tpa31- ... grade.html
This link may work for E-Bay
http://shop.ebay.com/items/__inside-hid ... Z15QQ_scZ1

(if not, just do a search on inside hide usb, there are a boatload of them.)

Hope this helps

[emeu1]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've taken a look at the PCMCIA card with "internal" USB ports. That looks good. Such a card won't cover the antenna of my PCMCIA WiFi card. In fact, with that card, I can put the WiFi card in the upper slot and the USB card in the lower PCMCIA slot (which I cannot do now because of the shape of my current PCMCIA USB card).

I've decided to go on as follows: as replacing the PCMCIA USB card is cheap and easy, I'll try that first. If that won't solve the problem, I'll go for the internal WiFi option. As IBM didn't sell 54Mb/s cards, I will go for a non-IBM card and patch it. My A31 is dual boot (Win XP Pro and Ubuntu 8.10) so I need a card that works on both. For what I've found on the Ubuntu website and this forum, the Intel 2200BG card should is good choice.
The link to the website explaining how to install wireless is very usefull, thanks!

I'm aware that the A31's USB ports are V1.1. That's why I bought the PCMCIA USB card (USB 2.0). I wanted faster access to my USB stick and portable disk drive.

[emeu1]

@ajkula66,

today, unexpectedly, I got an Intel 2200BG (from a broken Fujitsu Siemens laptop).
As a test, I installed it in my A31 (2625-CXG), removed the Belkin PCMCIA wireless card and turned the A31 on. To my surprise, no beeps, no error messages. Windows XP Pro booted and reported "Found new hardware".

Now you wrote in your reply:

"You can use Intel 2200BG (IBM or non-IBM, the patch will be needed regardless) or . . ."

Do I need the patch? Seems to me that if I download the WinXp driver for the Intel 2200BG from Intel's website, the card will work, won't it? If I need the patch, were can I find it?

Thanks in advance.

[ajkula66]

Obviously, you don't need a patch...just install the drivers...you lucky man...

[emeu1]

How come then? Are there some A31's needing a patch and others not? Or need some Intel 2200BG cards a patch and other not? You've made me curious! Can you explain it?

[ajkula66]

I'd imagine that it's more related to the generation of the card, than with the machine itself, but I honestly don't have an explanation...

[emeu1]

Just to let you know, I installed the Intel 2200BG today in my A31.
The BIOS didn't complain during POST.
I installed the driver und utility (under Win XP Pro) and it works perfectly as you see (I wrote this using my A31).