new member w/ an a31p 2653

[JankyS13]

hey all been loking through the forum and a few other things online and of course i have tons of questions. some that just may seem silly. but none the less questions.

I picked this up from an instructor at school for 60.00 running xp sp3 1.6 Ghz w/ a GB of ramm and an 89 GB hard drive.

things am wondering now are:

• what's the max ramm i can install on here? I have seen mostly two 512 chips and just a few 1 GB sticks? is it possible to have 2 GB with out any issues?
• What is the biggest hard drive that I can install on here? I have seen an argument where one person mentioned that the right UB will only show a 320 ide drive and yet another mentioned a 500 sata? I think i recall these things be a proprietary system but I would like to see if there is a way to load 2 500 GB drives. I know I'm asking for it but it's something I would like to see how possible it is. .
• Also one another sight maybe this one I say that there are up grade chips largest I recall was a 2.0Ghz as I have found only 2 online how ever i forgot to book mark the particular model I need to do this.
• Even noticed the doc stations that have 4 usb ports supports rj45 1GB lans and some other things. are there any sites that might be better than others? and / or can someone suggest a good wireless nic for our old models?
• lastly wondering is there any cd/dvd/r/w drives for our lappy's? I just see one or the other online.

I know for the price of having this all done i could go out and buy a newer style lappy hat can easily do it all. but i see the a31p like my car. why go out and buy some new thing when i cn have fun modding what i have and just surprise people when I people it out and have no issues w/ it.

thanks for any input,
skott

[Harryc]

• what's the max ramm i can install on here? I have seen mostly two 512 chips and just a few 1 GB sticks? is it possible to have 2 GB with out any issues?
  2X1GB PC2100 or PC2700
• What is the biggest hard drive that I can install on here? I have seen an argument where one person mentioned that the right UB will only show a 320 ide drive and yet another mentioned a 500 sata? I think i recall these things be a proprietary system but I would like to see if there is a way to load 2 500 GB drives. I know I'm asking for it but it's something I would like to see how possible it is. .
  320GB
• Also one another sight maybe this one I say that there are up grade chips largest I recall was a 2.0Ghz as I have found only 2 online how ever i forgot to book mark the particular model I need to do this.
  Pentium 4M
• Even noticed the doc stations that have 4 usb ports supports rj45 1GB lans and some other things. are there any sites that might be better than others? and / or can someone suggest a good wireless nic for our old models?
  Does this model A31p have wireless antennas?
• lastly wondering is there any cd/dvd/r/w drives for our lappy's? I just see one or the other online.
  Any Ultrabay 2000 drive will work in the right bay, and Ultrabay Plus drives will work in the left bay.

[RealBlackStuff]

Get the HMM here first: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-39796
Max. is 2.4 or 2.6GHz CPU, but they are expensive and run quite hot. (Intel P4 Mobile = Pentium 4 Mobile)
Your A31p can take 2 x 1GB RAM (PC2100 or PC2700 SODIMM).
In the normal HD bay, the max. is a 320GB IDE 2.5" (nobody makes any larger ones).
In the right Ubay, you can put in a SATA HD adapter, probably 500GB max, due to adapter chip limitations.
Don't know it there is another adapter for the left Ubay plus.
Internal Wifi cards: miniPCI 802.11b/g or a/b/g or even g/n
DVD/DVD-CDRW/DVDRW are all available, look for Ultrabay Plus (left bay) or Ultrabay 2000 (right bay) devices.
If you need anything, put an ad in our Marketforum, best place for reliable parts!
Wait till ajkula66 chimes in, he's the guru on these machines.

[ajkula66]

No reason for me to chime in, Harry and RBS have covered all the basis...

A couple of small tidbits...

a) What's the full model number of your machine, 2653-??? That would help us decipher a little more...

b) Are you sure the CPU is 1.6 since no A31p shipped with that one. The choices were 1.7, 1.8 and 2.0

c) When upgrading the CPU, you'll be looking for Northwood core, 400Mhz FSB such as SL6WZ (2.6) or SL6VC (2.4).

Good luck.

[jronald]

Food for thought:
Your battery life is just one tick above horrible when this machine is stone stock. If you go adding everything you want, it will be worst than horrible. To be exact it will be real close to god awful. Your mileage may vary but with a mildly hot rodded A31p, no extra HDDs and a new battery I have only gotten 2 hours. In a T30, 2 hours is a breeze.

Sweet spot for that machine is a 2.0 CPU and 1.25 to 1.5 gig memory. This set up will do more than 95% of the things you throw at, and will be very inexpensive to accomplish. 1 gig of memory will less than $40.00 shipped and the processor less than $15.00 shipped. You can put the higher (hotter) processor in the machine, there is just not a great reason to do so.

Ron

SIDENOTE:
I did get 2 A31p's that appeared to be OE with 1.6's installed. Both were CTO's, both were original to the company I got them from....dont know?

[smw6230]

In the right Ubay, you can put in a SATA HD adapter, probably 500GB max, due to adapter chip limitations.

RealBlack, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a speed limit (33mbs) on the SATA (HDD) adapter that really doesn't make it as effective of a storage device as another PATA Adapter.

I was thinking about adding a SATA adapter for my A31 as well but I veered off that course when I heard about the speed limit.

[RealBlackStuff]

I don't have any personal experience with the SATA version of these adapters, only PATA.
Also haven't seen any specs on either of them.

[AMATX]

If batteries matter much to you, be aware that there are Ultrabay batteries available. These are batteries, in a shape similar to a CD/DVD drive, that can be used in the ultrabay slot. Allows two batteries to be in the A31p, altho only one at a time is being drained.

[Adda]

RealBlack, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a speed limit (33mbs) on the SATA (HDD) adapter that really doesn't make it as effective of a storage device as another PATA Adapter.

I was thinking about adding a SATA adapter for my A31 as well but I veered off that course when I heard about the speed limit.

When using a SATA adapter in my A30/p I can only get around 30MB/s transfer speeds, even with a WD3200BEKT 320GB 7200 rpm drive.
A30's like A31's support IDE100 so it should be much faster, if the SATA bridge in these adapters where any good that is.

[ParatoOptimal]

This site may be of use to you as you explore the capabilities and possible modifications for your A30p.
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:A30p

[mediasponge]

The online reference lists this Ultrabay 2000 DVD-RW/CD-RW drive that will work. I've seen them on eBay. This one is a 92P6014. I also happen to know that a DVD-RW from an older Fujitsu S series will work. If you have the IBM caddy (rails and rear adapter), any PATA (IDE) DVD-RW drive will work, but the catch is the notch in the bezel. The Fujitsu has the notch, but doesn't line up perfectly. There's a generic Panasonic drive that fits too. There's a X-60/T-60 series part that I believe will work (Panasonic UJ-862), but I can't confirm. If your unit came with a CD or CDRW drive, you can swap out the drive part using the old rails and rear adapter.

One big limitation with these systems is the USB 1.1 ports. You would have to get a PC card USB hub to get USB 2.0. These are available. Made a HUGE difference in taking a drive image to an external drive for backup purposes.

Mediasponge

[JankyS13]

sorry for the delay in getting back to you all. As I also am pleasantly surprized in the replies that i have received to my questions.

first off in reference to this lappy.
it is an a31p 2653

when clicking on system info in M$ "don't get me started there"
it list as: intel pentium 4, mobile cpu 1.60GHz, 1.00 of ram

as for the batery well yeah i don't use this often w/ out it plugged in because teh current battery is currently full of fail, lucky if i get a whopping 10 minutes of time. so i am looking at that now.

I'm really not looking to game on this lappy for i don't think it could handle it. even some of he older games. just basically using this for school, research and a play toy / movie player. right now i have a WD 300 usb drive hooked up to it and it streams movies ok.

any hoots I have to run to bed now, class in the am and work in the PM..

Oh and i forgot no this lappy does not have a wire for wireless...

[ajkula66]

There's a sticker at the bottom of the machine with a date (02/04 or something like that) and the full model number (2653-R5U or similar)...what is the full model number?

[JankyS13]

There's a sticker at the bottom of the machine with a date (02/04 or something like that) and the full model number (2653-R5U or similar)...what is the full model number?

sorry about that homie... think this is what you are looking for:
TYPE 2653 CU1 S/N 78-DVGC7 09/02

[ajkula66]

Well, someone had swapped the clear plates on you...since that's an A31 and not A31p...not to mention that the screen size is 14" instead of 15"...


Product: ThinkPad A31 2653-CU1 [change]

Operating system: All [change]

Original description: Based on 2653-JUU: P4-M 1.6GHz (512KB), 256MB RAM, 20.0GB HDD, 14.1 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, 24x-10x CD-ROM, 802.11b(MPCI), Modem(MPCI), Ethernet(CDC), TV out, FDD, Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro



Hope you haven't paid too much for it...

That being said, it can still be a decent desktop replacement with a couple of add-ons...but watch the costs involved...

Good luck.

[JankyS13]

Well, someone had swapped the clear plates on you...since that's an A31 and not A31p...not to mention that the screen size is 14" instead of 15"...


Product: ThinkPad A31 2653-CU1 [change]

Operating system: All [change]

Original description: Based on 2653-JUU: P4-M 1.6GHz (512KB), 256MB RAM, 20.0GB HDD, 14.1 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, 24x-10x CD-ROM, 802.11b(MPCI), Modem(MPCI), Ethernet(CDC), TV out, FDD, Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro



Hope you haven't paid too much for it...

That being said, it can still be a decent desktop replacement with a couple of add-ons...but watch the costs involved...

Good luck.

good to know... as for the cost i think i still made out... one of my instructors needed a windshield put in her car and I had a new one put in for 60.00 and there's ruffly 1000.00 +/- of legit programs on this thing. Then the ones that I put on here that are well you know. ;p the way i see it i need to learn everything i can in reference to my field of study. even if it's craptastic M$ products

[JankyS13]

Question is this then, are most of the upgrades that I was looking at still and option for the a31

[ajkula66]

My answer would come in the form of question: are they worth it on a very basic A31?

Yes, you can upgrade the CPU up to P4M 2.6, RAM to 2GB, HDD to 320GB, wireless card to abg.

By the time you're done doing this, you'll have spent a newer ThinkPads in upgrades...

[JankyS13]

My answer would come in the form of question: are they worth it on a very basic A31?

Yes, you can upgrade the CPU up to P4M 2.6, RAM to 2GB, HDD to 320GB, wireless card to abg.

By the time you're done doing this, you'll have spent a newer ThinkPads in upgrades...

yeah I understand that, IMO the only things that this old lappy really needs is a faster processor, a dvd/cd/r/w/ drive, a bigger hard drive, a wireless NIC and if possible a driver update to support a 2.0 usb. lol and a new battery pack cause this one is beat. All the other things I was looking at are nice but really not needed. don't think that should be all that much over some a little time.

[Harryc]

... and if possible a driver update to support a 2.0 usb

That is not possible because of a hardware limitation on that machine. You can use a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card though.

[Insulator_King]

I know this is an old thread, but wanted to update it.

Here's a link to intels product page on the CPU's
http://ark.intel.com/products/series/28 ... 00-MHz-FSB

The wattage on the 2.0 MHz is 32, all the higher speeds are 35 watts, not necessarily a huge increase.

[ajkula66]

The wattage on the 2.0 MHz is 32, all the higher speeds are 35 watts, not necessarily a huge increase.

Not on paper.

Very significant in real life.

These machines had an ill-designed cooling system to begin with, and throwing in a hot-running CPU doesn't help the matters one bit, especially nowadays when they are more of collector's items than usable computers.

[mediasponge]

He's right, you know. Past 2.0, the inherent weakness of the cooling system will probably kill you. The cooling system depends, in part, on sponges. Yes, thermal sponges. Search the archive for "thermal sponges" and you'll see some tech info and a rant I posted a while back.

[Saucey]

I tossed the idea of putting a CPU fan inside the PCMCIA slot for a T61, but it seemed irrational.
Looking at the A31P, there isn't a frame in the way, just the PCMIA cage and the keyboard plug... oh and the ultrabay.
But, I wouldn't think it would cool well, too far away.
Next would be to delete one of the PCMCIA slots, so that the cool air would just blow into the chassis.
Poke a holes thru the keyboard and volia, air cooled typing.

Next irrational thought would be jamming a very tiny case fan inside and have it powered via USB with some splicing.
I'd route it through one of the screw holes, or just drill a hole in the back. I'm not sure if it could fit under the parallel port vent...
But the 1.7? CPU I seem to have installed works just fine under load.

[Insulator_King]

Well guys, thanks for the info. I will keep it in mind. I don't game or watch videos much, so I don't use a lot of processing.

Since my main 'puter is an X24 IBM 2662MPU w/ 1.13 gigahertz Intel Pentium III Mobile, I'd like to step up.

WIll do some research on those sponges now.

OK, found your post http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=54479

There seem to be a lot of various thermal pads on ebay, but I don't know what thickness to be looking for. More research is needed.

[ajkula66]

Since my main 'puter is an X24 IBM 2662MPU w/ 1.13 gigahertz Intel Pentium III Mobile, I'd like to step up.

A31p won't be a huge step up in the processing power. The very lowest where you need to be nowadays is a high-end T42/p. Otherwise you'll just be swapping one dinosaur for another.

WIll do some research on those sponges now.

One of IBM's less stellar moments. Not to mention that a NOS set of these - if you can find it to begin with - runs over $100...

[mediasponge]

WIll do some research on those sponges now.

One of IBM's less stellar moments. Not to mention that a NOS set of these - if you can find it to begin with - runs over $100...

At one point, I tried shimming the sponges with strips of Aluminum glued to the Aluminum that presses against the sponges. That MB was dying, and gave up the ghost anyway. During replacement, I found that all the shims did was squeeze out the Silicone compound faster, and give the sponges less "suspension travel" if you know what I mean. The replacement MB came with fresh sponges, so I removed the shims. I think it's the GPU and Northbridge that have sponges.