Thinkpads Forum

Hello everyone!

Has anyone ever tried upgrading the 600E (2645-5JU) BIOS with a third-party battery, a CD-ROM drive or in such a way that could be successful without scrambling it?

The thing is, I am trying to update my BIOS (from INET35WW to INET36WW) form a bootable CD, which I created by using a floppy-extracted image form the orignal utility, spsdin36(a). However, I can't charge my battery (It refuses somewhat to hold any charge) and I couldn't find any suitable raplacement, at least here (I am thinking on buying a third-party battery or another used comaptible FRU). In addition, I am using a Compaq 19 V-3.42 A Adapter, however, the laptop works as intended with it.

Any help on this subject is greatly appreciated, as I am running a dual-boot setup right now (WinXP+Arch Linux), and I can't get all of the laptop's hardware working correctly under Linux.

Thanks in advance.

No idea on the battery but I'm pretty sure the extra voltage is going to kill it over time. Better get a new power adapter first.

I have read about a number of attempts to update the BIOS without a battery, or without a fully-charged battery. You can find some if you search on Google. They usually involve manually extracting files from the BIOS update floppy and then manually running the flash process. Various anonymous strangers have claimed success in these methods. But I can't say with confidence or from experience whether any of these methods are reliable.

Phil.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 14#p517914

anonymous strangers????

Ooops!

Apologies, Hans. Thanks for your excellent write up. I must not have searched very well before posting!

Phil.

Accepted, Phil

Best regards,
Hans

Thanks everyone for your speedy replies. I am currently writing to you from my recently recovered 2056-BZ4, so I'll read your referred posts first, then try them and post my results.

@mikemex: You are certainly right, I killed the original battery that came with the laptop. It charged correctly and then, after a few days time, it won't hold any charge anymore. I think if I would use it on a regular basis, then I must get a new AC adapter first.

People, it worked! The 1-byte hack, performed on UPDTFLSH with FrHed.

I am writing to you right now from my 600E, with the updated INET36WW BIOS!


TODO:
-Configure BIOS
-Get the sound system working on Arch Linux
-Replace the AC Adapter
-Replace the scrambled battery
-Have fun (!)

Thanks again, everyone! You guys rock!

Congratulations!
Glad to be of help.

Hans