Thinkpads Forum

I bought a Thinkpad 600 off eBay. It was advertised as having WinXP installed. Sure enough, it did, but (as I suppose I should have expected or asked first) the copy of WinXP is pirated according to MS's web site.

I have two (legitimate!) copies of Win95 and one of WinNT that I am not using. Can I down-grade to one of these? If so, will I need special drivers that I cannot download later?

I have a wireless PCMCIA card I am using to access my home network, and I have the CD for the network card. My TP600 has an internal CD-ROM drive which I think I can use to install the operating system. However, I will then need to be able to access my network to get further updates, drivers, data files etc. I don't have an external floppy.

Also, I want to be able to use the USB port, and if I remember correctly, Win95 doesn't support USB. Are there special drivers I can download to make the USB port work with Win95, or should I use WinNT instead?

Would I just be better off buying WinXP for it (which I would prefer to avoid due to the cost)?

Thank you very much for any assistance you can offer.

Core

Personally, I'd go for XP. By the way, while you're saving up to buy a copy of XP for youself, you should know that while you can't download certain updates from MS using a pirated copy, security updates from MS are not blocked.

What updates are blocked? If they are DirectX or MediaPlayer, there are various other places on the internet you can download them from if I'm not mistaken.

Some of your questions should find answers right at the IBM/Lenovo support site.

Personally, if it comes down to "run whut ya brung", I'd go for NT, IF you have NT4, and not NT3xx.

I'd stay away from 95.

Here's the driver matrix page for that thing, and I see nothing about special drivers for USB.





SOME Whinehoad95 Cd's I've got talk about USB support on the front, but I've not experimented.

If you're gonna buy something, and don't want to spring for XP, you might consider W2K. You should be able to find a copy of that on the 'net for 60 bucks or so.


http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... SHY-3TLQ2L

None of the USB devices I have used have drivers for Windows 95 or even Windows 98 First Edition. If you want to be cheap, get at least Windows 98 Second Edition, which supports most USB devices and which Microsoft will continue to support until the end of June. You can get a legal copy of it on eBay for $50 shipped or less.

just an FYI...

If you decide to purchase Win XP then you can probably get away with an upgrade version (cheaper) instead of the full version _IF_ you have an actual Microsoft CD for Win95 or Win NT 4.0. You just start out installing Win XP and it will ask you to put in the actual Microsoft CD for Win 95/98/ME/NT4.0/2000 to check it and then prompt you to put the XP CD back in and keep loading.

I purchased an XP upgrade for a computer that came with Win ME. It was a legit copy of WinMe but loaded through a recovery program and not an actual Microsoft CD. The Win XP upgrade would not accept it. I figured out that if I put in one of my old Win95 CDs that it would accept that. Went through activation and registration with Microsoft with no problems.

fair to say that anyone running microsoft product is appreciate by billy
conversely making illegal copies of xp and selling them for profits
is another matter,and certainly unapreciated by the copyright owner.

Thinkpad 600? What kind of CPU is in there? How much RAM? Perhaps running WinXP on it is stressing it too much anyway. If so, Win98 SE is a very nice option. Maybe even Win2K. But 95/NT is really too old and not worth it.

WinXP Pro works fine on both the 600 and the 600E, as long as there is atleast 160mb ram and a 300MHz processor. (IMHO)

Anything less than 300MHz or 160MB ram makes for a really slow system, but they still work....such as my TP600 with a 233mhz and 96mb ram. Although, I installed WinXp Pro simply for testing the PCMCIA slots, which were thought to be defective.

Thanks for everyone's comments. My TP600 has 160mb and a 300 mhz processor. WinXP runs sluggishly but passably. I bought an OEM version of Win98SE but could not get it to boot on the 600. (It boots up fine on my Desktop which is running WinXP Home). I think I'll buy the WinXP Home Upgrade and install it. I thought I would have to have 98SE running on the machine, but perhaps if I can just insert the disk I will be okay.

2ndHalfCor wrote:Thanks for everyone's comments. My TP600 has 160mb and a 300 mhz processor. WinXP runs sluggishly but passably.

Question is, wouldn't you prefer something that runs smoothly.

2ndHalfCor wrote:I bought an OEM version of Win98SE but could not get it to boot on the 600. (It boots up fine on my Desktop which is running WinXP Home).

Do other CDs boot on your 600?

As far as I know, Win98 install CDs don't boot (or at least the CD I have didn't) you have to boot with the Win98 boot floppy and then either install from the CD drive or from a folder on the hard drive into which you've copied the files from the root of the install CD.

I thought I posted this, maybe I just dreamed that I did


Windows 98 "OEM" cds DO BOOT, and ONLY the "OEM" cds---the ones that say "for distribution only with a new PC" on the front.

UPGRADE '98 cds do not boot

RETAIL (store bought" "full version" cd's do not boot.

If the '98 cd you have boots in your desktop, AND IF IT IS a "factory" cd and not a burned copy---

either the cdrom in the 600 is flakey, the CD is a little scratched, or you don't have the 600 set up in bios for proper "boot order"


You are correct about installing X tra P utrid Upgrade--you ca start from a cold start--and the XP upgrade CD DOES BOOT, and just stick your '98 cd in there when asked for "proof"

Before buying WinXP retail, I would suggest trying to get a set of WinXP recovery disks for say a T30/R30 or maybe even an X22/X23/T23 (if they exist) and trying those first. Many members on this forum would be willing to send you a copy if you paypal'ed them the shipping and packaging cost. Most of the earlier recovery disks just check for valid IBM hardware and not for the model and make. Your thinkpad came with an Microsoft OS and you are entitled to have one installed on it. You really should not have to buy a 2nd copy of Windows just because someone sent you a pirated copy. If you are not in a desperate hurry, this is a cheaper approach to take.

Thanks for the info, roadrunner....