Got 770 as parts, worth it to bring it back to life?

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baraider · #1 Post by **baraider** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:42 pm

Hey guys,

An IT friend gave me a bunch of old, dead laptops that they haven't used for a long time and most has missing HD, memory, etc...

One of those is a 770 model 9549-1AU.

It has a dead CMOS, maybe dead battery, no HD, no ram, no AC adapter.

So I have a T23 and I used its AC adapter to hookup with the 770 to boot it up....

Got 161,163 error, so I know it's CMOS....ok, got past that and it boot to a screen with Thinkpad logo background and a blue screen in the middle with O > I symbols... the symbols blinks from left to right in sequences...as if it's charging or something.

Ok, here are questions

1) CMOS: what serial or type of battery should i buy.
2) Battery: when i plug the AC adapter in, the panel indicated 0% and the yellow led blinking but after 10 minutes or so, it still 0%...so my guess is the battery is dead?
3) HD: I have a Hitachi 7200rpm 60Gb hard drive, I only need the HD adaptor on ebay for it right?
4) I have some old ram laying around, will try that. If not, pc100 ram should work?

In all, knowing the longevity of 770 thinkpad, you guys think it's worth to bring back to live? How much should I expect it to cost?

Thanks

#2 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:14 pm

If I'm not mistaken, the original ThinkPad 770 is Pentium MMX based and uses EDO RAM. All the 770 models after that (770E, ED, X, Z) use PC66 RAM but PC100 should also work.

I'd remove the battery if the charge indicator blinks non-stop and the charge status never goes above 0%. I've heard rumours that leaving a dead battery installed can have a fatal effect on the power circuitry inside the laptop.

If you can get a hard drive caddy and some RAM for a reasonable price, then you could have a nice computer. It won't be a speed demon but I'm sure you can get Windows installed along with Office and Firefox and have a good machine to surf the web and do work with. My 560X has a Pentium MMX 233 and 64mb RAM and it runs Windows 98SE, Office XP and Winamp 5 without a hitch. I use the computer at school for taking notes, writing essays, listening to MP3s and playing old games.

I personally wouldn't put any more than $50 into restoring the laptop but in all honesty, how much money it'd be worth is really determined by how much use you plan to get from the computer and if you can justify the costs. Before putting any significant money into something, try considering whether or not the investment will pay off.

baraider · #3 Post by **baraider** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:50 pm

Thanks,

I have an extra T23 AC adapter so I don't need to buy a new battery to use with this 770 if i'm so inclined. I'm not sure if it has any negative effect on the 770. I'll just take out the dead battery and plug it in AC all the time.

Another concern is I don't know if the 770 HD caddy can use my 7k60 HD or not. Usually the original 770 came with a 5.1G so not sure if my 7k60 is compatible or not.

The Cmos battery costs me couple of buck at radioshack I guess, and a caddy should cost me less than $20 shipped. Throw in some old memory, win XP or Ubuntu and I should have something to work a while....

Any problem with my approach thus far?

#4 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 3:17 pm

For the hard drive, you'll just have to install it and see if it works. I'm pretty positive it will though. I just got finished installing a 40gb hard drive in my 560X which has the same chipset as the original 770.

Windows XP should run fine on the computer if you have at least 128mb RAM. If you have less I'd go with Windows 98SE. You'll have to check eBay for caddies but I'm sure that you can get one for $20 or less.

baraider · #5 Post by **baraider** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 3:43 pm

new stuff to report:

Just got back from radioshack...got a CMOS battery for 3.99, replaced in, reboot, and got 161,163,...change the date and time....reboot, F1 to get in BIOS....run a system check...all is OK, except HD,etc...since I don't have a HD yet....

Ok, look good, now reboot without pressing F1....now there is no more 161,163 error, but instead, it shows a picture of a floppy drive with a floppy disk moving in and out of it.... below is a picture of F1,F2,,,,.F12 keys with F1 pressed.

so I pressed F1 and it printed out I9990305....

I guess since i have no HD or anything, so no OS, it just show that number...(bios version number?).....

I did check bios version and I have 1.37...when the latest is 1.38 (?)....i don't know how i will upgrade my bios since I only have DVD drive on this, no floppy drive....i do have a USB floppy if that helps.

I guess the next step is to wait till i get a caddy and pop in some ram.

Anyone see any trouble so far or I'm good?

#6 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:29 pm

You're good. The floppy drive screen and error code you got after that indicated that the system has nothing to boot from.

Website · #7 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 5:46 pm

Yes, that error pertains to the lack of a bootable source (ie. Floppy, CD, HD).

As for waiting for a hard drive caddy...if I am not mistaken, you can still insert and use the hard drive. The caddy just makes it easier to install and remove the hard drive. I have used several 600/600Es without the caddy. Though, I wouldn't recommend moving the laptop around too much without the caddy, or atleast some type of hard drive screw.

EDIT: Double checked the HMM. The hard drive can be added without the caddy if need be, for testing or set up, if you'd like.

Also the ram is EDO for the 770, and is limited to 288MB. This might expensive to reach since large spec'd EDO ram is expensive.

#8 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 5:51 pm

Are you sure the 770 doesn't require the caddy?

I found these two pics on an eBay auction and it looks like a specific connector is needed.

http://www.freewebs.com/alpages/000%5F0926.jpg
http://www.freewebs.com/alpages/000%5F0927.jpg

Website · #9 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 6:02 pm

AlphaKilo470 wrote:Are you sure the 770 doesn't require the caddy?

I found these two pics on an eBay auction and it looks like a specific connector is needed.

http://www.freewebs.com/alpages/000%5F0926.jpg
http://www.freewebs.com/alpages/000%5F0927.jpg

You are correct. I was looking at the wrong part of the HMM.

#10 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 6:19 pm

With the topic in mind, I am so greatful that IBM eventually decided to have all their laptops not only use similar caddies but also to eliminate the proprietary connector. These caddies are so easy to lose when you leave a computer in storage for any legnth of time.

baraider · #11 Post by **baraider** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 12:27 am

tfflivemb2,

For a second, you almost got me jump up and try hook up my HD into my 770 when i read i don't need a caddy. And it's 1:30 am in the morning here.

Keep reading and all my exciment was shot.

So with 32mb onboard, i can add maximum 2 sticks of ram, 128mb each right....i read somewhere here that people was able to load their 770 with more ram.

Also, from ibm site, 770 does not support xp, only 770e,d, and later version...what is the best OS i can load with only 288mb?

#12 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 7:07 am

Your 770 won't support XP officially but I'm sure it can run. FWIW, the lowest spec computer I've ever installed XP on was a ThinkPad 380ED with 80mb RAM. However, I'd reccomend Windows 98SE for your computer because of the older CPU it has. I'm reluctant to reccomend XP on any computer without a Pentium II because of the significant difference in CPU architecture.

Website · #13 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:29 am

baraider wrote:tfflivemb2,

For a second, you almost got me jump up and try hook up my HD into my 770 when i read i don't need a caddy. And it's 1:30 am in the morning here.

Keep reading and all my exciment was shot.

So with 32mb onboard, i can add maximum 2 sticks of ram, 128mb each right....i read somewhere here that people was able to load their 770 with more ram.

Also, from ibm site, 770 does not support xp, only 770e,d, and later version...what is the best OS i can load with only 288mb?

Sorry to get you so excited. I was using memory and briefly checking the HMM. My 770 is a 770X, and I thought that the drive connected directly and without a special caddy.

What speed is your processor? Your processor is a MMC-1 processor. You might be able to pick up a fast processor. No guarantees, but the fastest MMC-1 that they made was a 400MHz. A 400MHz processor and 288mb ram might run XP, assuming that XP will load past the BIOS.

baraider · #14 Post by **baraider** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:45 am

tfflivemb2,

My cpu is a 233mhz. I can pickup an used cpu on ebay, just let me know which one is the fastest my 770 can accept and i'll fit her right in.

Website · #15 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:57 am

According to Bruce Guttman's post on page 2 of the 770 upgrade sticky:

Bruce Guttman wrote:2. [Processor]: The 770/E use MMC-1 processors, maximum speed 400 MHz. I haven't had any success with a Celeron; you need to use Pentium II. The 770X/Z use MMC-2 processors. You can use up to a 400 without any special effort, but with care (see the rest of this thread) you can get most of the others to work (but the Speed Step processors will only work at slower speed).

Now the trick is to find a PII 400MHz MMC-1 processor. The 300MHz processors are more common. I might even have a spare.

catnap1972 · #16 Post by **catnap1972** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 1:42 pm

tfflivemb2 wrote:A 400MHz processor and 288mb ram might run XP, assuming that XP will load past the BIOS.

I know for a fact that XP will run on a 266 (my old 770E before the screen died), and it'll definitely run on a 300 (the 770X I have now). You just want to make sure to get as much RAM in there as possible.

#17 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 1:50 pm

tfflivemb2 wrote:A 400MHz processor and 288mb ram might run XP, assuming that XP will load past the BIOS.

FWIW, my 600E is a 400mhz machine (same comptuer that you sold me earlier this year) and it runs XP like it was designed for it even despite the relatively small 160mb of RAM. MP3s, internet, DVDs, MS Office and just about everything else I normally need a computer for go just well on this machine.

Out of Windows 98, 2000 Pro and XP Pro (SP2), I'd say that XP Pro (SP2) actually gave the best performance on my 600E while Windows 2000 Pro gave the worst. If the computer has a Pentium II or newer and at least 128mb of RAM, XP should run just fine for most tasks.

I'm thinking later on today or sometime this weekend, I'm going to try running XP on my 560X since I have a 40gb hard drive in it now. I'll post here after I've done so since my 560X is of very similar spec as the 770 that's in question here.

Turbovend · #18 Post by **Turbovend** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 3:25 am

If I'm not mistaken, the original ThinkPad 770 is Pentium MMX based and uses EDO RAM. All the 770 models after that (770E, ED, X, Z) use PC66 RAM but PC100 should also work.

Also the ram is EDO for the 770, and is limited to 288MB. This might expensive to reach since large spec'd EDO ram is expensive.

Here, directly from the 770 series Hardware Maintenance Manual:

8 MB EDO DIMM (770) 42H2767
16 MB EDO DIMM (770) 42H2768
32 MB EDO DIMM (770) 42H2769
64 MB EDO DIMM (770) 42H2817

16 MB SDRAM SO DIMM 42H2818
(770, 770E/ED)
32 MB SDRAM SO DIMM 42H2819
64 MB SDRAM SO DIMM 42H2820
(770, 770E/ED)
64 MB SDRAM SO DIMM 20L0242
128 MB SDRAM SO DIMM 01K1153

Also here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... XYPKU.html

As I read this the original 770 supports BOTH EDO and PC66 RAM, later models PC66 only. Right or wrong?
And SDRAM is preferable, so there is no reason to get EDO ram for the 770, right?

Website · #19 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:50 am

catnap1972 wrote:
tfflivemb2 wrote:A 400MHz processor and 288mb ram might run XP, assuming that XP will load past the BIOS.
I know for a fact that XP will run on a 266 (my old 770E before the screen died), and it'll definitely run on a 300 (the 770X I have now). You just want to make sure to get as much RAM in there as possible.

I know that XP will run on a 770X, as I have one. The question is will it run on a plain vanilla 770, since there isn't XP support listed in the BIOS updates. I believe that it was stated earlier (here or another thread) that XP is listed as compatible with the 770E.

tuktuk · #20 Post by **tuktuk** » Tue May 02, 2006 1:47 pm

Actually, I ran 770 without a hard drive for a while until I bought a caddy on ebay. All you need is download live version linux for old hardware such as [censored] Small Linux (http://www.[censored].org/) or Puppy Linux. Depending on the amount of RAM it may or may not create a virtual drive where it will put all OS and programs. This will free the CD-ROM drive for other uses. I used DSL on 770 without any problem.

baraider · #21 Post by **baraider** » Sun May 28, 2006 4:25 pm

Ok, i finally got all the part needed..

i got the caddy and put my 7k60 in it, boot with xp pro with no problem (what the deal about people saying 770 does not support winxp).

There are several yellow mark in device managers...sounds devices, etc...

I'm looking for a wireless card to use for this....anyone know which cards work in vanilla 770? b/g card?...i have a linksys wrt54g router.

Thanks...I had my doubts at first but i think the 770 is quite nice.

Website · #22 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Sun May 28, 2006 4:48 pm

Well, I am very glad to hear that XP worked. I wasn't sure, because of the lack of information in the BIOS updates. I know that the 600/600Es cannot run XP without close to the latest BIOS update.

As for the PCMCIA card. It should be a 32bit slot, which means that just about any PCMCIA wireless card should work. Might be best to get a Linksys card, since you already have a Linksys router...less chance for problems.

Eric Giles · #23 Post by **Eric Giles** » Wed May 31, 2006 10:55 pm

Ahhh-the 770. I owned two 770ED's back in the day. Can you believe these things were around $5500 back then? It's that much harder for me to believe that I actually paid that much for them!! Still one of my favorite Thinkpad models...

Anyway, you will find the 770 to be an excellent unit, if a bit on the heavy side. They are built like tanks and can take a lot of use and abuse.

Not a lot of use in my post-guess I am just reminiscing....

Got 770 as parts, worth it to bring it back to life?

Got 770 as parts, worth it to bring it back to life?

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