Thinkpads Forum

I have my Garage Sale 760XD running in Win 98SE now after a
total Format and W98SE install.

Running fine! No problemos....

New Battery.

I went to the bbs
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=20293
and downloaded 9 different exe files for the 760XD

I could list them all here , but not sure that would inform anyone of
much info...(?)

Point is - do I really need to install any of those IBM files to run my
revamped Thinkpad 760XD ?

I looked at the Systemboard Info and this is what I found:
Pwr Mngmt ver.................................1.31
BIOS ver...........................................1.45
Video ver..........................................1.00
Setup ver..........................................4.06
Slave Control ver..............................1.12

BIOS P/N - Date.........................97H4564 09/25/97

I'm just asking for some advice on whether or not to "upgrade"
the BIOS (dangerous) and/or load these IBM system files and run
them.

Most of the IBM File txt's talk of Win95.

Did Win 98SE cover most all of those old Win 95 "problems" or
shortcomings?

I have no experience with this stuff....

Advice...?

DoctorBill

Heir Doctor,

To upgrade the BIOS is not dangerous in and of itself. If it where it wouldn't be posted for the average public to download and only a qualified technician then would have access to it. That is very import to note. Anyone may download the BIOS file and upgrade their system. I will show you why in little while. I've posted another link for you. The BIOS update will walk you through the steps prior to actually committing the update so let that lessen your anxiety. Take your time and read the prompts to understand what they are asking then give the reply when you are ready, there is no time limit. It is very satisfying to know that you did in fact upgrade your BIOS. Nobody on the list can deny that. We all at first where intimidated the first time through.

With a fully charged battery and reliable power supply and system it is very painless. Upgrading your BIOS is necessary in order to upgrade from Windows 95, to Windows 98/98SE, to say Windows 2000 (Which was the last OS upgrade available, BIOS wise.) for instance and offers enhanced access and bug fixes so that your Operating System can further detect devices or aspects of your system that would otherwise not appear to be available but in fact are. As Operation Systems mature so must the BIOS.

Yes the device files listed are important for the devices to be correctly found, installed and used by the Operating System. Those files where not included with the Operating System. They are specific to IBM and that particular machine or architecture. (By the date of the BIOS version it looks like Windows 95 though.) The files that you have listed look to be stale compared to these. http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-59734

I suggest to bookmark that link in your browser incase you need to find it again in the future. There isn't the level of support for the old reliable chunk-top as once upon a time but at least the updates will allow you to install any OS including XP. I wouldn't try that OS until you are very familiar with OS installations on this old platform.

The BBS site is a good source for comparing what software was available "back then" when the FTP index was copied to the BBS site to what is still available today, so to speak. All of the files for the 760 series are stale by todays date but who else offers such support for old hardware?

What Operating System are you going to install on your 760XD and what do you plan on doing with it once installed? I too own a 760XD and am glade you are taking so much interest in your garage sale find. I paid less if that matters, all of $9 dollars for something of a piece of history. IBM 760's where the first to fly to space in the Space Shuttle and as of 04 where still in use albeit in lesser quantity. Now that says a great deal about our "good deals".

Parts are easy to find on Ebay as well, inexpensive until others find the same interest as you and I. I enjoy mine every once and awhile, it reminds me of how far technology has come or hasn't come since then. I have XP installed on mine and have it networked wireless which I don't think they dreamed possible way back then. To install XP is a whole different barrel of monkey's to install. Not very easy but it's possible and usable.

Thank so very much for your reply, Phool@round !

I appreciate your comments...and will do as you say, although I don't
believe I will go to XP....

Yes, this 760XD is quite the tough little cookie!

Who or what is "Lenovo" ? Is it a Mail Order Business?

Where is it located?

I teach Chemistry parttime at a Community College and the
classrooms have Video projectors in the Lecture rooms and Labs.

I want to show some jpg files onscreen, but the dept won't buy me a
laptop....I'm parttime (adjunct), so I'm left out in the field.

This Garage Sale 760XD seems the ticket.

Win 98SE should do what I need.....and from what you wrote, I
need to load up the IBM files that came with the XD and to upgrade
the BIOS.

I upgraded a BIOS about 10 years ago on a MOBO and was scared
to death because where I live in the Wheat Fields of NE WA State,
power failures can come at any time....death during a BIOS upgrade!

I'm asking so many questions because I have no one else around
to help me understand this little bugger.

Thanks again!

I'll get back to let you know how things worked out in a while -
have to go teach now....51 Chem students await.

DoctorBill (64)
Retired R&D Biochemist - Bayer Corp Allergy Division. Spokane, WA
PhD - UC Davis (CA) 1973

In reply to your question of who Lenovo is; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenovo

I'm glad you are enjoying and have a future plan for your "new" laptop. That's what it's all about.

Do you have the video cable for your laptop? If not there are is at least one vender on Ebay that sells the original equipment cable. You'll need that to output to the projector.

Thanks again.....

I am in the process of downloading some of the files - smaller ones.

I have to use Dialup at home (REEEEAL SLOW!) and I'll use the DSL
at the college for the biggies (utility)....onto my Memory Stick.

I'd have to load the NT files for XP wouldn't I ?

DoctorBill

My personal opinion... if everything works OK, then I wouldn't upgrade the BIOS or put in the other stuff. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

One example, I have an old Dell Optiplex GX1 tower. First thing I did was upgrade to the latest BIOS. I then tried up upgrade the processor past the PIII 600MHz "limit," but the BIOS wouldn't let the computer boot. I went onto the Dell forums, and read that only the later BIOS versions "locked out" the faster PIIIs. I downgraded the BIOS as per the recommendations on the forum, and I'm now running a 1.4 Ghz PIII Tualatin Celeron processor in there.

Moral: Don't upgrade BIOS etc on a machine that's working OK.

I tried the NT files with XP and they don't work as designed. If we can find Windows 2000 they probably will.

Well one problem I have w/o the IBM Drivers loaded up is that I cannot
use a USB GE Optical Mini-mouse via a USB to ?? converter plug as I
can on any Win98SE machine BECAUSE I cannot turn the TrackPoint III off !

My TrackPoint doohickie works fine (where's the driver located in
Win 98SE?) to allow the Optical Mouse drivers to work.

An old Ball Mouse that plugs into the port works fine - but not the
USB GE Optical mouse with the converter plug - the drivers conflict.

My modem is not listed in the Device Manager either.

So I'll need some of them.

What are the "Utilities for"?

BIOS - I tend to agree that I shouldn't update that unless something requires it....yes?

Thanks for the help guys! Nice of you!

DoctorBill

Doc B, If Lenovo stops posting any updates to the 760 and you don't download the most current BIOS then you will be relying on the forum for it if you ever decide to say, install W2K, which the last BIOS update enables. Lenovo has "hidden" the 760 updates on their site for awhile now. It's only a matter of time before they don't post them. I want all that they offer "right now" before the 760 files go the way of the Dodo. These machines are getting long in the tooth, eh?

No one has posted issues about the current update which is now @ 7 years old. That's plenty of time to post.

The "utilities" I think is just one file - the Configuration Utility. You will want this for sure. It's the one file that is a "must have" if your going to use pcmcia devices. It "Enables/Disables" them dircectly through the BIOS.

Windows 98SE was the most stable of the DOS based OS's. It does fix many short-comings in 95/98.

for your 760 it depends which audio card you got if its equipped with the mwave modem then your restricted to nt,95,98,+2k(with the latest 1999bios update)
if your fortunate enough to have the ess 1688 audio card onboard
then your guarranteed full compatability +seamleass running
even on 106mb ram in the earlier and me,+xp too
overall i found millenium to be the pick of the crop on my 765l
because it will run nicely with the optioned intel triones udma drivers which really perk up the hard drive performance
like 45% up from generic udma intel drivers.
unlike 2k+xp which unfortunately wont allow it to run udma mode which could inhibit up to a massive 9-10 mps data retreival speeds on a hitachi,toshiba udma33 hdd with savings in cpu load not worth the bothering despite only pio4 (thats why 98 or me4me on 760/765 machines.

Hi, Do you have a working 760xd running 98se? Please help me determine if 98se is properly detecting pc card controllers by looking to see what you have listed in device manager.

After a fresh install of 98se on a newly acquired drive I installed drivers and the configuration utility. After several attempts to install a wireless card I figured out that the TI card buss controllers were disabled even though device manager reported they were working normally and there was a green dot next to PC cards in the configuration utility. Apparently the best way to find out if these are enabled is to see if there is a IRQ assigned to them . Sometimes when I use the configuration utility to enable a device after the popup requests a restart I hear two short beeps at startup. Hopefully this just means that the bios failed to assignee IRQ’s as another restart yields the normal beep. The hint in the readme file (pc card driver disk) says ignore the reboot popup but dosn’t the card buss controllers need a IRQ to be properly enabled? If Pc card director program is truly the key to installing plug and play cards I don’t know how to use it.

Does the 760XD bios support PCI steering? I've been having the same problem with my usb card. It requires pci steering, but every time I enable it, the system needs to restart, and when it does, pci steering is disabled.

I've been reading the book "upgading and Repairing PCs" by Scott Mueller. I've been learning a lot, and might eventualy fix this; I've shure learned a lot from it. But I wave one other question based on a number of things I've read, most recently about how interupts work:


Just what the $&%# do you engineers smoke?

In Device manager under PCMCIA socket do you have the following devices listed?
PCIC compatible PCMCIA controller in IBM system
PCMCIA card services
Ti PCI-1130 card bus controllers (2)

When you enable the TI card bus controllers with the configuration utility experiment with the IRQ setting box . It’s not obvious at first that there are little up and down buttons that allow you to set the IRQ to any value regardless of conflicts. You must set this for a value that the USB card can use (probably 9-11), as it will share. But first check the list of available IRQ’s by highlighting “computer” (at the top) and click properties. Click OK and then yes restart and restart again to install “Irq holder for PCI steering’. Then check in device manager again. It doesn’t matter that Irq steering is disabled in PCI bus properties. In fact it may be best to have Irq steering disabled when doing a forced IRQ assignment. After enabling irq steering per these instructions (windowsnetworking.com/articals-tutorials) It was still disabled with a message that this machine has known problems with IRQ steering. Check on the USB card manufactures driver page for a DOS enabler program to set the card’s IRQ