Thinkpads Forum

Hi ,

I am a proud owner of IBM I series thinkpad which has been doing a yeoman service to me for last few years with 64 MB RAM

Of late I am trying to upgrade it to a decent level say a 256 MB . I am told that the sole memory slot available at the back of the i series thinkpad supports only 128 mb and that too only a particular type of memory card .

Could someone tell me the truth of these comments and what memory card do I need to put in for the upgrade .

Thanks & Regards,
AJ

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

It might help if you could be a little bit more specific about which I series system you have. From what I can see in the tiwbook.pdf file, the I series ran on PC66 or PC100 modules. I would guess that you would need what is normally referred to as "low density" modules if you attempt to add in a 128MB or 256MB stick. This assumes that the laptop can recognize those sizes. Back in the day, those PC66 and PC100 modules used memories which were considered "leading edge". As years went by, those memory chips got larger in capacity which forced a change in how they keep the data intact. "Low density" 128MB modules can be identified by counting the number of chips on the module. Eight individual memory components on a 128MB is considered "low density". 16 components on a 256MB is also "low density". If you see a 128MB module with only 4 parts, that's "high density". Similarly, 8 chips on a 256MB is also "high".

There may also be a chipset limitation on the total amount of memory that the system can address. That's another reason why we would need a specific I series model number. Actually, probably the best information would be the TYPE number from the bottom of the system. This consists of a four digit type number, a dash, followed by three characters. For example, a 1161-11U describes an i1200 with a 550Mhz Celeron and a standard 32MB of PC100 memory on board and one SODIMM socket available.

Hi ,

Thanks for responding back and letting me know that Legacy hardware forums are still alive and clicking to help out the needy ones

My thinkpad is of type 1161-43A .

Thanks & Regards ,
AJ

Plugging in your type number into the Support and Downloads page:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... OME-LENOVO

yields this:

Product: ThinkPad i Series 1200 1161-43A [change]
Operating system: All [change]

Original description: Celeron 700MHz (256KB), 64MB RAM, 10.0GB HDD, 13.3 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, 24x-10x CD-ROM, Modem, NiMH battery, USB-FDD, WinMe

This seems to be very close to the 1161-43U system listed in the tiwbook.pdf file (only differenece is the exclusion of the USB floppy drive). If that's the case, then the maximum memory listed is a total of 192MB; 64MB on board and a 128MB PC100 module in the one SODIMM slot. This description was generated back in April 2002 (or earlier) so this could be in error. It might be possible to install a 256MB PC100 low density module. These threads:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=1894
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=9882

seems to say it is possible. Found them by using the search function and using "i1200 and 256mb" as the search terms.

ref: ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitu ... iwbook.pdf (specifications of iSeries laptops)

Hi ,

Thanks for the info . I am no nerd . Called up a RAM sales guy and asked him about a low density 128 MB RAM . The guy asked me to have the name in technical terms for whatever I am looking for.
Don't know what is that low module called in market . Can anyone help

I will be going with 128 MB upgrade as 256MB seems to be a tricky issue. The threads were great as I realized I ain't alone in this planet trying to upgrade my legacy .

Okay, in technical terms you need a SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) PC100 (or PC133), 144 pin SODIMM, which requires "4K refresh". This is what is commonly referred to here as "low density". Have him/her check the module specifications and make sure it is listed as using 4K or 4,096 refresh cycles. If it says 8K or 8,192, you can't use it.

But really, the easiest way is to have them count the number of individual memory components on the module. There should be eight on a 128MB module and sixteen on a 256MB module.

P.S. I am a nerd . Actually, in my day job I'm a memory test engineer.

Nerd or no Nerd ..thanks for doing all the research and coming up with advices hitting bull's eye .

Do you have a fan club

Will first get my hands on it and then decide whether to join the club or not
Hoping that I get the stuff in the martet .

I am using a I-Series Type 1161-43A as well.

It can accommodate a 256Mb memory stick.

I have installed a Kingston stick (Part# KVR100X64SC2/256).

With this stick, the total memory is around 318.896Mb, when I look it up from Start>Settings>Control Panel>System.

Good luck!

Hi ,

It's good to hear from a fellow I series laptop holder . I am facing difficulty in getting the low density SODIMM RAM . Any idea as to where can i get it from .

Also interesting was to note that u have upgraded ur laptop to 100GB
How did u go about it ? Would love to hear on that part too

Hi aj
Lets hope we find the RAM.

Just inform me if you do first.

just go to e-bay, use "pc100 low density"
or "pc133 low density" in your search, its about $40 for a 256
meg stick, about $20 for a 128 meg. adrian

Hi Adrain ,

Thanks for the suggestion. Tried it out but ebay gave 0 results
Anyway found one in my own area .

Anyone located in Bangalore , India can get it from SP Road . Shop's name : Maple

I have bought the SODIMM but is yet to be tested as currently the thinkpad isn't with me.

ajjw2001 wrote:Also interesting was to note that u have upgraded ur laptop to 100GB
How did u go about it ? Would love to hear on that part too

(1) Bought a USB HD enclosure to house the new drive - 100GB in my case.
(2) Connected the enclosure to the USB port at the back of the ThinkPad.
(3) Used Acronis True Image 9 (ATI9) on a CD to boot up the ThinkPad.
(4) Instructed ATI9 to clone the ThinkPad drive onto the new drive.
NOTE: This took a couple of hours, but very much dependent upon how much stuff was on the old HD.
(5) Once cloning was done, power off the ThinkPad.
(6) Swap the two drives and booted up from the internal new drive.

For Steps (3) and (6) above, you need to press the F12 key to tell the BIOS to boot up from which storage device.

That is all - nothing exciting. But I would say ATI9 was a very good program for cloning HDs.

Happy New Year to you!

Thanks for the info

I have upgraded my laptop to an additional 128 MB RAM (64 + 128) thanks to all who took pains and answered my questions.

I am pretty much excited to go for a HD upgrade as well . Is Acronis True Image 9 (ATI9) a freeware ?

Did a google search but seems like a licensed copy is required

Can someone recommend a HD cloning freeware .

Acronis True Image 11 Home version offers 15-day free trial.

Take a look of this web page:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/do ... trueimage/

Aconis Migrate Easy 7 seems to be able to do the job. It also offers 15 day free trial. I quote what the website below says:
"The Trial version of Acronis Migrate Easy is fully operational but works only for 15 days."

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/do ... grateeasy/

Went through the link as given above and have downloaded the exe as well. All set to go

ONE LAST NAGGING QUESTION :

what does it mean to have a trial version for 15 days . Does it mean that the cloning won't work after 15 days

My Acronis True Image 9 is a full version.

I guess a 15-day trial version will refuse to run 15 days after the day when you first install it.

But 15 days are more than enough for your cloning exercise.

You may wait until you have got all the hardware ready before you install Acronis. This is to maximise your usage of Acronis to 15 days.

Good luck!

I have got the hardware as well . Was going through the steps mentioned by you and got stuck up at step No. 6 .

How am I going to swap the two drives ?
Is the USB HD be my new bootable drive and won't it create a performance issue ?

If you could share your experience !!

When I said swapping the drives, I meant taking out the smaller drive from the Thinkpad and installing the larger drive (after it was de-housed from the HD enclosure) to the Thinkpad. Hence the larger drive became the new internal drive.

mine is also 1200 1161-43U 700mhz 64mb on board with 8mb for video. Try putting in 16 chips 256mb pc100, but it doesn't recognized at all. Only see the onboard. Does it matter what OS you use. I'm using XP. I'm afraid to do any BIOS update. Mess up the battery before with bios update.