TP 600 Win98 no standby

[gfgriffin]

I have a thinkpad 600e with win98se that won't enter standby when running in normal mode (Fn+F4). It will enter standby in safe mode or when running DOS. I've loaded the latest BIOS and drivers.

Microsoft PMTShooter is pointing to the monitor. First failure is:
Neomagic Magicmedia256AV failed on a call for config test to remove vdd.

I'm really stumped.

Anyone have a clue??

[BillMorrow]

welcome to the planetwide thinkpad community..
my wife tells me that i am clueless all the time..
but i have a question and a comment..

did it EVER go into standby..?

a little more background would be helpful..

[gfgriffin]

I've had this thing for years, but never paid attention to standby, so I really don't know.

I have lots of info but don't know what you'd like to have. Point me in the right direction.

[BillMorrow]

I've had this thing for years, but never paid attention to standby, so I really don't know.

well, its hard to troubleshoot if we don't know if it ever acted as it should..

I've loaded the latest BIOS and drivers.

when did you update the drivers..
most notably the video driver..?
before or after the standby problem..

if before, the answer becomes rollback to previous driver..
if after.. heh, now we're both stumped..

maybe ray will see this and have an answer..

[gfgriffin]

Agreed. It's hard to troubleshoot because I don't know. Over the past few years I've used this thing on occasional out of town trips for checking e-mails in motels at the end of the day. Standby wasn't a feature that I used.

Now, I'm trying to clean it up to give it to a friend who'll use it with his telescope out in the back yard at night, and I began to look at features he's likely to use - like standby. And here we are. Could have been this way for years.

I updated the drivers and bios when I first got it four years ago but, when I discovered the standy problem, I did it all over again this past week. I redid the video driver because of the PM TShooter info.

I can't find a thing on the internet about a problem with the neomagic driver. I'm not having any problems with shutdown. Diagnostics run fine.

[rkawakami]

maybe ray will see this and have an answer..

I have seen this, but I don't have an answer . I'll see if I can dig out a 600X with Win98 on it. The ones I've been using recently have Win2K or WinXP. There should be a 600E under my desk with 98 on it but I'd like to compare apples to apples.

@gfgriffin: Have you tried setting the Power Options to enter Standby when the lid is closed instead of pressing Fn+F4?

[gfgriffin]

Yeah, that doesn't work either.

There's some stuff at the Lenovo web site about an update for installation of Win98 in APM mode. It's not real clear to me in reading it, but it appears the udate is applied at the time of the Win98 install. Before you go to a lot of trouble, I think I'll just start over with a new Win98 install. I've stripped all application software of this thing in preparation for giving it away, so a reinstall won't be a big deal.

I'll let you know how it goes after the reinstall.

Thanks for your time.

[Rob Mayercik]

Yeah, that doesn't work either.

There's some stuff at the Lenovo web site about an update for installation of Win98 in APM mode. It's not real clear to me in reading it, but it appears the udate is applied at the time of the Win98 install. Before you go to a lot of trouble, I think I'll just start over with a new Win98 install. I've stripped all application software of this thing in preparation for giving it away, so a reinstall won't be a big deal.

I'll let you know how it goes after the reinstall.

Thanks for your time.

I have a 600 in my stable, with a copy of Windows 98SE that was installed in APM mode, and I've never had really any luck with the power modes. I believe Fn+F4 is suspend mode, not standby.

Standby seems all right, but I only used that when I walked away from the machine for a while. The big issue I had was with suspend mode - that would work after the install, but once I started using a network card, I'd lose the ability to resume. Hibernation also seemed to be affected by this "roach motel" syndrome (I could go into suspend or hibernate, but couldn't come back out). I seem to recall standby getting flaky too at this point, but it's been quite a while since I tried it, so I'll allow for the possibility that I'm wrong on count.

On those occasions I needed to move the machine without powering off, I'd temporarily go into control panel's power applet and tell it not to suspend on lid close, and then undo that later.

If you really need standby/suspend/hibernate, I'd suggest going with a newer OS than 98SE. Before I upgraded my 600 to a 400MHz processor, I did run XP in trial mode for a couple weeks, and it did seem like it was running acceptably. Consider hitting the local computer show for a copy of XP (cheaper by far than retail).

Rob

[gfgriffin]

Thanks for the response. I think we're into semantics with suspend/standby. Fn+F4 stops the CPU, which IBM calls suspend mode. But IBM also says it's called standby mode in Win98.

I'm not experiencing any of the shutdown/resume problems I read so much about with Win98, just this one standby problem.

At any rate, if this thing was going to be used by its new owner for anything else than hooking it up to a telescope in his backyard, I would install XP. But that's $100+ at shows around here, and doesn't seem worth it.

So I think I'll try a reinstall of WIN98 with IBM's supplemental files and see if that solves the problem. I really would like to figure it out:-)

[Rob Mayercik]

Well, if he isn't going to network it, he'd probably be ok with 98SE (I'd recommend 98SE over 98, simply because it's a bit more "mature" than original 98)

Of course, one possibility for the reason I had so much trouble with suspend and hibernate might have been that I have my TCP/IP settings set for DCHP - I do know that increases boot time because the stupid network stack insists on trying to connect to a DHCP server during boot.

What does he need to connect to the telescope for? I don't know much about telescopes, so I'm understandably curious as to what connecting the two would achieve.

[Rob Mayercik]

Well, if he isn't going to network it, he'd probably be ok with 98SE (I'd recommend 98SE over 98, simply because it's a bit more "mature" than original 98). While I agree $100 is high for XP, it still beats going to a retail store and paying upwards of $200 (assuming you can even find it at retail any more).

Of course, one possibility for the reason I had so much trouble with suspend and hibernate might have been that I have my TCP/IP settings set for DCHP - I do know that increases boot time because the stupid network stack insists on trying to connect to a DHCP server during boot.

What does he need to connect to the telescope for? I don't know much about telescopes, so I'm understandably curious as to what connecting the two would achieve.

[gfgriffin]

I do have SE.

I don't know abou the telescope. He has a program, and I assume the PC gets connected to the telescope, but I haven't seen the program yet. Like you, I'm curious, so when I get to the point of an install, of that program, I'll let you know.

[gfgriffin]

Problem solved. I bought the system from a vendor who had done a fresh install of Win98SE, but failed to load the IBM Win98 installation supplement files beforehand. Problem had always been there and I never noticed it the way I used the system.

Another install with the supplement files solved the problem.

Thanks for the time of those that responded.

Rob, I'll be installing the telescope software this weekend. I'll let you know what it does.

[gfgriffin]

Why hook a laptop to a telescope?

Taken from the internet regarding a program I loaded on the 600E called Autostar:

Autostar Software Suite: This supplied software/hardware package consists of a planetarium/telescope control program and a cable to connect the ETX-125PE to your PC or laptop. It is designed to integrate your telescope with a Windows-based PC or laptop computer for an enhanced range of performance features.
It includes a planetarium program with a database of 19,000,000 stars and deep space objects to display on your computer screen. The program has all the display and star chart-printing features of an advanced planetarium-type software program for stand-alone use when nights are cloudy. If you connect the scope to your computer or laptop (using either the supplied cable), the program lets you click on objects in the sky map display on the computer screen and have your 125PE automatically slew to those objects.
The software lets you control all Autostar functions from your computer or laptop. You can use it to create observing lists with a simple point and click and download them to the Autostar for use in the field when you don’t have your computer or laptop with you. You can use it to control your telescope remotely via the Internet. “Talking Telescope” software (included) converts the Autostar’s text displays to synthesized speech and plays it through your computer speaker. An Autostar Update Tool keeps your Autostar current by downloading the latest system firmware updates and comet, asteroid, and satellite data from the internet.
The minimum computer requirements for installing the Autostar Software Suite are a PC running Windows 98SE or better, with 64 MB of RAM, and 100 MB of free hard disk space.

Thanks again for the help.

Gerry Griffin

[Rob Mayercik]

That's some nice telescope he's got there, and the computer control is a nifty feature. Thanks for following up on that.

Glad to hear you got the problem resolved.