X60 Tablet PCB modifications

[MrBean]

Hello Everyone,
I have another thread running where I'm enquiring after parts - this one is for technical information:

I have a 6365-CTO X60 Tablet, bought in Australia - it's 2nd hand, but appears to be brandnew. It uses the L7400 Core 2 Duo processor.

Couple of questions - this planar only has 1 mini pci-express connector - I am considering soldering a 2nd one in place, as there's provision for it on the planar immediately next to the original one - this should work fine, as it's in reality running parallel/passthrough electrical connections from the northbridge, and should work fine.

The question is that I want to use a WWAN card in this slot, and although I have the solder points next to the memory sticks for the sim-card holder, there's no holder soldered in place, and was wondering if any of you guys modded your planars to have the capability of reading the simcard if modded?

Again, I have a feeling this will work, as the pcb-traces are most likely there, and that there should not be any supporting components required, as it will be handled by the WWAN modem card?

Any feedback here would be appreciated

Br,
MrBean

[MrBean]

Hello Guys,
Anyone on here have an old, faulty X61 planar with 2x mini-pci express sockets, and possibly the sms holder next to the SO-Dimm sockets?

I will need those for the modifications I am planning.

Willing to pay for it

[MrBean]

Anyone on here have an old, faulty X61 planar with 2x mini-pci express sockets, and possibly the sms holder next to the SO-Dimm sockets?

Hello Guys,
Just a small bump to see if anyone can help

[erik]

if the X60 planar doesn't have a socket for the second mPCIe card then there's a good chance the BIOS won't support it, regardless of the northbridge.

if you need WWAN then i'd suggest either a cardbus solution or in selling your system once it's together to get an X61T.

[MrBean]

Hello Erik,
Yep, I hear what you're saying, but I have a good feeling you could basically plug any mini pci-express card in the onboard socket, and it will work - it should be supported from the OS once the proper drivers are loaded - it may very well be the case that I will need a 3rd party software to activate/de-activate it in windows, if Access Connections doens't support it.

Anyway, being a parallel bus, I'm sure it will work - after all, if you can add these devices to cardbus, and the OS supports it, no reason why it won't be supported on the mini pci-e slot - of course, I will try and get an original IBM-flashed card to give it every chance of working.

So, do you have a spare old planar

[erik]

why do you need a whole planar?   why not just search for the foxconn mPCIe socket that you need?   most failed planars get sent back to lenovo for refurbishing.   finding one on the open market would be rare.

as far as plugging in any mPCIe card and having it work, it's not that simple.   the card you install needs to be whitelisted in the BIOS to be recognized by the system.   this means you're limited to original lenovo FRU cards specifically for the X60 series.   otherwise, you'll need to modify the BIOS and tape pin #20 on the mPCIe card.

either way, good luck with the project!

[MrBean]

as far as plugging in any mPCIe card and having it work, it's not that simple. the card you install needs to be whitelisted in the BIOS to be recognized by the system.

and

of course, I will try and get an original IBM-flashed card to give it every chance of working.

Heya Erik,
Yep, I do realize, otherwise Bios/pin-mods would be necessary. Thanx for your input though, I am currently trying to source the connector, and found a few suppliers. Will keep you guys posted.

I might force-flash the bios to an X60T that supported WWAN from the factory, so that should remove that obstacle - and work fine. Will feedback here the moment I have all the hardware.

Br,
MrBean

[ra_]

Will keep you guys posted.

I have the same problem with my x60s. Have you been successful with soldering the second mini-pcie slot and sim card holder? Have you encountered any problems beside the missing connectors and needed Bios/pin-modification?

tia

[MrBean]

Hey Mate,
I have ordered the connectors, and am awaiting them - I won't need BIOS mods, as the X60T have only one BIOS for all hardware versions, so it will be fine.

Should be getting the sockets next week hopefully, and I will feedback.

[ra_]

Great. Please let me know about your progress. (:

[MrBean]

Will do

I know my BIOS is very different from yours, and all hardware configs are supported in the single X60T BIOS - I doubt it is the same for the X60S. YOu may need to browse through this forum to see what mods others had to do to the S BIOS to get this functionality going.

Will let you know the moment I get my connectors.

[MrBean]

@ ra_: I have received the necessary connectors, i.e. the mini pci-express socket, as well as retention mechanism, the simcard holder, and just today, a 2nd hand Sierra Wireless M8755 modem (no antennas though) bought of a local Ozzie forum.

I will tackle the mod on the weekend, as I need to pick up our smd solder-iron from our office.

Will feedback most likely by Saturday night, and I'm 100% confident this is going to work. Looking forward to it

[force]

It seems like it should just work. Good luck!

[MrBean]

Heya Mate,
Thanx. Yes, I expect it to work without any issues.

Will keep you all posted.

[ra_]

Did you succeed?

[MrBean]

It worked for a short while, but planar died shortly after. All onboard fuses ok, and I did make use of anti-static workspace.

Ended up getting a new planar with embedded WWAN support.

[ra_]

I am sorry for you. ): Anyway thanks for sharing!
If I try it myself, I will post here.

[tcone]

FYI: I successfully applied the mini-pcie + sim card holder-mod on x60 and x60s in co-work with twisted mind. One other guy pfälzer from the german thinkpad-forum did the mod on his x61s. You will also need some other parts which are missing on non-wwan models. On the x60 series you will have to bridge three solder points and add a capacitor and a zener-diode to get the sim card holder and the wireless switch working. The pcie-slot worked out of the box after soldering it to the mobo.

On the x61/s-series there are a few more parts missing on the planar...

short instructions for x60/s:
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1845 ... ardmod.jpg

the parts you need:
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8711/bauteile.jpg

some more pictures:
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/2300/x602ndpcie1.jpg
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/6523/x602ndpcie2.jpg
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5667/x60simslot.jpg

The original thread google-translated for further reading.