T61, Advanced Mini Dock, Ethernet, and the lack thereof

[ThinkRob]

So I've got a 14.1" 4:3 T61. It works great.

I've also got an Advanced Mini Dock (2504), which I use with the T61 to hook up PS2, USB, DVI, and VGA. Those work great.

What doesn't work great is Ethernet, specifically whenever the T61 is docked neither the port on the side of the machine *nor* the port on the back of the dock work. The NIC simply refuses to believe there's any cable plugged in.

Other relevant details: I don't run Windows, so no issues with "Access Connections". The BIOS version is the latest available. I know it's not an OS issue (or if it is, it's a bug that presents itself in two completely different operating systems with two different driver implementations...) I know it's not an issue with the router into which the cable is plugged.

So what gives? Is my dock faulty? If so, why won't the side port work when the T61 is docked?

Any suggestions, wild theories, or tips to get Ethernet working while docked -- preferably those that do not involve me having to buy more hardware -- are welcome.

[miro_gt]

clean out your connecting pins and try again.

[ajkula66]

When you boot with the machine docked, is the Ethernet card "visible" to the computer? Do you see "eth0" (or whatever it's called) as an option to begin with?

[ThinkRob]

When you boot with the machine docked, is the Ethernet card "visible" to the computer? Do you see "eth0" (or whatever it's called) as an option to begin with?

Yep.

em0 appears just fine, shows up in the kernel logs, etc.

clean out your connecting pins and try again.

No dice.

[TTY]

Is my dock faulty? If so, why won't the side port work when the T61 is docked?

Lenovo instructs users not to use the notebook's ethernet port when docked, but to use the ethernet port on the dock instead. These instructions can be found in the Access Help user's guide, a ThinkVantage program. So the fact, that the notebook's ethernet port doesn't work while docked, probably means that the notebook works as intended. If the notebook's ethernet port doesn't work even when undocked, it might have been disabled in BIOS. The specific setting in BIOS is Security>I/O port access>Ethernet LAN.

[ThinkRob]

So the fact, that the notebook's ethernet port doesn't work while docked, probably means that the notebook works as intended. If the notebook's ethernet port doesn't work even when undocked, it might have been disabled in BIOS. The specific setting in BIOS is Security>I/O port access>Ethernet LAN.

Fair enough. The NIC works fine when undocked. Naturally I made sure it was enabled in the BIOS.

Any other suggestions?

[sktn77a]

I was under the impression that most ports on the mini dock were just pass through. Has anyone else tried using the network connector on the T61 when it is attched to the mini dock - all mine are at remote locations (kids) so I can't test it out.

[ZuberFowler]

I realize this thread is old, but I am wondering if the creator ever found any solution. I believe I have the same problem with this minidock with a W500. The OS (both Windows 7 and Windows 10) repeatedly hangs when the dock's ethernet is connected. It took a lot to narrow it down to this connection, but having the ability to boot more than one OS helped. It may work for a time but it eventually hangs again. If I could disable it and connect the ethernet directly to the laptop that would satisfy me.

[micrex22]

I realize this thread is old, but I am wondering if the creator ever found any solution. I believe I have the same problem with this minidock with a W500. The OS (both Windows 7 and Windows 10) repeatedly hangs when the dock's ethernet is connected. It took a lot to narrow it down to this connection, but having the ability to boot more than one OS helped. It may work for a time but it eventually hangs again. If I could disable it and connect the ethernet directly to the laptop that would satisfy me.

It seems like ThinkRob's issue was both ethernet ports were inactive when the T61 was plugged into 2504 as opposed to the 2504's ethernet port hanging the computer.

I have multiple 2504s and both run fine on my T60p and Z61t. Would you be able to give us some more information?
- has it always behaved like this
~ if not, when did it start occurring and were any major changes done to the laptop during that period (i.e. OS / BIOS / hardware changes)
- does the W500 behave normally with the onboard port

[ZuberFowler]

I have multiple 2504s and both run fine on my T60p and Z61t. Would you be able to give us some more information?
- has it always behaved like this
~ if not, when did it start occurring and were any major changes done to the laptop during that period (i.e. OS / BIOS / hardware changes)
- does the W500 behave normally with the onboard port

The laptop has worked fine, ethernet and all, outside the Advanced Mini Dock. One hinge broke on the display, so the idea was to keep it stable and always docked, so I bought the dock second hand. The hang is a complete freeze, including mouse cursor. I believe it has always been doing this since I got the dock, just with varying frequency. It's being used with Windows Media Center so many of the hangs occur with the video off and I just notice that it is "awake" but not responsive (i.e. the video won't turn on). I have also had trouble with shutdown not completing (shutdown animation still going). Also often problems during boot, but I could disconnect all the peripherals and get it up and then reconnect everything. Ironically, the ethernet was the least suspect.

Most recently I was thinking Windows Update might have broken something as it was hanging practically as soon as I got it rebooted. I booted into Windows 10 to restore the Windows 7 system and it did the same thing which naturally got me thinking the hang itself must be a hardware issue. Consequently, I spent the time with the process of elimination, narrowing it down to the ethernet port, then researching and asking here, hoping there was a circumvention.

I did more reading in other venues and there appear to be a lot of people with somewhat similar problems, but no one has indicated that the port can be disabled and the laptop's port used. It may be that the dock I bought just has a hardware issue with its ethernet. If you have any suggestions, thanks in advance. Well, thanks for trying to help in any case.

Practically speaking, when not copying GBs, the Wifi connection should be adequate, otherwise I'd rather not undock it, but that is possible if I'm careful not to break the other hinge.

[micrex22]

The laptop has worked fine, ethernet and all, outside the Advanced Mini Dock. One hinge broke on the display, so the idea was to keep it stable and always docked, so I bought the dock second hand. The hang is a complete freeze, including mouse cursor. I believe it has always been doing this since I got the dock, just with varying frequency. It's being used with Windows Media Center so many of the hangs occur with the video off and I just notice that it is "awake" but not responsive (i.e. the video won't turn on). I have also had trouble with shutdown not completing (shutdown animation still going). Also often problems during boot, but I could disconnect all the peripherals and get it up and then reconnect everything. Ironically, the ethernet was the least suspect.

Most recently I was thinking Windows Update might have broken something as it was hanging practically as soon as I got it rebooted. I booted into Windows 10 to restore the Windows 7 system and it did the same thing which naturally got me thinking the hang itself must be a hardware issue. Consequently, I spent the time with the process of elimination, narrowing it down to the ethernet port, then researching and asking here, hoping there was a circumvention.

I did more reading in other venues and there appear to be a lot of people with somewhat similar problems, but no one has indicated that the port can be disabled and the laptop's port used. It may be that the dock I bought just has a hardware issue with its ethernet. If you have any suggestions, thanks in advance. Well, thanks for trying to help in any case.

Practically speaking, when not copying GBs, the Wifi connection should be adequate, otherwise I'd rather not undock it, but that is possible if I'm careful not to break the other hinge.

Well there's only going to be three major culripts:
#1 the operating system
#2 the laptop's mobo
#3 the 2504's mobo

Depending on how extreme you want to take it, here would be my suggestions for troubleshooting and isolating the problem:
#1 try a different operating system (preferably swap in a different HDD to test different OSes)
#2 try a different ThinkPad in your 2504, or try another 2504. If you do not have access to another ThinkPad compatible in the 2504 or another 2504 / 2503 etc, then it's going to be harder to do a basic hardware comparison. When troubleshooting hardware, it's always easier to have something to use as a "litmus". Your only other option would be to open up the 2504 to see if there's any component wrong near the main IC or ethernet controller; although I have not opened up one before but can't imagine there's a whole lot except primarily passive ICs.

[cadillacmike68]

I wouldn't put it past the 2504 having a problem with its pass-thru ethernet port. Bad or broken wire or something internal. I have a 2503 (full size advanced dock) that has the same issue. The dock's ethernet doesn't work with two different T61 while both of those T61s in another Adv dock are fine, that is the ethernet connector in the 2nd dock is fine with both T61s. My first dock definitely has a bad ethernet connector / port. (Not a bad NIC since the NIC is inside the T61 and it works fine.)

Something in the docking action disables the T61's native ethernet port. I get no lights when plugging the wire in the T61's port while it is docked. That's a pretty definitive indication of a disabled port.

As to why a computer would hang when connecting to the dock's ethernet, not sure, this has not happened to either T61 while using the dock with the bad ethernet port. In fact it was on and connected all week until my new dock arrived. I'm on W7 pro 64. But I never tried connecting while it was turned on.

If the port is bad on the dock, (and it probably is), then perhaps the OS notices "something" when you connect the wire and tries to switch the connection from wireless to wired, and when there is nothing there, it hangs. I haven't tried this, but might on a test machine since I have that dock with the bad port available untii I toss it, fix it put it up in the attic or sell it to someone who only uses wireless.

[SurrealMustard]

I realize this thread is old, but I am wondering if the creator ever found any solution. I believe I have the same problem with this minidock with a W500. The OS (both Windows 7 and Windows 10) repeatedly hangs when the dock's ethernet is connected. It took a lot to narrow it down to this connection, but having the ability to boot more than one OS helped. It may work for a time but it eventually hangs again. If I could disable it and connect the ethernet directly to the laptop that would satisfy me.

On my T61p with the Intel 82566MM network card, a registry tweak is required to get it to work without hanging. I don't remember exactly what I did, but I think this thread had the solution.

[ZuberFowler]

Thanks to everyone who provided leads on my problem. They were appreciated and kept me searching for a solution where on my own I probably would have given up. I thought I would update the thread here for anyone who might come upon it with Internet search. The symptoms were accurately reported, but the cause recently got sorted out as coincidental to the ethernet. Since I had been keeping it always in the dock, I did not initially notice that the unit was getting quite hot. After cleaning the dust out of the cooling fan, the ethernet on the dock is functioning like one would expect it to. I'm guessing the ethernet was just the weakest link in the chain.

[cadillacmike68]

Thanks to everyone who provided leads on my problem. They were appreciated and kept me searching for a solution where on my own I probably would have given up. I thought I would update the thread here for anyone who might come upon it with Internet search. The symptoms were accurately reported, but the cause recently got sorted out as coincidental to the ethernet. Since I had been keeping it always in the dock, I did not initially notice that the unit was getting quite hot. After cleaning the dust out of the cooling fan, the ethernet on the dock is functioning like one would expect it to. I'm guessing the ethernet was just the weakest link in the chain.

OK, Glad you figured it out. I Definitely have a bad dock, but I finally got the T8 torx bits to open it up. I understand that these are a Real PITA to get apart and put back together properly.