Me getting a T21 to work - common issues

[Medessec]

I recently purchased a T21 parting out, missing a ton of parts, went ahead and ordered the parts, and decided to see if I can get this thing into a perfect working condition again. I did get it to work, but not after encountering numerous problems- and I wanted to share those in case others out there are having the same issues.

The T21 I got was an As-is, without a battery, AC adapter, HD, and the Ultrabay device was a Floppy disk. I ordered all those parts after I secured the laptop, and due to some random awesomeness, all the parts as well as the laptop arrived on the same day. So I set about assembling the thing and getting it to work. It seemed to post fine-however after a few tries it started sounding off a long beep and two short beeps-indication of a system board error. Which sank my hopes quite a bit initially, however after quite a bit of trial and error(removing parts, plugging them back in) I found the problem was caused by the Ethernet/Modem PCI card that had come with the laptop. Removing it allowed it to boot up just fine. So now I have to get another one of those (and they're particularly rare.) I've also confirmed it's not the PCI card slot causing the issue, because I have a Wi-Fi card from another computer plugged in to provide some internet connectivity, although the signal is so poor you need to have the laptop literally parked on top of the router, because of the T21 not having any Wi-Fi antenna cords.

After solving that issue, I found that the laptop would refuse to boot from the Hard Drive no matter what. It would occasionally boot CDs and Floppy Drives, but even after Windows Setup restarts from putting the install files on the HD, the comp would just throw a "Operating System not found". Weirdly, after some prodding around in these forums and other places, I went ahead and ordered another CMOS battery, not totally convinced that might be causing the issue, but just to see if it was, since a CMOS battery was only $2 anyway. Then the T21 sat for almost a week.

After getting the CMOS battery, I installed it, and it can boot from the Hard Drive. It was the most odd solution to such a severe problem that I've seen-but I suppose it does make some sense(the CMOS battery powers the EEPROM, which can get reset I guess even if your laptop's battery holds a charge or if you're even plugged in. Or something like that.)

After that the T21 took the Windows XP install just fine and works like a charm. Despite it's age, it's a neat laptop to have, I've even brought it to my classes for the sake of novelty. It runs quite smoothly too. At this point, I have actually secured an original replacement Ethernet/Modem PCI chip for the laptop, so the built in Ethernet and Modem ports work again. I kinda want to make this laptop right-I like the feeling of having a laptop that was once considered scrap, but is now quite usable. Although, you can't exactly game with it or do anything like that, due to the Savage gfx chip. Other than that, with XP running on it, and a Wi-Fi CardBus card, it's a spectacular piece of mobile novelty. Thank goodness batteries for this thing are still cheap.

[cadillacmike68]

I still have one T21, lots of T22s, T23s and T30s.

Yes, the little CMOS battery is key!

T30 batteries will also fit T20 series, but not the reverse (there a notch in T30 batteries that prevents T20 series from physically fitting).

If you don't have one. folks here are always offering up DVDs or CDRW DVD for the T20 & T30 series, for very little. I'd offer one but I'm not home at present.

There is also an Ebay seller (can't remember who) selling a 2nd HDD tray that takes SATA HDDs and it works fine with T20 and T30 series. This can give you huge storage capabilities. The trays were about $10 - $15 if i remember. I bought 2 and they work fine. There are forum posts on this. I recommend the one with the plastic base with the cutout. You can screw the drive into the base but i have found that unnecessary.

Have fun with it. I use my main T22 for games that don't like 2000 or XP.

[Medessec]

Ah ok. The battery information could potentially be quite useful-I was thinking of getting a T30 at some point due to the better graphics chip. I like the idea of having an older machine more well suited to XP and legacy applications, but the T21 is still a bit... dated. However-I am still glad I put it together, as it is in very good condition considering it came from a recycler. So it *could* be rather collectible, as it has the Win98 and Pentium III sticker still on it (most of the Thinkpads I get have faded spots where they used to be, or they're scratched off poorly resulting in a super-messy shredded up bit of the paint.)

And I've inspected the UltraBay 2nd HD option-I'll really have to try that out. It seems like a great way of getting large applications, videos or a music collection on the laptop, and I can also use it with a T30 if I do get one.

Thanks a lot!

[rkawakami]

One of the weak points in the early T2x systems is the infamous "Blink of Death". This is noted by a very brief flash of the hard drive LED when the system is turned on and then no other signs of life. No fan, no beeps, no "splash" screen, nothing. Not all T2x systems will get this problem but it can hit you without any warning. The other common issue you've found already; a defective MiniPCI card can make the system unbootable.

Related problem, not electrical, is the tendency for an internal mounting bracket on the Ultrabay frame to break. This causes, or is caused by, a crack in the keyboard bezel near the right arrow key. Opening and closing a tight set of lid hinges seems to be the ultimate source of this problem.

[Medessec]

That Blink of Death sounds... pretty horrifying, also i'm sure it takes a toll on the residual value of T2x series I assume?

My T21 hasn't shown any such critical behavior, thank goodness. Just the beeping on the Ethernet card that went bad. I have yet for the other card to come in, but until then, I've managed to pick up a Cardbus Wi-Fi card for it, an EDUP Wi-Fi card. Bit of trouble with that, EDUP's some off-brand that doesn't have support downloads for their super-old hardware, but after discovering that EDUPs are basically rebranded Broadcom equipment, I was able to install a driver in no time.

I'll have to look at the Ultrabay issue. Thanks for the information!

[hadriya9091]

Salut je suis newbie ici, j'aime ce forum, c'est très agréable et instructif, c'est aussi très profité pour us.i suis personnellement impressionné de rejoindre ce forum ... Merci vraiment de me fournir ce genre d'ambiance conviviale.

[RealBlackStuff]

Bienvenue.
Merci de noter que la plupart des membres ne parlent qu'anglais.
Par conséquent, nous ne pouvons pas garantir une réponse aux questions en français.