Mystery Thinkpad coming to me

[Dos3.1]

Someone is digging out an old ThinkPad for me later this week, and giving it to me for free. I've no idea what model is it, or the condition, as they haven't told me! I'll report back when I get it. I feel like I'm playing a lottery! Place yer bets! Maybe Xmas is coming early for me this year...

[JohnD.]

Keep us posted! I like surprises like the one your getting.

Take care,
John

[Medessec]

Sorry if I'm poking holes in this element of surprise... but there isn't any hints as to what it could be? Is it coming from a friend, relative, co-worker?

But if there's absolutely no hint... I suppose I can put my guess on a low-spec T30.

[sjahanmi]

Think positive...it could be the new X3 Carbon...haswell i7 with 8 gigs of ram and 256gm SSD.

[rkawakami]

I suppose I can put my guess on a low-spec T30.

I'll go a little further back.... I'm guessing a 600-series (600, 600E or 600X; covers a lot of models with one guess )

[Medessec]

I'll go a little further back.... I'm guessing a 600-series (600, 600E or 600X; covers a lot of models with one guess )

I say if it's a T2x, then we're both winners.

Think positive...it could be the new X3 Carbon...haswell i7 with 8 gigs of ram and 256gm SSD.

He said "old Thinkpad", but even if he didn't, that's REALLY positive thinking.

[jayton4]

Hope it is something rare!

[Medessec]

If it is that rare... like a 701, a 13.7" screened 770, a 760XD, a 240X, or an X24, then yeah. I may have be really sad for a long time.

[Dos3.1]

Update: There was no prior hint as to what the machine was, as I had just let it be known that I was into old ThinkPads and someone said they'd give me their old one.

I have not picked it up yet, but I've been given the following specs from the gifter: ThinkPad 600, type 2645 (rkawakami's prediction was the winner!). So, likely a Pentium II 233MHz MMX CPU in it. The CD drive is missing, as is the hard drive, but the hard drive caddy remains. There's one stick of RAM in it, 32MB @ 66MHz, plus it looks like there's more soldered on the motherboard. It has a battery, but it's state is unknown, and it also comes with the power adapter. System state is also unknown.

The lack of CD drive is not a big deal, as I have another 600 with a CD drive I could swap with, plus I have other ThinkPad CD/DVD drives around that might fit. Same for the RAM. The hard drive I can replace, or I might just see if I can boot it from a live Linux USB drive (Mint, probably an early version), which I have done successfully with other ThinkPads that had no hard drives.

That's all I know for now. I will be picking it up in any day now, and I'll give another update, and try to get some pictures up, too.

[Medessec]

Bugger all. I think for future reference, for any surprise like this, a 600 is a cheating guess. But fair enough.

Congrats though! The 600 is a gorgeous Thinkpad to have in any sort of a collection (although I'm missing out on that.)

It probably all still works, great you got the charger. The BIOS battery might be done for, so you might get some discouraging error codes on boot. Fixing that'll be easy... and I guess you may have to track down an old IDE HDD, but getting Windows 98/Me or 2000 should be a breeze, and you'll have a lovely old piece of Thinkpad lineage.

[Dos3.1]

Yes, the 600 is a nice TP. The other 600 I have still runs well, and though the outer case is a bit worn, the inside is in very good condition. I love the size of this model and the build is very solid. We'll see how my 2nd 600 (the mystery one) looks soon - we're in the middle of a big snow storm here, so picking it up will have to wait, for safety sake. There have been many accidents on the roads today around here.

[Nigellus]

I suppose I can put my guess on a low-spec T30.

I'll go a little further back.... I'm guessing a 600-series (600, 600E or 600X; covers a lot of models with one guess )

A 600 series would be fun to play with. I'd be very excited to get a 600E in out-of-the-box condition, or only with a little light wear. I heavily used mine, preferring it to my desktop in most cases.

[Saucey]

Right on a 600 with a little TLC.
I've read about those quite a bit on the forum.
I believe I've seen a video where a guy drops it to show how tough a ThinkPad is.
That and they seem to be pricier on eBay than a T40!

...I'll get one eventually

[Nigellus]

I believe I've seen a video where a guy drops it to show how tough a ThinkPad is.

A jumpy trainee whipped around and yanked my 600E off the counter and onto the floor by the power cord. This counter was about at sternum level.

My ThinkPad continued to function exactly as it should. The LCD was cracked, and had a big ugly black area on it. Otherwise, it worked, and I continued to use it for awhile before I got a replacement LCD.

[Medessec]

A jumpy trainee whipped around and yanked my 600E off the counter and onto the floor by the power cord. This counter was about at sternum level.

That's definitely another reason to use Thinkpads only. People can be spazzes and/or destructive, and the laptop can take the abuse. Someone's HP Mini or Dell Latitude D610 wouldn't fare as well.

All this kinda makes me want to get a 600 or a T2x...

[rkawakami]

@Dos3.1: I believe with the 600 you are going to be limited to 416MB; 32MB on the motherboard, 128MB (front slot) and 256MB (back slot) low density PC66 or PC100 modules.

@Medessec: I'd get a 600 series over the T2x if you're concerned about how solidly built the system is. The T2x has a fragile Ultrabay mounting tab that tends to break, which also leads to, or is a result of, the keyboard bezel cracking next to the right arrow key. Plus the "infamous" crack across the front left corner; something I've seen on a number of T2x systems that have gone through here. The 600 systems have a much better keyboard (hardly any flex) and probably owning to a slightly thicker frame, just feels more solid than it's newer cousin. The problem with the 600 is that it doesn't have the hardware to handle today's web pages, with Java, Flash and video clips eating up CPU cycles.

[Medessec]

Pff. To me, both the T2x and 600 would be equally useless for modern tasks... It would be a matter of just keeping up my collection. If I find a 600 for cheap(which really doesn't need much waiting) then I might just take it up. I've always wanted a nice 600... I've already had a T2x(I think it was a T21).

[DRobinson]

A 600 is a very nice machine imo. They feel sturdy in comparison to other models. I actually like the keyboards slightly more than the t2x keyboards. I have a 600e dual booting win2k and Debian Wheezy. Also have a 600 as a parts machine (I think some of the onboard ram is bad on that one). The big downside is lack of an internal wireless card option. You can replace the modem of a t2x with wireless card. I have 524MB in the 600e. Backlight is going on it though, LCD is red for 30secs on bootup.

Grats, it is a piece of ThinkPad history you are getting...

[rkawakami]

<snip>... (I think some of the onboard ram is bad on that one).

There is a CMOS hack that you can do to disable the built-in memory. Details here: http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ibm_600x/disable_memory/

The big downside is lack of an internal wireless card option.

You could try this: http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ibm_600x/mini_pci_wireless/ It may not exactly be internal but it still works after all these years.

I have 524MB in the 600e.

Hmm.... my math says that should be 544MB (256 + 256 + 32).

[DRobinson]

Hmm.... my math says that should be 544MB (256 + 256 + 32).

I actually am using it to post now. Opera 12.02 in WIn2k. Windows reports 523,632KB. I think I added 2x256MB chips. Maybe there is something wrong with one of the chips? Thank you for the web site link. I did not know I could replace the modem in this model too. Future project. I may shy away from punching holes in this machine though. Probably try to route them up behind the LCD. It will give me a reason to pull the screen. Maybe try to change out the backlight while I am at it. I hear that these ones are probably one of the easier LCDs to change the backlight in.

[rkawakami]

Can't figure out if Windows is rounding up or down or whether or not your 600E has already disabled the built-in memory. 523,632KB is very close to 512MB (512 x 1024 - 640 [base or conventional memory, which is often subtracted out when quoting available memory] = 523648, or 16KB difference). If you access BIOS it should tell you how much is installed. I don't think that there's anything wrong with the memory chips; it's merely a question of exactly what Windows 2000 is reporting as memory and the definition of KB (1,000 or 1,024) and MB (1,000,000 or 1,048,576) it's using. Enjoy your 600E!

[Dos3.1]

I picked up the 600 last night, finally, on NYE (Happy 2014, all)!

This may be an exercise on how much subzero temperate the old machine can take before something cracks...!

I haven't had a chance to get a good look at it yet, or try it, because the 600 has been sitting in a plastic bag, on an unheated, open porch for a week! I didn't ask for this to be done, but the person giving it to me decided to, so as to make the pick up easier, and in their words "...better if it remains outside to avoid unnecessary thermal cycling and condensation." Good call, I think - I hope. We've had temps as low as -17c lately. Yikes! The 600 is "frozen solid" no doubt.

So, from the porch I put it first into the unheated truck of my car to maintain the rough ambient temperature, then my car was in an underground garage for a few hours, where it was still quite cool. From there the 600 went into a canvas bag (still in the plastic bag) and came inside with me, where I put it all into another canvas-type bag. It was still very cold to the touch when I brought it inside. It's now sitting on the floor by a door to the outside, still in the bags, covered by a towel, where a slight cold draft is coming in. I thought this would be a good way to let it warm up very slowly.

I'll give it overnight, at a minimum, to warm up like this. Then I'll unwrap it and leave it out for another day or two before I plug it in, so I can be sure it's fully dry. This may be overkill, but I'd rather err on caution. Please let me know if this is the best way to proceed, those of you who know how to treat "frozen" TPs.

Then, after it's warmed and dried, I'll fire it up, and see what happens! It's gonna be interesting!

Anyone know what the tolerances are like for old plastic such as the 600 and cracking from cold? I'd guess it gets worse with age.

[Medessec]

Yeah, I agree you might've went overkill on babying it to warm up right... I'm pretty sure it cooled down faster than it was warmed up. But that's all fine and dandy, I really hope it'll all be worth it in the end.

Extreme cold will probably cause some metals in the machine to go all wonky, some others on here will be able to explain more specifically... but hopefully your warm-up technique and the fact it was in a plastic bag will somewhat help.

Hopefully it will boot up without a problem.

[Dos3.1]

I unwrapped the 600 and it's in pretty good shape! Very little outer case wear, and the inside looks nearly mint! The original adapter looks in good shape, too.

There is a battery in the unit, and I notice a slight acidic "battery" smell...leaking? My other 600 has this same issue with the battery. I wonder if leaking batteries are common to this model, or if it's just the age...I took the battery out, but can see no problem with it, besides the smell.

I put the battery back in. I plugged it in tonight, with the supplied IBM adapter and the amber battery light starts blinking. Then, it stops for a moment, and continues blinking, repeating the cycle. I'm thinking it's trying to charge. I'll leave it plugged in overnight to check if the battery will hold a charge.

I flipped the power switch, and like a good, old ThinkPad it worked! It booted, at least to the error message screen, as there is no hard drive. There were no other error codes, so this is a good sign.

The diagnostic menu came up when I pressed F1, and even the funky duck cursor worked! But, the beeps sure are loud! And, I see no way to turn the sound down at this point (so, covering the speakers with my palms, it is!).

Is there a way to force this machine to boot from the USB at this point?

[thePCxp]

The diagnostic menu came up when I pressed F1, and even the funky duck cursor worked! But, the beeps sure are loud! And, I see no way to turn the sound down at this point (so, covering the speakers with my palms, it is!).

I remember when I first got my 600...I had the same experience. It surprised me to see/hear how loud the speakers truly were. I did the same thing you did when I first encountered that, which was to cover the speakers with my palms.

BTW, on a 600, you adjust the volume of the speakers by pressing Fn+PgUp to turn the volume up and Fn+PgDn to turn the volume down (that is, if you don't know this by now).

[rkawakami]

Is there a way to force this machine to boot from the USB at this point?

I had to dig out my own 600 to verify.... I don't believe there's an option to boot from USB on the 600 series. If you go into BIOS (Easy-Setup), click on the "Start Up" icon, then "Power-on". You'll see device icons representing the various ways to boot the system; 2 FDDs (floppy drive connected via the right-hand side port or Ultraslimbay), 4 HDDs (hard drive) devices, Network, PCMCIA and CDROM. Nothing about USB. I tried enabling both FDD icons, attached the external floppy, had the Ultraslimbay floppy installed and connected a USB floppy. Upon boot, the Ultraslimbay drive clicked first, then the external floppy. The USB drive did not light up or make any noise. Removed the Ultraslimbay and external drives. re-booted and the same thing happened; USB drive was not accessed.

The external floppy drive housing is FRU 05K2643. It basically is an external Ultraslimbay; you can install a standard Ultraslimbay floppy into it and use it as an external drive. They used to be had for next-to-nothing on eBay; cheapest one currently is $8.

[Dos3.1]

@thePCxp: Thank you, in my excitement, I overlooked that!

@rkawakami: Thank you for the detailed reply! I was fearing that would be the outcome. I have a couple of options I can try next, as I do have an IBM external floppy (need to dig it out) that should fit the connector. Also, I have some CD drives that should fit into the empty Ultrabay slot.

What I'm thinking is to try Plop-Boot on floppy (or CD), as I have used this to force a USB boot on an A20. Or, if I can get the CD working, then I should be able to run a live-OS of some sort of Linux.

I also have a spare HD that may just fit (it's likely blank, but I can use it to install whichever OS I end up using). The 600 came with the caddy, so I shall see.

[Dos3.1]

The battery did not hold a charge, after being plugging in overnight. And, it seems to be leaking. I can smell that "battery acid smell." So, I've removed it. Is there any way to refurbish these batteries, any service that does it? Or, is it time to send it to the battery recycling depot?

[rkawakami]

batteryrefill.com still does this; they "refill" your old battery pack with new cells as long as the electronics are still functional. With a leak, you might have to write it off and get a "new" one. However, you might be better off getting one from eBay as the ones that are refilled has surgery scars around the midsection. They essentially cut open the case, replace the cells and then glue it back together. Not very pretty.

[Dos3.1]

batteryrefill.com still does this...

Interesting service, thank you! Yes, with a leak I'll have to ask them, first.

But, I'm not in a hurry, so I have time to look around, as I need to get the machine working right, first. I may put up a WTB on the forum here and see what turns up.