Bootable USB floppy drive for T42p?

[Kenn]

Looks like I need a bootable USB floppy drive to install the update that allows me to set my replacement system board's serial number and model number. I was just going to grab one off Amazon, but a user review said he found it it couldn't be booted from.

I don't want to buy anything without knowing if it can be booted to - and nobody puts "bootable" or "not bootable" in the product descriptions.

So if anyone has a cheap external USB floppy drive that you KNOW can be booted from, or have booted from on a T4x, could you post the make/model so i don't have to find out the hard way?

Thanks,
Kenn

PS: Oh yeah, I prefer black (for not-so-mysterious reasons), but I guess now is not the time to be picky about that

[Scorpiontico]

Looks like I need a bootable USB floppy drive to install the update that allows me to set my replacement system board's serial number and model number. I was just going to grab one off Amazon, but a user review said he found it it couldn't be booted from.

I don't want to buy anything without knowing if it can be booted to - and nobody puts "bootable" or "not bootable" in the product descriptions.

So if anyone has a cheap external USB floppy drive that you KNOW can be booted from, or have booted from on a T4x, could you post the make/model so i don't have to find out the hard way?

Thanks,
Kenn

PS: Oh yeah, I prefer black (for not-so-mysterious reasons), but I guess now is not the time to be picky about that

i once deleted the hidden partition from my hard drive, of course i booted from floppy which was an usb external device, that i had purchased from dell.com

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/Prod ... sting.aspx

it works really great with my t43 and the 7-in-1 media card features rock... i heard some bad things about this drive but mine works just excelent plus i got with a discount of $50 off + free 2 day sh = lol, you do the math!

another pointer is that this drive matches with t series since black and blue led lights (or red, customize)

good luck.
ps: i did not ripped off dell, they actually gave me a compensation for something they did.

[UCI2CI]

i didn't know they released an update that lets you change your serial numbers. If your talking about the newer thinkpad maintenance disk (1.71 or higher), i dont know how you got a hold of that, but Im sure some folks here, including me would like to get our hands on it!

any how, why not go with the IBM floppy drive?

or this one will do,
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Fee ... 6821152003

[Kenn]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. The NEC looks like a winner, exactly what I need.

Regarding the disk, I only found a link to the 1.6x version mentioned in the HMM, which someone on this forum recently found on an japanese IBM site. The thread is at:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=12263

Thanks again!

[UCI2CI]

i dont think that will version work with your system Kenn. I think you need 1.71 or higher for your t42. But, your could change your system model number (not serial numbers) with the BIO update tool

[Kenn]

Thanks for the notice on 1.69. The BIOS tool only lets you change the last 3 digits of the model number, and it doesn't work at all if the entire entry is blank

[KillaByte]

@Kenn:
If you just want to enter the S/N and generate a UUID the v1.69 will do - did it here on my 2373-HTG twice with no problems.

I think that the only difference between v1.69 and v1.71 is in the diagnostic module - so I wouldn't touch that if I were you.

Also don't forget to prefix your type-model-serial combination with "1S" - it will then looke like this: 1STTTTMMMSSSSSSS (in my case 1S2373HTGxxxxxxx).

The machine S/N is the one with the number 20 - don't touch the other number(s)!

You also have to press the ESC-key while the IBM-Logo appears at boot time to disable the write protection for the EEPROM.

After you saved the information to the EEPROM reboot and enter the BIOS to check if all went well - the S/N and UUID will be displayed there.

I don't have to mention that this may void your warranty, burn your toast and steal your wife


@Mods:
If this information is considered classified because it could be used to alter the S/N of a stolen machine feel free to edit this post and let me know

[Kenn]

Thanks a lot for the info! I've ordered the NEC floppy from Newegg (hmm, still don't have a floppy disk, haha), and will be happy to get the IBM software working again.

[Kenn]

@Kenn:
If you just want to enter the S/N and generate a UUID the v1.69 will do - did it here on my 2373-HTG twice with no problems.

Also don't forget to prefix your type-model-serial combination with "1S" - it will then looke like this: 1STTTTMMMSSSSSSS (in my case 1S2373HTGxxxxxxx).

The machine S/N is the one with the number 20 - don't touch the other number(s)!

I just received my usb floppy and successfully recovered my system S/N. for the T42p using v1.68. Using the system BIOS 3.14 utility, I reset my machine model code, and the IBM software installer works again.

Thanks again for the invaluable how-to on using the maintenance disk, KillaByte! You saved my butt on this one, never would have guessed how to do it on my own (well, I guess I would have loaded the disk on the 3VU, but that would have meant a day's delay and more uncertainty )

Kenn

[KillaByte]

Glad I could help.

Setting the model code using the bios update utility was a unneccessary step - it serves only as a override for the code contained in the serial number.

[RichLang]

Currently (October 2009), the Hardware Maintenance Diskette (ver. 1.75) can be downloaded at:

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... tm23us.exe

For a discussion of all the steps you need to perform in order to get the Hardware Maintenance Diskette file to function for you, see http://richlang.home.pipeline.com/TP-HWMD.html

Also discussed is whether you'll need instead the related "CE Utility Diskette." (Several earlier ThinkPad models require the CE Utility Diskette and not the "Hardware Maintenance Diskette"--despite what the Hardware Maintenance Manual may say.)

Rich Lang