Just opened my T42p 2373-Q1U and I have questions

[seguetester]

Well, it finally arrived. I just opened up my 2373-Q1U this morning and I have a question. I am trying to connect my MP3 player to the USB port and I keep getting the message that I am plugging a Hi-Speed device into a non-Hi-Speed Hub. The specs show that a 2373-Q1U has 2 Hi-Speed USB ports. What's the deal...Any ideas?

Also, the palm rest just to the right of the touchpad gets really hot. I feel like my skin is on fire after 3 or 4 hours of coding. Anyone else experiencing this?

[GomJabbar]

See if this will work. In Device Manager, uninstall everything under 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers' by right clicking on the devices and choosing uninstall. After this, reboot. Windows will reinstall the devices and hopefully you will get USB 2.0 speeds now. Some T40 users were having that problem, and it took a system board replacement for them. I thought IBM/Lenovo had corrected this by now however.

Make sure you are using a quality cable rated for USB 2.0. Try the other USB port. Do not have a USB hub or other USB 1 devices plugged in at the same time (I think you can plug a USB 1 device in one port and a USB 2 device in the other port with no problem, but just to be sure, unplug any USB 1 devices).

EDIT: The hard drive is under the palm rest to the right of the touchpad. It is likely the hard drive creating the heat.

[seguetester]

Well, The USB issue is under control; however, the heat problem still exists. In fact, if the laptop is in the Port Replicator and I use it for hard drive intense work, the right palm rest gets so hot that it is no longer comfortable to use. I assume that since this is the hard drive causing the heat that there is not much I can do to reduce the heat short of writing to the disk less. I use this for absolutely no gaming. It is a machine used for coding and testing applications. So, any ideas on how to cool this thing off. I have started using the TouchPad instead of the TrackPoint simply because the palm rest is too hot to use the TrackPoint. This is a 60GB 7200RPM drive. Anyone else have this issue? Any solutions? Anyone using the Targus ChillMat? Please help.

[gazingwa]

Make Sure power play is enabled on your video card... it creates much heat, my 7k60 produces very little heat

[GomJabbar]

It seems like I've read the higher RPM drives are noisier and hotter. I have a 5400 RPM Fujitsu in mine. It is quiet and doesn't get hot. I have seen a little slight warming after a virus scan, but nothing to really complain about.

[user101]

My laptop has the 7200 RPM drive and it doesnt get hot at all. I don't think thats the problem. As someone said earlier, check and make sure powerplay is enabled and set all the setting for powerplay for optimum battery life. This reduces the heat a lot.

[kyrotech]

It seems like I've read the higher RPM drives are noisier and hotter. I have a 5400 RPM Fujitsu in mine. It is quiet and doesn't get hot. I have seen a little slight warming after a virus scan, but nothing to really complain about.

Yes, Fijitsu 80 GB 5400 RPM is very quiet and runs cool enough

But 7200RPM drivers produce more noise and heat, specially the Hitachi ones

[asiafish]

I have a hitachi 7K60 in my T42p and an 80GB 5400RPM Hitachi in my PowerBook, and both are equally silent and smooth. They also feel about the same in terms of heat, but I would imagine the ThinkPad's plastic enclosure better at dissappating heat than the all-metal PowerBook, which transmits everything to my hands - meaning that the faster drive in the T42p is probably a bit warmer.

I've had Toshiba and Fujitsu drives in past laptops (4200RPM Toshiba 40GB in my last Aluminum PowerBook) and neither of those were any cooler or quieter than the Hitachi drives in my current machines.

I would not avoid Hitachi drives based on any claim of noise or heat. I've had excellent luck with Hitachi drives in the past, and will continue to favor them.