Inactive Wireless Adapter

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DNA_DAN · #1 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:27 pm

Thank GOD I finally found the TP600 GURUS - Man I love the internet!!

Here's my problem, thanks in advance, you guys rock!

I upgraded my TP600 to the latest Bios version then formatted/installed a fresh copy of Window 2000 Professional. I was using a Linksys WPC54G wireless adapter which worked prior to the bios/OS upgrade.

However after installing the linksys WLAN monitor software, then inserting the PCMCIA adapter, the card does not go "active". The drivers loaded properly when installing the card and the computer beeps while plugging or unplugging it. When I look in the device manager the device has a exclaimation mark on it and it displays, code 10 (Device failed to start or has a problem) Okay.... so bad adapter? I go buy a NetGear adapter, install the software, plug it in, BANG, same problem.

So I try the other PCMCIA slot. The device comes up as UNKNOWN. Whenever I say "Have disk" to install the drivers on this second slot. The computer won't let me. It just says, "the disk contains no data for your device" It does this despite nagivating to the actual INF file!! What the hell?? Very Strange.

So since it does the same thing of two different cards, One being new, I think there is a problem with my thinkpad. It worked under the old bios running window 98. But now I got nada. Am I looking at a PCMCIA slot replacement, or a new motherboard?

BTW, I read on the linksys site that the WPC54G is not supposed to work with Texas Instruments PCI1250 cardbus controllers, but it did in the past. I know someone else on here has a very similar setup as well without issues. PLEASE ADVISE!! Thanks!

Website · #2 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 7:16 pm

You have to make sure to download the drivers for the PCI Bus Master Controller (Intel 82371). There is a patch in the Win98 Supplement files, not sure about the Win2000 supplement files. You most likely have a question mark in the device manager.

I have had this problem a few times using Win98, and it seems like I would forget to do it everytime.

DNA_DAN · #3 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 12:20 am

[censored]!! I just installed some Carbus wizard off the Levono website for windows NT. It said it was PCMCIA support files. I suppose this wasn't the right file. I am now getting a STOP EXCEPTION everytime on boot. The OS won't even boot into safe mode. Looks like I am going to have to try to repair.

What is the deal with windows 2000 Professional? Is it NT or not?

I don't even see listings for it in the Levono device driver pages. So do I install the windows 2000 stuff? or the NT stuff?

I could not locate the file you refered to. Where exactly is it located?

And if it's in the windows 98 supplement disk, why the hell isn't it already included with windows 2000 Pro?

This is turing into a big pain in the [censored]!

DNA_DAN · #4 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 12:35 am

Okay that sucks. Win2000 PRO cannot repair the system. I need to reformat the computer AGAIN.

If anyone knows why the above issues happen under a fresh install of windows 2000 PRO, please help !!! This is my 3rd format in just under 2 days.

Website · #5 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:05 am

Here is the link that I used:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4FJ3SC

I only used it for the APM2APM.reg portion of the update.

As far as whether or not this version will work in Win2000, I do not know. I pretty much jumped straight from 98SE to XP.

I know that someone is going to jump on me for this, but oh well...NT and 2000 are not the same thing. Same concept, but not the same thing. In a nutshell, NT is the Network version of 98. 2000 is the Network version of ME, and then XP grouped them together. Not exactly a scientific explanation, but one that I have used to keep it simple.

DNA_DAN · #6 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:16 am

I see why that driver did not show up when I search for my system. My system is a 600. There is no X or E on the end of it. Do you think that is still the right file to use? It does not list it as applicable to just a regular 600. I am really cautious now because I don't want to format a 4th time! I clearly see the description though. Sounds like what I need unless there is really a hardware issue here on the motherboard.

Website · #7 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:18 am

That's right, yours really is a TP600. I assumed that it was a 600E based on the 2645 type number that you gave. (Shame on me).

I now see from your other past on the 400mhz processor that it truly is a 600, not a 600E. (I run into a lot of people that call the 600, 600E and the 600X, just simply a 600....my mistake)

Let me see what I can find for you.

DNA_DAN · #8 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:26 am

So for the driver update that is my problem, when you go to:

http://www-3.ibm.com/pc/support/site.ws ... SHY-3TLQ2L

The PCMCIA driver is not listed. It just says it's already supported in windows 2000. But I am using Windows 2000 Pro. I know the [censored] NT one doesn't work! haha It doesn't work right off the operating system. So if it's supposed to, then I think my issue might be hardware related on the motherboard and not a bad driver. Everything else on the laptop works fine, and I can get an ethernet connection with a PCMCIA card wired. It's just my WPC54G wireless card won't work. This also happened on a new wireless card. Very strange. It seems like it stopped powering the wireless card devices. I dunno

Website · #9 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:29 am

OK, after some searching I found this page:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... Q2L#PCMCIA

The drivers should be included within Win2000.

Note: I just double checked the TP600 that I just worked on, and it turns out that I did use the same link that I provided earlier, and it did work, even though the link just says 600E & 600X.

DNA_DAN · #10 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:47 am

I know it should work right after a clean install but it doesn't. Like I said, my wired setup (Ethernet 10/100) installs fine and works. But the wireless cards won't. Is there a physical difference between the two cards that might be indicative of a hardware issue on the motherboard? Don't the wireless cards require more power?

I will try to installs the driver you recommended tomorrow. THanks again!

Website · #11 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:16 am

OK, something else dawned on me.

Did you install the software for the card, PRIOR to installing the card itself? In XP it doesn't matter too much, but in 98 it does, so 2000 might.

DNA_DAN · #12 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 12:07 pm

Yes. I installed the Linksys wireless WLAN monitor software, then restarted. I then inserted the card and it found it correctly then installed the driver.

I am thinking the 600E swap is a better route to go with this. The more I play with the computer the more I am beginning to think this is a hardware issue. I mean the second PCMCIA slot does not even act the same at the first one. Something is really F'ed up here.

I remember on 95 and 98 you would get nothing working right until you updated the drivers from the IBM website. But on 2000 or even XP they are recent enough OS that is should work right off the OS from a clean install. Something is terribly wrong here.

If you do an internet search for "Linksys inactive" you will find other threads where people had the same issue on other laptops and OS. I think the PCMCIA card fried something on the board. If worked for a while, but not anymore. Besides these computers were not intended to run the "g" standard or wireless PCMCIA when they were built.

DNA_DAN · #13 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:48 pm

Well I just received my 600E lower half and installed it on my LCD/ Keypad from my 600. Easy as pie. Only took me about an hour to do the conversion. The spec manual really helps in locating where the screws are for each piece you have to remove. The TP is now a genuine 600E with 400 mhz processor. Much much faster now.

So I guess that means I have a 600 base to sell on ebay, any takers?

The PCMCIA slot seems to be working great now. There are no issues so far, installation was a snap and the wireless card works better than the old 600 ever did. (Immediate connection with router) I think I got a really good board too because the power jack is very snug, almost like it's been hardly used. I never did figure out why some laptops just stop functioning with a wireless adapter. The wireless adapter and hard drive work with the new motherboard setup just fine. Very strange. Like I said, if you search for "linksys inactive" or similar PCMCIA related terms, there are a fair amount of folks with this issue on older laptops.

Thanks a bunch for your suggestions! I sincerely appreciate it.

Website · #14 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 12:25 am

How much are you asking for the TP600 Base?

DNA_DAN · #15 Post by **DNA_DAN** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:15 pm

There are a bunch on ebay. It's only worth about $20-30 if that. I don't know if something is wrong with this one or not. All the tests in the BIOS setup came out "OK' but I had PCMCIA issues with it. I guess I will throw it to the ebay wolves out there!

Ken Edmonds · #16 Post by **Ken Edmonds** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:02 pm

[quote="tfflivemb2"]I know that someone is going to jump on me for this, but oh well...NT and 2000 are not the same thing. Same concept, but not the same thing. In a nutshell, NT is the Network version of 98. 2000 is the Network version of ME, and then XP grouped them together. Not exactly a scientific explanation, but one that I have used to keep it simple.[/quote]

You're right, consider yourself jumped on.

Totally wrong. Windows 2000 is NT5 and XP is NT5.1. Put either CD in a drive, view it with explorer and you'll see the Microsoft file names. Windows 95, 98 and Me are all DOS-based, NT, 2000 and XP aren't.

The visual similarity comes because MS changed/updated the GUI so the current release of NT looked like the current DOS-based version. That goes right back to NT3.51 and Windows 3.1. It doesn't apply with XP as Me (or Windows 95 v6 as I think of it) was the last DOS version.

Crash_Maniac · #17 Post by **Crash_Maniac** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:58 pm

I have a 600 2645-85U, I run a net gear WG511V2 wireless card It worked fine, hmm im using it right now and I use it in my work truck all day I wonder what is wrong with that PCMCIA slot? as far as the O/S question NT,2000,XP are Kerneled the same they are direct operating systems ,they dont need DOS to run underneath them to interface with your BIOS(Binary Input Output system) ,95,98,ME(a giant virus

) are DOS based, they need DOS(Direct operating system) to run under them to communicate your inputs through the GUI (Graphic user interface, the pretty pictures you see on the screen) to your PC ,so there for they are more cumbersome and erratic because you essentially have 2 operating systems running at once

#18 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:20 pm

I had a 600E with (2) PCMCIA slots (like all the 600's). Suddenly one of the slots quit working. Even after a fresh install of W2K, I could not get the slot to work with my network card. System Diagnostic in the BIOS reported no errors. The LED lit up on the network card regardless of which slot it was placed, but the card would only work in the bottom slot. When I first got the card it worked in either slot. BTW, device manager showed everything normal.

Moral? You can have a PCMCIA slot problem in only one slot, and System Diagnostics will not necessarily show up a problem with the PCMCIA slots.

ChrisL · #19 Post by **ChrisL** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 3:47 pm

Same card I have, its pretty good but the drivers from linksys are terrible and so is there pointless configuration utility. I am using a different set of drivers and I will post them in a short while.
I forget the name of them and they are on my thinkpad right now and I can't get to them because it is in pieces and I am working on the heatsink. Give me a few hours.

Website · #20 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:18 pm

Ken Edmonds wrote:
tfflivemb2 wrote:I know that someone is going to jump on me for this, but oh well...NT and 2000 are not the same thing. Same concept, but not the same thing. In a nutshell, NT is the Network version of 98. 2000 is the Network version of ME, and then XP grouped them together. Not exactly a scientific explanation, but one that I have used to keep it simple.
You're right, consider yourself jumped on.

Totally wrong. Windows 2000 is NT5 and XP is NT5.1. Put either CD in a drive, view it with explorer and you'll see the Microsoft file names. Windows 95, 98 and Me are all DOS-based, NT, 2000 and XP aren't.

The visual similarity comes because MS changed/updated the GUI so the current release of NT looked like the current DOS-based version. That goes right back to NT3.51 and Windows 3.1. It doesn't apply with XP as Me (or Windows 95 v6 as I think of it) was the last DOS version.

My point was the way that each was used. 95/98/ME were meant for the home user, and NT & 2000 were meant for office work (ie. networking). I wasn't referring to the actual make up of each OS. Then by the time XP came around, it was either XP Home or XP Professional. That is all that I was trying to convey.

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