600E Memory & BIOS Updates

[bobbear43]

600E, 2646 4BU. Has 96MB of added memory now (32MB & 64 MB sticks). I installed XP Home and it needs more memory. The BIOS level is 1.05. One vendor says this model will support only 190MB of memory unless BIOS is 1.06 or later. Lenovo Support search finds no such information. In fact says model supports 288 MB. Anyone know the real answer?

BIOS Update will not install. repeatedly says that battery must be charged. Battery is at 100%. I am installing BIOS Update from a CD as the laptop has no floppy drive, and I do not have the floppy drive which plugs into the side. Is installing from a CD (bootable image created from BIOS Update diskette) any problem?

[tfflivemb2]

The 600E will take the standard of 288MB ram, straight from IBM. (32MB on board and 2 128mb sticks) The sticks will need to be be either PC66 or PC100.

As far as updating the BIOS goes, it has to be done from a floppy. There are portions of the file that references A:\. This might also explain why you are getting errors wth regards to your battery.

[govikes]

I've got a 600E 2645-4AU, with 160MB(32mb + 2 64mb sticks) . I want to upgrade to the max ram available but I'm not sure what that is. I read on IBM's site that it is 288mb but I read on this forum, say it could be 512MB? Could someone tell me what it is?

[tfflivemb2]

If you can locate two sticks of 256MB PC100 Low Density Ram (16 chips, 8 on each side) you can increase it to 544mb (2 256MB sticks and the 32MB onboard)

However, these stick run for about $50 or more on eBay.

Again this will require the latest BIOS update.

[govikes]

When was the latest BIOS update? I don't have a working battery for the laptop anymore so is it possible to update the BIOS without the battery?

[tfflivemb2]

The latest version BIOS for the machines listed in this thread is: INET36WW (1.16).

As for updating the BIOS without a battery, there are threads in this forum that discuss how to modify the BIOS files to reflect the lack of a battery. Just search the forum for "Update BIOS without battery". (Be sure to check the "Search all terms" box)

[DNA_DAN]

If you visit www.crucial.com and search for memory upgrades for TP600E OR 600X they recommend PC133 memory. I thought that was considered high density and won't work in either of those machines? Am I missing something here?

[bobbear43]

everything i read which seemed "authoritative" said to use pc66 memory. in a few resources i found people saying that pc100 memory had worked, and others saying that it had not.

in any case, i was able to get 2 128 mb sticks for $40 including shipping. all went well, and the thinkpad reports that it has 294 mb.

for a brief period, it worked very well and was quite fast. then i installed nortan av 2006, and it is now immensely slow.

[DNA_DAN]

So Bob, did you end up buying the PC66 or PC100 or PC133?

I suppose you have to successfully update the CPU (P3) to be working at 100mhz FSB for the PC100 to be working properly.

It's the PC133 that has me stumped. I haven't heard of this anywhere. Crucial says they have a "100% guaranteed to work" policy for memory that is listed for the models in the drop down list. I might just have to see if this works with my 100mhz FSB when I do my upgrade, and take them up on their offer.

PC133 is cheaper than the PC100, that is why I asked in the first place.

[bobbear43]

the memory i purchased was pc66. i believe that the memory speed has to be close to the buss speed. the specifications on the lenovo site also say pc66.

[tfflivemb2]

I have randomly had sticks of 128MB PC133 sticks work in a TP600E.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I'm not sure how stable it is in the long run.