X20 Ethernet Problem

[t20user]

The ethernet port on my X20 has never worked for me for as long as I have had it. I tried reloading the drivers but it still does not work. Neither of the LEDs come on either. Is there a way to test the card to see if it is bad? I want to sell it soon, but would like the ethernet to work first.

[pianowizard]

Some X20 types have an ethernet port but it's *not* supposed to work. Go to ibm.com or lenovo.com and look up the specifications for your particular type of X20 to confirm that. For instance, my X20 2662-11U has the following specs:

Original description: Celeron 500MHz (128KB) 64MB RAM 10.0 GB 12.1 SVGA TFT 800x600, Modem, Win98

It only mentions "Modem", which means only the modem works.

[t20user]

Ah yes, you are correct. My machine is a -31U with no ethernet listed. Has anyone found a way to make itwork somehow?

I can'tcomplain too much PCMCIA cards are cheap. Thanks.

[southy]

Hi there,

Oh yes, I know that situation: got myself a nice little X20 from eBay, plugged in ethernet and - nothing happened. Took me a while to figure it out:

The Ethernet and the modem components are located on a mini-PCI card below the keyboard.
They are aviable with:

- modem function
- Ethernet Function
- Modem / Ethernet Combo

Obviouisly yours is modem-only and you would need to replace it with an ethernet or ethernet/modem-combo card.

I just looked at ebay: That one should work fine.

I've done this myself and it works great. You can get those cards for few bucks on ebay and I'd prefer them to a PCMCIA-card, because they're built-in and can't get lost or break.
Upgrading is really easy. Wires and everything is already there, you just remove the keyboard and change the cards. No problem.

I haven't got a description at hand how to remove the keyboard, but I'm certain someone here can help with that.

Good luck and I'd really advise to go with the miniPCI and not the PCMCIA.

Southy

[aceo07]

You can get the maintenance document from the IBM website for your specific X20. It's pretty easy to install, but it's best to refer to the documents since there's pictures.