can my thinkpad think beyond 512?

[gr8gatzby]

Just landed a Thinkpad A20M 700mhz/512/12 with docking station on the cheap. The system is maxed out at 512mb, I'm curious though, will windows recognize anything above 512. Is there a hardware limitation, and if so can it be usurped?

also, is the HDD a standard 2.5"? anything special to swap it out?

thanks

[BillMorrow]

Swaziland huh..?
does it really take a computer to put new snow into a snow globe..?

please edit your user info to show the real stuff..

thanks

as for your A21, the HDD is a standard 2.5 inch HDD and most any HDD should work..
ALL travelstar drives will, for sure..

you can look up the specs for that A21 by downloading the TAWBOOK.PDF file from the ibm/lenovo site..

look around, i'm sure you'll find it..

[gr8gatzby]

i know the specs, it's just that i refuse to believe them. i can get a 512mb chip for my A20m, i just don't know if the system will recognize anything above 512....any thoughts?

[JHEM]

i know the specs, it's just that i refuse to believe them. i can get a 512mb chip for my A20m, i just don't know if the system will recognize anything above 512....any thoughts?

Your machine is built on the Intel 440BX chipset which will only support 256MB per memory slot. You could put a 512MB stick in one of the slots, but only 256MB will be recognized.

Long term problem with many Thinkpads built on this chipset, but with no solution.

Regards,

James

[gr8gatzby]

i currently have XP pro on the machine, it's not that slow, but i wonder if Win2K Pro would be a better use of this machine's limited resources. it's been forever and a day since i've used anything but XP, is Win2k still compatible with most software out today....

do you think upgrading to a 7200rpm drive would make a noticeable difference?

i wonder how OSX would behave on 700mhz.....

[dsigma6]

from what ive seen the difference is minimal in xp/w2k. have you tried disabling all of those unnecessary services?

http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12

[gr8gatzby]

thanks! i thought msconfig was my only route for services management.

...and another thing...where in hades is my windows key, i keep looking betwixt alt and ctrl but i cannot find it! i use so many winkey+x shortcuts normally(winkey+L=lock; winkey+r=run, etc). i really miss it, is there a substitute that IBM has hidden from me?

there is a button at the top of the keyboard labelled Thinkpad, yet when i press it, nothing happens....

my ethernet port is dead, i've never seen a NIC card die in all my pocket protecting years, especially in a laptop. thankfully the unit came with a pcmcia IBM NIC, but still a pain in the added width.

[dsigma6]

ctrl esc brings up the start menu.

there is a hot-key utiltiy that lets you change any one of the shift or alt keys to become the windows key, but i found it annoying when i would try to use shift from habit, and end up with a start menu in my face.

hit that thinkpad button when your computer starts up and it at the IBM screen, before windows starts. its system recovery, diagnostics, etc.

[JHEM]

my ethernet port is dead, i've never seen a NIC card die in all my pocket protecting years, especially in a laptop. thankfully the unit came with a pcmcia IBM NIC, but still a pain in the added width.

Not ALL A20s came with an ethernet card installed, although they all have the port!

Check the TAWBOOK or online to see what your machine shipped with from the factory. I'd bet you just need to replace your mini-PCI modem with a combo NIC/Modem.

Regards,

James