New T43 owner and have few questions...

[masterus]

Hello everyone

At least I've got it..2 days ago I bought T43-2668-CTO (full specification in my signature) for 900eur (about 1125$)
It's really good..battery has only 1 cycle

I have few questions so I need your help:

I'm thinking about upgrading RAM to 1GB..will it be better to put another 512MB or buy 1GB memory stick
Also I'm thinking about changing Intel 2915a/b/g to Intel 3945a/b/g..is there any sense to do that I mean..will I notice different in signal strenght

My other questions are:
My HDD is Hitachi 7K80..I have only 2 partitions: HPA and Windows..I don't like having that king of partition system..I prefer like that:
1.HPA
2.WindowsXP-SP2+updates(including T43 software)+Antivirus+Firewall+codecs
3.Program Files
4.My documents and other files.

Is it possibile to update HPA with that kind of Windows
What ThinkPad software(Fingerprint Reader,etc..) do I really need to install

Is it possibile to update CD/DVD Burner firmware to have DL burning option

I have English keyboard..Can I order American keyboard and install

Can I use Polish Recovery CDs to install fresh WindowsXP and then update HPA

I will be very gratefull for all replies

Regards
masterus

[christopher_wolf]

It doesn't really matter what you choose, but I would recommend getting another 512MB module to compliment the one you should already have. The added benefit, although you may or may not notice it, is that it can run in Dual Channel which, ideally, occures when you have two same-spec sticks that are capable of running in that mode and they are made by the same manufacturer. The increase in overall performance is minimal. I have two 512MB sticks totalling out to 1GB and I am perfectly happy with my T43.

If you are going to change the partitioning, make sure you set the HPA to "Secure" mode in the BIOS, and then make a backup of al your data before you go about doing it. I don't think that is it possible to get the HPA to restore your custom partitioning if need be, though. It *is* possible to update Windows like that; all you need to do to be able to restore it like that is to make a backup of Windows, plus all the other additional software, with RnR. The Restore option for the HPA simply restores it to the original factory image when you first got your T43; hence, a Restore will be total and you will not have those new changes while a backup and recovery would preserve those changes. It would also be a good idea to make the RnR disk set of CDs yourself.

You can order any keyboard you like to put on the Thinkpad. It isn't, from what I have seen, an easy task to reflash the firmware on the Multiburner to support DL and I don't know if it has even been done on the drives that IBM/Lenovo support and sell primarily for the Thinkpads.

Enjoy your new T43.

[pianowizard]

I'm thinking about upgrading RAM to 1GB..will it be better to put another 512MB or buy 1GB memory stick

It should be slightly faster if you have two 512MB sticks due to dual channel, but if you think you might upgrade further to 2GB in the future, then you should get a 1GB stick. If you buy two 512MB sticks, you would need to remove both and replace them with two 1GB sticks.