X31 Wireless cards compatable?

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spectre · #1 Post by **spectre** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:26 am

I was wondering if there was a list of compatable mini pci cards for the X31

I want an A/B/G and I would rather not do the patch...but if I have to its not a big deal.

any of the ones they sell at NewEgg work?

#2 Post by **tomh009** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:00 am

The NewEgg ones are most likely not. You'd need to buy one from Lenovo, or get a used one.

The trouble is that the last BIOS update for the X31 is from 2005, and you would need to locate a card that was available at that time. The Intel 2100B qualifies, as I recall, but I don't think that's still being made. And it's b/g only ...

The no-1802 patch is really quite safe, as it only patches a byte in the CMOS memory (rather than the BIOS itself) to turn off the network card check. I have done both of my X31s with no problem at all.

If you are willing to do the patch, the Atheros a/b/g card is highly recommended; this is Lenovo part number 73P4301. You may also be able to find it on eBay for less than the $65 that Lenovo charges for it.

spectre · #3 Post by **spectre** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:03 am

Thanks for the help

boon · #4 Post by **boon** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 1:34 pm

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:X31

these are ones compatible with x31, and if you're checking on ebay, make sure the part # is right. Otherwise you need the no-1802, and yes it is safe and easy to do.

#5 Post by **tomh009** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:01 pm

Also note that you will likely need to update the BIOS for the more recent cards. (I thought that I needed the no-1802 patch for the Atheros a/b/g, but maybe it was a different card I had before the Atheros. If I could only remember where I misplaced my memory!)

spectre · #6 Post by **spectre** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:46 am

Anyone you trust more then others on Ebay?

shalliday · #7 Post by **shalliday** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:18 am

Thak you very much for the information. I too am looking to upgrade my X31 wireless card. Just ordered:

1. ItemNo: 305001391-03 Qty: 1 Price: $44.74 SubTotal: $44.74
Item Description: IBM 802.11a/g/b 54Mbps Wireless Mini PCI Adapter
73P4301

from http://www.compuvest.com

Just hope its the right one. Now all I need to figure out is this no-1802 patch. Could someone please provide some information on where and how to get the no-1802 patch?

#8 Post by **tomh009** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:19 am

I don't see any Atheros sellers I have used before -- but this one is a good deal and 100% positive feedback:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0088834959

shalliday · #9 Post by **shalliday** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:32 am

Wow that is a good price! $15.00 cheaper than the one I just purchased.

spectre · #10 Post by **spectre** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:40 pm

bought it, thanks

spectre · #11 Post by **spectre** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:41 pm

Now all I need is one gig (one stick) of ram

Anyone know a good price for that??

#12 Post by **tomh009** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:01 pm

Actually the single biggest performance improvement you could get would be to upgrade your disk to a 7200 rpm Hitachi 7K100 ... I've done both, and the disk is a BIG impact item.

spectre · #13 Post by **spectre** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:08 pm

That will be done as well

#14 Post by **tomh009** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:36 pm

Looks like you are going to outdo my X31!

spectre · #15 Post by **spectre** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:40 pm

I just need it to last 18 months

#16 Post by **tomh009** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:49 pm

No reason why it shouldn't as long as you aren't desperate for Aero or gaming.

thanatos106 · #17 Post by **thanatos106** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:45 pm

I'm about to buy an atheros but i read somewhere that the fru# for x31 was 39T0073

Thanatos.

#18 Post by **tomh009** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:04 am

That's the Atheros b/g card. A good card, but "a" is still better. ; )

thanatos106 · #19 Post by **thanatos106** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:58 am

Why is that?

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireles ... ducts.html

Thanatos.

#20 Post by **tomh009** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:22 pm

Why is an "a" capable card better? First, if you need to connect to an "a" network, you need to have an a/b/g card.

As to why I prefer "a" networks -- interference. 802.11b/g has 11 channels, but only three of them do not overlap: 1, 6 and 11. What that means is that once you have more than three networks in range, they will be fighting for the same air bandwidth, and, in some cases, causing dropped connections. 802.11a, on the other hand, has 12 non-overlapping channels, and, in practice, much less network congestion (90% of the wireless networks out there are b/g). So I choose to run an "a" network even in my house.

spectre · #21 Post by **spectre** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:52 pm

Ok,

I bought the 73P4301 card and thought I put the no 1802 patch onto a cd and chose boot from cd and I still got the 1802 error

What did I do wrong?

zone · #22 Post by **zone** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:18 am

spectre wrote:Ok,

I bought the 73P4301 card and thought I put the no 1802 patch onto a cd and chose boot from cd and I still got the 1802 error

What did I do wrong?

I had 1802 error with 39T0073 (b/g) card in my X31, latest BIOS update version 1QET97WW (3.02 ) fixed problem. So, you may check BIOS version first and if is older make update. Hope it helps.

#23 Post by **tomh009** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:25 am

spectre wrote:Ok,

I bought the 73P4301 card and thought I put the no 1802 patch onto a cd and chose boot from cd and I still got the 1802 error

What did I do wrong?

When booting from the CD, did you get any messages from the no-1802 program?

spectre · #24 Post by **spectre** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:18 am

It said 1802 error please remove wifi card and reboot....something to that effect.

So, I am wondering if I burned the image onto the CD right.... can someone take me step by step? the write-up is sort of vague.

#25 Post by **tomh009** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:08 pm

It sounds like your system didn't boot from the CD -- did you set the BIOS to boot from the CD first? Are you using an Ultrabay or a USB CD drive?

spectre · #26 Post by **spectre** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:13 pm

I did set it to boot from CD, and I am sitting on top of an X3 base.

I burnt the files to a cd... I did not open them, what do you open them with? all files or just the two image files? [censored], I feel clueless.

boon · #27 Post by **boon** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:43 pm

whatever you did, you have to boot to dos and then the file no-1802.com has to be there in directory. And then you type "no-1802" or whatever the file name is and it should say patch is applied.

And you have to apply patch before putting the minipci in it.

spectre · #28 Post by **spectre** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:58 pm

so I need both the dos hack and the CD no 1802 image??

#29 Post by **tomh009** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:28 pm

All you need is to boot with the no-1802 CD. No other hacks required. That's all I did with our X31s ...

spectre · #30 Post by **spectre** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 7:06 pm

Ok, explain it like I am a third grader (in public schools)

I downloaded the cd patch , opened it up and burned that to the cd or did you have to do anthing to it? all the files or just a few?

(I might not have burned it to the cd right)

once I get what I need to the cd then boot with the cd in and that should be it?

X31 Wireless cards compatable?

X31 Wireless cards compatable?

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