New to the Board.....Got some questions

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adgray · #1 Post by **adgray** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:00 pm

Hi All,

I have a T30 which I purchased in 2003. I upgraded to Vista Ultimate yesterday and would like to put more memory in for better performance.

Although the T30 is specified to only be able to have 1GB or RAM, I read on this board that with a BIOS upgrade I can get to 2GB of RAM.

Questions:

1. What is the recommended 1GB SIMMs for this, so I can order them.

2. Will I need to do the upgrade to the latest BIOS, and perhaps that is a good idea anyway. I have already downloaded it, but have not installed it yet.

TIA... and stay tuned for my next subject on wireless.

-Dan

#2 Post by **rkawakami** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:24 pm

Welcome to thinkpads.com Dan!

While I don't currently own a T30, you should be able to use most any PC2100 (or faster) DDR SODIMM module that is rated at CL2.5 (CAS latency 2.5 clocks). What was recommended for memory when the system was introduced was PC2100. Since then, memory speeds have increased and you could use PC2700 or PC3200 rated modules. They will not cause the memory system to run any faster but if the price is the same between PC2100 and PC2700 sticks, I'd opt for the PC2700. Simply because the PC2700 memory would be "newer" and that it would be operating at less than its maximum speed. Oh, and be careful about PC3200 labeled memory. It can also be mistakenly used to reference DDR2 memory which is NOT compatible with the T30. The correct designation is PC2-3200, but sometime people leave off the "2" after "PC".

I've seen conflicting information about the "latest" BIOS being needed for the 2GB support. My philosophy would be to first try the 1GB module in both slots and if it works, then you don't need the BIOS update.

Peter_Peril · #3 Post by **Peter_Peril** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:32 pm

Dan:

Let me be the first to welcome you to forums. First Congratulations are in order. You are the only member I know of thus far who has dared to install Vista Ultimate on our venerable friend the T30.

As for your questions I'll get the ball rolling by offering what little I know. There is no bios upgrade that will allow you run 2GB of ram on this or any other model thinkpad. You simply plug and pray.

Running 2GB is highly dependent on your laptop being free of the well-known and documented front memory slot issue. DDR 333 memory works in my and many other systems and is more readily available and affordable than the IBM Specified DDR266.

Please include you T30's model number and other pertinent specs in your signature. This will help us answer your questions accurately. Additionally learn to use the search functions prior to posting; you'll find solutions to many issues by going through our sordid past. Now tell us about that Vista install.

adgray · #4 Post by **adgray** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:03 pm

Thanks Guys for the reply.

I will update my signature with the details of my machine.

Just so you guys know, I did really want to install Vista, but here is what happened. I was surfing yesterday looking for a Product Key for Windows 2003 Server and download some type of "attack-agent".
Repeated attempts to get rid of it with virus scan, malware scan, etc. simply would not rid the Laptop of the crazy way it was acting. It was slow, could bearly bring up a web page and applications were acting funny.

I decided before it infected the rest of my network, that I would take the laptop off of the network and do a complete re-install of XP. When I did that it would not accept my Product Key. So, I kept the temporary XP version and purchased Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade.

The install went smoothly and the PC is running great. I would like some more memory to make it run a little faster.

So that the short version of the events of yesterday.

Regards,

Dano

adgray · #5 Post by **adgray** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:26 pm

Posting Update with sig

ZAGNUT · #6 Post by **ZAGNUT** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 7:14 pm

not trying to be rude or anything but could you please explain why on earth you're trying to run vista on this machine?

IMO bumping the memory up to 2GB isn't going to help a whole lot as the rest of the machine is too slow to really benefit from it.

dave

mattbiernat · #7 Post by **mattbiernat** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:09 pm

well if you put into it a 7200 rpm hard drive, 2GB of ram i don't think there should be a problem running Vista. I mean the O.S. itself is not CPU hungry monster, it is just hungry for ram. and if you go 4x over minimum RAM requirements things run well usually....

adgray · #8 Post by **adgray** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:03 am

That is what I was thinking as well.

I am going to order the RAM and HD today. Does anyone have any suggestions on a good source for both the RAM and HD. Also part numbers would be appreciated.

-Dan

#9 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:46 am

I run my T30s with 1GB generic Samsung SODIMMs PC2700.
Usually buy them from user 'fastmemoryman' on eBay around $30-35 each.
http://cgi.ebay.com/SAMSUNG-SODIMM-1GB- ... 0073217055

Check our Marketplace forum for HDs.

100GB Hitachi 7K100
200GB Hitachi 7K200
Both are very popular but difficult to get.
Seagate, Western Digital (WD), Samsung Spinpoint are viable alternatives.

Website · #10 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:35 am

I had vista running on my R40 (2.2GHz, 1GB, 80GB 5400 rpm HD) and it ran "ok". The video on my R40 and your T30 are only going to get a "1" rating under the Vista Windows Experience rating...

By the way, if you need XP recovery disks for your T30, let me know...

jamnkats · #11 Post by **jamnkats** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:15 am

It looks like you're in the US, so I'd check Fry's (I've been to AZ and I'm not talking about the food store

) for RAM. They are having a rebate right now which gets you a 1GB stick for $20. Let me see if I can find the link...

Here are some comments on the deal http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread ... ht=crucial

and here is the link to the product
http://shop4.frys.com/product/4054652

#12 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:54 pm

Too late, Fry's sold out already.

adgray · #13 Post by **adgray** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:29 pm

Thanks for all of the input. This board is great. I will continue to update you on my progress. The next big hurdle is to get my wireless working again. I will update the wireless thread on that one.

-Dan

jamnkats · #14 Post by **jamnkats** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:52 pm

RealBlackStuff wrote:Too late, Fry's sold out already.

It has already sold out once before, so if you're really interested, give it a couple days and they'll probably be back in stock again.

Or you can get the Kingston for $10 more.

adgray · #15 Post by **adgray** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:52 pm

OK, here is the update.

I installed 2GB of Kingston Memory and it registers as 2GB.

If you don't know and you are interested in getting a snap shot of your system environment go to DOS and type "msinfo32".

I also ordered the Hitachi 7200 RPM HD. Its capacity will be 200GB.

I should be able to get a few more miles out of this T30 after I have installed and reloaded Vista. Not going to worry about ghost as I have not used it and would rather just start over. It will cost me about half a day.

-Dan

adgray · #16 Post by **adgray** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:53 pm

Signature updated to reflect new memory.

pianowizard · #17 Post by **pianowizard** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 3:43 pm

adgray wrote:I also ordered the Hitachi 7200 RPM HD. Its capacity will be 200GB.

If this is an internal HDD, it won't work because the T30 uses PATA drives. This 7200rpm 200GB drive is SATA.

If this is a USB drive, then it's okay, of course.

adgray · #18 Post by **adgray** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:44 pm

Oh No.

I guess I better call and cancel and start my search again.

thanks,

Dan

cont.....

I canceled the SATA and ordered a PATA. Had to drop to 5400RPM? not sure why. and to 120GB.

Anyway, should be more than enough for what I am doing. System is performing as well now as it did with XP so life is good.

Keep the info coming.

New to the Board.....Got some questions

New to the Board.....Got some questions

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