My T22 2647 fx1 doesn't exist

[matty]

I want to download some new drivers for my T22 and I have had problems finding reference to my model number 2647-fx1.
Does anyone have a link to a sheet of all models? maybe it was released as an educational or government unit...
I bought it from a guy on craigslist about 6months ago. I have no idea who he was or where he got the laptop. But it works great.

[JaneL]

Did you check the FAQ?

[matty]

Just checked tawbook. the 2647-FX1 is not listed.
this is what is there:
M2U
M3U
M4U
M5U
M6U
N5U
N6U
also:
3CU-AEU
The thinkpad driver site seems to have more models listed as well, so the tawbook.pdf is not a complete list of all models produced.

[NathanA]

Matty,

Your 2647-FX1 is an "IBM Factory Refurbished" machine, like the ones referred to in this thread:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=6709

You can tell this is so because instead of the model number ending in a letter to designate which country it was manufactured to sell in, it ends in a number.

I do know that the refurb model numbers always correspond to a specific "real" model number, but I don't know where one looks to find out what model a 2647-FX1, for example, *really* is.

What you *can* do, though, is to forget about the TABOOK (it doesn't list the refurbs) and go to the IBM PC Support web site at:

http://www.pc.ibm.com/support/

In the "Quick find" field, enter in 2647FX1, and voila! it will take you to the support page for your laptop and even tell you what the specs are. If you need drivers, this is where you download them from.

-- Nathan

[matty]

thanks Nathan, I put the model in there once and got nothing. IBM's site is a little confusing with all the driver matrices and multiple places to get the same information.
I tried once to get the automatic driver update program going, but that proved to be confusing also. Cant they just make a one stop shop for updates a la windowsupdate?
Don't get me wrong, I'm a tech pro, but time is money, and the less time I spend looking for a driver, the better.

[JaneL]

>Cant they just make a one stop shop for updates a la windowsupdate?
>

Sort of like item #2 in the FAQ?

[matty]

Actually, No.

www.tpdrivers.com takes you to a site where you
1. click your model number
2. Choose from 18 different categories
3. click the download version
4. click the .exe file
5. accept the licensing agreement
5a. uncheck the "Use IBM Download Director" Checkbox (crashed my firefox, and doesnt save me any time in windows)
6. Click to run or save the file to your disk
6a. don't forget to accept the license agreement.
7. open the file and choose a place to extract downloaded files
8. finish the installer/extractor program
9. navigate to your chosen driver folder
10. run setup for the chosen driver
11. reboot.

there, now I have installed my latest trackpoint driver. ooh, i cant wait to install my video driver next.

Thinkpadupdate.ibm.com would go something like this:
1. go to the site
2. accept running of java or activex control that detects your model number and all versions of all drivers already installed.
3. click the checkboxes of new drivers that you want to install.
4. download all of the drivers in one click
5. install all of the drivers in one click
6. reboot.

note that the 11 steps to install trackpoint driver is required again to install video driver. I guess you can use the multiple file download, but how are you supposed to remember that spsukz34.exe is the BIOS and 1rku08ww.exe is the... can you guess? power management!
Oh, and then you run the extraction and you get more cryptic file and folder names such as C:\DRIVERS\WIN\IBMPM unless you manually specify a folder name.

Maybe I'm missing something else, www.tpdrivers.com is helpful, but i'm looking for something that actually makes me feel like i'm saving time. driver installation should be completely painless for a consumer product.

On another note, I make my living because things like this are impossible for most people to comprehend. so, thats fine by me. It just makes me mad when I have to spend my personal time updating drivers. But maybe I'm just impatient.