Do I have a T42 or T43?

[wildson]

Hi there, my BIOS told me I have a 2668 which is a T43 (so does the printed T43 at my bottom right screen). Even the Crucial website autodetects that I have a 2668, and recommended a DDR2 ram. But when I received the DDR2 ram, it just would NOT "physically" fit. I ended up buying DDR1 PC2700 RAM (same as the existing one), and succeessfully upgraded to 2GB in total.

I am confused, since all the threads I read, said T43 takes DDR2 Ram <period>. BTW, I bought this T43 in the after market.

Is there a significant different in motherboard between T42 and T43? i.e. does T43 has a physically SATA-PATA chipset sitting on the mobo? In short, is there an effective way to confirm my thinkpad model? (cause, my next step is updgrading my hdd, and you all know the mess if it's a T43.)

Thanks in advance.

[richk]

It sounds like a T42 motherboard stuck into a T43 case. Whoever did the "repair" changed the model/ serial in the motherboard eeprom to deceive the owner. What CPU shows up in the bios?

[sarbin]

to confirm what Rich is likely on target about...
get cpu-z from www.cpuid.com, run it and see what it shows for the front side bus.
the t43 planar has a 533mhz fsb. i believe the t42 has a 400mhz fsb.

[burns334]

Sarbin, I like that little utility it was just what I was looking for but now I get to the question. My T42, 2379 DXU using cpuid shows that it has a Pentium M 1.7 Ghz processor and a core speed (FSB) of 598.1 Mhz but when I go into my "system file" it says 1.7 Mhz and 209 Mhz, the machine seems very normal, do I have a problem?

[sarbin]

does it say "598.1" in the lower left hand box, "rated fsb", of the "clocks" section on the first tab?
if you're seeing "598.1" in the "core speed" box of the same section, that's pretty normal as the P-M chips change speed adaptively according to load or power plan. crank up something intensive, check it again and please report back.

[wildson]

Thanks Sarbin for the quick response. The CPU-Z showed my that my fsb is 399.7 MHz, and my cpu is Pentium M755 2.00GHz. BIOS version is v3.21 ws v3.04 for the EC.

So, I think it all point towards it might be a T42.

However, I still don't understand why it the model shows up to be 2668-45U, which is a T43. Eitherway, now my question would be if I'm to update my BIOS should I go for the T42's?

Thanks a lot. People in this forum rocks!

[ajkula66]

To update the BIOS and not risk bricking the machine, you'll have to enter the correct model number information in BIOS, which can only be done by a Hardware Maintenance diskette. That's how the crook changed the data in the first place.

Theoretically - and legally - this disk is proprietary and should only be used by Lenovo and their approved service partners...

My thoughts would go along the lines of returning the machine if possible, and getting a real thing. Or parting it out and buying a ThinkPad from a reliable source...

Good luck.

[sarbin]

^^^
sage advice!

[burns334]

Sabin, I was looking in the wrong box. I guess my real question is "what do the numbers in the system file mean. Processor speed is easy but what is the second number? Should it match the FSB number in cpuid?

[sarbin]

please clarify what you mean by the "system file"?
thx

[burns334]

The system file in the control panel or right click my computer then properties in the General tab.