SelectaDock III questions

[Bookworm]

If I boot my 600X first, then dock it, that works, but if I dock it first, then turn it on, all it does is display the amount of RAM, then the screen goes blank, then the backlight turns off, then it shows the amount of RAM again, and keeps doing this. The same thing happens if I restart it when it's docked.

What's wrong?

The user's guide I downloaded from IBM says it came with either ten floppies or three floppies and a CD. All IBM has is a supplemental software disk, but it doesn't have all the drivers I need. Where can I buy or download the complete set? (I also need the 600X CD's)

[Harryc]

One of the early BIOS versions fixes a boot/hang condition while docked.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4SSPZ8

[pkiff]

A couple thoughts to add here.

First, this may be a Windows problem that is not really specific to your SelectaDock III. I recall fixing issues similar to this by fiddling with various XP files or settings. One thing that might be happening is that you are getting an error message but the system is rebooting before you can actually see the error message. You might try System Properties -> Startup and Recovery -> Advanced -> System failure: un-select the "Automatically restart" entry (if it isn't already unselected). (This setting can be changed when you boot up from undocked state and it will carry over to your docked config. Also, I think there may be at least one software update from Windows (not a BIOS update, but a patch to a system file) that addresses this specific problem in some installs of XP, so you might do some searching on the Microsoft site.

But if it is a SelectaDock III issue, then I have had very little success resolving the kind of problem where the system refuses to fully boot in the dock. I recall experiencing issues where the booting freezes up or just sits at one screen interminably and never being able to resolve that without removing the hardware profile entirely. The problem of having a system continually reboot, though, I recall possibly fixing in one or two cases (maybe?). What may be happening is that the system is caught in some kind of hardware profile endless loop where it is trying to boot up in one profile but then realizes that the hardware is different and so switches modes, re-POSTs, and then tries another profile, only to find that that profile is corrupted or not working for some reason. That is just a theory, though, I don't have any evidence that that is what is happening.

Some things to try:
- Try getting into the BIOS while docked
- There is some sort of QuickBoot setting in BIOS: try disabling that if it isn't already
- Try safe booting (possibly fiddle with one or two settings if you can get that far)
- Try pulling out the network card, plus any other extra cards/accessories that may be finicky
- Make sure you don't have any hibernation data stored -- i.e. if given the opportunity to wipe out your hibernation data during a reboot then go ahead and allow it to be wiped so that the system is not trying to read hibernation data from when you were undocked into a docked profile.

Lastly, the solution that I found would ALWAYS work if all else failed was to delete the docked hardware profile altogether, and then recreate the entire profile by booting up from cold while docked afresh.

The user's guide I downloaded from IBM says it came with either ten floppies or three floppies and a CD. All IBM has is a supplemental software disk, but it doesn't have all the drivers I need. Where can I buy or download the complete set? (I also need the 600X CD's)

I don't think there are any drivers at all. I think I may have got a floppy disk or two with one of my SelectaDocks (certainly not 10), but as I recall the disk(s) had nothing on them that weren't available elsewhere, and none of them contained any specific drivers JUST for the SelectaDock III.

If you are missing 600X drivers, they are all available through the driver matrix:
Drivers and software - ThinkPad 600, 600E, 600X

Good luck,

Phil.

[Bookworm]

> One of the early BIOS versions fixes a boot/hang condition while docked.

Would you believe that's the exact BIOS version I had? I updated it anyway. No change.

> One thing that might be happening is that you are getting an error message
> but the system is rebooting before you can actually see the error message.

It never even shows the ThinkPad logo. If it was a boot problem, I'd at least get to the Windows 2000 OS loader. All it does is check the keyboard and floppy drive, then start the whole mess over. Booting never starts.

> - Try getting into the BIOS while docked

I can't get that far.

> - There is some sort of QuickBoot setting in BIOS: try disabling that if it isn't
> already

It's disabled. No change. There's no network card and wake on LAN and boot from network are disabled.

> I don't think there are any drivers at all.

Then what's this?

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... SHY-3T4PRQ

> I think I may have got a floppy disk or two with one of my SelectaDocks
> (certainly not 10), but as I recall the disk(s) had nothing on them that
> weren't available elsewhere, and none of them contained any specific drivers
> JUST for the SelectaDock III.

Read this:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... WIK-3ZML7D

When I dock it, it detects, and tries to install drivers for, a "VGA device" an "Other PCI bridge device" and an "Other PCI device". The drivers are not on the options disk at the link above, or the Windows 2000 CD.

[pkiff]

Ha, ha!..well, I guess my information is incomplete, given that I don't recall seeing all those diskettes!

I see that I have a copy of that Options file on my hard drive, but don't recall if I ever created a disk with it or not. It appears that the options diskette is a diagnostic diskette, though, not a driver diskette (assuming it is similar to the SelectaDock II diskette):
How to run the diagnostics - SelectaDock II

Maybe the diagnostics will help you?

I don't recall if I ever set up a 600X under Win 2000 with a SelectaDock III, and so perhaps there are issues there that I am unaware of. I have set up a 770E with Win2000, though, and I've set up several 600X's in various configurations in both Win98SE and XP SP2. None of them require any drivers that are not available from the Windows install CDs or from the Lenovo driver matrix. And in general, Win 2000 I think has all the drivers that you need to run a 600X right out of the box -- there are updates to many of them, but the initial drivers that you need to get everything working should all already be there.

Possibly those disks that are mentioned in the user manual are various updates/upgrades for OS/2 or Win95 or for other Thinkpads and not the 600X. Or they are device drivers for various items which have since been superseded by improved drivers for the 600X. The 600X isn't even mentioned in the user guide, and wasn't even released yet when the SelectaDock III first came out, so I doubt that any of the files on those disks are necessary for it, even if I don't know what they are(!).

Have you got Win 2000 working correctly when undocked? It certainly should be able to locate standard VGA drivers, and those PCI references are to the PCI bridge and/or the PCMCIA and USB ports, all of which should have compatible drivers built in to Win 2000. If you are running into errors relating to not finding drivers like that, then that is different than an endless reboot cycle. That sounds like an installation problem. Make sure that you select the right disks or install folders when (if!) given a choice about where to look for drivers -- sometimes you have to manually redirect the hardware configuration wizard to search for drivers in C:/Windows/System or .../System32 or somewhere similar.

So now it is no longer endlessly rebooting, and you have a new problem that it can't find all the necessary drivers? Or is it also endlessly rebooting after throwing up messages about not finding drivers? It really should find all the drivers it needs in Win 2000. Maybe it's because I used SP4? Are you using a Win 2000 SP4 CD? Is this otherwise a standard Win2000 install? I assume that you didn't use 600X Win 2000 recovery disks.

And I would still not rule out a Windows software problem, unrelated to the fact that you are trying to use the SelectaDock III.

Sorry I can't be more help,

Phil.