R32 Ultrabay problem

[ChrisJ9876]

I have an R32 that I'm refurbing for a friend. I restored XP Pro from the recovery partition, updated to SP2 then SP3, plus Windows updates to date. Updated video, modem, battery maximizer & power management drivers.
I have 2 minor issues remaining: 1-the battery is dead, and the battery info says it's not installed. The indicator blinks orange. I assume that this will be resolved when I get the new battery which I have on order.
The other issue is with the ultrabay. CDRW/DVD-rom is installed & working properly, but I don't have the "safe removal" button in the systray. If I open the latch to remove it, it beeps (repeating sequence of 3 short beeps). If I remove the drive & put it back in, Windows doesn't see it until I do a re-scan in Device Manager. Tried plugging in a different drive - same results. Could this, in some wierd way, be related to the battery issue? If not.....????? (Note: I plugged in a USB flash drive as a test, and the "safe removal" button appeared, but only listed the flash drive as a removal candidate.)

[RealBlackStuff]

R32 is not really a Thinkpad.
It was built by Acer, and has some different hardware from the 'regular' IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads.
It should be using Ultrabay Plus devices, but can also handle UB 2000.
Maybe try to install the Intel chipset drivers?

[ajkula66]

My experience with ThinkPads of this generation is that all of them behave in the given manner when one tries to remove the device from the bay...

And, as RBS pointed out, R32 (as well as R30/31/40/e) is a weird-duck, Acer-built unit. As long as they behave, they're decent machines for their vintage. Once they start having a mind of their own, I trash them. Seriously.

Avoid running the machine with a dead battery installed, since it may damage the charging circuit on the motherboard.

Good luck.

[ChrisJ9876]

Yep, I did the chipset drivers too. Only thing I haven't updated is the BIOS, and I can't do that 'till I get the new battery (it won't let me).
RE: UltraBay Plus vs 2000 - the drive is a '2000' but that's what it came with from the factory. Seems like it should be ok.

[ChrisJ9876]

New battery installed & working properly, BIOS updated, new multi-burner installed (replaced cdrw/dvd-rom). Ultrabay behaves the same as before, so I guess it's just an R32 oddity. Works ok otherwise. If anybody out there has a R32, does yours behave the same?

[RealBlackStuff]

A lot of money invested in a machine you can pick up on eBay for $40.-.....