Stupid Question.... (Intel B/G adapter)

[Steve007]

If I buy the Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG M-PCI adapter (the non IBM p/n branded card) will it work ok in a T42?

I need to buy one for a friend and I've seen a couple of used cards going very cheap but I'm sure I remember reading some time ago that only IBM supplied cards (p/n 73P2802) would work

[dfumento]

You would have to do a CMOS hack if you don't use the IBM part number. In my view, not worth the trouble. I'd just get an IBM part.

[Jonathan Cordery]

I bought an IBM a/b/g wireless card for my T41p and it didn't work. The system can't see it, it doesn't even appear in the device manager - and yes it is installed properly, I must have taken out and put it in about 5 times now. The main and aux connectors are not damaged and are connected correctly.

The existing crap Intel b card does, however, still appear in the device manager and even when it isn't even in the machine the device manager states that it is working properly!

So the fact that the card isn't IBM 'approved' doesn't mean it won't work. Yours, Steve007, will no doubt work perfectly!

[Flightvector]

I am not really sure what you are trying to say Jonathan. If I presume right, you are trying to say that non-IBM approved cards will work, but even your existing Intel miniPCI cards are IBM approved. The cards that are not registered in the BIOS don't just result in the system not seeing the card, but rather, the system will plainly refuse to boot at all with an 1802 error. Since it appears you did not get this error, this indicates that your card is probably not installed properly. You should make sure that you update the BIOS, uninstall the old component drivers and install the drivers for your new card, since these are not necessarily plug and play items.

As long as you have a current BIOS, all the IBM approved FRU parts will work when properly installed. If it is a generic 2200BG, you would probably need to hack the BIOS, those instructions can be readily found in this forum.