T60 can't boot with wlan card installed

[svejgaard]

Hello.
I have a Lenovo T60 2007-FUG, which have been working very well until for about a month ago. I were on a vacation for a week, and when i arrived back home my laptop wasn't able to boot.
It shows the start screen with the Lenovo logo and also my boot loader, but afterwards it just stop. When I try to boot up Win7 it stops when the first pixels from the Microsoft logo is shown. When I try to boot up Fedora 15 it stops when the boot loader has gone and only a blinking marker is shown in the top left corner.

I read on a forum that the wlan card in the T60 can make some troubles, and tried to boot without the wlan card installed in the computer. Now I am able to boot into Fedora, but I have no wlan. Therefore I bought the Atheros AR9281 wlan card and installed it in my laptop, but now the situation is the exact same as before, I can't boot at all.

I read that some wlan card aren't supported by the BIOS in Thinkpads - is this the problem in my case, or have you any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance, I realy appreciate your help!

Andreas

[Peak2Peak]

I read that some wlan card aren't supported by the BIOS in Thinkpads

Your Atheros AR9281 wlan card is not one that is supported by the T60's BIOS whitelist - You will need to get around the BIOS whitelist.

[svejgaard]

But wouldn't I get an error then?
And do you think I will solve my problem if I buy a new original wlan card?

[Peak2Peak]

But wouldn't I get an error then?

In theory yes, a non-authorised WLAN card should normally give error code: 1802.

[Johan]

Andreas:

Welcome to the forum!

Just to be sure that I understand your problem correctly: Did you make any changes to your T60 after getting back from vacation (such as e.g. installing a new OS, performing any Windows Update(s), adding new HW of some kind?), or was the T60 in precisely the same HW & SW configuration "after vacation" as "before vacation"? If you didn't change anything, and your T60 worked perfectly before going on vacation, but not after coming back - then it could sound as if something has broken down?

In any case, this reply just to let you know that I am using an Atheros-based WLAN interface in a couple of T60's (these running Windows 7 Home Premium), and that this (Ar5424 AR5BXB6) Atheros-based card works with no problems.. the FRU is 39T5578 and you can get it on eBay (as new) from around $10 (incl. shipping to gool ol' Dannevang!) - see e.g. here.

PS: If you want to significantly speed up your T60, and if you haven't alreaty got it, then I suggest that you get yourself a SSD (solid-state drive)... man, you won't regret it!

Johan

[svejgaard]

But I get no error code :/

@Johan: Thank you very much!
The computer worked perfectly before my vacation. And then it couldn't start when I came home. It was exactly as before. The computer has been stored in a room with normal conditions such as temperature and so on.

Something may have broken down, but it's weird that the computer works without the wlan card (or disabled wlan in BIOS) - Actually I'm writing on it right now connected trough an internet cable.

How can this card be that cheap? xD I'm going to order it right now, and hope that it will cure my thinkpad. And the BIOS support this card?

Thanks for the advice. I will consider to buy a SSD for the machine It was just too expensive last time I upgraded my hard drive.

Andreas.

[J888www]

How can this card be that cheap?

Most people who upgrade the wireless cards tend to opt for Wireless N , http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320730088774? ... 1423.l2649 , in my case it's for a T60p. You may wish to check on compatibility for T60. The SSD, I surmise, is a must.