SPONSORED LINKS
This is the current status of the new Thinkpad FAQ. Although it's
not complete, I think it's important for me to get this updated
copy out. If anyone has problems with a message of this size, let
me know, and I'll cut it into pieces.
Also notice the missing information. Much of it is simply not
finished (and some of it can even be found in the old FAQ) so
do not mail me missing information yet. I will mail a list of
questions which I do not know the answers to soon after the final
FAQ is nearer to completion. Also notice that the general notebook
questions (such as how do you clean a screen and is there a battery
memory effect) have been moved to another FAQ which I'm also working
on -- a general notebook FAQ.
But I do encourage you to send me any questions that you think
belong in the FAQ.
======================================================================
IBM THINKPAD SERIES FAQ
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Maintained by Sean Chou (schou@uiuc.edu)
Disclaimer: I am not an IBM employee and do not represent IBM in any
manner. Although I try to be as accurate as possible, I cannot
guarantee the accuracy of this information. The Thinkpad mail list
and I do not claim any responsibility for whatever may occur as a
result of this FAQ.
The organization of this FAQ is major parts centered and separated
by dashes, sections separated by dashes with the section head in all
capital letters with the subhead in standard type.
======================================================================
SECTION HEADINGS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A. FAQ Info
B. Hardware
C. Audio and Multimedia
D. Expansion
E. Operating Systems
F. Known Problems
G. Where To Go For:
======================================================================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A. FAQ Info
A.1. What does does this FAQ cover?
A.2. Where can I get this FAQ?
A.3. Who maintains this FAQ?
A.4. When was it last updated?
B. Hardware
B.1. Machine Specs and General
B.1.1. What are the various Thinkpads?
B.1.2. What CPUs do Thinkpads use?
B.1.3. What are the dimensions and how much do they weigh?
B.1.4. Is the floppy/hard drive/battery removable?
B.1.5. How easy is it to take out the floppy, hard drive, and
battery?
B.1.6. Is there a reset button?
B.1.7. Can I shut off the hard drive while leaving the screen
on?
B.1.8. Why are the keyboard letters and symbols are starting to
come off.
B.1.9. How can I secure my Thinkpad?
B.1.10. How do I get rid of the password I set in BIOS?
B.1.11. Can I format high density (2MB) floppies to 2.88mb?
B.1.12. What's Thinkpad proven?
B.2. Trackpoint
B.2.1. What's the Trackpoint I, II, and III?
B.2.2. How durable are the Trackpoints?
B.2.3. How can I improve the grip of the Trackpoint II?
B.2.4. What can I do about the Trackpoint II "drifting"?
B.2.5. Can I increase the speed of the Trackpoint under OS/2?
B.3. Power Management and Battery
B.3.1. How are the power management and other BIOS features
accessed?
B.3.2. What type of battery does it use and what's the average
battery life?
B.3.3. Can I shut off the screen's lighting to prolong battery
life?
B.3.4. Is it possible to completely turn off the screen of the
TP750 to save battery power but still use the unit?
B.3.5. Is it possible to "hot-swap" my batteries?
B.3.6. How do I suspend?
B.3.7. What is hibernation? How do I hibernate? Does it work?
B.3.8. Can I turn off that annoying/embarasing beeping noise
when my TP750 goes into hibernation?
B.3.9. How can I read the battery capacity from a program?
B.3.10. Do the Thinkpads all use the same batteries?
B.4. Video and Screen
B.4.1. What's the Active Black matrix?
B.4.2. Is it normal for the TFT screen to look faded out when
viewed from an angle?
B.4.3. I don't like how the screen dims when it's unplugged.
B.4.4. What video chips do the Thinkpads use?
B.4.5. What are the various screen size?
B.4.6. Is the monochrome screen upgradeable?
B.4.7. When I turn on my Thinkpad, I get a flickering effect
for a while and then it goes away. What's wrong?
B.4.8. How can I prevent my screen from looking "squished" when
I'm running in graphics mode?
B.5. PCMCIA (see PCMCIA file)
B.5.1. What PCMCIA modems have been used successfully?
B.5.2. What PCMCIA network cards have been used successfully?
B.5.3. What other PCMCIA cards have been used successfully?
B.5.4. My PCMCIA light stays on all the time.
B.5.5. How do I get my PCMCIA devices to work?
B.5.6. Can I use my flashcard from my Palmtop or Newon?
B.6. Pentop (TP750P only)
B.7. MWave card
B.7.1. What is the MWave card?
B.7.2. Where do I get the updates?
C. Audio and Multimedia
C.1. General Questions
C.1.1. What audio chips do the Thinkpads use?
C.1.2. How is the multimedia component?
C.1.3. What are the exact measurements for the audio line-in
and line-out?
C.1.4. Is the built-in speaker used for all sounds?
C.2. Crystal Semiconductors
C.2.1. What is the crystal semiconductor audio chip?
C.2.2. What machines use the crystal semiconductors audio chip?
C.2.3. What drivers are available for the crystal semiconductor
audio chip?
C.2.4. Is there a text-to-speech utility?
C.2.5. How do I get my games working with the sound?
C.3. MWave Card (Audio only)
C.3.1. What is the MWave card's audio component like?
C.3.2. What machines use the MWave card?
C.3.3. What drivers are out for the MWave card?
C.3.4. How do I get my games working with the sound?
C.4. CD-ROM
C.4.1. How can I get a CD-ROM connected to my Thinkpad?
D. Expansion
D.1. Ports and Docks
D.1.1. What external connections does it have?
D.1.2. Does it have a dock or port replicator?
D.1.3. How do I use the EPP port?
D.1.4. A device which is connected to my serial port doesn't
work.
D.1.5. What type of SCSI connector does the dock II have?
D.1.6. How can I get a SCSI connection to my TP?
D.2. Memory
D.2.1. What's the maximum RAM?
D.2.2. What's the difference between DRAM and DIMM chips?
D.3. Hard Drive and Floppy Drive
D.3.1. What hard drive sizes are available?
D.3.2. Is the removable hard drive a standard 2.5" hard drive?
D.3.3. Can I get a third party hard drive?
D.3.4. What are the specs for the floppy dirve?
D.3.5. What do I do with my old hard drive after I've upgraded?
E. Operating Systems
E.1. DOS
E.1.1. Can I move the IBMVESA directory?
E.1.2. How do I get more memory with the PCMCIA drivers loaded?
E.1.3. Why do I keep getting serial transfer errors?
E.1.4. Why do I keep having problems with QEMM and my TP750
machine?
E.1.5. Why is WordPerfect for DOS is crashing my machine?
E.1.6. What DOS games work with the Crystal Semiconductor
audio chip?
E.1.7. What DOS games definately do NOT work with the Crystal
Semiconductor audio chip?
E.1.8. How do I get my game to work with the Crystal
Semicondutor audio chip?
E.2. Windows
E.2.1. How can I stop getting "out of memory" errors?
E.2.2. When I exit Windows, my system crashes suddenly.
E.2.3. How can I comment out audio in my system.ini?
E.2.4. Can I use the 32-bit disk access and 32-bit file access?
E.3. Windows NT
E.3.1. Does it run?
E.3.2. What limitations are there to running NT?
E.4. OS/2
E.4.1. Does Warp work with the Thinkpads?
E.4.2. Why are my seamless windows messed up?
E.4.3. How do I change resolutions on my external display?
E.4.4. Can I use my PCMCIA device under OS/2?
E.4.5. Why doesn't suspend work?
E.4.6. Why do MIDI files keep crashing my system?
E.4.7. How do I get a MIDI file and system sounds to work
together?
E.4.8. How can I make the pointer more visible?
E.4.9. Does the TP750 support the IBM ScreenReader 2 program to
provide speech access to OS/2 for blind users?
E.4.10. Why does my machine crash when I come out of suspend?
E.4.11. How do I increase the speed of cursor tracking?
E.4.12. How can I use my whole screen in an OS/2 full screen
box without vertical expansion?
E.4.13. How do I hibernate under OS/2?
E.5. Linux
E.6. Other
E.6.1. Does NetBSD work? (How to make NetBSD hobble along)
E.6.2. Does SCO Xenix work?
E.6.3. Any other OS's?
F. Known Problems
G. Where To Go For:
G.1. Drivers
G.1.1. What are the latest drivers?
G.1.2. Where can I get them?
G.2. Release notes
G.2.1. Where can I get the latest IBM release notes?
G.3. Technical help
G.3.1. What's a good source of tech info for the TP750's?
G.3.2. What documentation is there on the TP750?
G.3.3. Is there any on-line documentation?
G.3.4. How do I know what is Thinkpad proven?
======================================================================
THE FAQ PROPER
======================================================================
A. FAQ INFO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A.1. What does does this FAQ cover?
This FAQ covers the Thinkpads dating from the introduction of the
Thinkpad 750 series. To the writing of this FAQ, this includes the
TP750, TP750Cs, TP750C, TP750CE, TP750P, TP360, TP360Cs, TP360C,
TP755, TP755Cs, TP755C, TP755CE, TP755CsE, and TP755CD.
A.2. Where can I get this FAQ?
It can be ftp'ed from the "official TP Mail List ftp site" provided
generously by Chris Hanson at:
ftp-swiss.ai.mit.edu
in the directory /pub/thinkpad/faq
A.3. Who maintains this FAQ?
Sean Chou. Email me at schou@uiuc.edu with any corrections or
comments.
A.4. When was it last updated?
======================================================================
B.1. HARDWARE: Machine Specs and General
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B.1.1. What are the various Thinkpads?
Model CPU Screen Notes
------- --------- ------------------ ----------------------
TP750 SL/33 9.5" mono
TP750Cs SL/33 9.5" dual scan
TP750C SL/33 10.4" active
TP750CE DX2/50 10.4" active Limited circulation
TP750P SL/33 9.5" mono Pen-top model
TP360 SX/33 9.5" mono
TP360Cs SX/33 9.5" dual scan
TP360C SX/33 9.5" active
TP360CsE DX2/50 9.5" dual scan Mwave
TP360CE DX2/50 9.5" active Mwave
TP755 DX2/50 DX4 9.5" mono
TP755Cs DX2/50 DX4 9.5" dual scan
TP755C DX2/50 DX4 10.4" active
TP755CsE DX4 9.5" dual scan Mwave
TP755CE DX4 10.4" black active Mwave
TP755CD DX4 10.4" black active Mwave; internal CD-ROM
B.1.2. What CPUs do Thinkpads use?
See B.1.1. The 486SL/33 chip is a 3.3 volt CPU that DOES include
a floating point unit (coprocessor). The DX4 machines are
upgradeable to DX4/100.
B.1.3. What are the dimensions and how much do they weigh?
B.1.4. Is the floppy/hard drive/battery removable?
Yes, and furthermore, the floppy can be replaced by a number of
other modules. IBM has a cellular modem and TV adapter available.
They have also made the specs available in hopes that third party
developers will make new modules although I know of none to date.
B.1.5. How easy is it to take out the floppy, hard drive, and
battery?
This is one of the "neatest" features of the TP750 series. The
keyboard flips up like a car hood and everything is accesible.
I've even tried it with the machine on with no ill-effects
(although the machine does auto-suspend). You can change batteries
without shutting down simply by lifting the keyboard and switching
batteries (a built- in NiCad battery will keep it powered while
changing batteries).
B.1.6. Is there a reset button?
Yes, it's between the video port and dock port in the back of the
machine. Get a paper clip and push the button in the hole.
Tim Noonan reported an interesting piece of information to me. I
would appreciate any confirmations for or against this: "I can't
easily confirm this, but it seems like that if your config.sys or
autoexec is totally stuffed that the resent buton can temporarily
load from ROM resident versions of these files. I wondered why my
machine was booting into windows after using the reset button while
my autoexec.bat file had windows remmed out."
B.1.7. Can I shut off the hard drive while leaving the screen
on?
Why would I want to do that? Well, because you can save a TON of
battery life by not using the hard drive. Also, you can enjoy
deathly silence.
There's multiple ways to concievably do this. One is to set the
timer so that the hard drive spins down after a short amount of
time (while your screen stays on).
John Kim has suggested using RAM drive when using small programs
(or if you have a lot of RAM). On a similar note, you can always
use a PCMCIA Flash RAM in place of the hard-drive.
Joe Bormel stumbled upon a nice trick. There is a shareware
program called COLAP (short for color laptop utility) that runs in
DOS or a dos box in windows on dos. It has an option for toshiba
machines, /T, that enables you, even on the tp750, to press
RIGHT-SHIFT with DEL keys to turn off the hard disk. In addition,
it can dim or brighten the VGA screen by altering vga color
pallate. Joe has reported that this works under OS/2 as well in a
DOS box.
And, Tim Noonan points out that using a cache helps to reduce hard
drive access significantly.
B.1.8. Why are the keyboard letters and symbols are starting to
come off.
This is a problem some of the Thinkpad 750 series had. The
keyboard paint was apparently sensitive to certain elements and
would eventually get rubbed off. If you possess one of these
keyboards, contact IBM for a new keyboard.
B.1.9. How can I secure my Thinkpad?
There are power-on and management passwords, as well as a hard
drive password, which are effective in keeping people out of your
info.
There is a security loop that is located on the hard drive which
can be used to secure the computer to a table or some other
location.
Also, Randy Whittle has suggested a motion detector which was
designed for the Thinkpads that will sound off a loud alarm if
armed. It can be set to various time delays, alarm times, etc.
You can reach the makers at:
SonicPro International, Inc.
5201 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408) 982-2568
Finally, and perhaps ultimately, Martin Smith (and many others,
including myself) whole-heartedly recommend SafeWare. For $250 per
year, they will insure you up to $10,000 for your computer,
peripherals, and software. Insuring computers is all they do.
Their number is 1-800-848-3469. or 1-614-262-0559. Also, if you
think that your home insurance covers you, better call them up and
make sure since many companies do NOT cover computers (especially
if used for business purposes).
B.1.10. How do I get rid of the password I set in BIOS?
Type in your password with a space after it.
B.1.11. Can I format high density (2MB) floppies to 2.88mb?
Yes, but it's at your own risk. I've done it and a number of
others have done it with no problems. However, there have also
been reports of data loss with bad sectors forming after a period
of extended use.
B.1.12. What's Thinkpad proven?
It's an IBM-implemented program to test items for their
compatibility with Thinkpad machines. You can get the list from
======================================================================
B.2. HARDWARE: Trackpoint
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B.2.1. What's the Trackpoint I, II, and III?
B.2.2. How durable are the Trackpoints?
I use my machine for about four-five hours a day on the average in
OS/2 which is very mouse intensive. I've had no problems with it
in the long time I've had it. I did, however, recently replace the
rubber cap with a new one (the old one was just getting too mushy).
However, Bruce Reed has reported that one of his friends managed to
break his Trackpoint II after playing X-Wing intensively and
agressively for 3 weeks. The device did not physically break, but
it just stopped functioning. Needless to say, don't do anything
silly like that. Get a joystick or external mouse.
Yet again, OTOH, Stanley Wasserman had a Thinkpad 720 which he
owned for about a year. He let his two kids play with it and it
never gave out.
The Trackpoint II does however drift slightly on occasion. This is
normal and due to the way the TPII handles movement (or maybe
recalibrate?).
B.2.3. How can I improve the grip of the Trackpoint II?
IBM has said that the "cat's tongue" tip for the Trackpoint III
will also work with the Trackpoint II. This tip has a rougher feel
so that you get improved traction.
A number of people on the mailing list have said that they the
stuff that people use to make their fingers sticky so that they can
turn pages faster (or count money).
If your tip is very old, it will also get mushier and lose it's
form. Try using a new tip.
B.2.4. What can I do about the Trackpoint II "drifting"?
There is nothing wrong with your Trackpoint. This is normal and
appears to be the way the Thinkpad recalibrates the Trackpoints.
B.2.5. Can I increase the speed of the Trackpoint under OS/2?
1) Get a copy of Rodent v1.00 or higher.
2) Modify your config.sys to look something like the following,
DEVICE=C:\OS2\MDOS\VMOUSE.SYS
DEVICE=C:\OS2\BOOT\POINTDD.SYS
DEVICE=C:\OS2\BOOT\RODENT.SYS RESPONSE=2 DPI=640 MOUSE=PS RATE=20
DEVICE=C:\OS2\BOOT\MOUSE.SYS TYPE=RODENT$
REM DEVICE=C:\OS2\BOOT\MOUSE.SYS
3) Tune the rate, dpi and response switches to suit your tastes.
4) Send money to the author of Rodent.
5) Send Scott Stratmoen thanks for finding the solution.
He also adds that you may want to tune the tracking speed in
windows via the normal Windows method.
However, note that there has been mention that this might cause
problems with your APM under Warp. Let me know if anyone figures
this out.
======================================================================
HARDWARE: Power Management and Battery
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B.3.1. How are the power management and other BIOS features
accessed?
"Some, like power-up passwords are only available through the
EasySetup mode accessed by pressing F1 during a power-up. This is
a GUI system with a range of hardware configuration options.
"Most power management features can be accessed at DOS in Windows
and under OS/2. In addition to menu access under dos using the PS2
program, full command line access for all settings is available.
PS2 -? and one of the appendixes in the Reference manual document
most of these commands."
-Tim Noonan
B.3.2. What type of battery does it use and what's the average
battery life?
The Thinkpads use a Nickel Metal-Hydride (NiMH) smart battery.
These batteries adjust their expected "time left" based on past
usage history. I'm not sure if the Thinkpads use the same
batteries though.
Please see the roadwarrior FAQ for questions regarding battery
memory effect, longevity, and other general notebook battery
questions.
The average battery life differs depending on your use. However,
average battery lives are reported below for various models:
TP750
TP750C
B.3.3. Can I shut off the screen's lighting to prolong battery
life?
Nope. That would require a transflective panel which none of the
Thinkpads feature. (Apparently, a transflective panel would be
much less bright than a normal LCD of comparable power consumption
since the reflecting part would absorb the backlight.) - Ken Inoue
B.3.4. Is it possible to completely turn off the screen of the
TP750 to save battery power but still use the unit?
Through the ps2 set-up program it is possible to disable the LCD
screen if an external VGA monitor is connected.
If you don't want to have an external screen connected, however,
for example if you are using your ThinkPad with a speech
synthesiser, then type "PS2 cover off" at the DOS prompt.
This disables the resume function of the switch to the right rear
of the unit that is depressed by the screen when its closed. This
setting stops the unit from suspending but still disables the
screen for improved battery life.
It is best to use a small strip of cardboard in the slot where this
small switch is situated to disable the screen.
You may wish to use the "ps2 sound off" command to stop the various
beeps that are generated by depression of the cover switch. If you
don't do this you will hear a beep each time the unit realises the
cover switch is depressed.
-Tim Noonan
B.3.5. Is it possible to "hot-swap" my batteries?
Yes, if you are having problems, then you are probably pulling out
your battery too fast. After lifting the keyboard, wait for a few
seconds (the screen blanking does NOT mean the Thinkpad has gone
into suspend yet) before swapping batteries.
-Randy Whittle
Also note that if the ps2 cover switch setting is set to off that
lifting the keyboard will not suspend the machine (this also allows
you to shut or disable the screen without shutting the computer
off).
-Tim Noonan
B.3.6. How do I suspend?
You can use software, the FN+F4 button, or push the little button
on the right edge of the machine just above the area between the
PCMCIA slots and PS/2 connector.
B.3.7. What is hibernation? How do I hibernate? Does it work?
Hibernation is an ultra power-conserving state. First, a
hibernation file is built that is equal to the size of your RAM
plus one meg. When you want to hibernate, hit Fn+F12. All the
info in RAM is saved onto disk and the machine shuts off. Next
time you start up, it starts where you left off.
In theory, it's a great idea; however, execution has proven to be
more thorny. Hibernation has been one of the buggier areas in all
Thinkpad models on all operating systems.
B.3.8. Can I turn off that annoying/embarasing beeping noise
when my TP750 goes into hibernation?
Yes, go to the Sound applet under OS/2 or Windows and click on the
'Power Control Beep' under the Alarms section. Under DOS, use th
PS2.EXE program and go to sound options and click on the 'Power
Control Beep' option or type 'PS2 beep off'.
B.3.9. How can I read the battery capacity from a program?
"One way to do this in DOS is to use APM BIOS. The APM
specification version 1.1 (by Intel et al.) is on CompuServe
PLUGPLAY forum; the 750 supports version 1.0 but if I remember
correctly the battery status interface should be the same between
1.0 and 1.1. Please be careful about some of the APM BIOS calls
that control system power state, as improper use of these calls can
result in system crash (the APM BIOS calls were not meant to be
used by two power managers). I am afraid that currently there is
no easy way to do this in OS/2 without interfering with the
operation of the standard power manager."
-Ken Inoue
B.3.10. Do the Thinkpads all use the same batteries?
Good question. Someone?
======================================================================
HARDWARE: Video and Screen
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B.4.1. What's the Active Black matrix?
What's the official description of this?
B.4.2. Is it normal for the TFT screen to look faded out when
viewed from an angle?
Yes, especially when viewed from above or below the optimal level.
It's not nearly as bad to view the screen from the sides as it is
to view it from above or below.
B.4.3. I don't like how the screen dims when it's unplugged.
There's an undocumented switch for the PS2.EXE program to control
brightness levels. It's 'PS2 BR N' for normal (plugged) brightness
and 'PS2 BR E' for the economic brightness. Various users have
reported a battery life loss of anywhere from 15-20 minutes less to
30 minutes less. This switch was first reported to me by Andrew
Houghton.
B.4.4. What video chips do the Thinkpads use?
Thinkpads, like most notebooks, use the Western Digital 90C24
chipset, aka "Rocket", not to be confused with the Western Digital
90C31, which is their top-line chipset and also nicknamed "Rocket".
They are both accelerated and supposed to be compatible with the
Paradise chipset (which wouldn't take advantage of the acceleration
hardware). The 90C24 is an 8-bit card and cannot display 16-bit or
24-bit colors.
-John Kim
They all support 640x480x256 onscreen and 800x600x16, 800x600x256,
1024x768x16, and 1024x768x256 on an external monitor. There is
also a VESA TSR for DOS. The sych rate is adjustable between 56,
60, 72 Hz for any of the above modes.
B.4.5. What are the various screen size?
See B.1.1.
B.4.6. Is the monochrome screen upgradeable?
Yes, you can upgrade the TP750 to the pen or color screens when, or
if, the upgrade becomes available.
However, the upgrade seems to be much more expensive than the
difference in price at last check.
B.4.7. When I turn on my Thinkpad, I get a flickering effect
for a while and then it goes away. What's wrong?
This appears to be a known problem with some older BIOS. Contact
IBM for a new BIOS or download it from the NSC BBS. The latest
BIOS is version 1.04.
B.4.8. How can I prevent my screen from looking "squished" when
I'm running in graphics mode?
"This is normal. The LCD is 640x480. Normal 25 row text mode is
640x400 pixels in resolution, and most graphical games are at
320x200 and 640x350. A monitor will automatically resych this to
make it fill the entire screen. An LCD can't do this so you end up
with a blank space 40 pixels high (75 pixels for 640x350) on both
the top and bottom ends of the screen.
"To alleviate this effect check to make sure that vertical
expansion is on. Use the PS2 program under DOS, the Thinkpad
applet under Windows, and the Display applet under OS/2. If you
don't like the font under vertical expansion, there are several DOS
utilities available with better fonts. A demo copy of one of these
(Ultravision?) shipped with your ThinkPad."
-John Kim
======================================================================
HARDWARE: PCMCIA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B.5.1. What PCMCIA modems have been used successfully?
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but rather a list of the
most popular trouble-free cards used by members of the mailing
list.
AT&T Keep-In-Touch
Megahertz XJ1114
Megahertz XJ2114
B.5.2. What PCMCIA network cards have been used successfully?
B.5.3. What other PCMCIA cards have been used successfully?
B.5.4. My PCMCIA light stays on all the time.
This is normal. The PCMCIA light indicates that there is a card in
the socket and that card and socket services are loaded. Power is
no more than 10mA so it's nothing to worry about.
-Mike Anderson, IBM Rep on CompuServe Thinkpad forum
B.5.5. How do I get my PCMCIA devices to work?
This differs depending on the operating system that you use. Under
DOS/Win and OS/2, install the Thinkpad Utilities disk. Under
Linux, you will have to compile PCMCIA support into the kernel.
B.5.6. Can I use my flashcard from my Palmtop or Newon?
Yes. There should be no problem with this as long as you have
PCMCIA support properly configured. Randal Whittle reports that
he had to load the the PCMCIA Phoenix support that came
with PC-DOS and its PCMATA.SYS to enable his flashcard, although
I don't know if there is a problem using EasyPlay drivers.
======================================================================
HARDWARE: Pentop (TP750P only)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
======================================================================
HARDWARE: MWave card
----------------------------------------------------------------------
B.7.1. What is the MWave card?
B.7.2. Where do I get the updates?
======================================================================
AUDIO AND MULTIMEDIA: General Questions
----------------------------------------------------------------------
C.1.1. What audio chips do the Thinkpads use?
The TP750 series, TP360 and TP755 series (excluding the E series,
i.e. TP360CE and TP755CE) all use a proprietary audio chip
designed by Crystal Semiconductors.
The TP755 and TP360 E series (TP755 and TP360 CE CsE) use the IBM
MWave card for it's audio.
I've also heard that at least one of the Thinkpads (perhaps those
with MWave cards) are hardware register compatible with the
Soundblaster chipset.
C.1.2. How is the multimedia component?
The Crystal Semiconductor audio subsystem is 16-bit and can sample
at up to 48 kHz (that's CD quality). The following emulations are
supported for game play (or other use):
1) General MIDI mode
2) Roland Mode
3) Adlib Mode
4) Sound Blaster Mode
5) PC Speaker Mode
It sounds decent (subjectively speaking, of course) through the PC
speakers. External speakers will get you better noise but at a
price of more luggage. The MIDI reproduction is a bit tinny and
SoundBlaster (as well as other sound cards) emulation works but may
skip a bit and slows down the system.
I don't know how the Mwave cards sound.
C.1.3. What are the exact measurements for the audio line-in
and line-out?
Both audio jacks are stereo, 1/8 inch mini-jacks. The audio out
jack will take headphones. Maximum headphone speaker output is 1.5
mW into 32 ohms. Max output level is 1.9 V peak-to-peak @ 75 Ohms.
The input jack is software programmable; mic or line input.
Sample rate is 5.5-48 kHz.
Mic input: gain 32-54.5 dB; input level 4 mV p-p @ 9 kOhms
Line input: input level 5.3 V p-p @ 8 kOhms
Mic and line input can be toggled through software.
C.1.4. Is the built-in speaker used for all sounds?
Yes, unless you have speakers or headphones connected to the
machine. All sounds, including DOS (OS/2, Windows, or what-not)
beeps are directed through the built-in speakers.
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AUDIO AND MULTIMEDA: Crystal Semiconductors
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C.2.1. What is the crystal semiconductor audio chip?
"The CS4248 is a mixed signal integrated circuit that provides
16-bit audio for computer multimedia systems. The CS4248 includes
stereo audio converters and complete on-chip filtering for record
and playback of 16-bit audio data. The CS4248 combines conversion,
analog mixing, and programmable gain and attenuation to provide a
complete audio subsystem in a single 68-pin PLCC or 100-pin TQFP
package. The CS4248 includes an 8-bit parallel interface to the
industry standard ISA bus.
"A complete register mapping is included in the data. There are
also device drivers available for Windows 3.1 and NT, as well as
diagnostic software. The Monologue software is also available in
the Crystal data book (apparently it was a joint development by
Crystal and First Source)."
-Andrew Stevens
The CS4248 audio codec from Crystal Semiconductor is functionally
equivalent Analog Devices AD1848 rev. K chip. The phone number to
Crystal Semiconductor (Austin, TX) is 512-445-7222.
C.2.2. What machines use the crystal semiconductors audio chip?
The TP750, TP750Cs, TP750C, TP750P, TP750Ce, TP360, TP360Cs,
TP360C, TP755, TP755Cs, TP755C.
C.2.3. What drivers are available for the crystal semiconductor
audio chip?
IBM has put out drivers for Windows 3.1 that support all standard
Windows fare (WAV and MIDI). DOS drivers are also available as
well as "game" drivers that basically allow for emulation of
SoundBlaster, MIDI, Roland, and Adlib.
OS/2 drivers are available that will support MMOS as well as "game"
emulation in a DOS box. Win-OS2 sounds are supported by the OS/2
drivers.
C.2.4. Is there a text-to-speech utility?
There is a program called Monlogue. A DOS and Windows version
exist and should come with the Audio disks.
C.2.5. How do I get my games working with the sound?
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AUDIO AND MULTIMEDIA: MWave Card (Audio only)
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C.3.1. What is the MWave card's audio component like?
C.3.2. What machines use the MWave card?
C.3.3. What drivers are out for the MWave card?
C.3.4. How do I get my games working with the sound?
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AUDIO AND MULTIMEDIA: CD-ROM
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C.4.1. How can I get a CD-ROM connected to my Thinkpad?
This is really a matter of getting either a SCSI connection or
gettng a CD-ROM that can go through the parallel port. To get a
SCSI connection, see D.1.6.
There are a number of parallel port CD-ROM drives. There is the
Microsolutions backpack CD-ROM. However, they have no support
for OS/2 and do not plan on supporting OS/2. A newer drive called
the Gator provides a parallel port CD-ROM drive AND a SCSI adapter.
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EXPANSION: Ports and Docks
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D.1.1. What external connections does it have?
The Thinkpads all have two type II PCMCIA slots (or one type III),
an unidirectonal/bidirectiona/enhanced parallel port, a serial
port, a PS/2 port, a dock port, and an SVGA port. In addition,
they have a line-in and line-out port for the audio.
The TP750 series have a 16450 UART on the serial port. The newer
models (TP360 and TP755) have 16550 UARTs.
The TP755CE and TP755CD also have a video in port.
D.1.2. Does it have a dock or port replicator?
Yes, it has the Dock II which is mobile itself (weighing 6.2 lbs.).
The Dock II has one 5.25" drive bay, one expansion slot, a SCSI
connector, and high fidelity speakers built in. It also includes
an external keyboard connector.
Also, there are two port replicators. The first one is simply a
port replicator (for the convenience of plugging lots of devices
in). The second port replicator, in addition to replicating the
ports, also includes two more Type II PCMCIA slots.
There have been various problems reported on the mailing list about
the Dock. The main problem has to do with the non-standard SCSI
connection.
D.1.3. How do I use the EPP port?
To access the EPP port, set the LPT port to LPT2 in EasySetup
(although LPT1 is still used by the software).
D.1.4. A device which is connected to my serial port doesn't
work.
Be sure that the serial port is getting power. Check your power
applet under OS/2 and Windows or, under DOS, type 'PS2 serial on',
or use the menu options. You'd be surprised how many people do
this!
D.1.5. What type of SCSI connector does the dock II have?
The SCSI adapter on the dock II is a non-standard connection.
However, there is a cable available from IBM (part number 32G4143)
which can provide the traditional Centronics connector.
D.1.6. How can I get a SCSI connection to my TP?
The Dock I comes with a SCSI port. However, several people on the
mailing list have reported problems with using the SCSI port.
IBM has a cable, part number 32G4143, which has the wierd 60 pin
connector on one end and a more traditional 50 pin centronics style
connector on the other. - Keith Moore (unconfirmed)
There are two primary ways to get a SCSI connection besides the
dock -- a parallel to SCSI cable or a PCMCIA SCSI card.
Trantor, as well as some other companies, offer parallel port to
SCSI cables. The Trantor cable comes in three model -- 4-bit,
bidirectional, and EPP. Both the 4-bit and bidirectional cables
have throughputs that may be too slow for any high-speed
application (such as a quadruple speed CD-ROM drive or hard drive).
See D.1.3. to see how to use the TP's EPP port with the Trantor
EPP cable.
Also note, Tim Noonan has reported that the Trantor drivers must be
added to the _end_ of the CONFIG.SYS instead of the default
installation to the _start_ of the CONFIG.SYS. Otherwise, the
drivers will cause hangs during boot-up and the EPP will not be
able to be properly accessed. Once properly connected, everything
is reported to work well. Note that there are drivers for DOS/Win
as well as OS/2.
There are a number of PCMCIA SCSI cards that offer fast SCSI-2
support. The ones I know of are New Media, Future Domain, Adaptec,
Future Domain, and IBM. If you are never going to use any OS
beside DOS/Win, any of the cards will probably do. However, if you
ever plan to try out or if you currently use OS/2, you are limited
to the IBM card for now. Adaptec and Future Domain claim to be
making OS/2 drivers, but so far I don't know much about them. New
Media has said they don't plan on supporting OS/2 at all.
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EXPANSION: Memory
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D.2.1. What's the maximum RAM?
The maximum amount of RAM on the TP750 series machines is 40mb RAM.
The original specifications listed 32mb, but that was because of
the lack of a 36mb IC-DRAM card.
D.2.2. What's the difference between DRAM and DIMM chips?
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EXPANSION: Hard Drive and Floppy Drive
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D.3.1. What hard drive sizes are available?
There is a 170mb, 340mb, 520mb, and 810mb hard drive available.
D.3.2. Is the removable hard drive a standard 2.5" hard drive?
D.3.3. Can I get a third party hard drive?
Sigma Data is at least one of the OEM manufacturers of the hard
drives shipping in the 355, 360, and 75x series. Therefore these
drives have the exact same specifications as the original IBM
drives. IBM fully supports these drives, including maintaining
them under the terms of the ThinkPad warranty.
Since they are the OEM manufacturer, the drives come in the same
case, same connector, etc. The only difference is that there is a
Sigma Data label on the case...
Here are the part numbers:
Capacity IBM Part Number Sigma Data Part Number
340M 66G2849 QED/TP750-340
540M 84G2150 QED/TP750-540
810M 84G8250 QED/TP750-810
Sigma Data
17 Newport Road
New London, NH
800-446-4525
-Robert George
The Thinkpad mail list has secured a discount deal with Sigma Data.
Mention the Thinkpad mail list discount when you order from them.
D.3.4. What are the specs for the floppy drive?
The TP750x has a 2.88 floppy. The diskette drive controller is
configured to be compatible with PS/2 Model 30, the first AT bus
PS/2.
-Ken Inoue
The TP755 and TP360 have a 1.44 floppy. But I don't know what the
controller is based on.
D.3.5. What do I do with my old hard drive after I've upgraded?
Forwarded by Eli B. Charne:
---
From: echarne@liege.ics.uci.edu (Eli B. Charne)
Subject: 2.5" Notebook drive adapter for desktop systems
Date: 10 Feb 1995 12:58:20 -0800
Organization: UC Irvine, Department of ICS
I have a few adapters that allow you connect 2.5" IDE Notebook
drives to a standard IDE connecter.
The adapters include a mounting bracket for the 2.5" drive that
will slide into a standard 5.25" drive bay.
This is great for being able to backup your notebook drive, or in
case you've bought a larger notebook drive (like I did), you can
still make use of the old drive.
The price is $20 + 2.90 shipping.
---
I don't know if any more are available or where he got them from.
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OPERATING SYSTEM: DOS
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E.1.1. Can I move the IBMVESA directory?
No.
E.1.2. How do I get more memory with the PCMCIA drivers loaded?
Use OS/2. (Gratuitous plug) Short of that, you should watch what
you load. Don't load drivers for things you don't need. Also,
experiment with the amount of RAM you exclude. Most of the times,
people have gotten by with excluding C000 to C0FF.
Also, be sure to use a high memory manager such as Ramboot
(PC-DOS), Memmaker (MS-DOS), QEMM, Netroom, or 386Max.
E.1.3. Why do I keep getting serial transfer errors?
John Kim first reported that the fueldos.com TSR provided with
earlier versions of the TP750 utilities disk caused excessive loss
of characters as well as bad packets. This has been confirmed by
many other sources. Don't load the TSR at all if you use Windows
primarily. If you use DOS frequently, then use the fueldos.com
from version 1.31 of the TP750 Utilities disk or a higher version.
Randy Whittle has also reported that the Windows fuel program _can_
cause problems in certain cases. Specifically, he was using an
external v.32bis from his serial port with Procomm Plus for
Windows.
E.1.4. Why do I keep having problems with QEMM and my TP750
machine?
See the file called tp_qemm.
E.1.5. Why is WordPerfect for DOS is crashing my machine?
"I don't know if this will fix your problem, but the TP750 has a
problem with all of the rapid cursor features in DOS wp5.1 and
wp6.0. It will sometimes hang the machine. You can start WP with
"WP/nc" to get the normal cursor speed. When you get into WP, got
to setup and turn off fast cursor. The default is 50cps, change it
to 'normal'."
-Douglas Diamond
E.1.6. What DOS games work with the Crystal Semiconductor audio chip?
E.1.7. What DOS games definately do NOT work with the Crystal
Semiconductor audio chip?
E.1.8. How do I get my game to work with the Crystal Semiconductor
audio chip?
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OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows
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E.2.1. How can I stop getting "out of memory" errors?
E.2.2. When I exit Windows, my system crashes suddenly.
E.2.3. How can I comment out audio in my system.ini?
E.2.4. Can I use the 32-bit disk access and 32-bit file access?
Yes. The TP750 series is fully compatible with 32-bit disk access.
The main problem occurs in portables that power down the hard drive
while a write is in action. The TP750's (being fully APM
compliant) won't power down as long as the hard drive is being
used. 32-bit file access from Windows for Workgroups is entirely
compatible also.
-Randal Whittle (who quoted Herb Chong of RIME)
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OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows NT
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E.3.1. Does it run?
E.3.2. What limitations are there to running NT?
E.3.3. How's OpenGL work on the Thinkpads?
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OPERATING SYSTEM: OS/2
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E.4.1. Does Warp work with the Thinkpads?
E.4.2. Why are my seamless windows messed up?
E.4.3. How do I change resolutions on my external display?
E.4.4. Can I use my PCMCIA device under OS/2?
E.4.5. Why doesn't suspend work?
E.4.6. Why do MIDI files keep crashing my system?
E.4.7. How do I get a MIDI file and system sounds to work
together?
E.4.8. How can I make the pointer more visible?
E.4.9. Does the TP750 support the IBM ScreenReader 2 program to
provide speech access to OS/2 for blind users?
E.4.10. Why does my machine crash when I come out of suspend?
E.4.11. How do I increase the speed of cursor tracking?
E.4.12. How can I use my whole screen in an OS/2 full screen
box without vertical expansion?
E.4.13. How do I hibernate under OS/2?
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OPERATING SYSTEM: Linux
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======================================================================
OPERATING SYSTEM: Other
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E.6.1. Does NetBSD work? (How to make NetBSD hobble along)
E.6.2. Does SCO Xenix work?
E.6.3. Any other OS's?
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KNOWN PROBLEMS
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MORE INFORMATION
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---
Sean Chou / schou@uiuc.edu / Compuserve: 73672,2111