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Wireless Upgradable?

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deelo83
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Wireless Upgradable?

#1 Post by deelo83 » Sat Dec 04, 2004 10:45 am

What does it mean when it says "wireless upgradable" option on ThinkPads with Centrino? Does it not come with a wireless card? I thougt in order for it to be labeled "Centrino", it had have 3 things: Pentium M processor, Intel 855 chipset, and a Intel PRO wireless card.

I'm pretty close to purchasing a T41 but the "wireless upgradable" thing is confusing me. I need the wireless card for college so I can use in most places on campus.

Thank you.

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#2 Post by jdhurst » Sat Dec 04, 2004 12:00 pm

You are best off (in my opinion, for what it is worth) to get the ThinkPad either (1) wireless upgradeable (means has internal antennae and mini PCI bay for the card) and separately purchase the IBM 11/a/b/g card; or (2) with the IBM card installed before you buy the ThinkPad.

The Intel 2100 card is worthless junk (I have one). The Intel 2200 card with the latest drivers is barely OK (I service them). The IBM 11 a/b/g (Atheros) card is rock solid and reliable (What I use now after harsh experience and duplicate expense).

Centrino = Hype and nothing more.

... JDHurst

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Re: Wireless Upgradable?

#3 Post by JHEM » Sat Dec 04, 2004 2:35 pm

deelo83 wrote:What does it mean when it says "wireless upgradable" option on ThinkPads with Centrino?.
The wireless upgradable machines do NOT say Centrino on their descriptions online nor on the machines themselves.

What JD said is golden.

Regards,

James
5.5K+ posts and all I've got to show for it are some feathers.... AND a Bird wearing a Crown

deelo83
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#4 Post by deelo83 » Sun Dec 05, 2004 12:08 am

Would this card work for a t41?

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... lCurrId=73

it says compatible for t40 and t41p but not t41.

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#5 Post by jdhurst » Sun Dec 05, 2004 8:06 am

The write-up says it goes in:
Compatible with wireless upgradable models of ThinkPad X40 (2371/2372/2382/2386), T40 (2373/2374/2378/2379), T41/p T42/p (2373/2374/2378/2379) , R50/R51 (1829/1830/1831/1836), R50p (1832/1833), R51 (2883/2887/2888/2889) G41 (2881/2882/2886)

That list includes the T41 as well as the T41p. The IBM shorthand can sometimes be a bit confusing. ... JD Hurst

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#6 Post by benplaut » Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:31 pm

no! try

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... rId=201230

same model, $10 cheaper :P 8) :P 8) :P 8)


.:Edit:.
never mind, when i clicked that link the first time, it said $65. When i clicked it the second time, it said $55. Always click it twice :lol:
--<<(({{[[Ben Plaut]]}}))>>--

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Every problem begins to look like a nail

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#7 Post by Steve007 » Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:21 am

jdhurst wrote:The Intel 2100 card is worthless junk
Stop talking nonsense! What is your problem with this card?

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#8 Post by ian » Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:29 am

Not nonsense - this card is crap - take it from people who've tried both...
Ian at thinkpads dot com

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#9 Post by Steve007 » Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:38 am

ian wrote:Not nonsense - this card is crap - take it from people who've tried both...
Err, I own one. I have the Intel 2100 card in one of my T40's & it's always performed extremely well.

I also have the Cisco Aironet Wireless 802.11b card in my T40p and the Intel 2200BG card in my T42. All have been very stable and I can't really say the 2100 card is crap/[censored]/whatever because it's performance has always been on par with the others as far as I'm concerned.

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#10 Post by ian » Thu Jan 06, 2005 10:09 am

Ok, so it's not crap - it's official - Steve says so
Ian at thinkpads dot com

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wireless mini pci - upgrade possible for a a31p to 802.11g?

#11 Post by friedrich-eugen » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:16 am

hello jdhurst,

I just wonder whether the a31p is can be upgraded from the 802.11b version it came with to the later a/b/g Version ?

Any Info/hints/experience
-friedrich-eugen-
started with IBM-XT & AST-Ascentia (910N) in the 90ties, relying on Thinkpads (770X, A31P, T60-61P Frankenp., W530 i7 3940QM, X230T i7 3520M) until 2024 now TP P1G6 ( i7 13800H nVidia 64GB 2TB) & Yoga X390 (i7 16GB 2TB)
Windows 11 Pro

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Re: wireless mini pci - upgrade possible for a a31p to 802.1

#12 Post by JHEM » Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:56 am

friedrich-eugen wrote:I just wonder whether the a31p is can be upgraded from the 802.11b version it came with to the later a/b/g Version ?
I'm not JD, but I've got the IBM a/b/g card in my A30p and it works fine after using the hack.

Regards,

James
5.5K+ posts and all I've got to show for it are some feathers.... AND a Bird wearing a Crown

mjk
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#13 Post by mjk » Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:08 pm

I have just installed the atheros 11a/b/g card into an A31p. I used 1802.com to get round the card id check, but currently the card is still not working. Widows (XP SP2) reports that the card cannot start.

I also get a BIOS message at boot time about finding multiple ethernet controllers, and directing me to remove one.

Has anyone suceeded in getting this card working in an A31p?

Martin

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