Mailing List os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com Archived Message #6851

From: "Lewis G Rosenthal" <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com> Full Headers
Undecoded message
Subject: Re: [OS2Wireless] miniPCI wireless card compatibility, older and newer Thinkpads
Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2010 13:21:12 -0400
To: OS/2 Wireless Users Mailing List <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com>

Hi again...

On 08/01/10 04:24 am, Jan van Wijk thus wrote :
Hi Lewis,

On Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:09:51 -0400 Lewis G Rosenthal wrote:
  
Sorry to hear about your T42 reaching EOL.    

Well, it is still working, but most likely has a crack somewhere in the mainboard.
When slightly tilted or lifted it often freezes the display or crashes completely.
I use it on a docking station now (no movement :-) for use as digital oscilloscope.

  
Indeed. Becky has a T21 with the same symptom, and I also suspect a hairline crack in the mainboard. I moved her into a T30 for that reason (the kids always end up two or three generations back), and now hers is about the only T30 around (including clients) which does not need a new backlight (or worse). At least Wi-Fi is well supported - on eCS and XP, the two OSes she uses.
I also got myself a second one, refurbished for just over 200 Euro's and put
the best parts of the two on that one (I had a bad key on the keyboard).

So I can continue using the T42 for a while longer ...

  
That's the best way to go. I did fans on the two T43's in the office, and a new (brand new, from IBM) keyboard on mine.
<snip>
  
I have eCS 2.0 GA running on that machine now, with a usable display in 1680x1050 (panorama).

  
      
Great!
    

Yes, performance is not that good, but adequate for most stuff.
(after disabling the full-window-drag :-)

  
There were some tweaks to Panorama to make it perform better, and in the end (toward 2.0 GA) I think we got it almost up to SNAP performance on *some* chips. I'm not sure which build you are using. Check the bug tracker on this; ISTR Lars working on Panorama insofar as the tuning was concerned.
  
The wired NIC is being worked on (new gigabit driver) but does not work yet.
  
      
The latest build *should* work for you.
    

Indeed it does, I was actually the one assisting in debugging it with a debug kernel loaded, to get the NETBIND hang and some traps resolved.

  
Yes, our old friend, the NETBIND hang! :-)

While none of this to this point is wireless-related, I'm still curious to know whether you have had a chance to run any benchmarks for network performance (say, netio) against the new driver?
<snip>
  
The downloaded HW-manuals (T42, W500) seem to indicate that these
cards are NOT compatible, not even in physical dimensions/shape!
      

<snip>
  
Per Aron's comments, the W500 has a mini-PCI-Express slot and the T42 has a mini-PCI, which are different architectures. Look for an Intel 3945abg (8086:4227) or a 4965agn (8086:4229, or 8086:4230) card to replace the 5300 in the W500.    

OK, may do that at some point, allthough the pressure is off now that I have
a working T42 again, and the W500 has wired access, meaning I can get
all my eCS development stuff and application on there.

  
:-)

Connectivity is a beautiful thing.
  
I have tested both of these with GenMAC with good results. The difference is really whether you need the 802.11n capability now or anticipate needing it in the future. I *believe* the 802.11b/g & 802.11a radios in both cards are about the same, at least in terms of performance (someone please correct me if my recollection is lacking). Also note that the 4965agn card supports *draft*-n, as it predates the ratification of the 802.11n standard. Thus, it may not be fully compatible with equipment which has been released more recently.
    

Either should be fine, I will see if I can get one, and get the corresponding
Windows drivers. But I will probably not swap it out any time soon.

Thanks for the info!

  
Surely! Please keep us posted!

--
Lewis
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Lewis G Rosenthal, CNA, CLP, CLE
Rosenthal & Rosenthal, LLC                www.2rosenthals.com
Need a managed Wi-Fi hotspot?                www.hautspot.com
visit my IT blog                www.2rosenthals.net/wordpress
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