USB went medieval on my ass!

[cubancigar11]

Ok! I have got a problem. I have a machine (Thinkpad 560X) which has no CD drive and floppy drive... but has serial port, parallel port, and probably IR... and USB.

But no matter which USB I connect, it starts asking for device driver. I have Windows 98 on it, btw. Any idea what should I do?


There is something named Universal serial Bus Controller in hardware manager, and two things are listed: Intel 82371AB/EB PIC/USB Universal Host Controller
and
USB-Stammhub

(Btw, the windows is in German :) )

So, any idea what should I do? Right now I cannot think of anyway to connect to the computer and get _any_ data inside or outside of it!

(Don't know where to ask so asking in Off-topic)

[Trixter]

You have a chicken-and-egg problem. If you need to get data OFF of the machine, the simplest and quickest thing to do in your case is to take the hard drive out and connect it to something with an adapter. There are many 2.5" to 3.5" IDE adapters out there, as well as cables that will allow you to connect to another computer via USB.

If all you want to do is USE the machine, you MUST get a CDROM or floppy because otherwise there is no way to install a new OS (that model does not support booting from USB).

[cubancigar11]

Definitely I need a a CD rom, but I don't know if it will get detected or not.

Moreover, I am getting errors: 161, 301, 163 (ref.: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=LWIK-3PCL5W)

<del>But first and foremost: how do I get into bios? I pressed all function keys and delete key, but nothing works.</del>
<ins>Well, the key is F1 - you have to press it for a long time while booting (http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/DSHY-3QYK7L.html)</ins>

The BIOS debugging setup suggests that all ports are ok... any place where I can find a cd drive for serial/parallel port?

[Terry Yager]

The 301 is a keyboard error, so you prob'ly won't be able to access the BIOS setup till that's fixed.

--T

[Druid6900]

The 301 is probably from holding the key down while it's booting. You usually get this from pressing the WRONG key trying to enter setup.

If hitting the F1 key continously (not holding it down) doesn't get you to the setup screen try F2 instead.

[Terry Yager]

The 301 is probably from holding the key down while it's booting. You usually get this from pressing the WRONG key trying to enter setup.

Yeah, I thought of that immediately after I posted.

--T

[cubancigar11]

Actually, I got into BIOS, and it is saying that all ports are ok.

Keyboard error is coming, I think, because Caps Lock is broken (kaputt), and is pressed by default.

And 163 is because 560X is known for forgetting dates (changing motherboard will work... but it isn't really too important)

I do have a CD drive, but no cable to connect it :)

[Terry Yager]

Yah, the 161 & 163 indicate dead battery and time & date not set (naturally, if the battery is dead).

BTW, every TP I've ever seen uses F1 to enter BIOS setup. Just hold it down during boot. As for cap lock, it is set by default. Hit the key to turn it off after booting.

--T

[cubancigar11]

This battery is CMOS battery, right?

[Bungo Pony]

To move data to and from older computers, I usually use a serial cable connecting from one PC to another, and I use a terminal / comm program like Telix. Although it's a bit slow, you can easily transfer files to and from the computer (I usually use the Zmodem protocol).

You could also hook up a USB or parallel CD burner or hard drive. But the serial cable is probably the cheapest method to do it.

[cubancigar11]

Hi all!

I added a floppy drive, and through that, updated all the USB drivers. So now I have my USB working! :)

I have one more question: since ThinkPad 560X doesn't boot from USB, but from PCMCIA cards, is it a wise choice to use a PC card-USB adapter (~ 15 EUR), and then use USB to install Linux on it?

I mean, do you think if I use a PC card-USB adapter, the computer will recognise it as PC card and boot from it?

PS: After leaving it on overnight, CMOS battery apparently got charged, and so now it is working (most of the times) without any error.

[carlsson]

Interesting question. The PCMCIA boot option probably refers to memory cards in the range 1-4 MB if I recall correctly. The USB adapter doesn't know which type of USB device you're going to use, and most probably presents a general interface w/ driver. The USB memory stick is logically the same type of device as the PCMCIA memory card, but probably has a completely different interface.

If you think you in the future will have use for a USB adapter, buy it if you can afford it. I'd not have high expectations the computer can boot from it though, but once in Linux you may be able to access the USB memory stick or any other USB device you need to get access to.

[cubancigar11]

Huh! :( Well, I guess I will need USB 2.0 anyway, so I will buy it - and it is not expensive (my main concern is that I will be leaving this country soon, and I don't want to go over limit).

Any place where I can find a PCMCIA cards you refer to? (Please tell me the keywords I need to search for, since I have never encounterd PCMCIA devices ever before).

[carlsson]

Sorry, I have no idea where you could find PCMCIA memory cards, or if those are hard disk interfaces even. Probably eBay, but you'd have to waddle through tons of other cards and adapters. Actually, there might be some Compact Flash or Secure Digital adapter compatible with PCMCIA that will work like a memory card. However, I have a CF adapter for my Amiga 1200 and while it works in Amiga DOS using a special driver, the computer natively does not recognize the CF card as a PCMCIA memory device. It may depend on the adapter, and of course the computer.

[cubancigar11]

I bought the PCMCIA-USB adapter, and yes - it doesn't boot from it.

But I guess I can boot from a floppy drive, mount the USB, and install from that. I hope it works!

[carlsson]

.. if you have a driver for the USB adapter that works in MS-DOS or whichever operating system you end up in when you boot from a floppy. It is far from impossible, but also not obvious.