IBM Thinkpad 600E bios mod for processor update

[marc.knuckle]

powerstrip doesn't seem to allow me to allocate more memory to the adapter as it says n/a for system memory section. dont know if that is the right section. any other advice? cheers mate

[Sharedoc]

Nothing comes to mind. Anyway, video memory settings prolly have little effect on performance. More can be achieved if you manage to overclock video chip with powerstrip or some other utility.

[pikaia]

I've upgraded a 600E to a PIII 450 (baby steps) and disabled the L2 Cache in the BIOS and downloaded the PowerLeap utility but it just won't run. I've tried running it a dozen times now and it just gets to the install portion and gives me a 113 error, something along the lines of:

Powerleap CPU Control Panel Setup
An error occurred during the move data process:-113
Component:
File Group: ...

I don't know how to continue on. Also I notice that this thing gets VERY hot. Is there something you've done to improve the cooling?

Also since most of you are much more proficient with these than I am, I was hoping to get some help with another 600 question. I'm only now getting into my Thinkpad obsession, (I now own 3 functional and several others for parts). I have a 600X that began life as a 450 and is now a 750. I'm having a heck of a time getting this to function properly (Speedstep chip in a nonspeedstep board) and have found a couple work arounds through Linux and for XP have changed the CPU driver to keep it from needing a Fn-F2 to continue. But the fan runs nonstop and it also gets quite warm. In Linux sometimes it'll powerdown or randomly go into Suspend mode, and I haven't had XP on it long enough to see any problems, other than the fn-F2 issue... yet.
Do you know a way to get this to either speed down from time to time or a better way to handle this issue?

Again thanks for all the help.

[Sharedoc]

Which operating system are you running on 600E?
Maybe you registry is corrupted or something wrong since Powerleap utility does not install.

Powerleap utility has software cooling function that halts CPU when there is nothing to do.

[pikaia]

I'm running XP Pro SP2. Its been slimmed down using nlite and I've turned off a bunch of services. Is there a list of services that are required for this program to install? I can make the changes needed if I know what to enable.

Do you think the PowerLeap program would be good for a 600X upgraded with a speedstep CPU on a nonSpeedstep board? It would be nice to have more control over the CPU to use less energy and keep it running cooler.

Thanks again.

[pikaia]

I've swapped Hard drives redownloaded the file from the Powerleap site and it still won't install. I've tried reinstalling XP but suddenly I'm getting a corrupt file error on install from 2 different XP discs... odd. I can't seem to find any other viable site to download the file from either... so I'm not sure if I'm getting a bad file or what.

Now I'm stuck deciding whether to give up on XP and try Linux (I like Linux, but since I own 3 600's this would be for family, or for sale...).

Any ideas would greatly help my sanity. Thanks.

Oh, I've also tried the Cache Utility but it gives me a BSOD and a reboot whenever it loads.

I've DLed from here:
http://www.powerleap.ca/Downloads/PLeap ... _0_0_1.exe
to no avail.

When installing it asks "Choose one of the upgrade from the following components" I choose something different each time I try but nothing seems to work. Is this the cause of my problem?

[Sharedoc]

Pikaia,
If you pm me your email, I can send you Powerleap utility file that works for me.

[beatoem]

hi ye all,just worth noting in xp i run cpu msr,i load the saved file into my documents then copy that file to c or d/documents+settings/all users/start menu/programs/startup and presto you wouldnt even know its there as it silently loads each power cycle time.

the beauty of this is if ever there is a virus or buggy contaminating the boot process,it will prompt a cpu msr error message in desktop,so one can tell if theres software issues on hand.

there is also one chap,whom managed to decode tpt22 bios into bin file and successfully flashed his t20 motherboard to t22 spec.
so this opens the door for opportunity to decode a 600x binary file + or mod a tp600 file to 600x parameters.
i am gonna attempt this on the ol t21 with t22 bios,if all goes well,i will update,if anyone wants to see the bios hack article google thinkpad t20 or t21 to t22 bios hack or flash or mod whatever.
this was discovered only in may this year,so the possibilities of decoding factory manipulated bios look promising ,which is good for the people whom would like to modify their personal possesions.

where theres will, theres a way,always a way!

[Fris]

What a great thread, Sharedoc. I don't know if I've ever seen one over five years old and this active with the original author on board! I read it, bought a 750, and easily performed the FSB mod on my favorite laptop, a 600E 2645-5JU. I skipped the Speedstep mod given the problem with the reliability of the solution. How can I complain when I now have 650 PIII speed?

Here is my problem. Shortly after I did the FSB mod, I started booting up with Error 189. Reinitializing does not solve the problem. The CMOS battery is new. I disassembled it again and looked for slag, loose parts, etc. but everything appeared well. I can ESC past it and the laptop runs fine but it is very annoying.

Given the amount of knowledge that everyone has gained studying this laptop, has anyone run into this problem or know of a solution? Of course, the manual recommends replacing the motherboard for this error but I'm sure there is a more elegant fix which might involve a BIOS alteration or altering the signal off the Atmel EEPROM. I tried finding a Thinkpad Hardware Maintenance Diskette but no luck so far. From what I read, no one has needed to update the device serial numbers to have an error-free mod.

Brad

[pikaia]

Sharedoc.

I got it to work. Unfortunately I think it had something to do with my XP install. Because I could only get it to work with a clean, full reinstall of SP2. So not too much to pay considering I now have a 600E @ 500Mhz, which makes a bigger difference than I first expected.

I'm going to try this mod on my other 600E that I plan to give to my niece. I still need to try the L2 Cache mod within Linux... I've seen a couple different ways of doing this. Is there a preferred method?

Thanks again for the help.

[Sharedoc]

Fris,

Document
IBM Mobile Systems S10L-9619-03
ThinkPad 600/600E (2645)
Hardware Maintenance Manual
June 1999

Error 188, 189
(BAD EEPROM CRC #1.
An incorrect checksum of
the EEPROM is received.)

This is weird error message.

Which bios version are you running?

[Fris]

Version 1.16 - INET36WW

[KevP]

Wow, intriguing thread! Somehow I managed to read it all over a few days

Thanks to Sharedoc's info I have applied the SpeedStep mod to several PIII CPUs and got them to run at full speed -- my only problem was getting the software to trigger deepsleep and enable the cache properly. It's tricky since I was modding Compaq Armada 1750s and the WMarcus WinXP dsleep.exe locks up, whilst the DOS version got the machine stuck in standby mode.

To cut a long story short, like a dog with a bone, I dug out the Windows DDK and "re-coded" the DOS deepsleep utility to run on XP and also enable the cache (+some other options). If anyone's interested, the download is here:

http://www.kgpsoftware.com/downloads/enable_p6.zip

Let me know if it works for you!

Enjoy

[chronos]

O man...what a find!

I recently acquired a 600e, with cdrom, floppy, pcmcia, docking station, all the goodies....FOR FREE 2 days ago. I installed Puppy Linux on it, but was wanting to install a version with a little more pizazz, but the speed wouldn't really allow it. This thread really gives me some hope for this old reliable laptop and I can not wait to have the time to try putting a P-III in it.

thanks sharedoc and everyone else who has contributed to this thread!

I did some googling for a few minutes, but didn't find much on upgrading it to a P-III. Then again, my googling skills are not that great. This thread should help tremendously.

But, I have 1 question. I've never been a big Intel fan and don't know much about their CPU's. Aside from having to mod the BIOS and the other small things needed to run the P-III in this, is this a straight swap out of the P-II and a P-III will, for the most part, just plug in to the mobo? Is there a certain P-III that I need to do this...ie the mobile laptop version? I have a parts store 5 minutes away that has an abundance (probably about 50) P-III's for around $8 each and want to do this ASAP!

Also, the issue of heat...how are all of you dealing with the extra heat produced by the P-III? Or is this discussed somewhere in this thread and I just need to finish reading it?

[pikaia]

Well, Powerleap WAS working. I just ran a windows update and now it stopped loading on startup... but if I launch it afterward it works fine. I tried checking out KevP's program but its no longer there. If you could repost it, it would be great.

I'm getting ready to sell this laptop and it'd be great if it would auto enable the L2 cache...

Thanks again... I guess its a windows XP component thats interfering with the PL utility (at least for me).