New T42(2378-FVU) questions

Thanks to notebookreview.com, thinkpads.com. I decided on T42 (2378-FVU/512MB) and it was shipped yesterday(ordered on 7/22, recieved on 7/29) The machine looks great, did the visual dead pixel test, checked for hardware etc. However, I do have couple of questions

- A sticker on carton mentions "14.1 SXGA+ TFT, 32MB T42 Country Pack - 1". Shouldn't it be 64 MB ? As per the specs, it should be 64MB DDR-SDRAM. How do I check it ? I was trying to find out in my computer -> properties -> hardware -> device manger. Also checked for display where it says ATI 9600. Is the carton label wrong ?

- "T40 series trouble shooting guide" came as the instructions book. I was expecting it should be "T42 series." Is this ok ? Or did they pack a wrong instructions guide ?

- What all should be tested/checked on a brand new notebook ? What are the ways to stress test it ? Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Try going to control panel, then display, then click on settings tabs and see if it says your graphics card.

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Fujitsu S6210: 1.6Ghz PM ~ 768MB RAM ~ 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
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After going to control panel, then display, then click on settings tab, then click "settings", click on "advanced" at the bottom of the screen and then the "adapter" tab. In the middle of the screen will be the "adapter information" which will provide your memory.

I have a new T42 2378DUU and from looking at all the IBM information and updates, it appears that much information is for T40, T41, and T42. I believe there is so little difference between the machines that many times my machine is referenced as a T40 or T41 and sometimes as a T42. No problem--it works as expected.

Stress test? Just use the heck out of the laptop and any problems should show up. My previous IBM notebook worked great for about one month and then the motherboard went out. IBM replaced it and it ran flawlessly for the next 5 years.

Good luck

 

Thanks for the info on how to check the video RAM. I have another one - why is the sound quality as well as volume so low in thinkpad ? I tried increasing it from media player, control panel. The volume as well as quality is not meeting expectations. I am comparing with Toshiba Protege M100, Dell Inspiron/Latitude. Or may be I being bit picky about it ? I was trying to play some mp3 ( of good quality ) as well as some audio CDs. Any idea is it a problem in my unit or it is general for thinkpads ?

 

For louder sound:

Control Panel
Sounds and Audio Devices
Volume Tab
Device Volume Section
Advanced
Increase the "Wave" volume level

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Fujitsu S6210: 1.6Ghz PM ~ 768MB RAM ~ 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
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Hi shint2,
I received muy 2378fvu 5 days ago, and when I saw the sticker I got surprised. Don't worry, you have an ati9600 64Mb, i saw that in some place of windows (now I'm in linux and I don't remeber where). You can check your hardware here

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/partslookup/partsLookup.vm

As for the sound, don't complicate your life (is it possible to say like that in english??), the speakers are a piece of ****. Is the worst of this laptop, the rest is wonderfull. For a decent sound are necessary external speakers.
Don't forget to call up IBM to request you Recovery CD's. You have a 30 day period to get them for free.

Regards

 

Thanks for hardware lookup link & I did get the recovery disks shipped today. But I see a difference in LCD specifications:
- Parts Lookup list for 2378FVU shows LCD 14.1" SXGA
- IBM's site (http://www5.pc.ibm.com/us/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_2378FVU) mentions the graphics type as SXGA+ IPS.
- In TABOOK.pdf, its mentioned as 14.1" SXGA+ as screen

So what is this SXGA and SXGA+ ? Why is the parts lookup list showing it as SXGA ?

Thanks,

 

not idea,
usuall the tabook is most realible source of information.
You can have some help here
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=2

regards

 

- Should I be concerned with the China keyboard and Sanyo battery for my new 2378fvu compared to Thai keyboard and Sony battery ? I saw some threads in notebookreview as well as thinkpads in this regards. I didn't find any problems but reading the threads gave me a feeling that Thai keyboard and Sony battery are better.
FRU# 08K4986 - China keyboard
FRU# 08K8193 - Sanyo battery

- Did anybody try to get a replacement for this reason ? Whats the lead time to get this done ?

Thanks,

 

That's exactly the model I'm thinking of getting. Just wondering, where did you buy it, as I'm sure you would've gotten a good price.