Thinkpad X24 questions.

Hi guys. I have a lovely 'vintage' X24 which I acquired that I am deciding whether to spend a lil' bit of cash on to fix up. It's still in good condition despite some scuff marks on the outside of the lid, I'm not a fan of the rubberised paint.

She's a P3 1.3ghz, 640MB ram, and quite snappy in Ubuntu / XP. I stuck in a new 80GB 7200RPM drive so far.

My main questions are: Where's the best place to get a replacement battery, and what sort of battery life can I expect from a new 4400mAh battery?

What wifi options do I have? I could get a PCMCIA card for a cheap price or can I get a miniPCI card? If so, what would the reception be like? I don't know if it has a dedicated antenna in the screen bezel?

 

I've have had good luck with replacement batteries from CalCellular in the past. You can get a new 4400mAh battery for ≈$60.

According to the TawBook (ThinkPads from 2000-2005) you should get approximately 4 hours from a new 4400mAh battery.

If you get a miniPCI card you will need to get a ThinkPad branded one. IBM/Lenovo is rather notorious for white-listing mini-PCI cards and you will get a BIOS error if you use a non-certified one (even if it's the same model). I am not sure of the exact FRU of the Wi-Fi adapter you would need, and you may not even have the appropriate antennas installed. As a result, I would just get a PCMCIA adapter as this will be far easier, albeit less convenient, than tracking down the appropriate internal solution.

 

Thanks for the tips, looks like I'll go for the PCMCIA card