IBM Docking Station for a IBM Laptop

[computerfr33k]

my uncle has a laptop and he has this (IBM Thinkpad Docking Station 2631), When he puts it on it asks for drivers when it should be plug and play(well shouldnt it be plug and play because they are both IBM and they are ment to work together)

and can someone please find me the drivers for IBM Thinkpad Docking Station 2631 please.

I would really appreciate it if you found the drivers.

Thanks

[Jester]

if they are two different model docking station they will require different drivers. As with video cards I believe that the drivers for one docking station will not be able to be on the same computer at the same time, but you might luck out because they are the same company. I don't know of a site off hand except www.IBM.com. Lokk in their support section.

[computerfr33k]

Originally Posted by Radioactiveninja if they are two different model docking station they will require different drivers. As with video cards I believe that the drivers for one docking station will not be able to be on the same computer at the same time, but you might luck out because they are the same company. I don't know of a site off hand except www.IBM.com. Lokk in their support section.

I already looked at IBM.com, that is why im asking here.
I couldnt find the exact drivers or i just dont know what drivers im looking for.

Yall Please help me look

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by spacemonkey I already looked at IBM.com, that is why im asking here. I couldnt find the exact drivers or i just dont know what drivers im looking for. Yall Please help me look

Have fun with that. Your computer is probably running Windows 98, which has abysmal support for Plug and Play. It can't even recognize USB keys without a driver.

Your best bet is probably to buy 2000 Pro or XP Home and to do a clean install of either on your laptop. You will be cursing at your laptop a lot less, it will be much more stable, and overall it will pretty much be like you have a whole new machine. If you can tell me which Thinkpad model you own and how much RAM you have, I can make an informed decision about which OS would be better. My guess is that XP will have the drivers built-in and either they will be in 2000 or they will be easy to find.

Of course, if you don't want to do that, you can try to get the laptop working with this dock, but I really wouldn't count on it. Windows 98 is nasty -- luckily most of the computers I work on have XP, but I groan whenever I see one with 98 or ME. It took me two hours the other day to get a wireless card working a Thinkpad T22 running 98; on XP it would have taken about five minutes. That guy keeps on coming into the computer clinic here at school with problems that he would not be having if he were running XP.

[computerfr33k]

Originally Posted by thefultonhow Have fun with that. Your computer is probably running Windows 98, which has abysmal support for Plug and Play. It can't even recognize USB keys without a driver. Your best bet is probably to buy 2000 Pro or XP Home and to do a clean install of either on your laptop. You will be cursing at your laptop a lot less, it will be much more stable, and overall it will pretty much be like you have a whole new machine. If you can tell me which Thinkpad model you own and how much RAM you have, I can make an informed decision about which OS would be better. My guess is that XP will have the drivers built-in and either they will be in 2000 or they will be easy to find. Of course, if you don't want to do that, you can try to get the laptop working with this dock, but I really wouldn't count on it. Windows 98 is nasty -- luckily most of the computers I work on have XP, but I groan whenever I see one with 98 or ME. It took me two hours the other day to get a wireless card working a Thinkpad T22 running 98; on XP it would have taken about five minutes. That guy keeps on coming into the computer clinic here at school with problems that he would not be having if he were running XP.

It has Win XP Pro already,

It is an IBM Thinkpad A20, P3 750, with 512mb memory and I think it was a 12 or 20gb hard dive.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by spacemonkey It has Win XP Pro already, It is an IBM Thinkpad A20, P3 750, with 512mb memory and I think it was a 12 or 20gb hard dive.

Hmmm... time for another diagnosis. I'm going to guess that drivers are still not the issue, though. Have you checked in Device Manager yet? Are there yellow question marks?

Frankly, with the new information, this is starting to sound like a hardware problem. If there are no yellow question marks and no evidence of the dock anywhere else in Device Manager, then you almost certainly have either a bad dock interface on the laptop or the dock itself is in some way broken.

BTW, sorry for being blunt on the last post... Last night was definitely an insomnia night and I'm not feeling my best right now.

[computerfr33k]

Duse, i havent installed it yet! and i told you that already. I put it on to install it and i need drivers for it. I need to get the dirvers.

ok

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by spacemonkey Duse, i havent installed it yet! and i told you that already. I put it on to install it and i need drivers for it. I need to get the dirvers. ok

Just try plugging it in and see if it works. If there's no driver available, it will tell you. If there is one, it will install correctly. You can't lose either way.

[computerfr33k]

Originally Posted by thefultonhow Just try plugging it in and see if it works. If there's no driver available, it will tell you. If there is one, it will install correctly. You can't lose either way.

Ya, but i need the driver cd!!!

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by spacemonkey Ya, but i need the driver cd!!!

No, you only need the driver CD if it needs a driver. If the driver is built into Windows XP, which it probably is, it will be straight Plug and Play and you won't need to do anything except plug it in.

Just try it. I guarantee it will not hurt.

[Force Flow]

Moderator's Comment:
Okay, everybody needs to calm down. Computer issuses can be frustrating, but most end with an answer, so take a deep breath and we'll get down to business.


That said, lets backtrack a little bit.

You have a laptop connected to an IBM Thinkpad Docking Station 2631. The latop is running XP Pro. When you connect it, it detects the device. Now, do you allow it to search for the drivers?

What is the name and model of the laptop? I'm assuming that the docking station came with the laptop, yes?

[computerfr33k]

Originally Posted by Force Flow Moderator's Comment: Okay, everybody needs to calm down. Computer issuses can be frustrating, but most end with an answer, so take a deep breath and we'll get down to business. That said, lets backtrack a little bit. You have a laptop connected to an IBM Thinkpad Docking Station 2631. The latop is running XP Pro. When you connect it, it detects the device. Now, do you allow it to search for the drivers? What is the name and model of the laptop? I'm assuming that the docking station came with the laptop, yes?

no i did not come with it.

IBM Thinkpad A20, P3 750, with 512mb memory and I think it was a 12 or 20gb hard dive.

[computerfr33k]

Force Flow, you wanted to know so answer me please, Thanks.

[Force Flow]

Hold your horses. It's only been a day.

I didn't see any drivers available either. The biggest problem is probably the docking station was not made for the laptop you are using it on.

So, if windows doesn't automatically detect drivers for it (or does not find them on the IBM or windows CD), I think you may be out of luck on this one.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by Force Flow The biggest problem is probably the docking station was not made for the laptop you are using it on.

Well, if you look at the page that spacemonkey linked to originally, it says that it's compatible, so that isn't a problem.

Spacemonkey, seriously, just connect the laptop to the docking station. You will probably find out that the drivers are built into XP and that you therefore won't have to look for them. If you don't, we can continue looking, but there's no point in looking if we don't know the situation.

EDIT: Hmmmmm, definitely my bad for not reading the original post carefully enough. This looks like what you need:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...id=MIGR-4R3MCT

[computerfr33k]

Originally Posted by thefultonhow Well, if you look at the page that spacemonkey linked to originally, it says that it's compatible, so that isn't a problem. Spacemonkey, seriously, just connect the laptop to the docking station. You will probably find out that the drivers are built into XP and that you therefore won't have to look for them. If you don't, we can continue looking, but there's no point in looking if we don't know the situation. EDIT: Hmmmmm, definitely my bad for not reading the original post carefully enough. This looks like what you need: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...id=MIGR-4R3MCT

Whats the link for? well last time i tried the docking statio on the lapptop it had win 200 Pro, I upgraded to XP a bit ago. I didnt recognize it with Win 2000 Pro, do you think it will with xp? I havent treied it with XP yet so....

[Force Flow]

Just give it a shot.