I recently purchased a Thinkpad 560e (p166) on ebay for really cheap to use in college for taking notes and maybe playing a few older games. It came with a fresh install of Win 98, but now I have no way of transferring files to/from the laptop.
There is no cdrom or floppy drive. I have no way to use the infrared with anybody else's laptop or any other device. I have a Direct Connect cable but windows does not have the support for it installed so I don't think I can use that. I do have a pcmcia network card but I plug it in and Windows doesn't recognize it (I also tried another, brand new, wireless network card but it isn't recognized at all either). The pcmcia section in the control panel lists both slots as empty.
IBM's checking feature that can be accessed at startup lists all the components as OK when checked.
What are my options for transferring files from my desktop to this laptop? (Money is a factor so the cheaper the better)
Once you have the network card working, you've got a way to get any files you need onto your laptop, so I'd make that the first priority. In order to get there, you'll need to improvise a way to get the network drivers onto the laptop. (If the Windows installation CAB files aren't on the hard drive, you're going to need those, too.)
There are a few different ways to do it, but the one I'd recommend is to get an external floppy drive for your ThinkPad since it'll come in handy later anyway (especially since you don't have a CD-ROM). There are a few different models that will work, and most of 'em can be found on eBay pretty cheap. An external floppy drive for any of the following ThinkPads should work: 560, 570, 600, 770. (There are other compatible models, too, but I don't recall which ones.) Just make sure that you get an external drive!
Another thing you could do is remove the hard drive and temporarily install it in another system. Then you can copy the Windows 98 CAB files and drivers to the hard drive, reinstall the drive into your ThinkPad, and install the driver for your network card.
Another option would be to use the modem if your ThinkPad has one (assuming its drivers are installed). Dial up to an ISP and download the drivers you need from IBM's web site.
I guess the worst-case scenario would be to find out your PCMCIA slots don't work. The reason this comes to mind is you said that Windows shows your PCMCIA slots as empty. According to IBM, Windows 98 has built-in support for the ThinkPad 560's PCMCIA controller.
Originally posted by Pengo I recently purchased a Thinkpad 560e (p166) on ebay for really cheap to use in college for taking notes and maybe playing a few older games. It came with a fresh install of Win 98, but now I have no way of transferring files to/from the laptop.
There is no cdrom or floppy drive. I have no way to use the infrared with anybody else's laptop or any other device. I have a Direct Connect cable but windows does not have the support for it installed so I don't think I can use that. I do have a pcmcia network card but I plug it in and Windows doesn't recognize it (I also tried another, brand new, wireless network card but it isn't recognized at all either). The pcmcia section in the control panel lists both slots as empty.
IBM's checking feature that can be accessed at startup lists all the components as OK when checked.
What are my options for transferring files from my desktop to this laptop? (Money is a factor so the cheaper the better)
Is the PCMCIA card a new one?
As SKY DOG said, you have to get that started or else use one of his other options.....
I set up an older PANASONIC toughbook by pulling the HD and using a 2.5" - 3.5" converter to install it into my desktop and setup the drive from there.
You can get one of those converter on eBay for around $15-$20; works smoothly for me
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