Can anyone help me? I'm an idiot

tonyford · 08-15-2006, 09:46 AM

Hi everyone

just wondering if you help me out with something

I have a IBM Thinkpad A20m, it came with a 500 Celeron chip in it, but i recently purchased a 700 Pentium chip for it. Now the A20m is supposed to be able to work with the 700mhz Pentium chip, but when ever i check the settings, it says that it's only a 550 mhz chip? Is there anything i can do?
please help me

daamon_vexion · 08-15-2006, 09:51 AM

i wouldnt call yourself an idiot.. at least you are asking for advice... now as to fixing that? i wont offer any, dont know how, but you arent an idiot... yet... oh and did you download the drivers for the chip?

tonyford · 08-15-2006, 09:53 AM

i sure didn't....

tonyford · 08-15-2006, 09:56 AM

any idea where i would get those? i looked on IBM's A20m site, and there were drivers, just everything is over my head....

daamon_vexion · 08-17-2006, 03:46 AM

sorry i looked, but i am only going off of google.. one of the techs here should be able to help more than me, and i dont want to give you bad advice

Zazula · 08-17-2006, 04:31 AM

Tonyford, provided that your IBM Thinkpad A20m can actually support the 700mhz Pentium chip (something that I couldn't verify and confirm as of now but I'll keep looking; if you have it written in a manual or saw it in IBM's site please post back), then the frequency can be set via the BIOS setup utility. Do you know how to enter the BIOS setup and alter its settings?

tonyford · 08-17-2006, 05:03 PM

i forget the url on the ibm site, but i found it there, and after searching i found it here too

http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h155.htm

**laboye** · 08-18-2006, 04:27 PM

Nope. The motherboard's crystal on an A20m can only operate at speeds up to 550MHz. This means that it won't use the full power of the Pentium. It could also be a voltage problem. Pentiums take a bit more voltage that Celerons. Also, IBMs BIOS does not provide processor tuning options, especially one as old as the A20m. You may be able to get a new motherboard for a more modern A20m model, which may have the crystal you're looking for. I have sold about 5 A20ms with 650 and 700MHz processors, so I know they exist. Please provide the model-type number on the bottom of the ThinkPad. It is located on a black and white sticker above a barcode.

**laboye** · 08-18-2006, 04:33 PM

A. Also, never call yourself an idiot! Especially in public

.
B. Processors don't have drivers like that. They will run at their speed if the crystal can support it. Processor drivers would be for Power Management.
C. IBMs BIOS utility tells you the processor speed.
D. Along with the model-type, what size screen do you have? Is it XGA, SVGA, UXGA or SXGA? The translations are in my signature.
E. I can provide links to other motherboards if you provide that info.

08-15-2006, 09:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
tonyford Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Can anyone help me? I'm an idiot Hi everyone just wondering if you help me out with something I have a IBM Thinkpad A20m, it came with a 500 Celeron chip in it, but i recently purchased a 700 Pentium chip for it. Now the A20m is supposed to be able to work with the 700mhz Pentium chip, but when ever i check the settings, it says that it's only a 550 mhz chip? Is there anything i can do? please help me

08-15-2006, 09:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
daamon_vexion Resident Soldier Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Iraq (temp) Wyoming Posts: 560 OS: Windows XP Media Center My System	i wouldnt call yourself an idiot.. at least you are asking for advice... now as to fixing that? i wont offer any, dont know how, but you arent an idiot... yet... oh and did you download the drivers for the chip? __________________ *And the Infantry Sayeth unto the Lord "Thou hast made us the Queen of battle, and Artillery the King, surely thou knowest what the King does to his Queen?" And the Lord replyeth, "Right On!"*

08-17-2006, 03:46 AM	#5 (permalink)
daamon_vexion Resident Soldier Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Iraq (temp) Wyoming Posts: 560 OS: Windows XP Media Center My System	sorry i looked, but i am only going off of google.. one of the techs here should be able to help more than me, and i dont want to give you bad advice __________________ *And the Infantry Sayeth unto the Lord "Thou hast made us the Queen of battle, and Artillery the King, surely thou knowest what the King does to his Queen?" And the Lord replyeth, "Right On!"*

08-17-2006, 04:31 AM	#6 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,667 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Tonyford, *provided* that your IBM Thinkpad A20m *can* actually support the 700mhz Pentium chip (something that I couldn't verify and confirm as of now but I'll keep looking; if you have it written in a manual or saw it in IBM's site please post back), then the frequency can be set via the BIOS setup utility. Do you know how to enter the BIOS setup and alter its settings? __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)

08-18-2006, 04:27 PM	#8 (permalink)
laboye TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hollywood, FL Posts: 1,246 OS: Windows xp Pro/Vista Beta 2/Ubuntu 6.06 LTS My System	Nope. The motherboard's crystal on an A20m can only operate at speeds up to 550MHz. This means that it won't use the full power of the Pentium. It could also be a voltage problem. Pentiums take a bit more voltage that Celerons. Also, IBMs BIOS does not provide processor tuning options, especially one as old as the A20m. You may be able to get a new motherboard for a more modern A20m model, which may have the crystal you're looking for. I have sold about 5 A20ms with 650 and 700MHz processors, so I know they exist. Please provide the model-type number on the bottom of the ThinkPad. It is located on a black and white sticker above a barcode. __________________ Repair Windows XP Guide --- Resolutions Crazy Computer that I'm saving up for::Antec P180 Case;PC Pwr&Cooling 1kW Quad SLI PSU;Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe;Intel Core2 XE X6800;Corsair TWIN2XP2048 2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM;2xAsus GeForce 7950 GX2;BFG PhysX Accel.;IBM DVD-RAM/Plextor DVD±RW;Seagate 750GB HD 7200RPM;WDX 150GB 10000RPM;Vigor Monsoon TEC Cooler

08-15-2006, 09:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
tonyford Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP	i sure didn't....

08-15-2006, 09:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
tonyford Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP	any idea where i would get those? i looked on IBM's A20m site, and there were drivers, just everything is over my head....

08-17-2006, 05:03 PM	#7 (permalink)
tonyford Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP	i forget the url on the ibm site, but i found it there, and after searching i found it here too http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h155.htm

08-18-2006, 04:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
laboye TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hollywood, FL Posts: 1,246 OS: Windows xp Pro/Vista Beta 2/Ubuntu 6.06 LTS My System	A. Also, never call yourself an idiot! Especially in public . B. Processors don't have drivers like that. They will run at their speed if the crystal can support it. Processor drivers would be for Power Management. C. IBMs BIOS utility tells you the processor speed. D. Along with the model-type, what size screen do you have? Is it XGA, SVGA, UXGA or SXGA? The translations are in my signature. E. I can provide links to other motherboards if you provide that info. __________________ Repair Windows XP Guide --- Resolutions Crazy Computer that I'm saving up for::Antec P180 Case;PC Pwr&Cooling 1kW Quad SLI PSU;Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe;Intel Core2 XE X6800;Corsair TWIN2XP2048 2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM;2xAsus GeForce 7950 GX2;BFG PhysX Accel.;IBM DVD-RAM/Plextor DVD±RW;Seagate 750GB HD 7200RPM;WDX 150GB 10000RPM;Vigor Monsoon TEC Cooler