Ladies and gentlemen we have a challenge

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:14 pm

Ok so yesterday I bought an IBM thinkpad r31 2656 off craigslist for $25. The add said there was no hard drive but it does start up. Well it turns out that it did have a hard drive and my brother messed around on it trying to get it to boot all the way up because it just kept saying something about trying to install windows 98.

So he told me he tried starting it in safe mode and told me that he saw the c drive and the files it contained.

Then he tried to remove the operating system and boot from a cd(linux) since there aren't exactly a large numbers of windows 98 flying around.

Well when that didn't work and the only message we got said there was no operating system even though we had set it up in the BIOS to boot from the cd drive.

So I was hoping someone could tell me if they have any other ideas. I've never delt with a laptop or computer this old to be honest so I would appreciate the help. Oh btw I just purchased the laptop to practice soldering laptop power jacks and didn't even anticipate there being a hard drive but now that I know there is one there I kind of want to see if I can get this old machine up and running.

Thank you,

betelgeuse

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:39 pm

it will probably run xp but it looks like you have to start fresh for that,
i wouldnt count on it running win 7, and its possible to get it running linux.
it has a cd drive so you can possibly use a rescue utilities disk of some type, like ultimate boot cd, but make sure you get a good copy
i dont know how much $ you want to put it but a drive dock that can hold a 3 inch HDD like a laptop has can help you transfer files back and forth

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:27 pm

Ok I'm not sure if it's cool to post another question related to the same computer but I'm going to give it a shot. The screws from this ancient laptop were difficult to take out when I tried taking apart the computer to check and see if there were any issues in the case that may have been causing my problem. Now the screws don't seem to want to go all the way back in. I was wondering if there was any way to handle this because I don't want to strip out my screws.

Thanks,

betelgeuse

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 3:55 am

XP to the the first question Very Happy

Screws usually have a 'locktite' solution on them to make sure they wont loosen, A squirt of normal beswax polish usually shifts that. Also make sure that the screws go back where they came from, i use a scrap of paper to roughly draw the holes and place the screws on the dots, simple, but works.
Most old laptops pick up a bit of crud around the screw holes, next time try a cotton earbud to give it a clean before unscrewing.
Curiosity, what size hdd does it have??

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 10:43 am

Sounds like you didnt burn your linux cd properly, your going to need to boot a cd to install an OS, so first thing i would be doing is seeing why your linux cd wont boot. I wouldnt recommend spending to much time on it though, as your average phones specs will blow that laptop away Laughing