Author Topic: Lenovo External Monitor  (Read 10137 times)

Doug Clark

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Lenovo External Monitor
« on: May 09, 2018, 05:13:26 pm »
Anyone have an idea about how to get an external monitor to work with a T530?

For some reason I have a vague memory that I had that working some months ago, but I can't get it to work now. Even bought a docking station thinking that would help - but it doesn't for ArcaOS.

Andy Willis

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2018, 01:44:56 am »
If it is like my W530, it will only give the option for external monitor when the Nvidia video is selected in the BIOS.  Of course, then, the screen resolution options are really poor here.

Neil Waldhauer

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2018, 03:14:09 am »
The T540p works with external monitor with only a few weil-known issues. I think you have to select the external monitor in BIOS.
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Doug Clark

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2018, 05:50:53 pm »
Thanks for the responses.

So far I cannot get the external monitor to work using ArcaOS - no matter what the settings in BIOS, either directly connected to the laptop, or connected to the dock by either VGA or Displayport.

I will try going back a few versions on the BIOS and see if that helps.

It is a nice laptop - a little thick - but the keyboard is nice, I can put an SSD in WLAN slot, and switched the keyboard for an illuminated one. (Note: it appears you cannot boot off of a drive in the WLAN slot.) And it runs well with Panorama - well enough to play videos with VLC and the scrolling in PM is very good, as long as Shadow Buffer is switch on.

Downside is WinOS2 and DOS do not work.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2018, 04:46:29 pm by Doug Clark »

Doug Bissett

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2018, 07:06:28 am »
Quote
Anyone have an idea about how to get an external monitor to work with a T530?

Works on my L530, which should be very similar.

Attach the external monitor, go into the BIOS, select the Config tab-> Display.  Change the Boot Display device to Analog VGA. Save, and boot ArcaOS. When you shut down, and  disconnect the monitor, it will automatically switch back to the LCD.

There may be a Fn key to change it, but it is not obvious, on my keyboard.

Doug Clark

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2018, 06:06:32 pm »
Thanks Doug for the advice. I went back and tried ALL the options after your post.

In the BIOS on the Config -> Display  screen selecting Analog (VGA) as the "Boot Display Device" causes the VGA port to work on the laptop, but only if on the Config -> Display screen Discrete Graphics is selected as the "Graphics Device"; selecting either Integrated Graphics or NVIDIA Optimus will result in no output on the VGA port.

If the external monitor is plugged into the VGA port on the docking station, this combination of settings in the BIOS (and only this combination) will display on the external monitor when the laptop is plugged into the docking station.

When plugged into the docking station the laptop will boot without the lid open by pressing the power button on the docking station; you will bypass the option of entering BIOS and start at Airboot.

As Doug stated, simply unplugging the external monitor from the VGA port on the laptop will cause the display to revert to the laptop's LCD. However each time the display is changed (LCD to external or external to LCD) Panorama resets to VGA 1024x768. Selecting the desired resolution and rebooting fixes that.

Lastly: I tried replacing the WiFi card in the machine with an Intel WiFi Link 5100 because of some posting someone else had about that card possibly working. The laptop will not boot with that card in place; it complains about an unauthorized WiFi card.

Pete

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2018, 08:13:14 pm »
Hi Doug

Does the BIOS allow changing the WiFi card?


Regards

Pete

Dave Yeo

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2018, 01:14:35 am »
Thinkpads have a whitelist of allowed wireless cards (amongst other hardware). There may be a patched BIOS out there to work around the unauthorized card error.

Doug Clark

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2018, 01:54:10 am »
BIOS does not allow changing WiFi card - just enable or disable for WiFi.

It does however have a setting which converts the 2 USB 3.0 ports to USB 2.0. It comes with 4 USB ports, by default 2 are USB 3 and 2 are USB 2.

I had a patched BIOS for my Thinkpad T43p, but didn't think of that for this machine. I will look to see if someone has patched this one for unauthorized WiFi cards. This model has a sliding switch on the side for turning on and off WiFi - in addition to the usual Fn - key method, which only works in Windows. I thought I might have a fighting chance of getting some WiFi card to work with GenMac given the switch on the side.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Doug

Pete

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2018, 02:54:43 am »
Hi Doug


Lastly: I tried replacing the WiFi card in the machine with an Intel WiFi Link 5100 because of some posting someone else had about that card possibly working...

That may be me as I have an Intel 5100 working fine in a Dell E5500 laptop. However, it is a Dell branded Intel 5100 nic with pci id 8086:4232 rather than the Intel 5100 pci id 8086:4237

Which Intel 5100 (pci id) do you have?


Regards

Pete



Doug Clark

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2018, 03:06:51 am »
Unfortunately I have no idea what the PCI id is, since I could not get the machine to boot. WikiDev lists a bunch for this class of card, and I can't tell what the specific id is for this card.

The label on the card says Intel 512an_hmw

Pete

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2018, 05:45:22 am »
Hi Doug

You may want to check out this page with regard to getting the T530 to accept other wireless nics https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-REQUEST-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T530-Whitelist-removal

Having checked my (Dell) Intel 5100 I can tell you that it says Intel 512an_hmw on the card label so your nic may be an 8086:4232 in which case it has a good chance of working - if you can sort out the BIOS Whitelist.


Regards

Pete

Doug Bissett

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2018, 07:29:54 am »
Quote
selecting either Integrated Graphics or NVIDIA Optimus will result in no output on the VGA port.

That probably explains why it won't work. NVIDIA is very unfriendly to OS/2. My L530 only has an Intel video adapter. If there is an option to disable the NVIDIA device, it may work.

Quote
Lastly: I tried replacing the WiFi card in the machine with an Intel WiFi Link 5100 because of some posting someone else had about that card possibly working. The laptop will not boot with that card in place; it complains about an unauthorized WiFi card.

My L530 has an Intel Centrino wireless - N 2200 in it (8086:0891). I can get GENMAC to load, and it works exactly like a wired NIC with no cable plugged in (I think it is the same driver that Pete uses with the 5100). I (and others) have not found any way to turn on the radio. It appears that windows has a separate driver to do that, and OS/2 has no equivalent. If that is the case (and I would bet that it is), it doesn't matter what card you put into it, you still won't be able to turn on the radio.

FWIW, if I run Linux (which works), and reboot to OS/2, it leaves the radio indicator on, but the radio still won't work. From what I have been able to learn from the Linux guys, the radio, and the indicator, are separate, and it takes some manipulation with ACPI to get the radio turned on/off.

My solution was to get a D-LINK DIR-506L. which connects to the wired NIC, and communicates using WiFi (this was a few years ago, and I don't know if you can still get that one, but there are others that are similar). One advantage is, that it will still be useful, after they get the new Multimac WiFi driver to work. I do know that they are working on the WiFi drivers, but I have no idea what the time line is.

Doug Clark

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #13 on: May 18, 2018, 04:16:31 pm »
I am currently using something similar - an IOGear Ethernet 2 WiFi Universal Wireless Adapter (GWU637). I use the external switch on the laptop to turn off the radio in the laptop when I connect the adapter - as the adapter instructions suggest.  Two radios on at the same time (the adapter and the laptop) would probably be less than optimal.

When I slide the switch off the indicator light for the radio turns off.  In Windows the switch must be on for the radio to work. If the switch is on I can also use the Fn key-radio key combo to turn the radio on or off - but the slider switch must be on for that to work.  Actually the Fn key combo brings up a software app that has a radio button (pun intended?) for turning the radio and/or bluetooth on or off.

So I don't know that the slider key will actually turn on the radio in OS/2.  I am pretty sure the slider key in the off position makes sure the radio is off, but sliding the switch on may just allow the software to turn the radio on/off.

But in any case I stil have the whitelist issue. It appears the radio/card I have installed doesn't have a Genmac driver, and the cards which do won't work in the laptop.

It also appears that some have modified the BIOS, but to do that on this laptop the BIOS chip has to be removed from the laptop and reprogrammed in a burner/programmer. It also looks from the forum that some have not been successful and ended up with a laptop that doesn't work.

Given the possibility that even if I successfully modify the BIOS to allow the radio to be installed, it still may not work in OS/2 because of the on/off issue. Given the risk and cost (e.g. have to buy an eprom programmer) of modifying the BIOS and the uncertainty of the on/off issue, I will stick with what I have.

Thanks for the advice. Godspeed to the wireless multimac programmers, whoever they are.

Doug Bissett

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Re: Lenovo External Monitor
« Reply #14 on: May 18, 2018, 07:21:08 pm »
Quote
But in any case I stil have the whitelist issue. It appears the radio/card I have installed doesn't have a Genmac driver, and the cards which do won't work in the laptop.

Have you looked at: ftp://genmac@ftp.os2voice.org/ (use the word "unsupported", lower case, and no quotes, if it asks for a password)? You need to know the PCI ID, which is easy to find using the PCI.EXE program http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/util/misc/pci104vka.zip. If no driver already exists, I can build one  for you, but there is no guarantee that it will work. Note that INTEL devices, that are known to work, are in the INTEL download, Others, that are known to work, are in the GENMU download. The TEST download contains drivers that have been packaged, but nobody has reported that they work. Even drivers, that are known to work, may not work in your specific case.

Quote
So I don't know that the slider key will actually turn on the radio in OS/2.  I am pretty sure the slider key in the off position makes sure the radio is off, but sliding the switch on may just allow the software to turn the radio on/off.

That is true on my Lenovo T510. The L530 doesn't have a physical switch.

Quote
Given the possibility that even if I successfully modify the BIOS to allow the radio to be installed, it still may not work in OS/2 because of the on/off issue. Given the risk and cost (e.g. have to buy an eprom programmer) of modifying the BIOS and the uncertainty of the on/off issue, I will stick with what I have.

Personally, I looked at that option, for about 1 second, and decided that it is not a good thing to try. It is better to have a machine where WiFi won't work, than to have a machine that won't work, at all (the fix is to replace the motherboard, at your expense). Eventually, WiFi support should be available. From what I have heard (a few months ago), the base drivers are done. All that was left to do was to build an interface to XWLAN, to control the connection. Apparently, that isn't as easy as it sounds.