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End of Development Support
Your product may no longer be actively supported by development (End of Development Support). Any resources provided by Lenovo for such products are made available “AS IS” and without warranties of any kind, express or implied. In no case will Lenovo be liable for the failure of any provided resources to function as expected or intended and the loss of, or damage to, data. To determine if your product is still actively supported by development, enter your serial number or product type below.
Checksum is a digit representing the sum of the digits in an instance of digital data, it’s used to check whether errors have occurred in transmission or storage.
Checksum is a digit representing the sum of the digits in an instance of digital data, it’s used to check whether errors have occurred in transmission or storage.
This ThinkPad BIOS Update Utility updates the BIOS program stored in the ThinkPad system to fix problems, add new functions, or expand functions as noted in the document.
What's More
This ThinkPad BIOS Update Utility updates the BIOS program stored in the ThinkPad system to fix problems, add new functions, or expand functions as noted below.
This release supports the following systems:
- ThinkPad R50, R50p
- ThinkPad R51 (M/T 1829, 1830, 1831 and 1836)(*1)
- ThinkPad T40, T40p, T41, T41p, T42, T42p
Note: (*1) Machine Type 2883, 2887, 2888, 2889, 2894 and 2895 of ThinkPad R51 family are not supported.
The supported operating systems are as follows:
- Microsoft Windows XP
- Microsoft Windows 2000
- Microsoft Windows 98 and 98 Second Edition
- Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 6a or later
Notes:
- This version of the BIOS will only work with Embedded Controller Program Version 3.04 (or higher). The Embedded Controller Program (H8 controller firmware) is available in an additional package, a link is provided below.
- If you need to update the Embedded Controller Program as well as the BIOS, update the BIOS first.
Additional information
Use the links below to obtain the BIOS and Embedded Controller files in other file formats:
Version 1RETDRWW (3.23) Note: This BIOS version will only work with Embedded Controller Program Version 3.04 (or higher).
(Fix) ThinkPad will not resume after undock from a docking station while a system is in hibernation mode.
(New) USB storage drive letter handling modified.
(New) Support for a new video memory for certain AMD video chips. Note: The 3.21 and previous release of the BIOS handles USB drive letter well on the Windows 98, 98SE. Please use 3.21 BIOS for the Windows 98, 98SE.
Installation instructions
Notes:
Remove the Power-on password prior to updating the BIOS in RDM (Remote Deployment Manager) environment or similar environment.
You need an AC adapter and a charged battery pack to update the system program.
If your computer is attached to any kind of port replicator, turn off the computer and detach it before proceeding.
If a USB Diskette Drive is attached to your computer, turn off the computer and detach it before proceeding.
For Windows 98, 98SE users: The release 1RETDRWW (3.23) and later version will have special USB drive letter assigning and this will cause a limitation in the Windows 98/98SE drive letter assignment. Please use BIOS 1RETDRWW (3.21), if you use USB storage devices on Windows 98/98SE.
Print these instructions or display on another computer.
Firmly connect the AC adapter to the computer.
Start a supported version of Windows on the target computer. For Windows XP, 2000, NT 4.0 logon with administrative privileges on the target computer.
Make the temporary directory on the hard drive (for instance, C:\Temp)
Download the ThinkPad BIOS Update Utility from the web site and store the file into the temporary directory.
Click the Start button, then click Run...
In the Open dialog box, specify the utility filename with the full path name where you stored ThinkPad BIOS Update Utility (e.g. C:\Temp\1ruj37us.EXE) and then press the Enter key. Note: For unattended update, specify the file name with options "-s -a -s". (e.g. C:\Temp\1ruj37us.EXE -s -a -s) The BIOS is updated without any user interaction.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
Depending on the operating system configuration, restarting the operating system and rerunning this BIOS update utility may be required. In this case, the following message will appear on the screen. "DeviceIoControl() returns 2 Please restart your operating system and execute the BIOS or Embedded Controller update utility again."
Windows will shut down automatically and ThinkPad BIOS Update Utility screen appears.
Select Read this first from the menu and carefully read the information that appears.
Press the Esc key to return to the menu.
Select Update system program and follow the instruction on the screen.
Attention: Do not turn off or suspend the computer until the update has been completed. If you turn off or suspend the computer while the update is still in progress, the system board may have to be replaced.
After the update has been completed, the system is automatically turned off.
Do the following to make sure the BIOS is updated correctly.
Make sure there is no diskette in the diskette drive, then power on the computer.
While the "To interrupt normal startup, press the blue Access IBM button" message is displayed at the lower-left of the screen, press the Access IBM button.
Select Start setup utility. If you have set a supervisor password, the BIOS Setup Utility menu appears after you type in the password.
Verify the BIOS version and date.
Turn off the computer.
Initializing the BIOS
BIOS Initialization is suggested for some problems. To initialize the BIOS settings:
Turn off the computer.
Turn on the computer.
While the "To interrupt normal startup, press the blue Access IBM button" message is displayed at the lower-left area of the screen, press the Access IBM button.
Double-click Start setup utility. The BIOS Setup Utility menu will be displayed. If you have set a supervisor password, the BIOS Setup Utility menu appears after you enter the password.
Press the F9 key to load default configuration.
Select Yes.
Press the F10 key to save default configuration and exit.
Select Yes.
Notes:
After initialization you may need to reapply some settings that you had changed previously.
After the initialization has been completed, the system restarts automatically.
BIOS information
Each version of the ThinkPad BIOS Update Utility contains the following system program (BIOS). The BIOS Version and the date can be viewed by running ThinkPad Configuration from your operating system and selecting the System Information button or by invoking the BIOS Setup Utility.
Make sure there is no diskette in the diskette drive, then turn off the computer.
Turn on the computer.
While the To interrupt normal startup, press the blue Access IBM button message is displayed at the lower-left of the screen, press the Access IBM button.
Select Start setup utility. If you have set a supervisor password, the BIOS Setup Utility menu appears after you type in the password. The BIOS version and date are displayed on the first screen of the BIOS Setup Utility.
Check BIOS Version and Embedded Controller Version.
The following conventional memory addresses are reserved by BIOS and others.
C0000-CFFFF : Reserved for Video BIOS
D0000-D3FFF : Reserved for Option ROM of Ethernet (*3)
DC000-DFFFF : Reserved for USB BIOS (*4)
E0000-FFFFF : Reserved for System BIOS
Notes:
(*3) This area becomes free by disabling the Internal Network Option ROM option under Config and Network in the BIOS Setup Utility
( *4) This area becomes free by disabling the USB BIOS Support option under Config and USB in the BIOS Setup Utility. This choice does not affect using USB devices in Windows operating systems.
Usable Area
The following memory address can be used by the memory manager such as EMM386.
D4000-DBFFF
But certain addresses in this area will be reserved for CardBus Controllers or others by Operating Systems. The addresses vary and depend on the design of each Operating System.
Restrictions
For ThinkPad T41, T41p, T42, T42p
Passwords can be set with passphrase feature but this is only supported in Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP only. Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and OS/2 are not supported.
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Alias Id: MIGR-50273
Last Modified Date: 20 Nov 2020
Original Publish Date: 03 Jun 2015
Document ID: DS013709
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