I have a couple of ThinkPads and would love to use them with AROS native. But so far, Linux hosted seems to be the best option, because there's no native WiFi or PCMCIA support, and only VESA native graphics anyway.

You can get native WiFi with a NetGear WG 111 V3 USB stick (AROS: rtl8180.device), but it's USB2.0 only IIRC, so not every ThinkPad will do.

Would love to see more/better AROS native support for the ThinkPads! :)

Note that you can install AROS to a USB stick and just use it from there. That way you will see if AROS (with(out) it's hardware support) works for you, and you dont have to worry about installation on your laptop.

Quote:

I run it native. And I do apologize; I had added PCMCIA in error (brain wires crossed). I'm editing my post to get rid of it.

@LambdaCalculus

Are you running AROS natively or hosted? Because we don't have native PCMCIA support.

I use an older ThinkPad, a T42, with Icaros Desktop. Swapped out the old HDD, stuck in a 32GB CF card with IDE adapter. 2GB RAM; got the ATI Mobility 9600 chipset as well. Just upgraded to Icaros 2.2!

What works for me so far:

* Sound
* Ethernet
* VESA video
* USB drive detection

What doesn't work so far:

* HW Accelerated video
* WiFi

Most of the software I've run so far does so very well. Only had issues with trying to get Quake II working (no accelerated video has it running slower than molasses in January).

I am using an IBM Thinkpad A31 with the ATI mobility 7500 chipset, using the internal network card, a 100GB HD and a docking station.

I originally installed Icaros 1.5, which gave me some issues playing movies.

Recently I upgraded to 2.2, and although have not used this version extensively, so far I have no problems.

I tried a couple of slightly older models (T60 and T500 IIRC) and was basically limited to VESA display and no LAN or sound, however I didn't persist much. As I have since found out sound sometimes takes a little more effort to make it work well.

For network the best bet may be to invest in a compatible Atheros WLAN card to replace whatever it comes with.

Hi,

Think it was tested a few years ago but not a lot of support then, you could try now and see if the audio now works ?

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Aros/Platforms/x86_Complete_System_HCL#IBM.2FLenovo

Jeff

Very soon (as in tomorrow) I am getting a Thinkpad L520. I was wondering what the compatibility normally is for one of these sorta units. Its basically a cheaper T520 case and screen wise, but for hardware its all the same. Is there anything I should look out for as a problem?

Specs:http://notebooks.com/2011/02/21/lenovo-thinkpad-l520-details-specs-and-photos/