I just recieved an IBM I series 2611 -451 laptop with Windows ME that I got off ebay and it has a few issues.

1) No CDs are recognized by the CD drive. The CD drive shows up in My Computer, says its working properly in the Device Manager but when I put a known good CD in the drive and click on Compact Disc(d drive icon in My Computers it says PLEASE INSERT A DISK INTO DRIVE D:

I have even tried to put a bootable CD in the drive and rebooted and it ignores it.


2) I've resolved this issue but just throwing it out there.. When I put my USB thumbdrive in it said it detected new hardware and needed to search for software, it came back with 3 files that it couldn't find. I was able to search for the files and manually point the install to the files and the USB drive works fine.

3) When I went to make a bootable diskette it said it couldn't find a few files, one of them I was able to find the other I was not. No biggie I just downloaded the Windows ME bootdisk file and make a bootdisk that way. Just thought it was odd that it had trouble finding the files.


Back to the CD problem.. Is it possible that the wrong power adapter could cause this issue with the CD drive? The adapter that came with it fits loosely into its port. It does provide power and it is charging the battery, when I pull the adapter out I can tell that it switches to battery. So I know the adapter is good but I think its the wrong adapter. I have the same problem when I run the laptop on just battery also. So is this a seperate problem or could the power adapter affect the CD not being able to read discs? Also the adapter that came with it says its 16volt output and when I searched google for the correct adapter it says its 19Volt Output.
I think this is the correct adapter http://www.lindelectronics.com/cgi-bin/store/shop.cgi/!ORDERID!/AC_Adapters/AC90-2-ibm/dbx_gen_detail_AC_Adapters

The adapter that came with it is an IBM power adapter model AA19650

I emailed the guy a few minutes ago and I am waiting to hear back.

9/7/2006 1:34:22 AM

Well even though you didn't buy it at the bookstore, if it's still not fixed by saturday, feel free to come by and have me take a look at it. Saturdays are usually slow enough that I don't mind tinkering with stuff that's not exactly in our job requirements. What line is it though? If it's T40 or newer we may have an original restore CD with XP pro on it. If not... then there's always screwdrivers. Also, we can try different ultrabay drives to see if it's the drive itself or the cable or controler.

9/7/2006 7:21:51 AM

Its a IBM I series 2611 -451. first line in the thread

I dont think its a matter of the OS install gone bad, I mean thats a seperate problem. Im more concerened with the power supply being the wrong one and the CDROM not working at all.. Even if I wanted to reinstall the OS I couldn't do it right now, since the CDROM wont read any CDs.


I'll mess with it tonite at work and see what I can find out.

9/7/2006 8:04:44 PM

About the power adapter, look on the bottom of your Thinkpad and look for some numbers with voltage (V) and current (A).

For example, on mine I see '16V --- 4.5A'. This the voltage and amperage that the laptop expects from the AC adapter. On the AC adapter you have, you will also find a voltage and current output specs in a similar format. Does it match that of your laptop's? This can help your case in the event you were shipped an unmatched power adapter.

9/7/2006 8:30:22 PM