SuSE 6.0 on a Thinkpad 701c

In 1998 I bought a second hand IBM Thinkpad 701c "Butterfly", the one with the folding keyboard. Here you can read my historic page on how I installed SuSE 6.0 on this beast.
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My IBM Thinkpad 701 C

Yes, this is the cute IBM Thinkpad with the folding keyboard, as featured in "GoldenEye" (the good guys) and "Mission: Impossible" (the bad guys) - anybody got screen-captures of the baby in action? And if you haven't seen it in the movies, you might still have stared at it in New York's Museum of Modern Art permanent design exibition. It also got the 1996 iF Product Design Award.

Specs

Type: 2630-TF4
Size: 25cm x 20cm x 4.6cm at 2.0kg.
Screen: 21cm x 16cm (10.4") TFT 65536 colour, VGA (640 x 480).
Keyboard: TrackWrite expanding full size 85 key.
Processor: 486 DX 4 at 75MHz.
This is the fastest processor IBM did, but rare upgrades to an AMD 586 at 133MHz are sometimes available.
Harddisc: 3.2GB (used to be 520MB, can be upgraded to at least 6.4GB. Any 2.5", 12.5mm (or thinner) IDE drive will work).
These days it might be a better idea to install an 8GB CF card.
Memory: 40MB (8MB + 32MB). This is the maximum possible (sigh!).
There actually do exist rare upgrades to 64MB.
Modem: None (the German Version didn't come with the builtin modem. Shame!).
PCMCIA: Two type II or one type III.
CD-ROM: IBM External PCMCIA 4X CD-ROM Drive (1969-108).

Linux on the Thinkpad 701 C

I installed SuSE Linux version 6.0 on the Butterfly, which was my main computer for a few years. Read all about it on my 701 Linux page.

Links

Please note that the links below are from the original 1998 version of this page. Some might still work, but many probably won't.

Spare parts

  • Blue Star has been mentioned as a possible source of spare keyboards.

Sites dedicated to the Butterfly

IBM Canada
IBM ThinkPad 701 questions and answers
Craig's IBM Butterfly page
Very informative page about all things to do with the Butterfly.
Running Linux on the IBM Thinkpad 701C/CS
It does have an example XF86Config, but otherwise not very helpful.
Warped World! - Thinkpad 701
Mainly about OS/2 on the Butterfly.
Hantz + Partner
Go here for spare parts, memory, HDD, and processor upgrades (to AMD 586-133). Situated in Germany. Haven't yet talked to me though...
Lige's Thinkpad 701 Page
Linux on the Butterfly. Moderately useful.
IBM Notebook and PDA support
All the different Butterflies at your fingertips.
Bill Morrow's www.thinkpads.com
Go here for spare parts, memory and HDD upgrades. Probably not so usefull if you aren't located in the United States.