IBM ThinkPad 380XD "O.M.F."

Today’s subject… Well, my first computer - the IBM ThinkPad 380XD, or as some of my friends know it, the “Old Motherfucker” - never dies, never fast.

Some background on the 380 family first of all…

The 380s represent the first generation of ThinkPads to had done away from the original “Bento Box” design - machines with compact footprints where the keyboard and screen take up most of the interior surface area. With a 12-inch DSTN LCD screen, the 380 would have been at the higher end of screen sizes in comparison with the traditional “Bento Boxes” (the 765 family had 13-inch screens, the largest found among its kind).

However controversial the move is (consider the new keyboard design as something similar), ThinkPads of this generation are actually quite a bit more ergonomic in their design - larger palmrests (or much rather, palmrests first to be found on ThinkPads), larger screens (on 700 series), and more ports.

Right, let’s get to the machine as I talk more of the changes and some stories associated with this computer.

Machine info:

• Model 2635-8AU.
• Intel Pentium with MMX Technologies @ 233MHz.
  • Intel 430TX “Triton” chipset.
• 32MB EDO SDRAM @ 60ns.
• 3.2GB Toshiba MK3205MAV HDD.
• 12.1’’ DSTN “HPA” (High Performance Addressing) LCD.
• NeoMagic MagicMedia256XD 2MB VRAM.
• Crystal Semiconductor CS4237 Audio.
  • SoundBlaster Pro compatible.
• 299 * 234 * 61 (mm).
• 3.3Kg.

This particular 380XD of lower configuration is owned by my family since 1998, making it just one year younger than myself. This machine was used by my father until 2003 when he got a T23 - this machine was given to me.

It was running NetBSD and Windows 95. With a Pentium MMX and 32MB of RAM it runs both just okay, but just. Using it until 2007 wasn’t quite a chore - as most would find it ridiculous - as a young kid, owning a laptop myself was… quite fortunate if I say so myself. I tended to stick to NetBSD, as my dad would ask me to learn those Unix commands and play with Ports over the 56.4Kb modem - which I have to say I’m grateful of.

As mentioned above, “Bento Box” design was no more with the introduction of the 380 family in 1997, but this machine still managed to appear compact and (kind of) cute. However, this machine really shines when it comes to ports and features.

But look at them speakers though!

This is a tri-spindle (HDD, FDD, CD) laptop, with (almost) all the ports you could ask for - with the exception of a Line-In jack, which is always good to have with an external MIDI synth.

At the rear it’s mostly typical, a tripple-port arrangement of VGA, Parallel/LPT, and DB-9 Serial - accompanied with the PS/2 (as IBM loved it as ever), a AC/DC jack. What’s special here is a USB 1.1 port.

This 380XD, as one of the later models of the 380 family, introduced in 1998 with the higher end 380Z were the only two 380 models to come with this port - along with the 600, the 770 - these were some of the first ThinkPads to ship with a USB port (just one is more than enough by 1998).

On the left, as expected, is also a feast of functionalities. Your power switch starting from the left, accompanied with an audio interface array of 3.5mm headphone, microphone jacks, and a hardware volume control.

To the right are two 32-bit CardBus slot with “Zoomed Video” capability. As described in Toshiba’s article “History and Description of PCMCIA, CardBus & Zoom Video”, introduced after the 32-bit CardBus standard, the Zoom Video capability “allows a system to transfer video and audio data through a Zoom card directly to the VGA controller, bypassing the sytem bus and CPU”, so that “full screen, full motion movies can consequently be viewed on laptops at about 30 frames per second”. Since I have never seen or own such a card myself, and it’s actually quite hard to find any information of such product online, I will leave this part blank.

And finally, a removable HDD bay - why can’t we get this on ThinkPads now, dear Lenovo?

Opening up the machine, you would find the typical black ThinkPad interior with some red elements. Black and red makes the best combination…

However, the 380 predates the first 300 series ThinkPad to come with a dedicated “scroll” or middle mouse button - the 390. You could have to click/click-drag or use Page Up and Down for scrolling. Not bad, but going between my daily driver T61 and the 380XD, I soon came to realize that this button just has to be one of the best invention found on a ThinkPad after its initial debut.

Being a lower end 380XD, this one comes with the Intel Pentium MMX. Certainly not as quick as the Pentium II you find on higher end 380XDs and my friend’s 380Z, this certainly is a cooler running chip. Not that Windows 95 needs a Pentium II anyways…

LED array are now found just above the keyboard, moved from the hinge (and later moved back up to the screen). Note the HDD-FDD-CD LED indicator, it’s damn confusing but thankfully all three are loud and makes distinct noises so you could judge yourself.

At any rate, LED indicators are better than no indicator at all.

“Contrast” slider for the DSTN screen - as if you would want any lower Contrast on DSTN screens - just get it right, only one spot works well.

IBM ThinkPad logo found on the upper-right corner of the LCD assembly, making good use of the bezel. Models with larger LCDs, such as the 380Z, has this logo along with the contrast/brightness slider below the LCD.

Still, the machine appears to be quite compact, however it’s nearly the size of my daily driver T61 (12 inches versus 14 inches). But at any rate, this is certainly not too large, if not for the ridiculous thickness - even by 1998 standard.

To help better comprehend the thickness, here’s a CF card for comparison… But again, you do get quite a bit with the thickness: awesome stereo speakers in the front, accompanied by a wub-wub on the bottom.

The HDD Drive is very easy to take out - use a Quarter or a 1 CNY coin to unscrew. Had to give IBM credit here, while “Bento Box” ThinkPads sported tool- less design, where the keyboard lifts up like a car bonnet, it’s mostly the HDD and the battery that needed easy replacement - the 380XD’s got both CD and FDD included so that’s not a concern - the 770 had easy-release UltraBay mechanism so that also remained tool-less.

TL;DR, you didn’t lose much here.

Next, open up the lid and press the coin at a bottom slide on the cover to pop up the HDD compartment cover.

Pull on the blue strap and out goes the HDD. Simple.

Again, being a lower end model, this 380XD comes with the smallest HDD available… A Toshiba MK3205MAV… Loud, crunchy, typical Toshiba. But hey, you don’t get to listen to these noises these days.

Booting up Windows 95 takes somewhere around 2 minutes with standard CardWorks and Crystal drivers, and KILL98 boot-up scan. Not horrible but not exactly acceptable for a machine introduced 3 years after Windows 95. This HDD will crawl if you put 98, or even 2000 on it.

But again, Windows 95 works reasonably well and the HDD gives it that extra bit of fun as you could listen to it “thinking”.

Bottom of the machine haven’t got much going on - from top to bottom, dual-slot docking bay port (never got one with the machine), a RAM door, and a battery compartment.

The “Enhanced Port Replicator” available for 380s came in two favours… With or without “Etherjet”, a PCI-based Ethernet NIC. The XD won’t work with the NIC-enabled model, that one’s strictly for the 380Z.

The battery release mechanism is quite… sophisticated. Thought I’d point that out.

A new-old-stock battery I purchased two years ago from a German reseller. Still holds a charge for some two hours. As much as I wanted it to stay as original as possible, a working battery just gives the machine that much more interesting to play with… Carry that to a coffee shop yeah?

A 128MB 144-pin EDO SODIMM is the largest RAM module you could stick into the machine. The machine comes with 32MB onboard (I hate onboard RAM, as they fail and kills the motherboard altogether…), making it capable of holding a maximum of 160MB of RAM - good for Windows XP.

I left it out as I bought this for my friend’s 380Z, I like my machine original, and slow in its nature (crunching away).

A CardBus Etherjet card that came with the machine, supports DOS/Windows 3.1 through Windows XP. My PCMCIA to CF adapter’s still on the way, which I’d show later - planning on putting some music and videos on them to play on the 380XD.

Let’s power the old gal up…

Turning on the machine, you are greeted with errors 161 and 163 - bad CMOS battery. If you have noticed from the RAM module pic, the CMOS battery socket was missing - I tried to replace the CMOS battery, but I ended up pushing the socket off the board…

Oh well, until I could get my hands on a solder iron.

Setting the time like the laptop never knew it. Just that extra faff you get with a bad CMOS…

BIOS splash, I think for 300-series ThinkPads, IBM started making them standard with the 365. Before then the laptop boots up showing a memory count and shows whatever errors as the machine please. The “graphical” Easy-Setup was there since the first ThinkPad 700s, but it was gone after the 380 as ThinkPads goes into the Pentium III era - moreover, it was never there for the Acer-made ThinkPad iSeries.

Sorry about the image quality… It’s quite hard to get a picture for a DSTN screen, especially when the background’s dark.

Microsoft Windows 95 with Microsoft Plus!

Hello, Lord Sakamoto… Are you awake?

And to the desktop we go… This is a Simplified Chinese version of Windows 95 - so you see, I mixed up English system components (Plus!) with Simplified Chinese files…

It’s fine as long as you are careful when Windows prompts you of language code mismatch.

System properties… This is Windows 95 OSR (OEM Service Release) 2.5. I heard earlier of some interesting tales regarding the Cangjie input method with OSR 1 in China, that was intriguing (as tension rises with Taiwan in 1996).

Anyways, OSR 2.5 is essentially OSR 2.1 with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, which was installed on the first boot.

Haven’t got much installed at the moment. To be honest, I don’t fancy gaming on this laptop with this screen.

This copy of Windows 95 has Desktop Update installed - provided by Internet Explorer 4.0 as seen with the “throbbler” style on the top right of the Explorer window - if you install Internet 5.0 or higher, you would get a Windows flag.

It’s quite amusing that when you first open “My Computer” (or “My ThinkPad”) by my customisation, it shows “Microsoft Internet Explorer” - then switches to the correct title. Sometimes when the system is busy, it might show an “ActiveX controls not responding” warning…

It should be clarified that Node.js, Electron, and React Native were never innovations in the first place.

This machine serves Amiga MODs and occasional CDs via the awesome speakers. Been doing this since it was retired as my daily machine (for a T23, as you might have guessed… or if you still remember the story) in 2007, I was a happy man running Compiz on the T23… Good times.

All my 9x machines have to be equipped with Flying Toasters…

Flying out of the sun
The smell of toast is in the air
When there's a job to be done
The Flying Toasters will be there!
And it's flap! Flap! Flap!
Now help is on the way
A victory song they si-ing
We pop up to save the day
On flying toaster wings!

ThinkPad Configuration Utility… Do yourself a favour, get it through the PCCBBS Mirror, the one made available via Access IBM or Lenovo simply doesn’t feel right.

♫ I got a battery… I got a working battery… I’m a owner with working battery!

KILL98, quite an advanced Anti-Virus programme from a Beijing-based company - performing a reboot/shutdown scan on the floppies, just in case you’d boot from that, intentionally or not.

So that about wraps it up… As a bonus, here are two “Stereotypical” Lenovo Machine Shots.

Congratulations, you have reached the end of this post! For full resolution and full colour pictures, see here.