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I’ve got a 3630LE with 16MB Flash and 32MB RAM (actually expanded to 160MB currently). Currently it runs CE2.12 3.51 SP2. What flash upgrade options are available?
Ideally I’d like to get it to run either Linux (see Linux on a winterm) or CE 4.x. Basically I want a low power, silent system that does RDP5.1, terminal emulation, a little web browsing and ideally a couple of other apps (low footprint transient mail and IM).
It’s clear looking at the images available (I haven’t yet sourced a 16MB flash image for CE 4.x yet, but have based this on other available images) that 16MB is very tight for CE 4.x, and that sensible operation needs 32MB or more. The 3630LE does have a ‘compact flash’ slot, although this page indicates it’s smartmedia in a compact flash form factor. I’ve tried putting a 16MB compact flash card in, and the unit simply refuses to start.
Questions :
1) It is a custom flash format, rather than a standard CF card in the 3630LE isn’t it?
2) If I can get hold of either a genuine wyse card or construct a CF->smartmedia adaptor does this operate instead of the built in flash, or in addition to the built in flash
3) Is this seamless – that is – will it work fine with CE4.x and CE5 or does it need special software support
4) Does anyone know what the maximum flash supported is
5) Desoldering the current 16MB and putting a 32MB or greater flash chip in, is going to be a whole world of pain, isn’t it?Thanks!
Hi,
Wow, complex questions! I am not that up with the older modles but here goes!
1) It is a custom flash format, rather than a standard CF card in the 3630LE isn’t it?
2) If I can get hold of either a genuine wyse card or construct a CF->smartmedia adaptor does this operate instead of the built in flash, or in addition to the built in flashIn answer to these yes its a standard compact flash, any linear flash (AMD, Centennial) will do. There is no file system, the card is imaged at hex00 and witten as a system/boot/command file. You can use a 32MB card pre written to.
3) Is this seamless – that is – will it work fine with CE4.x and CE5 or does it need special software support
To my knowlege CE 4.2 was the last Wyse port of CE for this modle so getting CE5 on it will be a challenge.
5) Desoldering the current 16MB and putting a 32MB or greater flash chip in, is going to be a whole world of pain, isn’t it?
Sounds like a lot of work to me, but it could be done. I would see if you can find a compact card and flash it. Now you are going to ask me how, ain’t you ehh??? No idea but I will find out and post back.
How many of these old clients do you have, seams like a lot of work when you can get newer ones from ebay. CE is not my favorite OS for Citrix anyway…
Cheers,
-TT@thinkthin wrote:
In answer to these yes its a standard compact flash, any linear flash (AMD, Centennial) will do. There is no file system, the card is imaged at hex00 and witten as a system/boot/command file. You can use a 32MB card pre written to.
Ah, now I didn’t expect that! If it also contains the system BIOS including the netxfer bootstrap that would explain why it does nothing when I switch it on..
@thinkthin wrote:
To my knowlege CE 4.2 was the last Wyse port of CE for this modle so getting CE5 on it will be a challenge.
Yup.. To be honest I think I’d be fairly happy with 4.2 – I want it for RDP 5.1 and the IE 6.0 support
@thinkthin wrote:
Sounds like a lot of work to me, but it could be done. I would see if you can find a compact card and flash it. Now you are going to ask me how, ain’t you ehh??? No idea but I will find out and post back.
How many of these old clients do you have, seams like a lot of work when you can get newer ones from ebay. CE is not my favorite OS for Citrix anyway…
It would be nice if you could find a pointer, yes. Perhaps I just need to find a compact flash writer, and stick ulc_code.bin on it.. Or maybe I need to get Linux on the system and use that to read the 2Mb system flash ROM.
I had a look at the circuit board again – the 3630LE motherboard uses surface mount technology on both sides of the board. Desoldering the flash will be a pain so I don’t think I want to do so!
I only have one unit, so far. Whilst there are other Winterms on ebay cheaply the advantage with the 3630LE is the all in one TFT monitor/winterm package. I’m tempted to see what I can do with others if ones with a reasonable amount of flash appear online!
Thanks for getting back to me
PK
How did you ever make out with your 3630LE?
I just bought one and I’m a newbie with a few questions:
– How do you actually get the 4.x firmware? I figured out how to flash it via FTP, but I don’t know how to go about getting the code.
– Did upgrading RDP to version RDP 5.1 enable more than 8 bit color, or is the 3630 limited by the onboard video ram?
– Will sound work with RDP 5.1 on the 3630LE? I know 5.1 supports sound, but I’m not sure if the 4.1 will also support it.
– Do you get 4.1 working in 16Meg? If not, suggestions?
Any other advice you might offer?
Thanks for any advice you might provide !
Hi,
why the hell is everybody buying these old models? These units are old, use slow processors, limited RAM and flash and the biggest issue with these old units is the power supply. This is the most likely component that will fail after several years of use.
I am really not a big fan of using these 5+ year old units although they are really cheap. But an old 386 PC is also cheap 😉OK, back to your questions.
– the 3630 and 3235 have the same board. So you can download the FW here. But be aware that this is a violation of license agreement as an upgrade from old 2.12 cod to 4.x code is chargeable.
– yes, it will
– never tried but it should work
– no, the above image needs 32MB of flash. The only option would be contact Wyse and ask for a Primer for that model. A primer is the CE firmware without any addons and needs no more than 10MB plus IE and RDP should work in 16MB.Any other advice? Yes. Don’t buy these old units. Even if they are cheap, if you calculate the price of the unit plus work time to convert, search for fw, search this forum for tips, buy new power supply, etc, etc, then it is much more expensive than a new unit.
Regards
CGConfgen, a huge THANK YOU for your answers !
I called WYSE Support and they said a 4.x version was not available for the 3630LE, but the were able to provide me with the primer image for 3235. It worked flawlessly. WYSE support was easy to deal with and very helpful.
To answer your question, “why the hell is everybody buying these old models? ” Well just today I won #3 on eBay.
The 3630 is truly a classic ! It’s like a vintage Corvette.
The 3630 is modeled on a 15″ LCD flat screen. The ones I’ve been getting on eBay must have been in a storage room somewhere because they are literally in perfect condition with the original screen protector tape, untouched USB keyboard and ps2 mouse still wrapped up. The power supply has a standard two prong barrel end connector, again, unused and in it’s original plastic wrapper and wire ties. All of this for the enormous sum of just $9.99 plus $37 for shipping. I couldn’t buy a 15″ LCD for that price.What am I using them for? I have six children, and they all need to do their homework at the same time. One needs to research something off the web, while the other is typing a paper, etc.
They had been taking turns at one XP desktop, which I now loaded a special “googled” version of termsrv.dll which allows multiple users to share the same PC; much like the solutions from Ncomputing. This also allows me to share the installed version of Cyberpatrol, which is the absolute BEST filtering software for my little ones.
RDP 5.1 works great with sound at 1024×768 x 16k. I have a primer image with the DST fixes, RDP 5.1 and space left over on the 16mb flash.
What’s really nice too is this solution is “green” meaning it saves a bunch of electricity. The whole unit with it’s older CPU and limited memory draws like 25watts in sleep mode, and around 40 when it’s fired up. This is less than a modern PCI-E video card. If I purchased old x86’s, just the monitor alone would draw more power. Now I can run the three terminals on less power than one old x86.
Again, I really want to say thanks for taking the time to answer my post. Without your info I would have never been successful. I thank you, and my children thank you.
If you wouldn’t mind answering just one more question, what’s the benefit of upgrading the RAM beyond the 32MB. Is it just for more connections or are their other performance benefits? eBay has some PC100 Notebook 144pin 128MB memory dimms.
This is such a great story, you did all this for green computing for your kids – you deserve a medal!
Thank you for posting your reason’s for doing this, I like many assumed it was for commercial use. I feel very humbled.
I would not expect to see a huge performance improvement, if the RAM is cheap maybe try upgrade one and see if it works – I don’t recall ever seeing more than 64MB being used on those devices originally so there may be a question as to if it works,
Cheers,
-TTHi,
cool solution. This really make sense. Maybe I try to get my hands on some integrated ones for my kids also 😉
Increasing the RAM in mainly only for more connections. You will not see any big differences in speed.
Cheers
CGI umm’d and arr’d about putting this in a new thread, but i’ll keep this here just incase, for some odd reason, someone else is also investigating how to upgrade these ancient machines.
I’m after the 16mb primer image mentioned above, is there any chance, someone, somewhere, could source it?
TIA!
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