/tpg/ - ThinkPad General

Previous thread: IRC: #/tpg/ on irc.rizon.net

Other business laptops are also welcome in /tpg/ (e.g. Dell Latitude/Precision, HP EliteBook/ZBook).
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If you're looking for purchase advice, READ THE BUYERS GUIDE FIRST. Then post, stating budget and requirements (e.g. size and performance).
Don't buy anything OTHER THAN T, X AND W/P SERIES if you want the Real ThinkPad Experience™

Recommended models:
T420 - 14", normal size
X220 - 12.5", ultraportable
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Why ThinkPad? (also applies to other business laptops)
>Used machines are plentiful and cheap.
>Excellent keyboards - tactile feel and quiet.
>Great durability: chassis uses a magnesium rollcage for structural integrity, with high quality plastic body panels.
>Utilitarian design: e.g. indicator LEDs, 7 row keyboard layout on older models.
>Docking stations that easily turns your laptop into a desktop.
>Easy to repair, upgrade and maintain thanks to readily available service manuals for every model. Spare parts are easy and cheap to obtain.
>The best trackpoint (that red thing in the middle of the keyboard). Great for those who type a lot or hate swiping their fingers all over a touchpad.
>Excellent GNU/Linux & *BSD support.
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Used ThinkPad buyers guide:
ktgee.net/tpg

xsauc buyers guide:
dankpads.com

EPP discount for new ThinkPads (USA & Canada only, usually 15%+ off):
pastebin.com/ULHCY5ch

Helpful links and resources (Wiki, lookup tools and wallpapers):
pastebin.com/DYjEnVq1

Other urls found in this thread:

dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/sys/5760116701.html
thinkwiki.org/wiki/Install_Classic_Keyboard_on_xx30_Series_ThinkPads
ebay.com/itm/14-LENOVO-ThinkPad-T440s-Intel-Core-i5-4300U-1-90GHz-500GB-SATA-16GB-SSD-4GB-/112120480110?hash=item1a1ae6c16e:g:CxIAAOSwMgdXyxhe
twitter.com/NSFWRedditGif

Should I cop? This will be for uni and I'm a EE major. Probably going to put debian on it.
dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/sys/5760116701.html

whats a list of good PC Cards that can get some use in today's day for my T400

I already got a 3 Port USB 3.0 Express 54 for the top port coming in tomorrow so now i need the extra slot filled.

I was thinking maybe a smart card reader but not sure if its good for anything other than security (can you even use it as an encryption key for booting/loading a hard drive?)

I have a two-part question. My T420 died today after literally falling into a lake. Here's the question:

My T420 was starting to feel old anyway.

Is there any way to get the T420 keyboard onto a T440-450 or w/e?

If not, are there any more powerful Thinkpads with the old keyboard?

thinkwiki.org/wiki/Install_Classic_Keyboard_on_xx30_Series_ThinkPads
I haven't done this myself but it looks like it is possible. Also I want to say that the 20 series was sadly the last to have that style of keyboard.

It's such a nice keyboard. I'm not sure if I can stomach buying another 420, but it sure is hard to move on. I'll look into your link.

Is it best to buy a thinkpad with the best screen/processor and cheap out on hardrive and ram, then upgrade both of those after?

Any thoughts about the Thinkpad yoga 12 with a digitizer?

T400 or T420?

I want a thinkpad but I'm a bit scared about getting scammed. Aside from what's in the buyer's guide, what else should I check on a thinkpad? I've been reading some stuff about loose hinges and bad wifi receivers and hard drives that fall out.

Has anyone gotten a thinkpad from newegg? Specifically from the pc rebuilders and recyclers? Do their bios come unlocked?

>My T420 was starting to feel old
What was wrong with it?

So while using my x230t (and charging) windows suddenly went "no battery present", disconnecting the power cord let me use the battery normally but connecting it again would make it disappear again.

This is pants on fucking head retarded, battery info states it's in good condition, and the BIOS recognizes it.
Trying to charge it while it's turned off would make the orange led flash a couple of times and die.
I tried all kinds of combinations of resetting power and reinstalling the battery drivers in device manager.
Returning the BIOS to default didn't help it either.

Any ideas? This has been a pain in my anus for a while.

Should I cop?
ebay.com/itm/14-LENOVO-ThinkPad-T440s-Intel-Core-i5-4300U-1-90GHz-500GB-SATA-16GB-SSD-4GB-/112120480110?hash=item1a1ae6c16e:g:CxIAAOSwMgdXyxhe

You can put a T420 keyboard into a T430

Just buy it on ebay and if they don't give you a functioning system, return it.

If you're usig ebay just pay using paypal, 99% of the time they side with you. Just read descriptions.

X1 Carbon a good ultrabook for software development (real-time embedded systems)?????
or should i go for something with a bit faster cpu

Got a t430 with nip keyboard, 3320m, 1600x900, 8gb 1600mhz, hdd, apparently previously used by a careful Nipland OL because everything's still shiny and solid.

Did I do good Sup Forumsentoomen?

Sorry forgot, price was $240

Planning to throw a 250GB 850 evo into into main slot and move the existing HDD into a caddy.

I feel like getting a 4:3 laptop.

What do you guys think of the X60, X61, T60, T61, T61p?

From that lot, the T61 is the best.
*60 are older and the T61p is a bit riskier, at least if you get one with the nvidia card.

>Those extra keys.
Oh man I would be spoiled by all those modifiers.

If I get one with a IGP will it be ok?

Anyone have an X230 Tablet on Windows 10? The top of my tablet screen goes all fucked up on me for some reason--putting the pen in that area puts touches below a certain threshold, and moving vertically in that area moves the cursor horizontally under the threshold. I don't get it.

Try calibrating it my nigga

My wife is now using the T61 I bought one year ago, and it's doing fine with her facebooking and tumblring, etc...

On the other hand, it crapped out a little with flash on linux while I was using it so...

Tried multiple times; even the calibration screen has that issue.

Tried that multiple times; it does it on the calibration screen, too.

If you program be rdy to seppuku, jap keyboards have differnt locations for + -, extra keys etc. If they didnt they would be a weebs wetdream

>Nipland OL
Did you sniff and lick the keyboard?

Can't you just change that in the system settings?

>Get a x220 a few days ago
>Seems a bit slow
>Temps are at 80-85 when the cpu is at 20% load
That can't be safe, right? What do I do? Fan seems to run normally.

Do Precision E6500 and such have good screens? They have good resolutions (fhd and higher) and are really cheap, but what about quality of picture? I had Latitude E4310 with 768p screen and it made my head ache. It had rubbish screen.

Fuark, now I want to do that.

Thoughts on Precision M4600? Anyone know how well it stacks up in GNU/Linux? I found a very good deal on one with 12 GB of ram, a 256 GB SSD, i7, etc for under $300USD. I have used the laptop before, so I know how it performs in Windows, but I'm not sure whether it will be fully compatible with Linux?

>he fell for the meme
send back if you still can its the only way

Clean it thoroughly and apply new thermal compound. Takes 5 minutes and is to be expected of a few year old laptop

This. There's no way in hell I'm keeping the Jap layout. Even after the remaps I'm not sure if I can adapt to the retarded Enter key and short as fuck spacebar (map those 2 moonrune keys to space too maybe?). I'll just give it a try. Worst case scenario, Jack Ma can give me that US keyboard.

Not worth the risk of licking some otaku's cum senpai.

I bought a Elitebook 12.5"
Should I install arch Linux
directly or?

If it is your first time using Linux, I suggest NOT using a graphical installer for Arch, IE Antergos or Manjaro or Architect. You will learn far more by just installing it by hand.

It's not the first time, my main desktop got
Arch Linux. I just wonder if there's a reason
to save Windows. I only have a 128GB SSD
so I quess I will only use Linux.

1 thing is weird 'y' and 'z' are on the wrong places. And I wonder what keyboard layout I should use.

My trusty ol' X200s is slowly dying.
I found a used X230 with an i5, 8GB of RAM and 128GB Samsung SSD for 250 bucks. Great condition too, saw it in person.
Should I take it?
How's the X230 anyways, the keyboard is cancer but I want just OK performance (better than the X200s anyways) and some good battery life.

Hey guys I am using a t420 and overall i am really happy.
My wificonnection sucks tho so I assume it's because of the wificard.
any suggestion which one to buy? I am from pooreurope btw

>$370
>1.9GHz
no

Where do i get a X1 Carbon 3rd gen battery for replacement? Even the official lenovo site doesn't have it.

is it non existant?

Are crucial SSDS a meme?

Did other user get his nip keyboard from ali yet? The wears on mine are starting to set in and just look like a well worn keyboard, still contemplating buying another eventually...

J E A L O U S

ThinkPads are a meme, you're a meme, I'm a meme, everything is a meme.

I just want to keep the memage pure
What RAM is the biggest meme?

If you know somebody with the same laptop, try their battery and see what happens.

then go with kingdian ssds + nobrand china ram

I'd like to get the weeb keyboard but i got so used to the meme arrow key for toggling the microphone on and off.

I'd miss my dedicated shitposting key.

I could get a used x220 for $170, then throw in a $30 mSATA SSD. The only thing I'm worried about is the battery life, and Newegg sometimes has similar x220's for the same price but refurbished, so I'm assuming they're better quality. Should I wait or take the used one now?

Just got my t420 and it worked fine yesterday, but now 6 keys are dead. (Y,U,H,J,N,M), the keys left off the trackpoint. Any idea how to fix or what caused this? am I fucked? Tried booting in both linux and w10..

right*

have you tried rebooting?
What OS?

had the problem in the preinstalled w7. Formatted and installed w10, no problems for a few hours. Suddenly the keys were dead when I woke up this morning. I have W10 and Fedora atm

update: the trackpad just stopped working.

wtf is going on? is my computer short-circuiting?

My kingshit SSD has been serving me well. My RAM is also from some unknown company, but it's 'murican.

Replug your keyboard and see if that helps.

>My kingshit SSD has been serving me well
I'm running a mSATA Kingdian ssd and yeah, it's good.

Same here. Mine's a KINGSTON_SMS200S.

Kingdian != Kingston

Ah. I see they have a similar reputation anyhow.

i've read the buyers guide for used thinkpads in the op, but when it says $170-$210 for a t420, what sort of specs will that have? like 4gb ram and 500gb sata?

Depends on the seller of course but just buy the cheapest one, everything is upgradeable including the CPU.

Two 8gb sticks are cheap too.

Best place to get X230/T430?

depends on how much you wanna pay/what you can find on ebay/craigslist
also if you're gonna get an x2n0, you have to be sorta careful opening it. if you open it and close it from the top the shitty bar things will get wibbley wobbley and might break off

Anyone want to compile a checklist of things to look for when buying second hand Thinkpads?
We can add it to the guides listed in OP eventually

Here is what I have so far:

-Enter BIOS, make sure that it is not password locked, if there is a screen prompting for a password then it is password locked and you will not be able to change all settings

-In BIOS, make sure hardware matches the seller's description (core hardware is listed in the BIOS)

-In BIOS, make sure that computrace and anti theft is disabled

-In boot utilities run simple hardware diagnostics if available (newer models will allow you to check the health of memory and storage)

-Boot the device and check that inputs like buttons, touchpad, and keyboard are working properly (make sure they are not disabled in the BIOS before claiming something doesn't work)

-Check physical condition of the item and run a test on ports if possible

-Check if the COA is still on the laptop if planning on using it

-Plug the laptop to a power source or unplug if running off a wall socket to check functionality of battery and power input

-Inspect the screen for dead/stuck pixels or any other screen damage

If anyone can add or correct to this, feel free to do so.

Mine's been fine for years. You pretty much gotta drop it on that part of the lid.

In the X models, check for cracks in the chassis around the HDD socket.

How do I check if a thinkpad yoga s1 has a digitizer or not based on the MPN? I can't find the MPN information anywhere online.

trackpad working again. replugged keyboard, dead keys still persists.

It may be time to buy another keyboard. Fortunately for you, they're cheap.

wtf did i do wrong?

I bought an i7-2720QM for my t420 to replace the i5-2520

when i dropped the chip in and started it up, nothing happens.

The powerbutton flashes a couple times then just stays on.

Somethings the thinklight comes on in this process.

the display never turns on (even through DP or VGA)

Is the CPU dead?
Or did i fuck up the install?

On a side note the i5 runs a lot cooler with artic MX4......

this is probably just a super coincidence but the last processor i bought new was dead

how did the thinkpad react?

I mean i'm sure thats what i've got, but before i go through the bullshit process of returning it (amazon) i figured i should probably make sure its dead.

(he claims its tested, but i had to clean paste off the CPU, it sadly wasn't new, BUT he's still willing to do a return (probably because he knows he didnt test it))

Does it work with the original CPU still? If so, your new one may be DOA.

nothing worked
the green light on the outside would blink a few times, but nothing else ever came on

Added to the list, thanks

yes thats why i mentioned
>On a side note the i5 runs a lot cooler with artic MX4......


I let go a huge sigh of relief when i dropped the old CPU back in and it booted up.

"sweet" same shits happening, ill send it back tonight.

but not after realizing i did literally a perfect paste drop, like so fucking perfect only like .5mm was squeezed out on the sides.

it was depressing having to wipe that away....

For X220 and X230 (maybe others as well):
Check for white spots on display - more visible when a light image is displayed. These are caused by too much padding behind the display pressing against it. When you slightly flex the whole panel these spots will show up and change colour.

It's also fairly easy to check remaining battery capacity.

Went to a swap meet and found a T60 for 20 bucks and my friend told me to get it. Installed xbuntu on it, and found out its battery is dead, so getting one in the mail soon. What else should I be doing with this thing?

Throw out that old piece of garbage.

obvious libreboot is obvious

Not him, but t60s work pretty well still

Got my x230. The hinge is too loose. There's this white spots in the bottom right of the screen. The touchpad is also behaving weird even with the drivers properly installed. Should I get this replaced or is this okay with used laptops?

Ya got slightly fucked.

Folks who do thinkpad+external monitor, how do you position everything. Is your thinkpad off to the side with the monitor in front of you? Are the two angled at each other? Is the thinkpad in front of you and the monitor off to the side?

i got completely fucked like that too recently, but ill get a replacement. tons of white spots, plastic part of top cover breaking off. guy who sold me sells many thinkpads in many priceranges that depend on condition. i paid for "near perfect" and got lowest tier with shitty ass everything. either a mistake or he tried to screw me and hope i wont notice.

>is this okay

its not okay at all, not even trolling.
it isn't the end of the world, but you got sold an item that the seller likely knew had defective parts.

a touchpad/palmrest assembly is $10 dollars on ebay for a t430, so x230 shouldn't be so bad.

you will have to replace the screen, white spots don't go away. those are dead pixels.

it sucks you got screwed, but don't worry too much man. thinkpads are very easy to service yourself, there is full documentation on lenovo's website, and they even have videos on taking apart and replacing parts

dock off to the side with my laptop closed and dual monitors in front of me (one directly in front, one to the right.)

My T61p started to make a loud noise. It does that right after boot or in windows. It's louder than anything else. I can hear it from the other room. It seems to stop when I pick up the laptop and move it around in air. What is it? Fan or speakers? It can't be BIOS or HDD if the Windows boot correctly, right?
The laptop doesn't have a screen. It uses VGA by default. Even when it's screeching I can still hear other Windows sounds.

Fan.

Nah, man, it's pretty fucking far from okay. My X200 was in much better condition, your X220 must look like almost new.

how is this bullshit plastic strip covering top part of X230/X220 lid is called? how do you search ebay for it?

Will open it up later. We will see.