ThinkPad Owners Thread

[illu45]

Any suggestions on parts resources for Thinkpads? I have a beat-up A21e that just needs a new screen and it will be pristine. ebay seems scarce for screens, and the few available are from resellers who want $150 for one (that's one of the reasons I gave up on ebay) before shipping.

Laptop screens tend to be very expensive (mostly due to lack of demand). As Whiffle pointed out, I would recommend getting a used one off of eBay, and possibly salvaging the screen if something else doesn't work.

[illu45]

Is a Thinkpad really worth the extra cost? And is it fully compatible with Linux or does it still take some hunting-and-pecking for restricted drivers and such?

I'm getting a Thinkpad from work, but I am not allowed to install Linux or anything like that on it (and the entire hard drive is being encrypted so I am not fooling around with it).

I'd say so. The Thinkpad premium isn't very much at all (although Lenovo doesn't have very cheap basic computers, their prices for mid- and high-range laptops are fairly competitive) and I have heard that they tend to last a very long time. I had a Dell Inspiron that had cracks and broken keys after just two years of use (no accidental damage, just wear and tear), so I'm willing to pay a bit more to make sure that the laptop doesn't get worn out before the parts inside it do.

[adi_8079]

Got a T61p with these specs:
Intel Core2Duo T9300
nVidia QuadroFx 570M
4Gb Ram (actually 3.8 due to hardware limitation)
160Gb HDD 7200rpm
WiFi 4965agn
Bluetooth

The bad is that I can't get suspend work properly Has anyone found a solution to this?

[LaRoza]

I’m purchasing a T61 15” widescreen today. So should I get the SLED version or Windows with a slightly better network card, about $50 more, and a week off the expected ship date? I intend to put ubuntu on it either way.

Whatever one you want. If the Windows versions network card is easily used in Leinux (and the video) you could get that one instead. The fingerprint readers for the newest Thinkpads use a new vendor and do not work (as far as I know) in Linux well yet.

My new R61 is coming next week with Opensuse on it. Should I keep that or put Ubuntu? Any problems on the R with Ubuntu?

Dual boot? No problems with Linux.

[Jordanwb]

I have a T21

Intel Pentium 3 @ 800Mhz
256 MB RAM PC100
20GB Hard drive
Savage S3 video chip with 4 MB of RAM
DVD-ROM

I had problems with Ubuntu 7.10 when it would stall during boot up but I don't have the problem with 8.04. Other than that I haven't had any problems.

[Edit] I just noticed I contradicted myself.

[K.Mandla]

Why not just buy the whole thing and have a whole bunch of parts?

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-ThinkPad-A21...QQcmdZViewItem

Laptop screens tend to be very expensive (mostly due to lack of demand). As Whiffle pointed out, I would recommend getting a used one off of eBay, and possibly salvaging the screen if something else doesn't work.

That'll probably be what happens. I thought perhaps there was something like parts-people.com for Thinkpads.

[gameryoshi600]

I got an IBM thinkpad t40

[Taoye]

I just ordered a new X61s off of eBay that should arrive here by friday. After upgrading bios I plan on wiping off Vista to make room for Ubuntu... we'll see how it goes

[ssam]

just got an X31 off ebay for £150. works great.

[50words]

My new ThinkPad arrived today, and WOW, what a DISAPPOINTMENT! It is HUGE! There is at least an inch of wasted space on all sides. The trackpad is tiny--it is smaller than my previous ThinkPad, and nearly useless. It is big, heavy, and will not fit in any of my computer bags.

I will happy pay the $232 restocking fee to send this brick back to Lenovo, and Lenovo has lost a customer today, not because of their service, which is fantastic, but because of the poor product.