ThinkWiki - User contributions [en]

Buyers Guide

2005-09-06T09:36:04Z

137.226.40.2: /* Build it yourself and save money */ small improvement to links

This page is dedicated to hints about buying used or new ThinkPad models. You can find notes about typical weaknesses of used ThinkPads here and other things you should care about when choosing a ThinkPad and where to buy it.

==Only some random notes so far==
*{{390X}} models with 15" display are said to have weak display cables that tend to break.
*{{A30}}, {{A30p}}, {{A31}}, {{A31p}} seem to have a mechanical design that can cause the motherboard to break. At least there are a significant number of reports of broken motherboards on these models.
*{{T30}} had a problem with memory sockets detaching from the system board. IBM replaced these free of charge even after warranties expired.

==Build it yourself and save money==
Lenovo offers more flexibility than any other major manufacturer of laptop computers, at least that I know of. Their "configure-to-order" (CTO) offerings let you build the computer you want, without paying for anything you don't want. The basic CTO includes the mainboard and CPU, but no RAM, disk, mini-PCI cards, software, or other add-ons. You can even get a laptop in a CTO configuration.

I built my {{X32}} notebook with 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400RPM hard drive, USB DVD-ROM CD-RW drive, and 802.11a/b/g mini-PCI for a grand total of US$1,206, including tax and shipping.

Start with the complete list of [https://www-03.ibm.com/lenovo/shop/personalpages/public/public/products/dsp_product_list.cfm products]. Look for items that end with "CTO" or "Custom." Choose the chassis you want. Then add whatever [http://www-132.ibm.com/content/home/store_IBMPublicUSA/en_US/Upgrades.html upgrades] you need that only Lenovo offers (such as WiFi). Fill in the rest of the components from other, less expensive vendors.

== Special deals for certain customer groups ==
IBM makes huge discounts to students and teachers:
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="text-align:left;"
! country !! shops & target groups
|-
| France ||
*[http://www.ibm.com/easyaccess/education IBM education homepage]
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| Switzerland ||
*[http://www.rabais-etudiant.ch/ Rabais-Etudiant] (students, teachers, schools)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| Germany ||
*[http://www.ok1.de ok1] (students, university staff, pupils and teachers)
*[http://www.campusrabatt.de/index.php ADD Datensysteme: CampusRabatt] (students, university staff, pupils and teachers)
*[http://www.pro-com.org pro-com Datensysteme]:
**[http://www.pro-com.org/b2b pro-com b2b] (businesses)
**[http://www.nofost.de/ NOFOST] (students & university staff)
**[http://www.no4ed.de/ NOFOED] (pupils & teachers)
**[http://www.nofoch.de/ NOFOCH] (clinics and medical institutions and their staff)
**[http://www.pro-com.org/lf pro-com luf] (universities, schools & other educational and research institutes)
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| Austria ||
* [http://www.studentline.at/ Studentline.at] (students, university staff, pupils and teachers)
* [http://www.notebook4u.at/ notebook4u.at] (students, pupils and teachers)
* [http://www.abax.at/academic/ ABAX] (students, pupils and teachers)
|}

== Buying on eBay ==
* Many sellers do not know exactly what they have. Get the full 7-digit machine type if at all possible. Compare it to the specifications in the *book.pdf series: twbook.pdf, tabook.pdf, tawbook.pdf, etc, to determine actual screen size, original CPU speed, original hard disk, etc.
* You can try getting the serial number as well to check the warranty status at IBMs support pages.
* Check completed auctions carefully to determine going prices for comparable machines.
* Be aware if any port covers are missing. If they are, see if any current auctions are running to check availability.
* If the unit doesn't come with a hard drive, know whether it has the caddy and cover
* Anything with a PIII or later most likely came with a Windows Certificate of Authenticity. Find out whether the listed machine does. Even if you don't want it, it may help resale value when you '''sell''' the machine.
* Read the feedback of the seller on items he has sold, especially electronics, computers and laptops. If meangranny is suddenly selling T43's after three years of lace, stay away.
* If it seems to good to be true, it probably is. There's a reason no one else is bidding on it.

Maintenance

2005-09-06T09:33:22Z

137.226.40.2: /* Dealing with spilling accidents */

{| width="100%"
|style="vertical-align:top;padding-right:20px;width:10px;white-space:nowrap;" | __TOC__
|style="vertical-align:top" |
Here you can find general hints about keeping your ThinkPad in good shape. Look at your [[:Category:Models|models category page]] for IBMs official maintenance guide for that model.
|}
==Battery Treatment==
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="vertical-align:top;"
|+Battery life expanding guide
|- style="background:#efefef;white-space:nowrap;"
! style="background:#ffdead;" | Battery Type !! NiCd !! NiMH !! Lithium ion
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! style="background:#ffdead;" | General
|
*always do complete discharge/charge cycles
*avoid exposing the battery (or notebook) to excessive heat
|
*always do complete discharge/charge cycles
*avoid exposing the battery (or notebook) to excessive heat
|
*never completely discharge the battery, partial dis-/recharges are better
*remove battery when on AC
*avoid exposing the battery (or notebook) to excessive heat
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! style="background:#ffdead;" | Charging
|
*discharge before charging
|
*discharge before charging
|
*avoid charging if battery is nearly full
*keep notebook off while charging
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! style="background:#ffdead;" | Storage
|
*almost discharged
*cool and dry
|
*almost discharged
*cool and dry
|
*never fully charged or discharged, ideally at about 40%
*cool and dry, but do not freeze them
|}

{{HINT|Newer Thinkpads have software that lets you set charge thresholds. If you use your Laptop at a desk, use this software to keep your batteries in good condition.}}

===The problem with 600 series batteries===
ThinkPad 600 power management causes batteries to die before they should. Read more about this on the [[Problem with Thinkpad 600 batteries|associated problem page]].

===Reviving Batteries===
Some people experience sudden drops in their batteries capacity.

A way to get these batteries back to full capacity is to run the "Battery Rundown" function of IBMs "PC Doctor for DOS".
The program is downloadable from IBMs support site as three floppy disk images. For those who do not have a floppy, David Smith prepared a [http://www.mypchelp.com/~dsmith/ibmutil/ibm_t22_pcdiag.iso bootable CD image] from the T22 floppy images.

===External Sources===
* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=ibm&lndocid=MIGR-50944 IBM Support - Extending battery life]
* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=ibm&lndocid=MIGR-51038 IBM Support - Battery troubleshooting]
* [http://batteryuniversity.com Battery University]
* [http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm BatteryUniversitys info about prolonging lithium ion batteries]
* [http://www.buchmann.ca/Chap10-page6.asp prolonging lithium ion batteries in Buchmanns Battery FAQ]

==Cleaning the Display==
If you discover markings that look like originating from the TrackPoint or keyboard, or for information on how to avoid these, look at [[Problem with key and trackpoint markings on the display|this page]].

===External Sources===
* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=ibm&lndocid=MIGR-4A2P54 IBM Support - LCD care and cleaning instructions]
* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=ibm&lndocid=MIGR-52190 IBM Support - System cleaning instructions]

==Dealing with spilling accidents==
#Don't panic.
#Don't flip or tilt the computer to prevent the liquid from spreading all over the inside of the case.
#Shut down the OS and turn off the power:
##Unplug the computer.
##Remove the battery.
#Tilt the computer so that everything that leaked into the case can flow out the same way.
#Allow the computer to dry before switching it on again.
#For minor accidents this might already be sufficient. For major flooding you should either bring the computer to a dealer who knows how to open and clean it from inside. Or you can read the Hardware Maintenance Manual, open, clean, and dry the computer yourself.

See also [http://www.moneysense.ca/spending/technology/columnist.jsp?content=986628 Act quickly, carefully if you spill on laptops] on MoneySense.ca

==Harddisk Backup==
*[[How to copy a Linux installation]]
*[[How to copy a Windows installation]]
===External Sources===
*[http://gamma.nic.fi/~point/win2copy.htm Guide on copying Windows 2000/XP to another partition]

==Recovering BIOS passwords==
...
===External Sources===
* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=ibm&lndocid=MIGR-59377 IBM Support - Lost or forgotten password]

Talk:ThinkWiki

2005-03-01T13:37:24Z

137.226.40.2: New logo too large

The main page of ThinkWiki is not protected, so feel free to edit it. But do it with caution - it's the primary connection to the all content of our '''ThinkWiki''' ;-)

--[[User:Akw|akw]] 00:11, 25 Sep 2004 (CEST)
----
I added to wikipedia-like templates. To edit them go to Template:ThinkWiki_Preamble and Template:ThinkWiki_News.
Shall we put the other parts of the page in templates, too? If we do so, we could have that nice block design from wikipedia on our mainpage.

--[[User:Akw|akw]] 11:37, 25 Sep 2004 (CEST)

----
I think this is too much color. Makes it less readable, takes longer to orientate than the plain list style layout.

Liked it with only the two blocks in the beginning.

If we want to use blocks for everything, please stick to fewer colors. I think the yellow of the first block is not bad, and else i'd suggest light grey, maybe light blue.

However, if we stick to having all in blocks, how about [[User:Wyrfel/mainlayouttest | this color scheme]]?

[[User:Wyrfel|Wyrfel]] 16:35, 25 Sep 2004 (CEST)

----
Made [[User:Wyrfel/mainlayouttest-LTP | another Mainpage layout sketch]]. This tries to resemble the Tux and IBM logo colors and therefor looks quite "fresh".

[[User:Wyrfel|Wyrfel]] 18:59, 25 Sep 2004 (CEST)

: Too colorful for my taste, I think the other one is better --[[User:Nomeata|Nomeata]] 19:46, 28 Sep 2004 (CEST)
----
'''Important change:''' Moved Main_Page to ThinkWiki for cosmetical reasons..

--[[User:Akw|akw]] 16:54, 26 Sep 2004 (CEST)
----

== Needed: older ThinkPad specs... ==

As you can tell by my userid here, I've got a 600E. There are a whole lot of them out there thanks to the fact it was the current model during the Dot-Com era. We should cover the older ThinkPads and their quirks as well as the later models.

I also had a 365X, which is now living with a friend in the UK.

Yes, the next ThinkPad I'll probably score is a T4x, they are really kewl machines and inspire technolust in this geek. But until then, I love my 600E and I'm looking forward to some upgrades this weekend.

I will make copious notes on the upgrade process, which will include the installation of a 40GB hard drive and using the stock 10GB drive as extra Windows storage space. I have a hard drive bay module so the stock drive can be reused. The vast majority of the HD will be given over to an install of Debian Linux, with a 7GB Windows 2K partition because the University I will be attending a year from now demands it. (Yeah, I know, sucks, doesn't it.)

ThinkPad different,
Michelle

----
I totally agree.

All specs of all models can be found on the IBM support pages, we just need volunteers to transfer the infos into internal pages.

Since this is not the most interesting thing to do and hence it would be best if people using older ThinkPads transfer the specs for their models themselves. The same goes for other articles as installation infos, problems or whatever. I had a 570 once and loved it even though T30s where available at the same time...and i'd like to see more about these machines here, which everyone of them had some special characteristics and ideas behind them. So please show up, proud owners of Thinkpad 730TEs. 701s, 360Ps, Transnotes etc. ... ! ;)

Owners of the newer machines should take care of writing their articles (especially when creating new pages or sections) in a way that they are open for older models as well...i.e. make clear in the page or section title that its a specific topic for newer models.

Thanks,
[[User:Wyrfel|Wyrfel]] 00:45, 29 Sep 2004 (CEST)
----
I just inserted [[Special:Benchmarks|Benchmarks]] into the main menu.

--[[User:Akw|akw]] 14:07, 15 Oct 2004 (CEST)
----
I replaced the old logo with the great new one crafted by [[User:Wyrfel|Wyrfel]]

--[[User:Akw|akw]] 14:22, 1 Mar 2005 (CET)

:The new logo is too large to fit the sidebar. I can only see the yellow center with the ThinkWiki text and the left foot of Tux. I am using 1024x768 resolution and Opera. --[[User:137.226.40.2|137.226.40.2]] 14:37, 1 Mar 2005 (CET)
----

Talk:Problem with DVI throughput

2005-03-01T13:27:48Z

137.226.40.2:

Here's some information I found:

Most DVI devices today use single-link DVI which supports a maximum bandwidth of 165 MHz [http://www.ddwg.org/dvi.html]. I suppose that ThinkPads provide a single-link DVI signal.

To calculate the bandwidth of your signal, in theory you just need to multiply the resolution with the vertical frequency. For example: 1600x1200 @ 85 Hz => 1600*1200*85 Hz = 163 MHz. This looks good, but it is outside the specs - because you need to take into account some extra time. CRTs need a so-called ''blanking time'' between the data for two display lines. This time is needed for something similar to a carriage return on a typewriter: The electron beam needs to be returned to the start of the next line. Additionally, some extra time is needed to transmit information about the border area around the real picture. About 25% of the bandwidth is used for these additional data. [http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041129/tft_connection-04.html]

This means, that there is no specific ThinkPad problem with the throughput - you are just trying to transfer video data at a rate that is outside the specs of DVI. Maybe the DVI transmitter inside the ThinkPad even works at this data rate. But the DVI receiver inside the monitor might be "overclocked".

TFTs don't really need extra time. So there is a chance of writing a display driver with a reduced blanking time. This might explain, why some people were successful with other drivers.

The effective maximum resolution for single link DVI should be around 1600x1200 @ 65 Hz, or @ 60 Hz to be on the sure side. Has anyone solved his problems by lowering the vertical frequency?

--[[User:137.226.40.2|137.226.40.2]] 14:23, 1 Mar 2005 (CET)

Talk:Problem with DVI throughput

2005-03-01T13:23:27Z

137.226.40.2:

Here's some information I found:

Most DVI devices today use single-link DVI which supports a maximum bandwidth of 165 MHz [http://www.ddwg.org/dvi.html]. I suppose that ThinkPads provide a single-link DVI signal.

To calculate the bandwidth of your signal, in theory you just need to multiply the resolution with the vertical frequency. For example: 1600x1200 @ 85 Hz => 1600*1200*85 Hz = 163 MHz. This looks good, but it is outside the specs - because you need to take into account some extra time. CRTs need a so-called ''blanking time'' between the data for two display lines. This time is needed for something similar to a carriage return on a typewriter: The electron beam needs to be returned to the start of the next line. Additionally, some extra time is needed to transmit information about the border area around the real picture. About 25% of the bandwidth is used for these additional data. [http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041129/tft_connection-04.html]

This means, that there is no specific ThinkPad problem with the throughput - you are just trying to transfer video data at a rate that is outside the specs of DVI. Maybe the DVI transmitter inside the ThinkPad even works at this data rate. But the DVI receiver inside the monitor might be "overclocked".

TFTs don't really need extra time. So there is a chance of writing a display driver with a reduced blanking time. This might explain, why some people were successful with other drivers.

The effective maximum resolution for single link DVI should be around 1600x1200 @ 65 Hz. Has anyone solved his problems by lowering the vertical frequency?

--[[User:137.226.40.2|137.226.40.2]] 14:23, 1 Mar 2005 (CET)