ThinkPad
- My luck with finding used affordable-but-slightly-modern Thinkpad hasn't been the best....
I've been trying to find Thinkpad laptops with specifications equivalent to, or better than my old Ideapad with i5-8265U. So far, I've only been using Ebay. Unless explicitly mentioned, all prices are without shipping charges. This time, I've restricted myself to the following rules:
- Assume +100$ for all product (international shipping)
- Look for 8th, 9th and 10th gen Intel processors, and 1st, 2nd and 3rd gen AMD processors.
- 8 (assuming SODIMM is free for another 8GB)/16/32GB of RAM
- 256GB (if device is cheap, I can upgrade it myself)/512GB/1TB
- Pick devices with 8th gen Intel processors under 200$
- Pick devices with 9th gen Intel and 1st gen Ryzen processors under 250$
- Pick devices with 10th gen Intel and 2nd/3rd gen Ryzen processors under 300$
- Assume an extra 50-100$ for workstation dGPU
- Do not buy anything higher than 450$ (with shipping price included)
However, to my surprise, 8th gen devices are still being sold around 250-350$, 9th gen devices and almost every Ryzen-based devices are non-existent, and 10th gen devices are surprisingly the same or lower than 8th gen, but their prices get inflated after auction - perhaps by shill bidding bots.
I also can't figure out this - why are there no listings from Europe or Middle East? Shipping from America is too expensive (although way cheaper that the local listings here).
How can I get better for finding used/refurbished/renewed Thinkpad?
- What is a MDM? Can it be wiped off, or is it ingrained in the motherboard?
One of the used Thinkpad I was looking at has a MDM. Is it going to be an issue? If so, can I bypass it? I'm going to be using Linux anyway, so would it cause any issue?
- [T480] [Linux] Battery installed not supported by this system and will not charge - LGC 11 01AV424
Hello everyone. I just got a new battery for my T480 from my work supplier. It is a Greencell LGC 11 Model: 01AV424 and I get a BIOS message before my bootloader:
> The battery installed is not supported by this system and will not charge. Please replace the battery with the correct Lenovo battery for this system. Press the ESC key to continue.
Once I plugged it in and booted up the battery had 74% charge, and I let it discharge until 6% without the AC adaptor plugged in as per the instructions, so that I could then fully charge it (and repeat the process 3-5 times). However, once it reached 6% and I plugged it in it wasn't charging and ended up dropping to 1% where it remains even now. Below I'll include outputs from some commands.
Everything I read online mentions flashing the EC chip to whitelist the battery, or changing the BIOS to something like coreboot. I'd like to avoid flashing any chips unless absolutely the only option, in case something goes wrong and I brick my motherboard. I've tried also resetting the EC chip by pushing the button in the pinhole at the bottom of the laptop with a paper clip, but with no effect.
``` $ upower -e /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_AC /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_BAT1 /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_ucsi_source_psy_USBC000o001 /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_ucsi_source_psy_USBC000o002 /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/DisplayDevice
$ upower -i /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_BAT1 native-path: BAT1 vendor: LGC 11 model: 01AV424 serial: 14050 power supply: yes updated: Tue 11 Jun 2024 12:46:25 EEST (19 seconds ago) has history: yes has statistics: yes battery present: yes rechargeable: yes state: pending-charge warning-level: none energy: 0.41 Wh energy-empty: 0 Wh energy-full: 22.23 Wh energy-full-design: 22.23 Wh energy-rate: 0 W voltage: 10.296 V charge-cycles: 1 percentage: 1% capacity: 100% technology: lithium-ion icon-name: 'battery-caution-charging-symbolic' ```
As you can see the state it is stuck in is "pending-charge"
Any help would be appreciated. Also, if you need any additional info please let me know and I will provide it.
EDIT: Supplier will pick it up from my work in a couple days and try to solve the issue. Hopefully that works, otherwise I'll have to see about flashing the EC chip with the patched firmware to remove the whitelist.
- Thinkpads so hard to find in the refurbished market?
I've been trying to find P1/X1 Extreme (Gen 1/2/3) and X1 Carbon laptops (Gen 7/8) that come in the configuration of Intel 8th/9th/10th gen (newer is better) in i7, or the AMD Ryzen equivalent of it, 16/32GB of RAM, 512GB/1TB of storage space, FHD display and preferably 2xSODIMM, if possible. No dedicated GPU, because I'm not going to be playing games. Also, no operating system, because I'll be using Linux. So far, this effort hasn't been going well. What will improve the success rate for finding a refurbished/renewed device?
The budget isn't finalized, but I've imagined it to be somewhere in the ₹30k-40k range. I'd prefer if it were in ₹20k-30k. Country is India, by the way, and I am open to getting them imported, as long as I can get it for cheap, and have it last for almost four years, and get parts readily available. I've tried looking in DesertCart and UBuy and they're expensive in both the sites. E-Bay does not have enough devices.
- Has anyone tried working over a DIY ThinkPad next-gen mod project?
What I mean is-
- You probably have a dead, chonky Thinkpad
- You use a pre-built x86_64/Arm/RISC-V SBC, or design entirely new motherboard around the case
- Replace the ports with modern options
- Use modern Li-ion batteries
- Swap the display with newer matte IPS panels, or pOLED, etc
Any one who has worked on a project like this?
- Are IO Sub Card of T420 and T430 interchangable?
I plan of having a maxed-out T420 for fun. Thinking that Firewire isn't particularly useful these days, but a second LAN port might. The Sub Card of T430 has a LAN port along with the USB and I was wpndering whether or not it's compatible with the T420.
- T480 or T580?
I'm thinking of buying myself a ThinkPad to run Linux on it. I've never owned one, and never ran Linux on anything. What are the differences between these two besides the size and numpad? Should I know something?
- Is it worth getting a refurbished Thinkpad T480 in 2024?
It has similar spec to my current broken laptop. Instead of a i5, it comes with an i7 8550U, 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage. It is a renewed product, by the way. And it goes for around ₹24,000. Honestly, I feel like it is too expensive, considering how there are better spec laptops available.
- X1 yoga or x280?
I am looking to get a secondhand ThinkPad as my secondary laptop. Im currently undecided between X1 yoga g3, or x280.
I want a lightweight laptop to replace my old t440. I like yoga because it's a convertible and this may be useful to watch movies in tent mode or use it as a tablet to browse internet. My main concern is the power button which I hear is easy to break and impossible to fix.
X280 is more lightweight and compact, but the screen resolution is lower than x1.
Both have soldered ram, so not upgradeable. I would be getting an 8GB laptop as 16gb is hard to find around here. Does cpu make a big difference? I will be installing Fedora on it.
- X1 Carbon Gen 5 Performance
I recently purchased a 2nd hand Thinkpad X1 Carbon with i7-7600U, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD and a 1440p screen. I installed EndeavorOS on it and I noticed, in plasma 6, that the scroll in Firefox is a bit sluggish; after I installed hyprland and, with a lot of effect active like blur, it does feel sluggish too. Is that normal for this type of hardware? Is there some settings I could tweak to improve the performances?
- Backlit not working on L440
I recently bought a Lenovo L440 Thinkpad. Keyboard backlit and touch pointer arent working. Have installed Linux Mint. Can anyone help?
- Opinions on the new ThinkPad P1 Gen 7?news.lenovo.com Lenovo Unveils Its New AI-Ready ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 Mobile Workstation - Lenovo StoryHub
Lenovo's official site for press materials and original stories about the vision and passion behind the technology. Lenovo unveils new AI ready ThinkPad mobile workstations
> Intel Core Ultra processors up to Core Ultra 9 185H
> Up to 64GB LPCAMM2 LPDDR5x 7467MT/s
> 2 x PCIe 4×4 M.2 2280 SSD
> Integrated Intel Arc
> NVIDIA RTX 1000/2000/3000 Ada Generation GPU
> NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060/4070 GPU
>16-inch 16:10, 91.7% STB ratio FHD+ IPS, 400nit, 100% sRGB, Low Blue Light
> QHD+ IPS, 500nit, 165Hz, 100% sRGB, Low Blue Light
> UHD+ OLED Touch, 400nit, 100% DCI-P3, Low Blue Light, HDR400, Dolby Vision
- ThinkPad X1 nano Gen 2
Installed a sticker on my ThinkPad X1 nano.
Debian stable install, everything working pretty well.
- Any recommendations on what to do with this mini-PCIe slot in my x200s?
Not sure if it matters but I have Libreboot installed. It's the slot located next to the drive slot.
Also any other upgrade recommendations while I'm at it? I have maxed out the RAM and have an SSD. I am wondering if I should upgrade the WiFi card. I don't know if there are any limitations there.
- AMD variant of Thinkpad E14 Gen 6 and E16 Gen 2 already available on the Indian webpage?
Tried using Google Search for exact keyword match, and so far, it only points out to the page in India. There's still no review available online, which is a bummer. What's funny is that their price is almost the same as the previous generation E14 Gen 5 and E16 Gen 1 laptops, I would argue that they're even more cheaper, considering how they're already cheap on arrival.
Posting link below for comparison:
Summary:
- Still stuck on the faux-7000 series, moved up from Barcelo-R to Rembrant-R
- RAM upgraded from onboard + SODIMM, DDR4 3200MHz- cap at 24GB, to all-SODIMM, DDR5, 4800MHz - cap at 64GB
- Single USB-A slot upgraded to 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 1.4b upgraded to HDMI 2.1, rest of them are almost the same.
- Wireless upgraded from Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
- Rapid charge support in 2024 refresh
- How is the build quality on the Intel variant of Thinkpad E14 G6/E16 G2?
I'm waiting to buy the AMD Phoenix/HawkPoint variant of Thinkpad E14 G6 and E16 G2.
Because Thinkpads will be sold without any OS by default at least in my country, and also because Lenovo is introducing some degree of modularity in the newer generations again, it becomes a preferable choice as a Linux laptop for me.
But I've read somewhere that the build quality of E is bad, and that I should look into P/L series. Opinions on this? I am especially worried about the hinge - that went down so fast in my ideapad.
- Linux on Thinkpad P14s Gen2 issues
I'm pretty new to using linux as a desktop solution (I use it for servers but have been working on switching over for desktop). I recently installed NixOS on my P14S Gen 2 and have found that while my backlight works inside the OS, I have no backlight in UEFI and GRUB.
I did complete a microsolder repair on the eDP connector on the motherboard due to liquid damage, however all SMDs and downstream chips have been thoroughly verified, and as detailed below, issues doesn't persist in windows.
Boot sequence goes as follows:
-
System powers on (No backlight)
-
Smartbeep diagnostics screams it's head off (No backlight)
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BIOS/UEFI beep (still no backlight)
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Diagnostic Grub beep (You guessed it, no backlight)
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OS splash - Backlight is now on
I am unsure if there is a way to resolve this, but any advice would be greatly appreciated as I can't seem to find anyone else with this specific presentation of a "no backlight" issue.
Troubleshooting already tried:
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Update firmware using fwupdtool, fwupdmgr, and vantage in windows - no change
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Reinstall windows - behavior stops
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Dual boot windows - behavior stops if windows was the last OS booted
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New display cable - no change (tried before realizing this is OS related)
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Install a different distro - Ubuntu, Debian both have same behavior and I'd like to stay on NixOS if I can
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Increase GRUB compatibility delay - no change
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Increase UEFI boot delay - no change
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Change graphics adapter in UEFI - no change
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Disable quick boot, secure boot, TPM, set sleep mode to Linux, etc. - no change
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Probably more that is at this point, forgotten
Edit: fixed formatting, added troubleshooting completed so far and more detail that was initially neglected
-
- ThinkPad E14 G6 & E16 G2: Lenovo updates budget ThinkPads with second SO-DIMMwww.notebookcheck.net ThinkPad E14 G6 & E16 G2: Lenovo updates budget ThinkPads with second SO-DIMM
The ThinkPad E series may be the bottom of the barrel for the ThinkPad line, but that does not make them bad machines. For the newest version, Lenovo is returning the line back to fully upgradable RAM with two SO-DIMM slots.
"A bigger change than the upgrade of the memory type is the fact that the memory is no longer partially soldered: E14 G6 and E16 G1 have two SO-DIMM slots now for up to 64 GB of completely upgradeable memory."
- The new Thinkpad L series has the same improvement as T series, but the AMD variants still uses the Ryzen 7030 series mobile APU
The L series will still be using the Ryzen 7030 series of processors, just like the last year. While I'm happy that they have embraced the spirit of Thinkpad again, I'm really disappointed by the machine using outdated Zen3 processors.
- Any good mods for E14 gen 3?
Managed to get hold of an E14 for £250 about this time last year and it has quickly become a favourite of mine for lugging about and twiddling with.
I'm not very well off financially but still thought it was worth asking about ways to make it a little better other than the additional ssd and ram I already added.
- ThinkPad Alternatives
So I'm looking for ThinkPad alternatives, so far I've see repairable laptops like the Framework laptop and the Tuxedo linux laptops. What other choices do I have if I want a tough, reliable, and utilitarian computer?
- Any news/leaks about the Thinkpad E series (2024, AMD-based)?
Will it respect the 2024 T-series upgradability choices? What will be the expected price range?
- The real ThinkPad T480 successor: New ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is iFixit approved
Lenovo is doing a reversal when it comes to the repairability of its ThinkPad T series: The new Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 features two SO-DIMMs and a user-replaceable internal battery. To prove its progress in modularity, the Chinese manufacturer had it reviewed by iFixit - the new ThinkPad laptop scored a near perfect 9.3/10.
- Got a semi-new ThinkPad E14 for less than €200
Hi ThinkPad community, I just wanted to share this amazing amazing thing that brigthened my day. I hope this feel-good story also brightens your day too
I recently started a new job for a company that gives ThinkPads to all their employees. But since I started in Q4 last year I was given the "old" E14 gen4 model and the head of IT told me it was a shame I started before they got the new gen5 in stock so I had to stick with the old gen4 for at least 2 years before applying for a new laptop.
I told him it was alright, I really had no need for the newest hardware to do my job, but he told me that if they had some new spares by February he could put some strings and get me upgraded to a new one. I thanked him and told him not to worry about it.
Fast forward to this month and he let me know there were some brand new E14 gen5 in stock if I wanted to upgrade, I replied it wasn't really necessary but he insisted I "really really" wanted it. I decided to agree with him and submited a ticket requesting the new laptop.
Next day I got the new gen5 laptop and signed the paperwork for the handover of the old gen4.
> "Now, since this is old stock it will be sent for recycling, however, since you were the last user you have first priority on buying it from the company
wink wink
> How much would that be?
> Well, after depreciation, tax deductions and (some finance gibberish I don't understand) ... about €200
I sent the request to the finance department as fast as I could and yesterday I got the confirmation that the amount would be deducted from my next paycheck.
edit: here are the specs
Intel i7-1255U / Iris Xe / 40 Gb RAM / 500 Gb SSD
- I'm looking at buying the USB C charging port mod by MikePDiy but should I be be buying the 65w or 90w version for my X200s?www.tindie.com Lenovo charging port Type-C PD X200T X201T X200 by MikePDiy on Tindie
Lenovo barrel charging port Type-C PD X200T X201T X201 X200S mod
The title says it all. The Tindie page says
> Processor : i5 or lower -> 65W , i7 -> 90W
And I imagine the Intel Core 2 Duo L9400 (2) @ 1.867GHz my X200s has fit in that i5 or lower category but I just wanted to get a thumbs up before I pull the trigger on the 65w version.
---
If you are interested in USB C charging mods yourself by the way he has versions for different models.
- [T400] Not booting, lights flickering
We had some heavy rain yesterday and my bag (containing my T400) got soaked. I tried to turn it on just now, and it appeared to boot at first.
I entered my
geli(8)
password and FreeBSD began to load, then the screen and status LEDs began to flicker rapidly. I tried holding the power button, but for the first time it didn't do anything, so I removed the battery.When I turned it back on again, it didn't even show the ThinkPad boot screen; it just sat there flickering.
I have opened the case up and looked inside. I hve checked the RAM, the CPU, the SSD: even the DVD drive; and everything seems fine, yet the problem still persists.
Does anyone have any idea what's wrong and how I can fix it? Or is my laptop now borked? Thanks!
- Some replacement part models for the T430 if anyone is interested
https://www.printables.com/model/731469-t430-iohdd-cover https://www.printables.com/model/731478-t430-dvd-bay-cover https://www.printables.com/model/731487-t430-bottom-ram-bay-cover
Made some replacement parts for the T430 because I had a broken T430 that was missing these. None of them require screws so they should be ideal if you find a broken T430 on the side of the road or something.
- Thoughts on Green Cell batteries? (Thinkpad T480)
I'm on the fence about buying a new 3rd-party battery for my Thinkpad T480 as the current external 61 battery is only yielding ~3 hours on normal use (90℅ capacity, so still good given I bought the laptop used) and there's no internal one on mine.
I'm a bit wary of Chinese-branded and other similar no-name batteries as I recall having read an Amazon comment of someone's Thinkpad catching fire because of such a battery, which is why I'm more looking at brands like Green Cell.
So far I found the 01AV424 61+ battery by Green Cell, and even though they only list the "T470, T570, A475, P51S, T25" models it should still work with the T480, right?
Anyone here got experience with their batteries? Or maybe I should look for another brand?
Thanks!
- Windows 10 VM on thinkpad x200? (qemu)
Anyone managed to make it work? If I assign a core to the Windows VM, it's constantly at 100% even when idle. Obviously I expected crappy performance but I was hoping that it would at least work. It did pretty well on bare metal.
Is this a skill issue or a hardware problem? I tried both qxl and virtio, both sucked. I think it's the old GPU because today I tried quickemu instead of virt-manager and quick-emu refused to start because the iGPU does not support OpenGL 3.
Bonus paragraph: Windows 10 (and 11) refused to finish the installation in Virt-manager in KVM mode so I had to install it using emulated x64 cpu and then boot the qcow image from regular KVM. (aimed at those having the same issue in the future)
Edit: I think the problem was Windows updates running in the background. I had a similar problem on my x230 but I fixed it by only enabling security updates. (https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil) The problem is that this tool is broken on the X200T so I'm going to have to transfer the .qcow image from the X230 to the X200T and then see how bad the performance is. In case you want to know how it went, message me in like a month or two. It's likely I will forget to edit this post after I get through this tinkering.
Edit 2: Nope the issue is the old GPU. It only supports OpenGL 2.0, so Windows isn't really doing anything but rendering itself. I made a last effort to solve this here:
https://lemmy.world/post/11367355
- Thnkpad collection
X200 librebooted, T60 15" 4:3 librebooted, T61 14" 4:3, T61 15", X230 corebooted, T400 librebooted, T410 corebooted, T430 corebooted
- How to fix T480s/T490 keyboard connector (images for context inside)
Hey everyone. A while ago I ordered a keyboard from ebay for my T480, but I failed to notice that the one I got was for the T480s, therefore not compatible with my laptop. In the process of checking it out I lifted one of the connecting tape thingys (idk what theyre called) and some of the black plastic covering on the back of the keyboard ripped a bit. Its completely unused and new otherwise, and just been sitting in its packaging since then.
A few weeks ago I came across a local shop that also has some thinkpad stock, and I'd like to see if they'll buy it off my hands. I want to repair it first though, and the obvious first thought for someone inexperienced like me is to use some kind of glue. I didn't do anything yet, so here I am asking for advice. Would using some kind of super glue cause any issues? If yes, what is a good way to repair it?
- What are the FRUs to look for when getting a genuine ISO keyboard of the ThinkPad T420?
Hi, so a while ago, I did the classic keyboard modification on my ThinkPad T530. However, I would like to get another keyboard because this one I've got has a few issues, and when I search for these FRUs on eBay (45N2211, 45N2141 and 45N2071) I only get results for ANSI US keyboards, and I would like to get an ISO keyboard, but I don't know what the FRUs of genuine ISO keyboards for an xx20 ThinkPad could be. Could anyone help me out on this? I would like a Chicony or NMB keyboard. Thanks in advance and have a happy new year.
- Thinkpad X1 gen 12 with Intel meteor lakewww.notebookcheck.net ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12: New keyboard, better cooling and 120 Hz screen for Core Ultra flagship laptop
Lenovo has announced the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12. The twelfth gen of the flagship ThinkPad ultrabook has a revamped design with a new keyboard, optional forcepad and better cooling system, as well as a 120 Hz screen option.
- Is this a good deal?
Found when browsing Market-Place. Looks like a serious sellers. Although no mentioning of low-ballers and tyre kickers.
- ThinkPad not booting with 1-3-3-1 beep error code
I'm experiencing a beep code error on my ThinkPad T440p.
I have checked the code error here: https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Error_Codes_and_Beep_Codes
The code is 1 beep 3 beeps 3 beeps 1 beep. Suggested to be a RAM or RAM module issue.
The same RAM sticks work in my X220 no issue.
The issue started occurring after I attempted to update the CPU from an i5 to an i7. It is possible I forgot to remove the CMOS battery or Laptop battery when I did this. It was a few months ago, so I can't remember for sure. I have since put the i5 back into the laptop.
I tried following the suggestions here: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/bhy11i/lenovo_thinkpad_t440p_bios_beepsq
Unfortunately they did not work. I don't think the issue is a CMOS battery issue. I am thinking it may be a motherboard issue.
What happens when I try to boot it up, I get the 1-3-3-1 beep code. Nothing happens after that. The screen is blank and the power button is green.
Is it likely that the motherboard is dead? It's the only thing I can think of, at this stage. Is there any other things I can do to test it? If I am confident enough that it is a motherboard issue, I may decide to get another motherboard. But I don't want to spend the money when I am not absolutely certain, if that is the cause of the problem in this case.