I likey cigars.

Yes a screw needs to turn in order to tighten or loosen. Doesn't matter what that screw is holding together, it needs to be removable.

RBS have some good tips on removing old stuck screws. Worse comes to worse, I've drilled out the head of completely striped screws.

No screw is designed to be "stuck" tight. Some, such as those on some battery compartment cover, are designed to stay on the cover when you unscrew them so that you don't lose them. I suspects yours is just a bit sticky and won't lift out after you unscrew it. That's normal. Once you take that panel...

I have a few T60 running both Linux Mint and Windows 7 without any problem. I love this generation of Thinkpads and its computing power is more than enough for my mobile needs. Are you certain that some if the issues you are having is not hardware related? I'd check the RAM, HDD and CPU temp. I'd al...

Upgrade to the latest BIOS using the working CPU, then install the T7400 and go from there.

Last bare bones T61 I bought from a local reseller was $20-$40 Cdn. Bare bone T61 do not come with a battery, HDD or RAM but everything else works. $50 to $100 Cdn is bare bone T500 or T510 in good condition for me. An end user who is used to a T61 will not notice the difference between a T61, T500 ...

These machines have been great machines over the years but it is getting to be 12+ years old which is a very long time in computer life. Failure at this age can be due to a number of reasons. They are inexpensive and easy to replace. You could look for another used T61 and swap the MB or maybe look ...

Was off for 2.5 months and was bored to tears. Kept myself busying shopping for and keeping the spirits up of a few seniors who choose to self isolate in March, April and May. Now that everything pretty much opened up again as we've flattened the curve, I've been back to work with some sensible prec...

My T420 supports an Ultrabay HDD without any problems. I'm thinking it's not laptop but the Ultrabay adapter that is the problem.

Yes you need a battery. Most laptops require you to have a good battery installed in order to flash the BIOS.

Also, why flash the BIOS? If it is not broken don't fix it until it breaks.

I've upgraded many BIOS with a 3rd party battery.

There's a reason why most laptops check that a battery is installed before allowing you to flash the BIOS. Wait for the laptop to arrive, then play with it.

You already know about F12 being the option to select boot devices. This function is controlled by the BIOS and has got nothing to do with any boot manager software tried to any OS. Also, I noticed that older BIOS will not boot from a USB 3 key. It won't show up in the list of bootable devices. Find...

For most people, and companies for that matter, secure erase is more than sufficient. If you really have super duper sensitive porn data then sell the laptop without that particular HDD/SSD. The most unrecoverable way of erasing data is to remove the platters from a HDD or PCB from a SSD, smash it i...

Good excuse as any to do a fresh install.

As soon as someone present their opinion and only their opinion as "facts", that's when I tune out. In this day and age it's all about presenting the most attention grabbing headlines, truth be darn. The more sensational the better.

Interesting observation RBS. For my laptops I still use the old tried and true AS 5 or MX 4. Mainly because I have lots of these around, know what they do and are used on systems that responds well to them. I still do a lot of tinkering and overclocking just for fun. For these I've used the more exp...

Hmmm....you've removed everything, including memory sticks and not getting the 1-3-3-1 memory error beeps. Double check that the CPU is seated properly and the tightening screw is screwed down. On a couple of instances I forget to screw down the CPU and got nothing. Also while you are at it double c...

Kinda make sense that no you don't need a complete T60 and T61. You only need the parts that goes into making a complete T601. The rest is spare parts or waste.

I like all good beers.

I OBJECT to your objections RBS. How in the world do you NOT like Kilkenny? LOL

Me too RBS. With this lockdown been drinking lots of craft beer local to Western Canada. However I do miss a real pint of expertly pulled Guinness from my favourite small English style pub. A Kilkenny is also "mighty" as you Brits would say. Having said that an Irish friend of mine says that Guinnes...

Can't agree more but there are those who will drink the Lysol.

It's not that difficult especially on this machine on this BIOS. Being that this is an older machine there are lots and lots of info on the interweb on how to create a boot CD. And on how to update BIOS/firmware from a CD. Booting from a USB may or may not work but it's not rocket science. There are...

I've been running Mint Cinnamon on a T61, with pretty much the same specs as yours, for about 2 years. Love it. Originally it had 4 GB RAM before I upgraded to 8 GB RAM. I have not noticed any difference with the RAM upgrade. I did it because I got the RAM for cheap and because I can. I don't need/u...

Even if you could run at 800 MHz doubt you notice any difference at all over 667 MHz. I'd look for something reliable in the capacity that I need.

5. Passwords: Discussion on how to defeat the **password or Security Chip on thinkpads specifically or lenovo/IBM branded computers in general will NOT be allowed. The structure of the security system and how to best secure a thinkpad, etc. is allowed as long as it does not touch on bypassing such s...

I did COBOL programming or about 5 years back in the 2000s. Can't say I missed it.

This is sad, just sad.

We've been staying at home for the last 10 days. Got 2 other parents that we are safeguarding. Before all of this I was helping about 10 seniors with basic chores around the house and mostly with language translation. As they are all over 65 I've advise them to stay at home and lock themselves in. H...

https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-influenza-1918/ Interesting watch. Puts a little perspective based on history. We as a species survived 100 years ago and many more before that. We'll get through this too. If ever Coronavirus and Ebola ever mate, then we're screwed. Like 9/11, it'll be ...

Most of the world's population is staying home. Fear, panic (irrational for some). No sports, can't go out, can't do anything but breed. Hmmm....might be a good time to stock up on diapers and baby supplies. Might be a huge baby boom in 10-11 months time.