Thinkpads Forum

Edit: got everything else to hopefully get this thing working. Just need the fan.

Hi All,
I just inherited a barebones Thinkpad T41 with no drives, ram, ac adapter, etc.. I don't even know if the thing works.

I'm thinking maybe I can fix it up and am looking around to see if anyone has any accessories they have laying around that they would like to donate or sell on the cheap like pc2700 ram, a spare ac adapter, hard drives (working and broken), pcmcia cards, etc...
Thanks,
Thomas

start with an ac adaptor on ebay ( i think thyre like $10-20) from there see if it powers up
if theres no ram, itll beep, then try say a small 256meg DDR chip and if it posts, you're in business.
from there u can start to furnish it with relevant cd/dvd/hdds etc etc to suite your liking

YAY! My friend generously let me swap out parts from his machine to test mine and ya know what? It's functional!

I bought a wireless nic from here and was able to get a battery, ac adapter and cpu (1.3ghz for $8!) as well. I am now looking for:

PC2700 DDR333 RAM
- 256mb, 512mb, 1 gb...it doesn't matter. I'm looking for the best bang for the buck

Laptop hard drive
- Looking for something super cheap that will fit and work in this particular model thinkpad. Just need the bare drive as I was able to get a sled and cover.

CD or DVD-ROM

Long CPU + GPU heatsink fan

great to see

for the ram just get any SODIMM DDR laptop ram, whether its 266 to 400, itll clock down if its 266 (and you wont notice the performance difference).
Id go for 2x 512mb's - 1GB is plenty for most everyday stuff.

See my post here: 2x 256MB PC2100, will fit your T41.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=53308

Ram is on the way and a friend was generous to give me an old battery (dunno if it works or not, but at least it fills up the empty space)...now the only things I need to get a working system are:

Hard drive
CPU long fan/heatsink

It'd be great to get some kind of optical drive too, but I don't think it's required...hm...the thing is missing quite a few screws on the bottom so if anyone has a bag of misc case screws they can send me, that would be awesome.

Hi,
about the screws, you could resort to buying from this ebay seller :this.

(I've taken both 1 screw kit and also a clearplate.. shipping has been very quick inside a very resistant package...

He has also other parts that may be of interest, who knows...

This guy instead (located in UK), has fans, too : link.

I am SO close to getting it up and running. Ironically, the most expensive part was the heatsink/fan for $18.

Does anyone have a 9.5mm hard drive they don't need anymore that they'll sell to me cheap? I don't need anything large.

Also, a dvd-rom would that will fit the T41's Ultrabay Slim would be GREAT.

ONE more part to go!

Special thanks to Pyroraptor for donating a dvd-rom!

The heatsink fan I bought is defective and won't spin. I get a 'Fan Error' on boot and the system shuts down.

Does anyone have a cheap long T4x heatsink fan?

FYI, sometimes "fan error" means a dead motherboard. I've seen this issue a few times. (Don't throw away that new fan yet...)

There are a few "fan error" threads in the T4x section.

Good luck!

Doh! Trying to shake off the post-holiday blues...I'm willing to try another fan if anyone has a cheap one for sale.