Thinkpads Forum

Its been some years since I added memory to any of my devices.

Now, my wife is getting a new Thinkpad L540 with i7 processor for Christmas which will arrive next week.
It comes standard with a 4GB of memory, but
I figure its a good idea to get some aftermarket memory 2x8GB to max it out with 16 GB.
The FRU is 03X6657, and it seems that each chip should be
8GB SODIMM, 204 pin, PC3-12800, DDR3L, non ECC, CL11, 1600 MHz Rank 2, 1.35 volts.
(OK I have to admit that most of that is alphabet soup to me.)

Can anyone recommend a good source with reasonable prices?

I hope I am posting in the correct forum.
Thank you very much!

Ive never ordered this kind of ram, but I've always had good luck ordering from NewEgg.com.

Off topic P.S.
I saw your signature. Have you tried to repair the pulsing fan on your T23?

Thank you.

tfflivemb2 wrote: Off topic P.S.
I saw your signature. Have you tried to repair the pulsing fan on your T23?

I have not fiddled with the old machines in years. Since the T20 was working until the Win98 driver got corrupted, perhaps I should reformat that hard drive and try to learn some flavor of Linux. Perhaps I should try Linux with the 600e also.
Ah, so many potential projects and so little time,,,

If I remember the T23 story, I think I did some research about it on this very forum a few years ago, and it was a well-known problem due to a loose solder connection at some component on the motherboard. I figured I would invest up to $100, and took it to a local computer repair shop that actually specialized in laptops. They tried to fix it, but no go, and I gave up at that point. Well now it has been some years, not sure it is worth further investment, but I am open to suggestions about it.

(continuing the OT sidebar...)

The loose/missing component(s) would be an inductor or two on the bottom side of the motherboard opposite the PCMCIA bay. It takes an entire strip-down of the base in order to free the motherboard. Then it's about a 10 to 15 minute job if you have a soldering iron and skill to use one. If you don't, then you could take the motherboard out yourself and bring it to a computer repair shop and ask them how much it would cost you to solder a couple of fairly large components back on. To get an idea of what's involved, look at D9 and E8 in the following photo:

http://www.rkawakami.net/ibm_t2x/mobo_b ... legend.jpg

The black, square items that appear to have a circle embedded on top are the inductors in question. They are about 3/8" square. At least one of the two will have disconnected from the board; the symptom of the oscillating fan. Even if one of them looks/feels like it's still connected, I'd unsolder it, clean it and solder it back on. How to clean it? Loose/missing inductor will typically have a black, sooty film on the metal pads that are soldered onto the board. Use a flat bladed screwdriver to scrape the black film away, exposing the copper metal beneath. Then re-solder.

(back OT...)

You can also try eBay for memory modules. Granted, it's a crap-shoot sometimes but if you go with a seller that has good feedback and offers at least a 14 day money-back guarantee, then you could save some money vs. an online retailer. In any event, no matter who/where you get the memory, be sure to fully test it before considering it yours. Download a copy of memtest86+ from here:

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

It's available in several formats: .ISO file for writing onto a blank CD, install program to write diagnostic onto a flash drive or a good-ol' floppy. With only the "new" module installed, boot the system with the diagnostic and let it run for at least 3 complete passes ("PASS" column, third from middle right of screen).

Amazon and Newegg usually give the best prices. Crucial and Corsair tend to have excellent reliability. Kingston is also supposed to be good, but I believe I had some problems with them in the past.

Thanks everyone. I checked out NewEgg and a few other sites. I really wanted to make sure that I was ordering the right stuff, so I double and triple checked the numbers. As it turns out, BHPhoto had the Crucial 16GB memory kit with free expedited shipping and no tax, so they beat Newegg and Amazon.

The Lenovo rep advised that I make absolutely sure that the BIOS is up to date before putting the new memory in the machine.
Then, I'll insert the memory and run memtest.
Thanks for all the advice.

And finally, thank you rkawakami for the clear pointer to the T23 problem. If only I could get one of the grandkids interested in taking things apart and tinkering. otherwise, it will have to be a New Year project for me.

brchan wrote:Amazon and Newegg usually give the best prices.

I usually find the best prices used, on eBay. You've got 45 days to dispute it if all does not go well and the seller gives you any trouble, maybe longer if you pay with a CC. ThinkPads aren't near as picky about memory as they have been in the past, so if it works out of the box, you should be good.