Thinkpads Forum

Hello all.
(sorry for the story, but as I new member to a forum I like to introduce myself beforeI just start shooting off questions)
I have recently graduated from my trusty 770X (which I overclocked and rammed out) to this sweet slim desgined peice of craftmanship also know as the I series 1300.
This thing has me alittle baffled though. The first thing I wanted to do was ram it out, but apparently I'm already over the listed 192 (this one has 256).
The second I would like to do is find a nice little combodrive for it, but I cannot for the life of me find anything that list this thinkpad as compatible.
1st question: Does anybody know a combo drive that will fit in this Thinkpad and not break my bank?
The next thing I would like to do is replace the LCD, as this one has a interesting mark right in the middle which has become quite a bother to look at.
2nd question: What would be the aprox. cost of a new or referbished dispaly?
I have much work to do to this badboy before it finds a place in my heart. So any and all help/suggestions would be gretaly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
James.

For your i1300, if you have 256mb of RAM and the listed maximum is 192, either it's because 192 is the highest IBM tested it with and/or it's the highest marketing wants you to know it holds. I don't think you'll be all too successful putting more RAM than 256 in a machine of your Thinkpad's vintage.

As for the display, you could probably find one on eBay. When looking, look for a TFT, not an HPA. TFTs look alot nicer and last longer. My friend has an i1200 with the 12" HPA screen and despite being 4 years old,it looks like crap. Both of my ThinkPads have the 12" TFT and were built in 1996 and 1997 and their displays are still as bright and clear as were when new.

Next, the combo drive, all laptop cd roms and floppy drives are the same. It's the outside plastics and caddys that make them different. if you put the time into it, you could probably strip a combo drive from a different laptop and fit it to your ThinkPad, but only do that if you have experience in servicing ThinkPads.

thankyou for ethe reply.
I have been looking like crazy on the net for a combodrive.
Ive seen several that look like they may fit if say the bezel was switched. I was curious, are all slimline 50 pin the same. They appear to be. Is there not a active list of interchangeable drives out there anywhere?
arrghh. Its driving me crazy.
I don't really have any experience dismantling these laptops, but I would be willing to try if there was some type of resource on the net that I could use as a guide.
If I where to decide to just attempt to fit a drive from a make other than the O/E what kind of stuff should I be looking for?
Thanks so much for the reply. Looking forward to any and all info that is provided.
Thanks again.
James

Bump, Can'tlet this thing die. Its frustrating the hell outta me, but I gotta get this thing pimped.

I beleive all laptop drives, under the proprietary connectors and plastics, are the same. Theoritically, you should be able to swap out plastics and connectors and the drive will fit your computer, but this, if I forgot to mention is not the safest route. A safer route might be to just buy a USB cd burner. It might cost more, it might cost less, but you can use it on more devices and saves alot of hassle, thus paying itself off just as fast. Since the I series only had USB 1.1 ports, I'd reccomend searching eBay for a cheap 8x external USB burner, or if you want something fast and are willing to splurge, buy a new USB 2.0 external burner and a CardBus USB 2.0 card. Either way, an internal burner refitted to your laptop or an external burner is going to burn a hefty hole into your wallet if you want something that can burn at a decent speed.

Thanks for the reply again. I appreciate your advice.
I have been searching around ebay and froogle and I may just do what you've suggested.
There seems to be quite a few externals going for a decent price. To be honest the only thing that turns me off of the whole idea is the [censored] USB 1.1. I may just op to get a external case and jam my home drive in it. atleast It would give me a excuse purchase a huge hard drive aswell. If I go that route what would be your thoughts on a firewire card instead of the USB 2.0.
Thanks again James.

If you decide to buy an external case, unless you plan to go at any decent speed, you'll need the case to be USB 2.0 compliant and a USB 2.0 card. USB 1.1 just isn't that fast, hence the reason all the USB 1.1 drives are 8x and below. Fortunatly, I just checked eBay and right now, there's a ton of external burners up for grabs at pretty reasonable prices. If you don't trust eBay and/or don't have an account, I also found a few realatively decent priced burners at CompUSA.

And before buying anything, make sure your computer and Windows OS version are compatible, you have all the proper hardware and do lots of research on the product if it's from a company you are not too sure of. In the computer market, as with most markets, the phrase "If it's too good to be true, it probably is" holds pretty true. If you need any help with brands or products or what hardware to buy, let me know, I'd be glad to help.