Turning T40 into netbook?

[rhombus]

I recently bought a used T500, because my T40 won't run 64-bit, and I have some 64-bit applications I need for work.

The T500 is nice, but it's big and heavy, and as I usually have it in a docking station with no battery in it, it doesn't lend itself to taking along when you're in a hurry.

I have spent far too many hours looking for something good for lightweight mobile use. I like netbooks in principle, but I have heard that the x100e runs hot, and the power consumption of the x1xx and x2xx isn't all that great either. I would like to have a CD-ROM, and I also don't want to spend even a dime on a piece of junk. And man, is there a lot of junk out there. It makes shopping for new gear totally overwhelming.

Now I'm seriously considering some modifications to my T40 to give it a second life, and I need some advice.

My T40 has been upgraded to the hilt. It has:

- a big (160 GB) PATA disk
- 2 GB RAM
- an Intel 2915 ABG wireless card
- Pentium M 755 (2.0 GHz, 400 Mhz FSB Pentium M Dothan)

I have always loved this machine, and the build quality really can't be beaten. But there are some problems with it:

- the battery is shot. It is holding 10% of its nominal capacity. If I am going to use this thing for the road, I will need a new (or "new-equivalent") original battery. I have tried one third-party battery, and predictably, it was a total piece of junk, and I returned within days for a refund. That was back in 2010. At the time, it was still possible, through back-channels, to get a hold of factory original Lenovo batteries for the T4x machines, but I haven't been able to find a source for some time now.
- fan noise: this is the one thing that has always bothered me about this T40.
- heat: it does run hot, especially with the faster CPU. At idle it will swing between 60°C and 70°C, when I am compiling stuff it can go as high as 85°C.

So, my questions:

1. Is it possible to get new or refurbished Lenovo batteries -- from third parties, even -- for these machines, or is my T40 officially a museum piece now?

2. Assuming 1. holds, what modifications can I undertake that will both reduce heat, fan noise, and greatly increase battery life? I am thinking I'll put a 1.8" SSD in it and throttle CPU, either with cpufreq in Linux (using the "powersave" profile) or in the BIOS, and run a lean desktop without fancy 3D effects. I kept the original processor but I don't see how that would be any different from just running this one at a lower clock speed.

3. If 1. applies and I do 2., what kind of battery life would be realistic? What I'd like is 3 or 4 hours...

4. If my T40 is indeed a museum piece, then what alternatives can you suggest? Should I give an x200 another look? Maybe an X60 (plus Ultrabase)? Something else I haven't considered (even non-Thinkpad? Maybe an HP-Mini?) Though I am not averse to moderate mods (like the 1.8" SSD sled mod from Shapeways) I don't want to spend my life tinkering (so, no Frankenpad projects right now; I'm too busy). Whatever path I choose, I want to keep my costs under $300. It should be possible to get new batteries for any older machines people suggest.

I'm grateful for any responses to my questions, hints and tips, and links to battery sources!

[kge420]

rhombus, I have been using an exact spec'd machine as yours except I have a 60gb SSD installed. This SSd is an IBM 1.8" intended for use in a x41t. I use this T40p every day and am very pleased with the abilities. I get about 2.5 hours on a year old battery. The battery was purchased off ebaY for ~$25. I would definitely say go ahead with your plans and continue to use this machine. You're already fully invested.
ps: Put in a new fan. Just installed one in my T40p and lowered temps by about ~10C. Don't forget the AS5 when doing this. Also a 1.8gHz Dothan can be had for cheap. I have tried both and I think it doesn't suffer much of a performance hit and it also seems to run cooler.

[Fixed_Rider]

rhombus,

Every little bit helps. Here is a listing for a ultra-bay battery. I'm getting one for my daughters T43p.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 96&start=0

Good luck

[rhombus]

rhombus,

Every little bit helps. Here is a listing for a ultra-bay battery. I'm getting one for my daughters T43p.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 96&start=0

Good luck

Thanks for the tip. Those Ultrabay batteries are lithium-polymer, though. They don't last very long and they have poor capacity to begin with.

[Orclas]

Using and loving a T40 myself, I'm sorry to say that it's a bit of end of the road unless you're prepared to live with the full set of limitations it has.

There is a T40-series route to take via a SATA-modded T43/p, but that would obviously include you a) buying a used T43 b) forking out some $100 for the mod and c) forking out another $100 (or so) for a SSD (if you really want to maximize battery time). It is also possible to run a PATA SSD in a T40 (to save some battery), but my experience is that performance is so-so (it works, but with some lag and stuttering).

2. Assuming 1. holds, what modifications can I undertake that will both reduce heat, fan noise, and greatly increase battery life? I am thinking I'll put a 1.8" SSD in it and throttle CPU, either with cpufreq in Linux (using the "powersave" profile) or in the BIOS, and run a lean desktop without fancy 3D effects. I kept the original processor but I don't see how that would be any different from just running this one at a lower clock speed.

The best bet to achieve heat and noise reduction (and some increase in battery time) in a T40 is to undervolt the CPU, leaving speedstep to throttle the CPU up and down as needed. The nifty thing with undervolting is that you get the same cycles, but for less power and heat and I've had my T40 Dothan undervolted with some 20% for more than a year without any kind of issues. Additional bits can be achieved by downclocking the GPU and buying either a PATA SSD or via a PATA-SATA bridge and a 1.8" SATA SSD (see popular threads about this).

I've done all of the above (for noise reduction reasons), undervolting and underclocking with NHC (great little program) and by using a PATA SSD. That being said, pushing 3-4 hours out of the battery may prove tough, at least without dimming the screen down to barely-viewable

I'll let others help you out with other alternative paths/models, am not knowledgeable enough to do so.

[rhombus]

Great advice, Orclas, thanks. It does sound like a lot of effort and expense for limited return.

I am thinking more and more seriously about an X6x with or without tablet...

[Raceboy]

I made a TR451 (T42 chassis with R51 Intel system board, which basically is an X40 with bigger form factor), used heavily undervolted Pentium M750 Dothan @ 400 MHz FSB (resulted in 1.4 GHz) and with a 9cell Panasonic (11% wear level) it showed 8:21 as remaining battery time. I made a screenshot of the NHC screen also. That was with wireless on and half brightness.
I used eBay PATA-> microSATA adapter and Samsung 1.8" 64GB SSD which was from X300.

In reality it held ~7 hours of real usage, could have been even longer with new battery and even more with additional Ultrabay battery.

It was a completely silent and fast laptop, only sold it because I did similar thing to X31 (new panasonic battery, COM port mod, same SSD solution, changed BGA CPU to Pentium M 758 1,5 GHz 2MB Dothan from X41). I did it only because X31 allowed me to use IPS panel (not available in 14.1 format). New Panasonic 6cell holds ~5 hours with this combination).

I use the laptop for tuning an engine management systems and need long battery life+good screen.

[feklee]

to get a hold of factory original Lenovo batteries for the T4x machines

You can still order parts from IBM Ersatzteile-Service over here in Germany (B2B), including - I just checked - the six cell battery. Just in the beginning of the year, I ordered a replacement fan. If you don't want to invest too much time, I'd go with original parts. They come nicely packaged with everything that you need. For example, the fan's heat sink had heat transfer paste already applied. I only needed to insert it. Also, I think there were stickers for screws included.

[feklee]

In reality it held ~7 hours of real usage

Fresh nine cell battery in T41 also holds for about 7 hours.

[Raceboy]

Yes, but I used the laptop with the tuning software that utilized CPU 30-40% constantly and with that it held ~7 hours.

[DaKKS]

I'm currently using a 6 cell chinese aftermarket battery i bought on ebay for 19USD and it works fine for me. Maybe i got lucky, i dunno. But with a T42, PM 1.7ghz @ stock volt, 2gb ram, WDC 120gb + Fujitsu 100gb i get around 2 hours normal usage (office / web browsing. wifi on, brightness max). If i removed the second drive and pop in the DVD i get roughly an hour extra.

Been thinking of an ultrabay battery. But i honestly cant rationalize the expense. Sure, i can get the battery for 25-30 USD. But the shipping alone is 40+ USD

[feklee]

i get around 2 hours normal usage

With the original battery, you will get close to four hours.

[DaKKS]

With the original battery, you will get close to four hours.

My other laptop maxed out on 45 minutes with wifi off and brightness on low with close to no cpu usage. And the [censored] thing is brand new. Chinese battery or not, 2 hours is a step up.

EDIT: are you freaking kidding me? You censor "d@mn"? Geez...

[Raceboy]

EDIT: are you freaking kidding me? You censor "d@mn"? Geez...

[Orclas]

EDIT: are you freaking kidding me? You censor "d@mn"? Geez...

Go for darn, it's the child/parent (depending on your perspective) proof version

[DaKKS]

Right, darn it is then.

I'm making my T42 as portable as possible ever since my macbook died. I'm thinking of buying a 32GB mSATA SSD and a PATA-mSATA adapter off ebay. I realize i'm not gonna get extreme speeds or anything, but its probably quicker, and more importantly draws less power than my WDC 1200...

New battery + ultrabay battery and undervolting is probably your best bet. Hope you have better luck with undervolting than i did. Darn thing just wont stick.

[RealBlackStuff]

I have an X60s with a 32GB Patriot SSD, an Intel 6200N wifi card, and a new 8-cell battery.
This combo, used without any special settings, lasts me about 8 hours.

[rhombus]

rhombus, I have been using an exact spec'd machine as yours except I have a 60gb SSD installed. This SSd is an IBM 1.8" intended for use in a x41t. I use this T40p every day and am very pleased with the abilities. I get about 2.5 hours on a year old battery. The battery was purchased off ebaY for ~$25. I would definitely say go ahead with your plans and continue to use this machine. You're already fully invested.
ps: Put in a new fan. Just installed one in my T40p and lowered temps by about ~10C. Don't forget the AS5 when doing this. Also a 1.8gHz Dothan can be had for cheap. I have tried both and I think it doesn't suffer much of a performance hit and it also seems to run cooler.

Just any new fan? I hear talk of the "long fan", wonder if it makes any difference. Would it fit? It's a 2373-72U.

Plus, the fan I have works; it's just loud. When I swapped the processor I used AS5 and was meticulous about applying it, and I cleaned everything thoroughly. As these machines were never designed for this faster processor, I thought the fact that it runs and is totally stable meant that I had done the mod correctly.

[rhombus]

You can still order parts from IBM Ersatzteile-Service over here in Germany (B2B), including - I just checked - the six cell battery. Just in the beginning of the year, I ordered a replacement fan. If you don't want to invest too much time, I'd go with original parts. They come nicely packaged with everything that you need. For example, the fan's heat sink had heat transfer paste already applied. I only needed to insert it. Also, I think there were stickers for screws included.

IBM Ersatzteile... do they have a website where I can check product and stock? (Why do I have such a hard time finding this stuff? My Google-Fu needs help.)

[DaKKS]

Just any new fan? I hear talk of the "long fan", wonder if it makes any difference. Would it fit? It's a 2373-72U.

There was a long fan in my T40. Pulled it from a dead T42, I believe, and it worked splendidly. I've moved it to my T42 now. Still goin' strong and it runs a lot cooler.

[RealBlackStuff]

The long fan M10 (as used in T40/1/2) is better and quieter than the long fan M24 (as used in the T43).
It will also run in any R5x machine and on mobos with Intel graphics, although it's overkill there.