Opinions on IBM Support

[Darthkim]

Hi Guys.

What are your experiences with the reliability of the Txx? I am in the process of considering the T60/X60 from the Dell's that i've been buying for the past 5 years. (Latitude... Cxxx, Dxxx). I know the x60 series just came out, so any input on the T42/43 and X40/41 would be appreciaed.

I am particularly interested in people who've deployed them in an enterprise environment.

Our techs will be IBM certified, so cutting out the Level 1 support won't be an issue. They are certified primarily to order replacement parts for the thinkpads.

Are the hard drives reliable? Is IBM Global services support good and prompt? Any major issues? Does that Active Hard Drive protection really work?

Thanks for your help!

[Kyocera]

It would be helpful to read through the 4x series forum to get a good feel for the most common issues, there is also many posts on the IBM/Lenovo service. I have had great service from them, if you have techs on site with skills you should really only need to worry about acquiring parts as these are skilled user repairable.

I own a T42 and can testify it is a solid workhorse which exceeds all expectations of most working environments.

Would wait on the T60 until it gets out and really tested. I'm sure you will have a great experience with thinkpads.

[christopher_wolf]

Experiences? Well...I can say that I have only had excellent experience with all the Thinkpads I have owned. It started with a 701c I got over a decade ago as my first laptop along with a Powerbook; now, a decade later, it still boots up and connects to the Internet fine.

The T Series has been no exception to this; in the Labs around here we have T20s that have gone through alot and still run great. I also have a Dell, Widecreen Business Laptop, and while it is good as a desktop replacement...I is no "mobile" laptop. The Active HDD Protection is only available on Thinkpads unless you want to get a Powerbook; it works very well by ramping the heads when a shock is detected. You can bring up a little program to control its sensitivity amongst other things; it can, with initial conditions, determine the orientation of the Thinkpad in space as well. I haven't had a problem with any Thinkpad's HDD thus far, and I don't think I will. I think that, with the APS and the Shock absorbers that are placed on the HDD, that I won't have a shock related accident anytime soon even by accident.


As for enterprise environments; just about all of the laptops here that aren't Powerbooks are Thinkpads and are used to give lectures, presentations, lab work, etc. A very helpful feature that I have found is the Presentation director; previously, I had difficulty with my Dell and old HP setting up for a presentation. Even connecting to an HDTV unit posed no problems for me. I haven't heard of any complaints from anybody about the Thinkpads in the Labs or any issues they have had with them.

Welcome to the Thinkpad Forums.

[o1001010]

let's see

ibm tech support level 1 is in atlanta and lev 2 is somewhere in canda

everytime i spoke with dell it's in india

ibm doesn't give you a hard time for replacement and the staff actually knows the tech and problems without having to look them up

dell bring you a series of steps of their system in order to find out what they think is wrong, even the tech or the steps are horrib than a bunch of monkey written handwork, they still make you do it. their tech also needs to look up or do research on the things that you ask them.

dell is not a computer company anymore. dell is now just a computer discount store.

[Darthkim]

Thanks all for your responses and warm welcome.

I read through many of the T4x and X4x threads and they all seem to be have good feedback on IBM support. Prompt response in particular to the keyboard replacement issue.

Any other thoughts? TIA.