T42 cheapest solution for bad sys board/ will R51 work?

[hertfordnc]

I smoked the motherboard on my T42. Looking for a cheap pathway to recovery-

I've found references to the R50/51 motherboard being the same. If so, what is the difference between the two notebooks?

used R51's tend to be cheaper. For about the same price as a replacement motherboard, i can get a whole unit with either display or hard drive problems.

Thanks

Dave

[underclocker]

Please see this thread --> http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65505

Bottom line, it will be fine for an XGA T4x machine with a few caveats.

[Bruce Guttman]

I have done exactly that. I got a broken R51 (turned out the LCD was bad) with Intel graphics. My board did not have the Fire Wire port, and it fit in the T-42 case perfectly. It's working as an XGA system as we speak. If you have one with a Fire Wire port, a little adjustment to the bottom plastic with a Dremel tool should make it available should you wish.

Only bad thing I discovered as I was putting it back together was that my LCD cable was missing the lid switch. Another project for another day. Note that I am using the LCD/cable and keyboard from the T-42.