T43 2687-D4U reinvigorate or buy new?

[stuartf]

I really like the computer, it is now within 10 days of ending its warranty period. I have in the past 6 months replaced LCD, inverter, backlight, keyboard and motherboard (Southbridge problem). I really like the screen and form factor, but it is getting a bit slow.

Decision time: do I add another 1 GB RAM (currently have 1 GB), reformat and reinstall the hard drive (Seagate 160GB), and try to wring some more life out of this stellar machine (okay, lots of repairs this year but it was all pre-paid via warranty) or upgrade to say a T 61p? The screen is the decisive factor, knowing that I cannot replicate the 4:3 screen has me thinking of refurbing

I mostly do low intensity activities but am interested in making use of this Photoshop that I have and have been staring at the last year or so.

Opinions, or other things I should consider??

stuartf

[billp117]

Ram for the T43 is dirt cheap...max it out. Also treat yourself to Windows 7 32 bit. That is all your need to do since you have a nice hard drive.


Good luck...

[ZaZ]

If you like the flexview LCD on your T43, you're going to find a new notebook won't be near as good. The T60 was the last T series offered with it. It would get you a dual core CPU and access to bigger faster hard drives/SSDs. You can probably find a good one fairly reasonably.

[ajkula66]

RAM is cheap, so why not. Max it out and enjoy. These IPS LCDs will not happen anytime soon, unless you want to dish out $5K or so for a new HP.

If you must upgrade, go for T60/p and not T61/p. The former was the last generation that had FlexView screens available. It also fares better in terms of reliability than T61/p...

Good luck.

[w0qj]

The main problem with T43 is that it does not readily accept new hard drives.
It has that infamous SATA-PATA bridge, hence regular PATA hard drives inserted into T43 would give an error and unusable.

Better to stick with a T42, or a T60 or T61.

[ajkula66]

w0qj wrote:

The main problem with T43 is that it does not readily accept new hard drives.
It has that infamous SATA-PATA bridge, hence regular PATA hard drives inserted into T43 would give an error and unusable.

The only part of the above statement that is true is the one regarding the existence of SATA-to-PATA bridge.

OP already has a "non-approved" hard drive and the error on boot doesn't seem to bother him.

There's a recent BIOS mod as well addressing this issue.

Furthermore, you can use a SATA drive in the UltraBay. I've been doing it for years now.

T61/p (with nVidia grpahics) are likely the least reliable ThinkPads of this millennium and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

[lukee]

The main problem with T43 is that it does not readily accept new hard drives.
It has that infamous SATA-PATA bridge, hence regular PATA hard drives inserted into T43 would give an error and unusable.

Already exists BIOS patch, which will remove 2010 ERROR from the BIOS - see my signature. I've never seen corrupted data on T43's when using non-approved HDD.

[stuartf]

Indeed, OP here and I never understood the strum und drung about the 2010 error; it beeps and then continues on its way.

Thanks for all the comments here, I will go for the memory upgrade and try to squeeze another year or so out of this machine, love the Flexview screen and the present offerings from Lenovo don't cut it for me.

[rssb]

Add additional warranty if you can, and add the additional RAM.

If you move to any Linux based Distro's, you will not even notice any slowness. Other option is to move to windows 7 and go for a 7200 rpm drive. Unless you are doing lot of disk read and writes , some databases etc.. the SATA performance does not make a difference for office applications, internet surfing etc..

Advantages of sticking with it are Flex view screen, form factor, full sized Ctrl and Alt keys.

[stuartf]

Add additional warranty if you can, and add the additional RAM.

Indeed, without starting a long debate on the merits of warranties, I maxed out the warranty on this rig. 5 years is up in 13 days, thus the time for reflection and consideration. I am going to hold on to it, I keep things backed up and when it goes, it goes.

[w0qj]

OK, ajkula66 & lukee, tks for pointing out that this T43 issue had already been addressed, sorry for the outdated info!
Hope you will have fun deciding on your notebook computer!

(and glad that Lenovo did issue patch to retroactively address this issue on this IBM-designed notebook computer!).

Already exists BIOS patch, which will remove 2010 ERROR from the BIOS - see my signature. I've never seen corrupted data on T43's when using non-approved HDD.

[Norway Pad]

(and glad that Lenovo did issue patch to retroactively address this issue on this IBM-designed notebook computer!).

FIY: Lenovo didn't make this patch, so there is no manufacturer guarantee/support or responsibility behind this patch. It was developed by a french user (I believe) on this forum not too long ago. So far I haven't noticed any feedbacks about bricking or other side effects caused by applying this BIOS patch, so it seems to be safe and ok to use.

Good that this patch finally came around, but sad it didn't come earlier. Many users (myself included) paid good money for IBM approved drives for our T43s to avoid the 2010 error, while we now could have bought any brand and any size PATA drive.

[RealBlackStuff]

FYI: I have already applied this new BIOS with the NO-2010-ERROR on a T43 and a few R52s with great success.
One of the R52 machines is in 8Hr. daily use, no problems whatsoever.

[dwallace]

Thanks all for the posts,

I am in the same large boat (maxed out RAM, installed Win7 and both were good choices). I bought my T43 used and I'm close to maxing out the 7200-rpm, 90 gig HD another kindly board member installed. Now considering a couple of "upgrades" to keep the Thinkpad fires burning. And haven't been impressed enough to buy another newer machine.

What is the latest BIOS and are there specific benefits?
Would a SATA SSD work in the drive caddy? Else how can I install it as a extra drive in the UltraBay?

Again, thanks for the learnings.

David

[Norway Pad]

Now that the No-2010 patch is here, you can basically install any brand/size PATA drive in your main bay. A SATA drive will not work here, but a SATA drive (Platter or SSD) in the Ultrabay can be an option, like you say. The benefit of this is that a SATA drive can also be used in a future, newer laptop, a PATA drive won't. Just buy an Ultrabay adapter like this:http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Ultrabay-Slim-2 ... 255a2c933c (The one in this link has a IDE/PATA interface, be sure to get the SATA one) You will loose your optical drive, but solutions are available also for that problem, the few times you need it.

Regarding the BIOS, I am not aware of any specific advantages that you will notice in daily use, unless you run a very old BIOS. I think the older T43 BIOS had a different and not so good fan control. It's always good to run an updated BIOS, but I have never cared much about it, unless I have had a specific problem, needed to install a "pathced" BIOS or found out that my BIOS version was very old. In the case of the T43, the non-2010 BIOS is a good thing to upgrade to, but not that important if you chose to stay with your current PATA drive in the mainbay. There is no need for it if you chose to install a SATA drive in the Ultrabay.

[irus]

Now that the No-2010 patch is here, you can basically install any brand/size PATA drive in your main bay. A SATA drive will not work here, but a SATA drive (Platter or SSD) in the Ultrabay can be an option, like you say. The benefit of this is that a SATA drive can also be used in a future, newer laptop, a PATA drive won't. Just buy an Ultrabay adapter like this:http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Ultrabay-Slim-2 ... 255a2c933c (The one in this link has a IDE/PATA interface, be sure to get the SATA one) You will loose your optical drive, but solutions are available also for that problem, the few times you need it.

Regarding the BIOS, I am not aware of any specific advantages that you will notice in daily use, unless you run a very old BIOS. I think the older T43 BIOS had a different and not so good fan control. It's always good to run an updated BIOS, but I have never cared much about it, unless I have had a specific problem, needed to install a "pathced" BIOS or found out that my BIOS version was very old. In the case of the T43, the non-2010 BIOS is a good thing to upgrade to, but not that important if you chose to stay with your current PATA drive in the mainbay. There is no need for it if you chose to install a SATA drive in the Ultrabay.

can i use any latest sata hdd in my t42p using adapter at full speed? e.g intel x25 ? can it be used as primary using a similar adapter?

[lukee]

irus: you can use it, but you'll be limited with the ATA bus transfer rate (~80 MB/s). The SATA UltraBay adapter itself can be used as primary HDD without any problems, but you'll lose optical drive.

[w0qj]

Is it true that you'll lose any Thinkpad software HDD shock protection if you use the CD-caddy for your spinning HDD?
(ie: HDD with no built-in shock detectors may be at risk)

Thought I've read this somewhere about this in Thinkpads forum...

[lukee]

Is it true that you'll lose any Thinkpad software HDD shock protection if you use the CD-caddy for your spinning HDD?
(ie: HDD with no built-in shock detectors may be at risk)

Thought I've read this somewhere about this in Thinkpads forum...

With Windows probably yes. But with Linux you may configure anything (tell the hdapsd service to park another HDD)