Getting a new thinkpad....SOME QUESTIONS/CONCERNS

[neosys911]

Hi fellow Think-padeans,

Being a student has its limitations..and the major being money.So,I had to dig deep into the world of flea-bay and finally come up with my FIRST LAPTOP EVER,a T42 with the following config

IBM Thinkpad Model T42 - Model 2378-R1U, Pentium M 725 1.6GHz, 768RAM, 40GB Hard Drive, 14.1 XGA TFT LCD with 32MB ATI Radeon 7500, 24x24x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, Modem (CDC), 1GB Ethernet, Intel 802.11b/g Wireless (MPCI), Secure Chip, Fingerprint Reader, 6 cell L-Ion battery, 9-Cell extended battery , Thinkpad Port Replicator , Windows/XP Professional. New factory sealed. I year warranty

I know it's not as awesome as the systems I see here,but I guess it'll do for my student needs.

Anyway,my question is ***correct me if I'm missing something***

1.What do I do once I get my laptop ? i.e other than the following
I initialize warranty, call em for recovery disks (??) and go online and update drivers (don't they come with the latest or cd's in the package ??)
Oh,and can I safely play around with the pre-installed programs and delete what I see fit ? I dont think I have the recovery disks though...I'll look up this forums to see how I can make copies

2.What defects do I check for ? i.e other than a check for dead pixels,a faulty keyboard and noisy HDD ?

3.Battery...what do I do ? Do I charge first before using the laptop ? Or do I wait and charge before using it ? I read here that I should set the value of re-charge at around 3% below the default 96%...is that fine ?

4.How good is a 9-cell battery ? I'm mostly in school,and near an A/C outlet most of the time..so can I get rid of my 6 cell battery all-together ? and primarily use the 9-cell ? How does that work ?

5.What are my options regarding warranty ? I currently have only one year warranty and how much will I have to spend extending it for,say,3 years ?

6.Regarding IBM policy on sales on ebay ? Can I directly return and replace my laptop with IBM,if,say,I had dead pixels ?

7.I know I have missed tons of stuff that I ought to probably do when I get my laptop,please point em out...and be serious,and useful

Well..that's all the questions I have for now...my mind isn't working that good...I'm all excited and every laptop I see on campus seems like a "HA... That aint a thinkpad... that sucks for THEM"

Am I going crazy finally ? [/b]

[K. Eng]

I'd say just start using the machine. If something is wrong it will be apparent very quickly.

As far as bad pixels go, IBM will not allow you to return a machine to them if it was not purchased directly from them. I believe the current standard for a panel replacement is 8-9 broken pixels, but I'm not entirely sure.

I bought my ThinkPad from a third party and it had 2 stuck pixels, and I was SOL. It was a hard $1,700 lesson, but I will never again purchase a product with an LCD unless the seller allows for returns for any reason.

Buying from Bill (the site admin) and paying him to cherry pick a notebook is the best isurance against bad pixels.

Hi fellow Think-padeans,

Being a student has its limitations..and the major being money.So,I had to dig deep into the world of flea-bay

2.What defects do I check for ? i.e other than a check for dead pixels,a faulty keyboard and noisy HDD ?

5.What are my options regarding warranty ? I currently have only one year warranty and how much will I have to spend extending it for,say,3 years ?

6.Regarding IBM policy on sales on ebay ? Can I directly return and replace my laptop with IBM,if,say,I had dead pixels ?

Am I going crazy finally ? [/b]

[neosys911]

what abt warranty ? and the other minor details ?

[Leon]

Since the machine is factory sealed (not a refurb), your 1 yr. warranty will be through IBM. It will also be extendable at additional cost) up to the last day of the 1 yr. warranty. It can be upgraded for anywhere between 1-4 more years.

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