Hello, I need a part source, please *PIC*

[Frugal]

Hello, everybody! I'm FrugalTech, first time poster.

Been lurking and learning here for years, it's long past time for me to become a forum member.

If you want to skip the story and get to the heart of it, kindly begin reading at the second-to-last paragraph.

About three years ago, I bought a 14.1 T61, a worn but serviceable 7663. It has a T7300 and a build date of 06/08. I discovered (thanks to this forum) that it was an "at risk" A1 chipset revision, but it still runs perfectly today. Again thanks to the advice here, I found and flashed the Middleton bios, installed an SSD, an Ultrabay HDD and a USB 3 card. It resulted in a truly fast, rock-solid machine that leaves me wanting for very little, except maybe a matte screen.

It has a very worn appearance now. The cover looks rough, the palmrest and keyboard are very shiny, USB ports worn, etc. But it runs great. I've put two touchpads and a fan in since I acquired it. It runs hard every day for hours, both for business and pleasure. I set out to find some parts to do a partial refurb this past week. I found a B grade LCD assembly with a good looking cover for about $35. Then, while looking for a better palmrest, I found an entire 7663 base assembly with a T7500, wireless, optical drive, etc. and a build date of 08/08 that looked very close to new in the pictures - for less than $50!

I rolled the dice and bought it. The base came in Saturday. I got into it to find the heatsink and rollcage both had July 2008 dates, and the video chip is a week 24 '08 A2. The factory tape was undisturbed, the wiring was all routed correctly, internal screws looked pristine, and there was a small amount of dust and pet hair in a few spots where it would be expected on a used unit. It seems to be a legit 08/08 base. The USB ports are still tight, very minor wear on the keyboard and almost none on the touchpad, and the optical drive feels like opening a new unit. Passes all diagnostics so far. It's pretty amazing, at least to me! Feels like I won the T61 lottery or something.

So now, I have two T61's! Well, almost. I had to cannibalize the older unit to get the new one running. I needed some screws and an apparently hard-to-find part - the metal retaining bracket that holds the LCD cable in place on the motherboard. Lenovo calls it a "LCD FPC Bracket". I have more screws on the way, but I cannot find this bracket for sale anywhere. Could someone please tell me where I could obtain this part so I can put "Old Faithful" back in service? It's this part:



Thanks, Bill and everyone else for creating this very valuable resource. I've learned so much here - maybe I'll have a few tips and tricks of my own contribute in the future. Thanks again to everyone for all the help over the years!

Admin note: Added PIC warning in subject line.

[RealBlackStuff]

If you are that desperate, get the keyboard bezel from a standard 4:3 non-widescreen T60 or T61.
There this LCD cable clamp is attached to that bezel.
See e.g. this picture: https://itsuperstore.com.au/images/Leno ... 0bezel.jpg
Using metal shears, cut off whatever part you need.
OTOH, a piece of metal, cut out of an empty vegetable or soup tin, with 2 holes made in it, will also do.
You can also run it without that piece, using two screws with an O-ring to hold the cable in place.
Use your phantasy!

[Frugal]

Thanks for the reply, RBS.

Not really desperate, just impatient and posting way too late at night - and spending far too much time describing the new machine which is in no way relevant to the problem. I regret doing that.

Agreed, it would be an easy fix and there are multiple ways to accomplish it. My preference is for all "stock" parts, but I can get over that in a hurry.

I'll fabricate a piece. If it doesn't work out, then the tip about the standard T60/61 bezel looks like the closest solution to original. Never would have thought of it, thanks for the tip and the link!

[TuuS]

The part on the 14" widescreen also attaches to the wifi card if I'm not mistaken, so I don't think salvaging one from a keyboard bezel on a different model would work.

I'm pretty sure I can provide you with this part and probably any other parts you need for one of these models. Send me a PM and we can discuss it.

ps. Regarding your 08/08 chassis/board. Most the the nVidia chips are dated 0825, but I've seen many dated 0824 so that is consistent with a genuine 08/08 laptop. I do wonder why someone would scrap one of these machines and sell the base so cheap, that does seem suspect, but perhaps the lid was broken and they just wanted to get rid of it thinking it was old junk. Sounds like you hit the lottery for sure. You probably also have a Penryn board so you'll have more options if you want to upgrade your cpu.

[Frugal]

The part on the 14" widescreen also attaches to the wifi card if I'm not mistaken, so I don't think salvaging one from a keyboard bezel on a different model would work.

I'm pretty sure I can provide you with this part and probably any other parts you need for one of these models. Send me a PM and we can discuss it.

Thank you, TuuS. You are correct, it does attach to the left side wifi screw. I did fabricate a bracket this afternoon and put it back together. So far so good, but time will tell if it withstands multiple lid closings. I'll definitely PM if the need arises for that bracket or some other T61 part I don't have/can't find. I really appreciate the offer.

ps. Regarding your 08/08 chassis/board. Most the the nVidia chips are dated 0825, but I've seen many dated 0824 so that is consistent with a genuine 08/08 laptop. I do wonder why someone would scrap one of these machines and sell the base so cheap, that does seem suspect, but perhaps the lid was broken and they just wanted to get rid of it thinking it was old junk. Sounds like you hit the lottery for sure. You probably also have a Penryn board so you'll have more options if you want to upgrade your cpu.

Very happy to find it, I'm still wondering, too. It came from an EBay power seller with over 10,000 sales who is a computer recycler. Maybe they missed this one? In the listing pictures, the corner of the sticker with the date code was folded over a bit, so the second "08" was partially obscured and could have been an "06". I blew up the photo so I could see more of the obscured number and was convinced it was "08". - it was. . I have a piece of packing tape over that corner of the label now to try to prevent further damage.

I've been using the "new' unit daily - flawless so far. It's a pleasure to use a lightly worn keyboard that feels like new and a nearly-pristine touchpad and trackpoint. I keep overcompensating - tapping too hard, etc. Smooth and responsive.

So this board is possibly Pennryn-capable too! Good to know. I'll read up on it here. Happy with the Merom chips for the time being. Middleton bios + 4GB RAM + SSD = plenty fast.

Both of these (old and new) will be run hard. No "always-on" profiles, lots of power up/down cycles, infrequent suspends, regardless of ambient temps. Should know by this winter if it proves to be a keeper or a parts donor.

They aren't everyone's cup of tea, but these T61's are amazing to me. With an under $100 SandForce SSD, its faster than most $300-$500+ new computers. None of new offerings in that price range are nearly military grade durability (NVidia chipset issues aside) and no other laptop is easier to take apart and reassemble multiple times than a T-series or similar, if you are so inclined. Reminds me of the Dell C-500 through 800 series (admittedly a ThinkPad knockoff) with similar excellent feature set, good build quality, reliability and good price vs. value in the secondary market for a long time. Value has always been the key for me. There isn't a better deal going than a T-series, IMHO.

Disclaimer:rambling on again - another early morning post.