New Lenovo T61 Questions

[Axfinger]

Hey all,

First post on these forums. I just bought a T61 off ebay for $50. Its a 2.0 Ghz (T7300 I would guess), 2 GB memory, and 160 GB HDD.

I have a couple of questions about setting up my new system.

The first is that I have an old Dell XPS Studio 1555 with a broken screen. It has a 500 GB Harddrive and 4GB of RAM (2 x 2), which would be obviously nice upgrades. What I don't know is if there are any compatibility issues with installing those. I don't plan on using the OS that is on either hard drive, and instead plan to try out Linux Mint. I've been looking at it for a few days and I think I am going with XFCE. If anyone has any information about compatibility on the hardware, or anything else that might make this not work, it would be appreciated.

Ax

[Cigarguy]

No problem with hardware compatibility and Linux Mint will work great on a T61. Download the maintenance manual from Lenovo's support site. When getting a new to me Thinkpad I always take it apart to clean and apply new thermal paste. Also download and flash Middleton's BIOS. Finally, if you can afford it, a SSD is the best upgrade you can do.

[Axfinger]

Thanks for the help. I looked at Middleton BIOS, and I'm a little bit leery of it. It seems that the the biggest bonus to using it would be SATAII, which as you said would benefit an SSD, but i'm not planning on putting one in this machine as the reason I am getting it is to be as cheap as possible. I'm a little afraid of screwing the machine up by incorrectly flashing the BIOS, as that isn't something I've ever had to do before and thus I'm not too confident in doing it.

[Cigarguy]

I've had good luck picking up used 120 GB SSD in the local classifieds for a song, about $20ish.

As for flashing BIOS, it's about time to try and about time to learn. This is a good machine to learn from. Once you get the hang of it it's pretty much the same for many other machine and devices. Nothing to be scared of. Just be careful and methodical (i.e. don't do it when you're drunk and can barely stand up). A catastrophic mistake is cheap, not the end of the world and is a good learning experience. The last T61 I picked up was $30 Cdn. Alternatively you can remain being afraid.

[RealBlackStuff]

Download the maintenance manual from Lenovo's support site

It is a HECK of a lot easier to download that manual from the HMM link at the top of this page!

On Lenovo's primitive, unwieldy, foul excuse for a website it takes forever to find anything.

[wujstefan]

Download the maintenance manual from Lenovo's support site

It is a HECK of a lot easier to download that manual from the HMM link at the top of this page!

On Lenovo's primitive, unwieldy, foul excuse for a website it takes forever to find anything.

Sorry, I just rolled crying from laugh under my desk. Took 10 mins to recover. Couldn't be more precise

Middleton provides many upgrades, starting from SATAII (most significant), enabling Penryn, whitelist removal - and optionally more. The risk of bricking your MOBO is actually small and still enables almost full functionality of your unit.

[RealBlackStuff]

Not to mention that Middleton's BIOS is probably the most installed modded BIOS worldwide!
And probably every T61/R61 on this forum runs with M's BIOS.
Another benefit: it adds Slic2.1 to your BIOS (very helpful if you install W7 from Lenovo recovery disks).

[cadillacmike68]

There is no reason not to put the Middleton BIOS on your T61. I was initially apprehensive, it not being a "factory" BIOS, but I've now done 6 with no issues. I was never afraid to do any factory BIOS flash, and did it for customers all the time, but the Middleton one is just as safe.

You get SATA II unlocked, no whitelist on WiFi cards, and win 7 slic for instant activation via Lenovo recovery discs. That's a lot for a little of your time.

[Shredder11]

Putting the Middleton BIOS on your Thinkpad is a no brainer.....it really is!

[Axfinger]

Wow, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the overwhelming response to this given what forum I'm on. I've got some questions about the process of doing this, now that my laptop has shipped and is on its way.

The first is order of operations. If I'm going to flash bios, add hardware, and install a new OS, should I do them in that order? Or should the OS be installed before that Hardware is?

Secondly, I've looked around and seen all kinds of varying tutorials on Middleton BIOS flashing, and I'm starting to get confused. Can anyone point me to a tried and true step by step guide? I'm assuming the link provided on this site is the best place to get the actual BIOS as well, unless.....?


Ax

[ac12]

BIOS, then hardware, then OS, then apps.

1) BIOS - Depending on what hardware you are planning to install, you may need to install the BIOS before the hardware.
I understand that there are certain things that may cause a POST failure, because the factory BIOS is not allowing it.

The other is the drive interface. If you are installing a SSD, it makes more sense to install the Middleton BIOS first, so that the drive interface will run faster. And when facing a LOT of data writing to the SSD when installing the OS and various software, the faster SATA-II data transfer rate may make a significant difference in time.

2) hardware - When the OS installs it installs hardware drivers. But if you then change the hardware, then the OS has to load new drivers for the new hardware. Depending what hardware you change, this may be easy or a pain. So why not do it right the first time, by having the OS load drivers for the final config of hardware.

Another scenario is: If you have hardware failure that prevents booting.
- You may be forced to install replacement hardware before the BIOS, just so the computer boots.
- Then do the BIOS upgrade.
- Then upgrade the other hardware (that is dependent on an upgraded BIOS) to the final config.

I did the BIOS upgrade from a CD.
I understand that you can also do the BIOS upgrade from a bootable USB flash drive.

Make sure your battery is fully charged and the AC power supply is fully functional.
In my case, I also have the AC power supply connected to a UPS.
You do NOT want a power failure during the BIOS flashing process.

gud luk

[RealBlackStuff]

Go into BIOS, remove any passwords and check that Config/Network/Flash over LAN and Security/BIOS update by Enduser are Enabled.
Check which BIOS/EC version you have. ONLY if 2.29/1.08 go straight to M's BIOS

Lenovo BIOS
If ANY other (even 2.30/1.08) version, download official Lenovo 2.29/1.08 here: https://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/p ... uj27uc.iso
Burn a bootable CD from it, using e.g. ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/
Boot from that CD (use F12 at boot to select it) and flash the "regular" BIOS.
When finished, delete the downloaded .iso

M's BIOS
Download M's BIOS from here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/f9w4kv0k3 ... -1.08).rar
Use e.g. 7-zip: http://www.7-zip.org/download.html to open the archive.
Go to BIOS update subdir and select to extract 7luj27uc.iso.
Burn a bootable CD from it, using e.g. ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/
Boot from that CD (use F12 at boot to select it) and flash the "Middleton" BIOS.
When the flashing is done, the machine will say: flashing done, then beep and go dark to reboot.
Immediately press the "Open CD-tray" button to remove the CD, otherwise it repeats flashing.
Also press F1 again to go into BIOS.
If you miss that, try again.
When in BIOS, press F9 to load Setup defaults, then press F10 to save and exit/restart.
That's it.
When finished, delete the downloaded .iso

[Johan]

@ Axfinger:

A remark in addition to the above; quoting from:

1) Before updating to patched BIOS - read the "ReadMe" [that comes with Middleton's BIOS] carefully and current BIOS version from F1 screen. Most times ReadMe states that first of all BIOS should be updated to certain version of original (Lenovo's) BIOS.

2) Check boot order in BIOS that CD can start prior to HDD/SDD, or use the F12 key during boot, to select the Middleton-CD to boot from.

3) Check BIOS --> Config --> Network options especially: "Flash over LAN". It MUST be enabled for Middleton's BIOS to be flashed.

4) Check BIOS --> Security --> .... --> "Flash BIOS by end user setting" must also be enabled (I don't remember if it needed to be enabled or not, but I have turned it on everytime I update BIOS).

I wholehearted second the above suggestion about getting yourself a SSD; that will be by far the greatest improvement to the machine you can get (in terms of "speed").

Your amount of RAM should be min. 2 GB. A T61 will accept up to 8 GB of RAM, but a 32-bit OS will only be able to use approx. 3 GB, so unless you decide to install a 64-bit OS, there's no benefit in installing more than 3 GB of RAM.

Congratulations with your "new" T61!

Johan

[ac12]

The problem with RAM is the blasted 4GB modules are so expensive
I ended up splitting my two 4GB modules between my two T61s, with each having 6GB (4+2 config). Not as good as going all the way to 8GB, but better than 4GB (for Win7-x64).

[Axfinger]

Hey Everybody,

Typing this from my brand new (used) ThinkPad T61. Flashing, Hardware upgrade, and OS install went along without a hitch. Thanks to everyone who provided help. I'm now running LinuxMint XFCE 18 just fine, other than not knowing how to do too much in Linux yet. Still Mint is fairly intuitive and everything is great, other than the old used battery not holding charge very well. Luckily another trip to Ebay provides brand new ones for less than $15.

Ax

[cadillacmike68]

Hey Everybody,

Typing this from my brand new (used) ThinkPad T61. Flashing, Hardware upgrade, and OS install went along without a hitch. Thanks to everyone who provided help. I'm now running LinuxMint XFCE 18 just fine, other than not knowing how to do too much in Linux yet. Still Mint is fairly intuitive and everything is great, other than the old used battery not holding charge very well. Luckily another trip to Ebay provides brand new ones for less than $15.

Ax

Watch out on batteries.

Make SURE it is a genuine Lenovo battery, and look up the threads on the best battery FRUs to get. Basically you want Panasonic cells made in japan. They are out there.

[Cigarguy]

Good stuff Axfinger and good choice on Linux Mint. After trying a lot of different distros, that what my choice too. Lots of customization options so take some time to set it up. You'll learn a lot in the process.

[cadillacmike68]

The problem with RAM is the blasted 4GB modules are so expensive
I ended up splitting my two 4GB modules between my two T61s, with each having 6GB (4+2 config). Not as good as going all the way to 8GB, but better than 4GB (for Win7-x64).

Yeah, they are twice what DDR3 RAM costs, but so what? you gots to pay to play. What does my wife say-- money talks and bullsh!t walks. I'm thinking of getting two more 8GB pairs (I have two pairs now), for the office computers. I would much prefer that they be lower in price, but that's the way it is...

Remember when a 10MB HDD cost over $500.00??? or when 640KB of little bug chips cost $300.00??? Makes this seem a pittance by comparison.

[E350]

I also put this in my T61p (and my wife's T61p and my X61) and really like it:

Intel 7260.HMWG.R Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Network adapter PCI Express ... NEW

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322406553653?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

[Raidriar]

If you have an nVidia chip in your T61, do yourself a favor now and install highsun's BIOS since it has the option to undervolt the chip, reducing heat and power consumption.

open the computer, clean out heatsink finds, apply new thermal paste (i use antec nano 7 or ICD7 or tg7, any diamond based compound works well)

install throttlestop, find the sweetspot for your chip to run max clocks at the lowest possible voltage. reduces heat and power consumption without hurting performance.

[cadillacmike68]

If you have an nVidia chip in your T61, do yourself a favor now and install highsun's BIOS since it has the option to undervolt the chip, reducing heat and power consumption.

open the computer, clean out heatsink finds, apply new thermal paste (i use antec nano 7 or ICD7 or tg7, any diamond based compound works well)

install throttlestop, find the sweetspot for your chip to run max clocks at the lowest possible voltage. reduces heat and power consumption without hurting performance.

What will this (highsun's BIOS) do to a T61 with Middleton's BIOS? Can it be flashed over Middleton without ruining the SLIC 2.1 and other Middleton changes?

And, where does one find it?

[zoltan87]

I am interested in this highsun's BIOS as well. How does it compare to Middleton's BIOS? Does this still has the no whitelist mod and SATA 2 speeds? Do you change the gpu voltage in the BIOS itself? Also is there a similar method to undervolt the ATI gpu in the Thinkpad T60? I managed to undervolt the cpu in my T60 using CPUgenie, but I couldn't find a way to undervolt the ATI videocard.

I would be also interested in this Intel 7260 wifi card. Am I correct that it's a combined wifi-bluetooth card? If so, does the bluetooth functionality work on it too? And do you need to remove the separate bluetooth card from your T61/T60 in that case?

[4uk4a]

What will this (highsun's BIOS) do to a T61 with Middleton's BIOS? Can it be flashed over Middleton without ruining the SLIC 2.1 and other Middleton changes?

And, where does one find it?

read carefully
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=110620

In the German forum https://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/172581 there are some bios files.