Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message

T61 motherboard in dead T61p

T60/T61 Series
Post Reply
Message
Author
lynsg
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 12:41 pm
Location: London, UK

T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#1 Post by lynsg » Mon May 08, 2017 8:23 am

Hallo all. I have just acquired a T61 and a T61p. The T61 is type 6466-9YG with a 15.4" 1280x800 screen and a 128Gb ssd with Wind10 running. The dead T61p is a 6460-6XG, s/n L3-A0862 07/07, also with a 15.4" screen. I don't know the screen resolution, but believe it should be 1920x1200? Removing the fan assembly reveals a t7500 chip at 2.2GHz. The fault is that, upon powering on the fan stops after a couple of seconds. There is still some backlight in the screen, but I'm guessing that this indicates a fault in the motherboard? I've swapped the cpu for a T7200 from an old and dead T60 (beep codes say a failed security chip) but to no avail. There are no beeps when the T61p powers up, though I can't say for sure that the speakers are working.

From what I've read so far it seems that it should be possible to replace the T61p motherboard with one from a working T61, and the only loss will be in the graphics chip? If at all possible I want to use the "p", simply because my ageing eyes need the tlc of a better screen. The other alternative is to pop the good screen into the working T61. It will physically fit, and I could also pop in the faster cpu.

Any advice on this would be most welcome.

RealBlackStuff
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 23812
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:17 am
Location: Loch Garman, Éire

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#2 Post by RealBlackStuff » Mon May 08, 2017 8:47 am

Welcome to the forum.
The T61p as it came ex factory:
ThinkPad T61p 6460-6XG
T7500(2.2GHz), 2GB RAM, 100GB 7200rpm HD, 15.4in 1920x1200 LCD, 256MB nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 6c Li-Ion, WinVista Ultimate 32

It is normal for any fan to stop after a few seconds. It should only come on once the CPU/GPU gets hotter than normal.
The T7200 is the wrong CPU (from a T60) and does not work in a T61.
If you want to try another CPU in T61p, get the T8100 from your T61, or else any other e.g. T7100/T7300/T7500/T7700
Also, try first to see if an external monitor works on the T61p.

You can swap the complete lids (and any other parts for that matter) between those 2 without problem.
Only exception: the T61 has Intel integrated graphics with a different fan from the T61p with discrete nVidia graphics.
The T61p fan will also work in the T61, but not v.v.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
.

lynsg
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 12:41 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#3 Post by lynsg » Mon May 08, 2017 9:47 am

Many thanks for the reply, and the specs. You're right of course that the fan should stop, and I should have added that nothing shows on the screen except the backlight. It simply appears dead, and having read about the nVidia 'chip of death' I rather suspect that it will never work again. After a couple of seconds not only the fan but all the monitoring lights go off - wifi, bluetooth and that Z light.

I don't have a cable to test an external screen with, so it's time to get one. Will need a couple of days for delivery off ebay. Ah, having just tipped the house upside down I found a vga cable, but the t61p shows nothing. The t61 displays as it should on the desktop monitor, so it seems that it will indeed be just a pile of spare parts as I suspected when buying it. I've also just realised that another motherboard would probably have to be off a body of the same width in order to physically fit and attach, and I can't see anything available at a price that makes it worth doing. I might leave things a few days and see what pops up.

In the meantime I have a 240Gb ssd to put in whichever one I end up using.

Many thanks again.

PS, a different question: is there a maximum size of hard disc that would work in the ultrabay? I'm thinking of a 2Tb, and am happy to install the Middleton BIOS if that helps.

axur-delmeria
Senior ThinkPadder
Senior ThinkPadder
Posts: 3810
Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 5:49 am
Location: Metro Manila, Philippines

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#4 Post by axur-delmeria » Mon May 08, 2017 10:47 am

Transplanting the lid is much faster, as you don't have to remove the roll cage/structure frame.

Also, I suggest keeping the T8100 on your working T61 rather than getting the T7500, as the clock speed difference is negligible (100MHz).
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

lynsg
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 12:41 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#5 Post by lynsg » Mon May 08, 2017 3:26 pm

Well I've transplanted the lid, booted to a usb stick and the screen is very nice. Not up to IPS standard but far better than the old one. It won't recognise a hard disk any more though, so I guess I've fumbled something somewhere. That's tomorrow's job to fix.

Thanks to all for the help.

lynsg
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 12:41 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#6 Post by lynsg » Tue May 09, 2017 12:28 pm

All fixed. After flashing the Middleton BIOS it recognised hard discs again. Installed wind7 and Mint Cinnamon on the 240Gb ssd, and put a spare 500Gb drive in the ultrabay. Now to upgrade the ultrabay to something more like 2Tb. This is the best thinkpad I've ever had - fast, quiet, capable and a lovely screen.

Cheers
Lyn

RealBlackStuff
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 23812
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:17 am
Location: Loch Garman, Éire

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#7 Post by RealBlackStuff » Tue May 09, 2017 1:38 pm

You can get an even better screen: Sharp WUXGA (1920x1200) with P/N below:
Check e.g. on eBay for exactly this from Sharp (or as used in some Dell): (LQ154M1LW2A,LQ154M1LW02)
They have mounting brackets along top and bottom, which need to be VERY CAREFULLY removed, without breaking anything.
See also this: viewtopic.php?p=785950#p785950
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
.

lynsg
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 12:41 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#8 Post by lynsg » Tue May 09, 2017 2:21 pm

Thanks, this is interesting. They seem to vary in price from £50 to over £300 - not an unusual variation for ebay. They're not IPS though as far as I can see. I had a T60 with an IPS screen until just recently, when it sadly left the house. Is the CCFL tech an improvement, or is just the general quality, or is there some specific feature making it better than this one off an old T61p?

Cheers

RealBlackStuff
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 23812
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:17 am
Location: Loch Garman, Éire

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#9 Post by RealBlackStuff » Tue May 09, 2017 4:00 pm

They are not IPS (none of the widescreens were in those days), but a lot brighter and nicer than anything Lenovo used.
Check the forum for the use of these Sharp screens, nothing but praise from everybody.

lynsg
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 12:41 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#10 Post by lynsg » Wed May 10, 2017 5:03 am

You've probably persuaded me. I keep telling myself that this screen is "lovely", but after having had an IPS T60 that's plainly far from true. It lacks brightness and the colours lack depth and vibrancy. My desktop has a 4k 24" AOC screen, and looking at the same wallpaper on both the difference is massive. I'm lying to myself about this old screen. As far as I can tell from the forum people are equally happy with the '2A or '02 Sharp variant. Hunting around, the price differential seems to be due to the scarcity of the '2A one, eg the ebay.co.uk seller I'll probably choose has a '2A at £282 but the '02 for £42 - both claimed to be new Dell screens. Panelook.com list large stock for one but 0 for the other. I have a spare lid so I can take my time on the fiddly bit of the job and then transplant lids again.

Done, bought it. Will try to finish the job over the weekend.

Thanks for this.

RealBlackStuff
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 23812
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:17 am
Location: Loch Garman, Éire

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#11 Post by RealBlackStuff » Wed May 10, 2017 5:27 am

We'll look forward to your comment. :)

lynsg
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 01, 2017 12:41 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#12 Post by lynsg » Fri May 12, 2017 2:20 pm

Job done. The new Sharp LQ154M1LW02 screen is certainly better than the old Lenovo, but not by the margin I had hoped for. Coming from the original 1280x800 screen the difference would be substantial, but from a 1920x1200 off a T61p less so. It's certainly brighter, but the colours are not as rich as hoped for. Then again, I'm comparing to what I remember of my old IPS T60 screen and my current desktop AOS (this is 24", 3840x2160, and PLS which gives a similar end result to IPS). Also, after a couple of hours using it I'm starting to think that it may be more a case of the colour temperature being colder, and I'm starting to like it more. The variation from sunlight to shadow on the test picture is very good, and colour differentiation is also very good. Pin sharp of course. It's quite restful on my ageing eyes, being the most important feature.

In summary, well worth doing.

Cheers

RealBlackStuff
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 23812
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:17 am
Location: Loch Garman, Éire

Re: T61 motherboard in dead T61p

#13 Post by RealBlackStuff » Fri May 12, 2017 3:12 pm

Glad to hear you like it.
Go to Control Panel/Display/Change display settings/Advanced settings/Color management/Advanced/Calibrate display and play with the settings there.

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “ThinkPad T60/T61 Series”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 39 guests