Replacing palmrest after installing RAM (14.1")
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:57 pm
For those accustomed to opening up their Thinkpads, this may be elementary, but it might be helpful if you're not one to mess with the casing of your laptop. An IBM onsite technician and I puzzled over this for nearly twenty minutes before figuring it out...
As you probably know, the slot for installing additional RAM in the T60(p) is underneath the touchpad, which requires removing the palmrest assembly. The manual suggests that you:
1. Remove five screws from the bottom of the unit.
2. Remove the palmrest by squeezing it on both sides.
3. Pop in your RAM.
4. Put the palmrest back and replace the screws.
Sounds easy enough. Step 2 is a little tricky, since squeezing the sides of the palmrest won't actually do anything-- the palmrest doesn't exactly flex. But digging your nails under the palmrest near the bottom of the keyboard should get it to pop off. Do it gently, as the touchpad and fingerprint reader are part of the palmrest assembly, and plug in to the motherboard.
It's step 4 that's the nightmare.
I struggled for nearly an hour to reinstall the palmrest, to no avail. Sometimes one side would snap in, but the other wouldn't. Eventually, bits of plastic started to break off, which you can chalk up as a testament to my clumsiness if you want.
I finally gave up and summoned an onsite technician to install a brand new palmrest (I figured that extra warranty would come in handy). The technician had never worked on a T60 before, and tried unsuccessfully for quite some time to get the palmrest back in place. Finally, he said, "The keyboard is blocking the palmrest."
That's the trick. You have to lift the keyboard slightly in order to put the palmrest in place. There are four screws at the bottom of the unit that hold the palmrest. A fifth, center screw holds the keyboard. Removing that screw (as per the manual) allows you to move the keyboard around. It just needs a slight lift for the palmrest to pop into place. Check to make sure that the edges are all aligned properly. Also, make sure the area around the trackpoint mouse buttons is popped snugly in place. Otherwise, the mouse buttons will feel loose and jiggly. Finally, check that the arrow keys are pressing properly. If the palmrest is too flush against the keyboard, it can actually cause the arrow keys to get stuck when pressed.
Hopefully, others have had an easier time of it installing extra RAM. I for one am glad I got a 1GB stick, because I'm never opening up the palmrest again.
Caveat: my T60 is a 14.1" model. I have no idea whether the palmrest on the 15" model is much different. I can't even promise that the cases of other 14.1" T60's are identical to mine-- it's possible there's a flaw in the construction of my T60 that made it so frustrating for me.
As you probably know, the slot for installing additional RAM in the T60(p) is underneath the touchpad, which requires removing the palmrest assembly. The manual suggests that you:
1. Remove five screws from the bottom of the unit.
2. Remove the palmrest by squeezing it on both sides.
3. Pop in your RAM.
4. Put the palmrest back and replace the screws.
Sounds easy enough. Step 2 is a little tricky, since squeezing the sides of the palmrest won't actually do anything-- the palmrest doesn't exactly flex. But digging your nails under the palmrest near the bottom of the keyboard should get it to pop off. Do it gently, as the touchpad and fingerprint reader are part of the palmrest assembly, and plug in to the motherboard.
It's step 4 that's the nightmare.
I struggled for nearly an hour to reinstall the palmrest, to no avail. Sometimes one side would snap in, but the other wouldn't. Eventually, bits of plastic started to break off, which you can chalk up as a testament to my clumsiness if you want.
I finally gave up and summoned an onsite technician to install a brand new palmrest (I figured that extra warranty would come in handy). The technician had never worked on a T60 before, and tried unsuccessfully for quite some time to get the palmrest back in place. Finally, he said, "The keyboard is blocking the palmrest."
That's the trick. You have to lift the keyboard slightly in order to put the palmrest in place. There are four screws at the bottom of the unit that hold the palmrest. A fifth, center screw holds the keyboard. Removing that screw (as per the manual) allows you to move the keyboard around. It just needs a slight lift for the palmrest to pop into place. Check to make sure that the edges are all aligned properly. Also, make sure the area around the trackpoint mouse buttons is popped snugly in place. Otherwise, the mouse buttons will feel loose and jiggly. Finally, check that the arrow keys are pressing properly. If the palmrest is too flush against the keyboard, it can actually cause the arrow keys to get stuck when pressed.
Hopefully, others have had an easier time of it installing extra RAM. I for one am glad I got a 1GB stick, because I'm never opening up the palmrest again.
Caveat: my T60 is a 14.1" model. I have no idea whether the palmrest on the 15" model is much different. I can't even promise that the cases of other 14.1" T60's are identical to mine-- it's possible there's a flaw in the construction of my T60 that made it so frustrating for me.
)
