Palmrest does not fit in front

Message

SpaRood · #1 Post by **SpaRood** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:59 am

I got a T60 14 inch. I have a question: it is normal that the palmrest does not fit tightly with the rest of the laptop in the front? I have taken the palmrest off, and tried to make it fit better by pushing it to the front, but it does not help. Currently, there is some gap in the front (when you turn the Thinkpad over). I hope you understand me.

If this is not normal, I have to contact IBM again for service.

pianowizard · #2 Post by **pianowizard** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:22 pm

There isn't supposed to be a gap. I have removed the palmrest about three times and it's not always easy to put it back. Try it again, but be careful not to break something.

SpaRood · #3 Post by **SpaRood** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:30 pm

could someone post a picture of the palmrest from the inside? Are there 2 hooks in the front? Last Friday, IBM sent someone, who has replaced my palmrest, he did not know how to put it back on, since these machines were new to him. I am afraid he has broken the 2 hooks of the palmrest, and now it doesn't fit anymore.

SpaRood · #4 Post by **SpaRood** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:04 pm

also, funny, when I look into the 2 holes that of the palmrest that is for attaching the lid of the screen, I can see my table!

macuser · #5 Post by **macuser** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:11 pm

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-63785

Popcorn!

SpaRood · #6 Post by **SpaRood** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:17 pm

I did as in the movie, and it feels solid, but there is still a gap of a few milimeters (not sure what that the metric is in the US). Near the 2 mousebuttons, there is something pushing against the base, I cannot make it fit to get rid of the gap.

claudeo · #7 Post by **claudeo** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:20 pm

The gap should be too small for a fingernail to fit in. The palmrest must be hooked down on the front at an angle and then the back brought down, to where it aligns with the screw holes. If you try to push it straight down it won't hook properly, and if you push hard enough you can break or damage the latches.

SpaRood · #8 Post by **SpaRood** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 12:11 am

I can put my fingernails in...I have taken everything off, including top case, to make it fit better. A gap still exists. The palmrest is sticking a bit out. The plastic seems to be warped I think...not sure to leave it as it is now, or ask for a replacement.

I just feel bad for contacting IBM again...last time the left side was clicking, they fixed it by replacing the bottom case, top case and palmrest...now the new palmrest does not fit.

If it would fit, my Thinkpad would really be perfect.

I just want to be sure if this is normal. I could ignore this, but perhaps some dust will go into my laptop via the gap.

By the way, what do you mean with the latches?

z_24 · #9 Post by **z_24** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 9:50 pm

Maybe a picture would help?

heyzeus123 · #10 Post by **heyzeus123** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 11:19 pm

I have the same gap and broken tabs on my palmrest on the first day of owning my new Thinkpad T60. When I installed my 2gb RAM, I found that the palmrest would not install easily by either 1) tilting it in the front edge or 2) placing it flat and then sliding it closed.

So, I tried a combination of the two methods and finally got it to close snuggly. But, during multiple tries, I noticed that two hooks seem to be broken off the front inside of the palmrest.

Seeing that you have similar problems, I can only assume that this is normal

Oh well, at least the palmrest does not creek, like the one on my old Thinkpad T42. I had to stuff a bunch of business cards under to get it working right.

Michael

SpaRood · #11 Post by **SpaRood** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:27 am

but there are 2 hooks in front of the palmrest? I did not break it, but the engineer who IBM send did it, while replacing my palmrest. That sucks...I think I am going to call IBM and ask for replacement.

SpaRood · #12 Post by **SpaRood** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:44 am

Ok, I called IBM and asked for replacement. I have asked them to send the part to me, while I could also have asked for someone to come and fix it, but I rather replace it myself.

Great service! I love IBM.

heyzeus123 · #13 Post by **heyzeus123** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:13 pm

I am saying that the Two Hook in the Palmrest were ALREADY broken when it was BRAND NEW! I think it is normal. That is unless you actually saw the broken pieces of the hooks???? Did you?

Can anyone confirm that this is in fact normal or not? Anyone that installed RAM should have seen this problem.

Thanks in advance,

Michael

SpaRood · #14 Post by **SpaRood** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:14 am

Today I got my replacement part...there are 2 hooks in front, and there definately should not be a gap there...Now it fits nice! I am very happy.

heyzeus123, you should definately ask IBM for replacement.

#15 Post by **archer6** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:00 pm

SpaRood wrote:Today I got my replacement part...there are 2 hooks in front, and there definately should not be a gap there...Now it fits nice! I am very happy.

Great news! I'm glad that you finally got the problem solved. To the others who are still dealing with this I would offer the following:

1) Remember that the CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) material that comprises all the pieces of the case or housing of your ThinkPad, is indeed a very expensive and high quality material. The thinner pieces such as the Palm Rest, are very thin, light and flexible. This does not equate to "cheap, flimsy, or inadequate".

2) CFRP has properties which allow it to be very durable, tear and fracture resistant (to a point) and very flexible. So when it comes to removing , then replacing and fitting as you go, the flex you notice is perfectly normal.

3) I have several T60's all of which I have removed the palm rest from and found that they each are a bit different in how they "feel" when putting them back into place.

4) The real key is to be patient, as more often that not, you do not have a bad palm rest, simply one which may require several "tries" before you are successful in fitting it in a manner which results in a nice snug flat fit.

In the event, none of the above works for you, turn the palm rest over and spend some time carefully inspecting it. You may indeed find that it has been damaged during assembly prior to you taking delivery. Just like any other assembly situation the person may have simply ran out of patience and "forced it into place" thereby damaging the part.

Hope this helps.....
Cheers....

SpaRood · #16 Post by **SpaRood** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:17 pm

I just wanted to say that I love IBM service. Lenovo has taken over the hardware, but is paying IBM for delivering the service I think....it is great!

heyzeus123 · #17 Post by **heyzeus123** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:12 pm

Well, I called IBM Customer Service (in Atlanta), and received the Palmrest the NEXT DAY!!

Now, the Palmrest did have the hooks, and now fits perfectly. There is NO GAP on the front edge of the palmrest.

So, for anyone with missing hooks or a gap in the front bottom of the palmrest (and still under warranty), call IBM Customer Support. BTW, the only downside is that the stickers on the palmrest are now gone, e.g. Core 2 Duo, Designed for WinXP, etc. But I can live with that.

Thanks SpaRood for starting this posting! I thought that the missing hooks were "normal", but now I see that it is definately a defect (in my case a factory defect).

Mike

#18 Post by **archer6** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:51 pm

heyzeus123 wrote:Well, I called IBM Customer Service (in Atlanta), and received the Palmrest the NEXT DAY!! Now, the Palmrest did have the hooks, and now fits perfectly. There is NO GAP on the front edge of the palmrest.
BTW, the only downside is that the stickers on the palmrest are now gone, e.g. Core 2 Duo, Designed for WinXP, etc. But I can live with that.

Great News! I'm glad that your issue is resolved. Regading the missing stickers, here is my experience: after awhile they begin to appear faded & well worn, with corners raised and lose their appeal. Then when they are removed they leave a very noticeable spot below them on the new surface. This contrasts with the rest of the palm rest that had changed in appearance slightly because of the skin oil that is rubbed into the CFRP.

Now I remove mine from day one, and the palm rest "ages" with no ugly marks from the stickers.

Palmrest does not fit in front

Palmrest does not fit in front

Same gap and broken tabs on my palmrest!!!

Two Hook on Palmrest ALREADY broken when it was NEW!??!

Received Palmrest the NEXT DAY!!

Re: Received Palmrest the NEXT DAY!!

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