Thinkpads Forum

I just want to know if there is a how-to on RAM and hard disk upgrade and how complicated it is - whether it's burried deep inside the laptop or some special "lenovo" method is required for these upgrades.

Thanks.

I upgraded both the ram and hard disk on my toshiba laptop and the process was a joke. (Flip-over the laptop. Remove 2 screws. Take out old rams. Put in new ones. Put in screws over the cover. Done. same with harddisk.)

Note,
I'm about to buy a T61p after feb 4, thinking there would actually be a discount on parts. But even then, lenovo charges toooo much for the RAM and harddrives. So I want to upgrade them myself (my local stores sells them waaaay cheaper - I want to get that 200gb hitachi disk).

newthuser wrote:I just want to know if there is a how-to on RAM and hard disk upgrade and how complicated it is - whether it's burried deep inside the laptop or some special "lenovo" method is required for these upgrades.

Thanks.

I upgraded both the ram and hard disk on my toshiba laptop and the process was a joke. (Flip-over the laptop. Remove 2 screws. Take out old rams. Put in new ones. Put in screws over the cover. Done. same with harddisk.)

Note,
I'm about to buy a T61p after feb 4, thinking there would actually be a discount on parts. But even then, lenovo charges toooo much for the RAM and harddrives. So I want to upgrade them myself (my local stores sells them waaaay cheaper - I want to get that 200gb hitachi disk).

Actually there are tutorials on Lenovo's website for both. Changing hard drive is trivial. There is one Phillips screw to be removed to open the hard drive compartment cover and then slide the hard drive caddy out. Four more Phillips screws to detach the hard drive from the caddy and replace with a new one. Reverse the procedure for putting everything back and thats it.

RAM is a little tricky but not much difficult. Its located almost directly underneath the touchpad. There are four Phillips screws on the bottom panel that need to be removed. Slide the touchpad and palm rest back to access the memory. There is a connector with a ribbon cable that sometimes needs to be taken off for easy access.

I hope this at least gives you some idea.

You can download the hardware maintenance manual from Lenovo.com and you can see how easy it is to swap ram or a HDD. Now if you are looking to swap out an LCD...thats another story.

newthuser wrote:So I want to upgrade them myself (my local stores sells them waaaay cheaper - I want to get that 200gb hitachi disk).

There's another thread that talks about it, and so far, everyone loves the drive. I've been running it for a month virtually continuously all day long for the most part, with no problems whatsoever. The drive is VERY fast, and VERY easy to install. Good luck!

Here is the link to the HW-maintenance manual for the 14 inch widescreen T61. I upgraded mine to 4 GB after it arrived this week and changed the harddisk as well. As the other posters write, it's a very easy thing to do. [/url]

I just bought a new HD and another stick of RAM for my T61 and I'm debating whether I want to try and install it myself or take it to a shop. How would you rate the difficulty of putting the RAM in from 1-10?

for installing RAM - 10 being the hardest? Well i'd say a 2. The hardest part is just waiting to put in your memory finally and get it booted. Patience is a killer!!

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-63959

There, go there and click the moves on how to remove and install stuff. "So easy my girlfriend could do it" <--- not my line of-course

Just saw you had a T61, they are basically the same tho as the T60 with some being a lil different but the procedure is the same. Just be careful when opening not to yank on the cable for the ultranav and fingerprint reader.