Thinkpads Forum

My Dream Machine, a 2005 T60 2623-- bought used a year ago, but not from anyone here -- has blow out its modem connection -- AGAIN -- for the third time and now is out of warranty. In April Harvard Tech loaded the correct modem (and its still there, it just won't engage) but that plus-- 1. no warranty, 2. The IE browser became a "white page" only a while ago -- caput -- and 3. the OS is a copy! -- (yes, I bought it before Bill posted that wise advice -- stupid me) -- all this makes me think I shouldn't invest anymore time or money in it and should move on. I'm "in-between jobs" so money is a major problem.

Do you think I should:

(1) Try one more repair, (2) use my backup 2005 Dell Latitude D810 clunker until the recession turns, or (3) sell it on Ebay and buy a new very used T from someone here -- and wait for the right one. Bill, do you have anything???

I'll post a quick request in the marketplace but just wondered what "T"eophiles think here. Any advice, greatly appreciated. Also, does anyone have any experience with this modem problem, and could the bootleg OS be any good?

Many thanks,
Julia


And yes, I'm backing up all my documents!!!

It sounds like you've been plugging the modem into a digital line. That's guaranteed to blow it. As delivered, most TPs come with a little startup app called Digital Line Detect that will prevent this from happening. Many times on an OS reload, that little item gets overlooked.

You can probably find a new modem on eBay with a little poking around. Today's list varies in price from 5 to 17 USD. Just enter Thinkpad T60 modem into the search field.

So, buying the modem, buying a legit copy of whatever OS you want to load and then using System Update to get the correct TP specific software and drivers loaded in the correct order has got to be less expensive than starting from scratch after the "recession turns" whenever that may be.

As a further precaution, you can find, again on ebay, an item called the IBM Modem Saver for less than 9 USD. This little pen sized tester plugs into the RJ11 line (male or female) and shows you if it's safe (non-digital) and the line polarity. I always carry one in my laptop bag.

Replacing the modem is only a small expense.
Are you still needing/using a modem in this day and age
Assuming you have the XP COA for it, you could buy a set of XP-Pro Factory Restore CDs from Lenovo at ~$50.-
If you are happy to use (cheaper) copies instead of originals, PM me.
Then reinstall your laptop from scratch, and at the same time get the Restore partition installed as well.
That will make your OS legal, and get rid of all the crud you have collected since you got it.
You'll also need to re-install any other programs you want on it.
And of course, before you do this, you'll make a full backup of all your personal data!

The above is WAY cheaper than buying another machine!

Thanks for these incredible suggestions! My head is swimming. I found someone to work on the machine and will pass this on to him because I doubt he knows this... although he said he likes to put EsetNod on all computers he works on <slight smiley face> so that made me feel he's part of "the club." I'll be getting it back Thursday and will probably be posting many angst-ridden questions then. I hope it's okay if I PM you all with questions. This is really invaluable. I find your knowledge a bit... overwhelming!
Again, thank you.
Julia

Just PM or post away