Bought a X31, a few questions

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khtse · #1 Post by **khtse** » Thu May 03, 2007 6:00 pm

I am new here, so let me say HELLO!

I am a graduate student and have been using my Compaq X1000 for a few years. It is a very good laptop, Pentium M 1.6 15.?" wide screen, blah blah blah. The only problem is that it is very heavy and since I have to carry my laptop to school almost everyday, I want a lighter laptop.

A classmate of mine has a X31 which I really like. It has similar spec as my Compaq, but is much lighter and has a much better keyboard. So I have been consider buying a X60 for quite a while. But since I don't have the money to buy it until after summer, and since I want to wait for the Santa Rosa version ... I bought a second hand X31 off ebay!

Well, the X31 has not arrived yet but I already have some questions to ask. Have anyone tried those X31 replacement battery selling for ~$3x-$5x on ebay? What do you think? Since the story of exploding Sony battery earlier, I want to be more careful about buying laptop battery...

The laptop will come with a freshly installed WinXP, without the recovery CDs. Is there anything useful on those CDs that I cannot download on Lenovo's website?

Is there anything special I have to do if I want to replace the harddisk (I have another bigger 2.5" harddisk lying around)? I have heard that on certain models of thinkpad one has to fresh the firmware of the harddisk before the thinkpad can recognize it.

Finally...my brother is arriving from Hong Kong next week and I am asking him to buy me some 1GB DDR rams, since they are cheaper over there (somewhere between $50-$70 I guess), I can ask him to buy a few extra if someone is interested. Thanks!

#2 Post by **gator** » Thu May 03, 2007 6:45 pm

Welcome to the forums!

1. Do not get those batteries, they might harm your computer. Get battereies from the forum marketplace, way more reliable.
2. X31 does not require any firmware flash for HDDs, you can even have 7k100s in the X31 with NO issues. Howeverm if you want to have a a/b/g card, you will need the no-1802 hack (which is very easy to do).
3. Nothing special on the recovery CDs, but I suppose it is safer to have a copy at hand if you can afford it (increases both resale value and good backup).

Enjoy your X31!

ps: are you at UIUC?

mkrowkis · #3 Post by **mkrowkis** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:17 pm

OMG! You won't believe this but you're story sounds very similar to mine! I'm also new to the forum and just joined a few days ago!

Hello, I'm a medical student and I had a Compaq x1000 for a few years. This past school year, I had to start bringing my laptop around and found the 6.4 pounds to be too heavy and bothersome. I wanted something lighter and smaller and decided to get myself a used X31 for christmas from eBay. I started using it right away and I LOVE it! I just sold my Compaq X1000 in hopes of getting a x60 in the future

As for your other concerns...

1. I bought replacement batteries from eBay. They seem to work just fine but you have to be careful. The first one I bought didn't work

The second one works fine and I'm averaging 4 hours of continuous working.

2. I replaced the hard drive on my X31 from 40gb to 120gb and it was really easy to do. I also did not have the recovery CD and just downloaded all the drivers from lenovo's website. I created a external disc drive from extra computer parts that worked just fine when installing Win XP Pro.

Enjoy your X31 when it gets in. I know you will

boon · #4 Post by **boon** » Thu May 03, 2007 9:03 pm

All the drivers and important programs that comes with the laptop are already offer in lenovo website. Probably you might need to search through lenovo website carefully if you are having a clean install. and want every program.

To replace the hard drive all you need is some simple screw driver and just replace it exactly the way it is, pretty simple.

I can't recommend replacement batteries since I never experience them. But I gotta say these IBM batteries sure last long. When I bought the used x31, the battery is already almost 3 years old and it still gives me a 2 hour on a full charge. Hate to say it but I actually do want the battery to die so I can buy a new one

...but it still haven't...

khtse · #5 Post by **khtse** » Thu May 03, 2007 9:44 pm

gator: No, I am at Northwestern.

mkrowkis: I don't know if I want to part with my X1000, since the second hand price of this laptop seems low. It is still in perfect working condition and fast enough for non-gaming purpose. Not to mention it has a big screen!
Do you still have the seller id from whom you bought the battery that works?

UPS told me my X31 is arriving tomorrow. Feel very excited now.

mkrowkis · #6 Post by **mkrowkis** » Fri May 04, 2007 9:30 am

eBay seller ID I bought the replacement battery is "justdeals.com". He's feedback is over 300K!

here's a link of the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0085283556

Hope I helped somewhat

cwf · #7 Post by **cwf** » Fri May 04, 2007 11:55 am

I'm about to buy an X31 too. Care to share what you paid on Ebay and what the specs are?

khtse · #8 Post by **khtse** » Fri May 04, 2007 1:34 pm

I got it for $400 shipped. Specs are:

P-M 1.6, 512MB ram, wireless a/b/g, bluetooth, 40GB harddisk, with battery and AC adaptor, Win XP Pro

I just received it today, the condition is very good, no crack at all. Warranty just expired in Feb. The harddisk is a bit noisy though, but I am going to replace it anyway.

The only problem is, the seller said it would come with docking station and WinXP Pro COA. It did not come with the dock and the COA sticker was removed. I am contacting the seller now and see what he can do about it.

bontistic · #9 Post by **bontistic** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:28 am

Welcome to the forums! (For the two new members who used an x1000 for a few years, switched to an X31 and will switch to an X60 later)

To replace the hard drive, you might need to have an OS installation disc and a product key, the recovery CDs for your X31 or a cloning software such as Acronis or Ghost with an external enclosure or the X3 media slice/dock + ultrabay HD adapter.

Easiest route would be to use the CDs but you still need an external CD-ROM drive or dock/slice + a CD drive. I sent you a PM about these.

For the battery, get the OEM as much as possible. It will give you peace of mind, less worries.

I don't think all programs are on the Lenovo site. Some programs included in the CDs are not downloadable (only updates on the site).

As for the memory, make sure that he gets DDR PC-2100 or PC-2700 modules depending on your X31 model. (Check here)

khtse · #10 Post by **khtse** » Sat May 05, 2007 3:25 am

What does the "Access IBM" button do? I have installed everything that is available using "System Update", yet pressing the "Access IBM" button gives me nothing.

Btw, does anyone has a list for all the fn+something combination? In particular, what are the combinations for turning on/off wifi and bluetooth? Thanks a lot!

bontistic · #11 Post by **bontistic** » Sat May 05, 2007 7:58 am

Two things, first during bootup, it allows you to enter the protected service partion of Rescue and Recovery, sometimes called predesktop area or protected security area. In the OS environment, it launches Access IBM for older ThinkPads or ThinkVantage Productivity Center for newer ThinkPads which contains self-help information for using your ThinkPad.

Fn combinations can be found on the X31 Hardware Maintenance Manual. For wireless device control, its Fn+F5.

Subliming · #12 Post by **Subliming** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:26 pm

khtse wrote:What does the "Access IBM" button do? I have installed everything that is available using "System Update", yet pressing the "Access IBM" button gives me nothing.

Btw, does anyone has a list for all the fn+something combination? In particular, what are the combinations for turning on/off wifi and bluetooth? Thanks a lot!

I just went through a clean reinstallation of the OS on my X31 and encountered the same issue. What you need to do is install the Access IBM online manual and suddenly that blue button will do something

Here is a link:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-50203

Its basically an interactive help system and it has its uses but I get much more mileage out of the Thinkpad Configuration app myself.

Puppy · #13 Post by **Puppy** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:42 pm

400 USD is nice price. I ordered refubrished X31 (P-M 1.4 GHz, 768MB, 40 GB, WiFi, no BlueTooth, XP Pro, new battery) from local usanotebook reseller and it is close to 900 USD (including 19% VAT). Things are overpriced in Europe

Do you have any dead pixels ?

khtse · #14 Post by **khtse** » Sat May 05, 2007 3:13 pm

Thanks everyone! Just checked my ram configuration, it is 1x 512MB instead of 2x 256MB, really unexpected. =)

BTW, I found that "deep recharge" really helps the battery. My battery arrives half dead, with design capacity 47.52Wh but full charge capacity only left with around 25Wh. Now after 2 deep recharges, the full charge capacity went up to 32Wh!

I guess I will keep on deep-recharg-ing it over the weekend until the full charge capacity stop improving...

Bought a X31, a few questions

Bought a X31, a few questions

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