Finally, a new Thinkpad! X41 Tablet

[RWDPLZ]

I've been itching to do another Thinkpad rebuild for a while, and just picked up a couple new (to me) Thinkpads on eBay. The one I'm really excited about is an X41 tablet, in good working order, but missing the stylus, hard drive, and battery. Still not bad for $82 shipped. Can't wait for it to get here and begin messing around with it.

Spending a few hours reading through old threads on ideas for hard drives, upgrades, etc.

It's an 1866-5GU, 1.5Ghz, 512MB RAM, wireless, fingerprint reader, no bluetooth. Spent $10 on an original IBM AC adapter.

[Sindbad]

Good luck to you with your X41 T, Make sure you going to add more RAM otherwise 512 is not enough

[astroidea]

That's a helluva good deal. I gotta keep out on a watch on ebay more often.
I have my hard drive listed on ebay for cheap if you need one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :MESELX:IT

[RWDPLZ]

That's a helluva good deal. I gotta keep out on a watch on ebay more often.
I have my hard drive listed on ebay for cheap if you need one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :MESELX:IT

Definitely keeping an eye on that!

Bought a few more parts for it, a new in the bag 20GB hard drive ($43), a ZIF to IDE adapter ($5). Might try a ZIF drive if I can find a faster, cheaper one. Still trying to decide if I should add 1 GB of RAM, or try a 2GB stick. Still looking for a stylus.

[virge]

Might try a ZIF drive if I can find a faster, cheaper one. Still trying to decide if I should add 1 GB of RAM, or try a 2GB stick. Still looking for a stylus.

Also check out the SSD listing that I linked to in the "Buy of the Week" thread in the Off-Topic forum. I bought one for my X40 and really like it. None of the stuttering you hear so much about. I ordered a second for my other X40.

If you use a ZIF to IDE adapter, make sure you have the correct voltage. Most of the adapters convert 5v to 3.3v since all the 1.8" drives seem to use 3.3v. I bought one made specifically made for the X40 and is without the electronics.

[Tasurinchi]

I would try one of the new ZIF HDDs. You can get models for a decent price and the Price/Storage cost relation is better IMHO than the SSDs... Try Ebaying one of these

Cheers

[RWDPLZ]

Well here's the list of parts so far, including shipping:

X41 Tablet - $81.99
AC Adapter 02K6816 - $9.49
20GB 4200rpm HDD 08K1532 - $43.00
ZIF to IDE adapter - $3.98
Hard drive cover and caddy - $11.99
Samsung SSD 32GB HDD - $58.98
X61 Stylus 39T7482 - $34.00

Total so far - $243.43

Not too bad. I'm going to install XP Tablet on the 20GB drive, and Linux Ubuntu Studio on the SSD. The RAM upgrade will have to wait until I have additional funding.

[Tasurinchi]

Congratulations! I find the price for the HDD somehow expensive comparing it with the SSD price... But it's just for XP! Who cares

[sjthinkpader]

...
ZIF to IDE adapter - $3.98
....

If this adapter has the 5V/3.3V regulator on it, you will need to bypass it since both the X41t HDD slot and the Samsung SSD are 3.3V already.

Most of the Lenovo ZIF-IDE adapter clones are passive and without the 3.3V regulator. But they are usually about $20.

[Temetka]

Congrats on the X41T!

I really love mine to death and use it everyday.

Looking over your specs the only thing I would offer would be to go for the full 2GB stick of RAM. As we all know more RAM = better performance. Couple that with your SSD and you should have pretty quick machine.

[RWDPLZ]

The X41 arrived today! It's in pretty good shape, too. The screen looks flawless, and the keyboard isn't shiny at all. The latch is broken, and so is the hinge, but it looks like it doesn't affect the functionality of the computer. There are quite a few hinges on eBay for $25ish, but I can't find a latch assembly, hopefully one will pop up.

Question: What is the little USB-looking port below the USB port on the left side? It's simply labeled 'powered USB port' in the HMM.

Can't wait for the rest of the parts to arrive!

[Tasurinchi]

Question: What is the little USB-looking port below the USB port on the left side? It's simply labeled 'powered USB port' in the HMM

I think it's there to provide power to external USB devices like a CD/DVD Burner. Some work colleagues using Dell D420 subnotebooks have external DVD readers with the same connector...

I should try one of these days if they also work with my X4s... Actually it should, shouldn't it?

Have fun with your new toy!

[thebigalphamale]

Great deal... Some of those things (harddrive and or battery) you prob would have gotten replacements (SSD and the older batteries would have held much of a charge) anyways so...so it missing some things saved on your initial cost..

I just picked up an x41t with docking bay on CL listed for $225 and worked it down to $175 US dollars... and it was in perfect condition... battery had 41% of initial charge for the 8cell and im getting 2.5 hours in max performance mode/wi fi/bluetooth on... and 3.5 hours with brightness turned down in power saving mode, wifi off....

I highly suggest windows 7... the guy put a fresh lenovo restore of xp tablet and MAN WAS IT SLOW starting up..... i tweaked it as best i could...and it was liveable at that point.. I decided to put windows 7 ultimate on it even though it only had 1gb ram.. I figured I would pick up a 2gb stick soon so i could live with it slow with windows 7 till then.... WOW... it was fast...even with only 1 gb... it is so much better... even with the 4200 hard drive... and to be completely honest from what I can tell its taking up about the same amount of hard drive space on install and also using the same amount of ram.... the ram is hovering at 32% on start up to 60-70% max ... ive not seen it go above that as of yet... so I can highly rec windows 7 premium or ultimate (dont think basic or starter have those extra tablet capabilities) and man do those extra tablet/pen functions and the on screen keyboard and hand reco...man do they work so much better than the xp tablet ones...

the only thing that i dont have working on the windows 7 install is the volume up/down and mute buttons (not sure why..i believe ive got all drivers and stuff loaded)... but all other buttons and functions are working..

my wifi didnt work right off the bat... so i had to get the drivers and manually install everything and finally got wifi driver working...then updated... maybe it would have been different had my wifi started working right off the bat and updated... but manually loading wasnt that hard...

i did load 2-3 thinkpad programs from lenovo... the hard drive airbag protection, thinkpad access connections (to be able to turn off bluetooth and wifi, but wifi can be turned off in windows 7 through the mobility keyword) and the tablet button program that loads up when pressing the tablet button... funny thing though is bluetooth sometimes shows up and sometimes doesnt in the wireless access connections... to be able to be turned off... but i know windows 7 has a enable/disable function for allowing windows to turn it off to save power... and i have it enabled... but the light for bluetooth always stays on...

so only those 2 complaints... volume buttons and the bluetooth not showing up...well 1 more... cannot dim through tablet button program... have to manually fn and the button that dims or brights up the screen...so in port tablet mode you have to rotate the screen up and do it manually then rotate back...

[RWDPLZ]

Received the 20GB hard drive and the caddy today.

First, the drive. Brand new Hitachi, still sealed in the antistatic bag, VERY nice. Can't test until the AC adapter gets here.

Next, the caddy and cover. NOT so nice. I could not find an original caddy and cover ANYWHERE on ebay. So I bought one of the half a dozen on so chinese knock-offs. The caddy itself is fine, as are the four drve screws. The problem was the cover and the hard drive screw. The screw was completely the wrong size, so I used one out of my parts box. The worst part is the cover. Appears to be injection molded plastic, the shade of black doesn't match the Thinkpad, more of a dark gray. The panel doesn't fit well at all, looks crooked and distorted, with molding flash and 2mm gaps. I fixed them as best I could with a hobby knife and sandpaper, so now it looks decent. The rest of the laptop isn't in perfect shape either, though, so it'll be fine for now. I'll see if one ever pops up on ebay.

[RWDPLZ]

Just ordered a broken screen assembly for parts. The LCD panel is bad, but it has a good hinge, latch assembly, and bluetooth antenna. Also bought a bluetooth daughter card last night. I'll test the extra parts that are left over and put them up for sale.

[RWDPLZ]

The broken screen got here today, the latch and hinge are like brand new! Plus the bluetooth antenna which I'll swap into mine, and the bluetooth clearplates I can swap onto the bezel. Bluetooth daughtercard also arrived the same day.

I finally got XP Tablet installed from a USB drive. $10 for a 2GB thumb drive, the Sandisk I have didn't work, so I bought a PNY from Walmart. XP installed and activated no problem, running Windows update right now. The computer runs pretty quick for only having a 4200rpm drive, and 512MB of RAM. I'll try the SSD once the adapter gets here, and buy a 2GB stock of RAM next payday (1 week from today).

Can't update the BIOS or embedded controller until the new battery gets here, ordered one from Lenovo Outlet store for $75 for an 8 cell, not bad considering all the generic ones sell for around $50.

First time using the stylus was pretty cool! Can't wait to try the handwriting recogntion and artistic-type programs.

[RWDPLZ]

First post from the X41! This thing is a LOT faster than I thought it would be! Bluetooth installed, and tested working! I had to install a lot of the drivers manually, for the audio, ethernet, wireless, modem, etc. But all is well now.

[RWDPLZ]

Just finished surgery on the X41. I forgot how much more difficult taking apart the screens is than the main unit. They used WAY too much adhesive on both of these screens, made removing the fragile bezels real nerve racking.

-Started by testing the broken LCD unit on the computer as a whole. Screen has large dead spot on the right side, where it looks like it was dropped hard on it's corner. Surprisingly, the backlight still worked, and the parts of the screen you could see functioned normally. So the screen is bad, but every other part of the LCD assembly was salvageable.

-New hinge is nice and tight, and the latch latches in both directions. Makes the laptop feel MUCH more solid and like a quality piece of hardware. Bluetooth antenna also increased the range to at least 10 feet, didn't test further.

-Between my two screens, I have both inverters listed in the HMM. Appears to be no difference between the two, both have the bluetooth LED's.

-The FRU for the LCD unit listed in the HMM is 92P5599. HOWEVER, the FRU on the screens is 93P5599. Typo in the HMM.

-The Wacom digitizer is easily removed from the LCD assembly. I wonder if you could turn it into a writing tablet?

I also used the stylus with MS Paint. That was incredible, have to try it with Photoshop, or GIMP.

[serek]

MS Paint doesn't take advantage of pressure sensitivity. Try using inkart (from ms tablet pc experience pack), or as you mentioned photoshop. I tried to configure GIMP to respond to pressure but didn't make it. You should really try it. I had a resistive (passive) touchscreen in my previous tablet pc (FS p1510d) and it was terrible because of the lack of the pressure sensitivity and few more annoying things.

[loyukfai]

ArtRage has a Starter Edition and you may like to try that out...

http://www.artrage.com/artragedemo.html

Cheers.

[RWDPLZ]

I recieved the new battery today, ordered it from the Lenovo Outlet store, $75.03 + shipping for an 8 cell. It came UPS signature required,thankfully I was in the driveway when the truck pulled up.

It came in a box marked used, but when I plugged it in and turned the computer on, it shows 0 cycle counts in the Power Manager, and it looks just like new. It had roughly 30% charge, and will require almost 4 hours to fully charge. Once it's charged I'll finally be able to take the laptop somewhere.

[Tasurinchi]

rdered it from the Lenovo Outlet store, $75.03 + shipping for an 8 cell

That's a very good price! I hope they ship overseas, I'm also needing one for my X4s...

[RWDPLZ]

Today, I installed Ubuntu Studio on the SSD. I actually found the drive came with a recovery partition for Vista business. Since I don't care for Vista, and can't imagine how horribly slow it would be on an X41, I wiped it with the rest of the drive.

Instead of installing the OS from a USB drive, I used my new CD drive adapter from ebay. It lets you use the older style Thinkpad CD/DVD drives in an external enclosure, and connects via USB. I set the computer to boot from the drive in the BIOS, and began the install.

Ubuntu runs MUCH faster on the X41T than XP did. Or the SSD is just that much faster than the 4200 rpm drive. It feels and acts just as fast as my T61 with Ubuntu 9.10. The image editing programs work great with the stylus. I also found the X61 stylus works perfectly with the X41.

[Temetka]

The speed you are experiencing from the system can be directly attributed to the SSD you recently installed. As I type this on my X41T with a 4200RPM drive I can tell you that a faster HD makes all the difference in the world.

Enjoy your system.

[thinklogic]

I also used the stylus with MS Paint. That was incredible, have to try it with Photoshop, or GIMP.

Try AutoDesk's SketchBook pro software http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc ... id=6848332

HIGHLY recommended!

not only is it highly intuitive (I was speeding along with advanced features after about 20minutes playing with it!) its also *pressure sensitive*. They give you a 30 day time trial, NOT calendar dependent but TIME USED! This means its a timed trial based on how long you use it, not how long its been sitting on your computer.

Its only $75 bucks (compared to mucho $$$ for photoshop) if you decide to buy it outright.