Thinkpads Forum

Hi,
After a long time out, i'm back to the forum writing from my newly acquired X61.And i'm loving it!
But a little problem is happening...
In a comparison between X61 and my previous T42 (my mom's machine from now on) X61 seems to be a little bit hotter.
Here in Brazil we are at the height of summer (currently 77.8°F) and sometimes is unconfortable
to type in the keyboard due to heat coming from inside the machine.
How to measure the temperature of X61 to determine if i need to check inside for cooling problems or if is in the normal condition of work?

Any hints?

Many thanks,

The palmrest heat is due to wifi card. It plagues X6x machines.

Playing with the power management settings may help, but the long-term solution is:

* Flash Middleton BIOS to remove whitelists
* Upgrade Wifi to a newer Wifi-N card which will be smaller and heat far less

I Windows 7 or 8, make sure you select Maximum Power Savings for both battery and AC for wireless card in the power management.

doodles113 wrote:...Here in Brazil we are at the height of summer (currently 77.8°F)....

In our summer last year (2012) we had temperatures in NE Pennsylvania of well over 100°F...

Modifying the power-related options will decrease the performance of my X61?

Ahn...Middleton Bios? Whitelists? I'm not sure if i heard about them before...what is the steps to apply it? What is Whitelists?

Thanks in advance for your hints and comments!

doodles113 wrote:Modifying the power-related options will decrease the performance of my X61?

It may affect the range of the wireless radio a bit. It may also not make a significant enough difference.

doodles113 wrote:Ahn...Middleton Bios? Whitelists? I'm not sure if i heard about them before...what is the steps to apply it? What is Whitelists?

In a nutshell: X61, like most Thinkpads, will not accept any wireless card - only those tested and pre-approved for the model, i.e., "whitelisted".

The best solution involves replacing the existing Wifi with a newer, faster and cooler card. I think Intel 5300 is considered a favorable option. However, if you just plug it in - the BIOS will reject it since it's not in the list of approved cards.

A special BIOS by Middleton for the *61 series removes these whitelists (along with a few other improvements) which will allow you to install that card.

I must say I have never done the process myself. But poke around the forums and you should find detailed instructions. Good luck.

You can download it here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/ ... ost6501443
You need the first one on that page, click on the 2.22-1.03 under modified BIOS file.