X61S and X61T Win 7 Questions and More

[Pete B]

I just got a X61 T with Win 7 HP 64 Bit and will probably install a copy of Win8 that
I purchased at the low introductory price. I'm going to take the drive out, put it
in a USB carrier and do a full image backup of it. The plan is to then put Win 8 on
it probably from a USB stick.

I also have an X61S with no OS installed and was wondering if I can just restore
the X61T image to it and then delete any drivers that were for the T version?
I have product keys for both OSs.

I will look up on here about doing a clean install to see if it requires rounding up a
bunch of drivers from Lenovo for the X61S, forgot to search before making this
thread. I do have generic Win 7 install disks but not specific ones from Lenovo.

[Saucey]

Yep, with the X61T to 's' drive swap, it should just need a restart to get the drivers right. Worse case is that you get a BSoD and would have to start in safemode in order to get it right.

At least I remembered it wasn't a hassle when I did drive swaps during the time I didn't have a couple of extra drives.

[ajkula66]

You're likely to miss button functionality and possibly a couple of other things in W8 on X61T.

Just a word of caution...

[Pete B]

Good to know about Win8, that might make it not worth it since I like Win 7 enough as is.
Thanks for all the tips, will be trying it soon. Are you saying that there is no way to make
the buttons work with Win8 or that you have to go fishing for the correct driver/software?

The X61s battery is bulging and the T came without a battery, I see that it is a
different type. Are there Lenovo part numbers that tell what brand of cell is
used in order to find the better type or ones to avoid. I did search but didn't find
specific part numbers.

The bulging battery still works, can the cells be replaced without having to reprogram
the controller? I'd probably go for Panasonic cells if I decided to do it on my own.

Seems to be a good thread with some part numbers, for my own reference:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=101700

For X60/X61 (s) models:
Extended 5.2Ah IBM battery FRU 92P1171, ASM 92P1172, spacer FRU 92P1227
New extended 5.2Ah Lenovo battery (22++ in a red circle) with FRU 42T4776, ASM 92P1174, spacer FRU 42W3050
Found this battery on ebay and from the picture is says Sanyo
Edit: Found another with the same part number and the 22++ marking that says Sony

My X61s came with a bulging battery:
Lenovo battery with FRU 42T4633, ASM 92P1174, spacer FRU 92P1227
Very odd that it says For use with Thinkpad NOM 14.4V 5.2AH 75W but then in another
spot it says 14.4V 4.53 AH, It also says Cell made in Japan, probably Sony cells?

That thread also gives for X60/X61 Tablet models: made by LGC with P/N 42T5259

And this number for the rare Thinkpad Reserve Edition 8-cell Battery that only fits S models:
FRU 42T5260 ASM 42T5261 No spacer required

RBS says that eBayer SIB-auctions was good when he needed batteries.

Others seem to be pleased with BattDepot:
http://www.battdepot.com/us/model/noteb ... b201x.aspx

I prefer an OEM battery in order to have the factory battery controller and then
I plan to replace the cells with Panasonic types. dday wrote in another thread:
"I thought I'd just chime in (and my first post on this forum:). I type this on my 3.5 year old 14" SXGA+ T60 in which I use the original 9cell battery I got it with. It has (I just checked) 717 cycles and still has around 81% of its original capacity, meaning it will keep my (t)rusty old T60 running for almost 5 hours straight... So not everyone has a bad experience with Lenovo battery's
BTW the battery has Panasonic cells fwiw..."

I have Toughbooks and am quite impressed with the Panasonic batteries.

[ajkula66]

Are you saying that there is no way to make
the buttons work with Win8

I haven't heard a success story regarding this matter yet, and I've heard many a stories...

can the cells be replaced without having to reprogram
the controller?

No.

[Qing Dao]

You can replace the battery cells. You need to do one of two things. Either not break the circuit while replacing the cells, or short a certain pin on the battery's circuit board to reset it.

[Pete B]

You can replace the battery cells. You need to do one of two things. Either not break the circuit while replacing the cells, or short a certain pin on the battery's circuit board to reset it.

Thanks, I thought I read that in the past but couldn't remember if it applied
to thinkpad batteries or not. I like the idea of having a battery with cells
from a top manufacturer. I'm thinking of using Panasonics, do you have a
preference?

I'll probably keep it powered from a 12V small jump start car battery with a
10 ohm current limiting resistor right where I hook up the clip leads so that
if they short there will not be big sparks. I'd guess that a small 9V battery
would work fine also.

[nakopla_plechovka]

its in german, but google translates it someway OK
http://thinkwiki.de/Tablet-Buttons_des_ ... _Windows_8
and it works, needed some extra fiddling around... (imho Win8 are way better then Win8.1 when it goes down to touch screen control. The mix in 8.1 didnt ended up so good)

[Pete B]

Interesting thanks for the Win8 tips.

[Pete B]

Cloned the X61 Tablet drive and put it in the X61S boots, had to remove the
display and Wacom drivers and let themi reload for it to figure out that it is not
a tablet with pen interface.
It installed the blue tooth driver.
It can't seem to find the Modem driver and the Teredo Tunnel Pseudo-Interface
has issues which I seem to remember seeing in the past with Win7 64 Bit. There is
a registry hack for it that I have to look up. Trackpad right click does nothing on
the first click, second opens ease of access.
Certain keyboard combinations are acting like a right click when I type fast.
Strange!

[nakopla_plechovka]

AFAIK from other brands of laptops, if the RMB or keyboard behaves like this, you will need to check/clean/replace the keyboard. looks like the contacts are worn out/greasy/dusty/whatever.

[Pete B]

I didn't even think of a hardware issue, maybe I'll try to delete and reload
the keyboard and mouse drivers. Then try a clean install.

Do we have a guide on doing a clean install with these X61 systems, where
to find the best drivers, etc. I'm thinking it will probably find them from MS
update but thought I'd ask anyway.

[vavet]

You can replace the battery cells. You need to do one of two things. Either not break the circuit while replacing the cells, or short a certain pin on the battery's circuit board to reset it.

If you are replacing cells in an original battery the circuit must stay connected. Shorting the pins doesn't help for x61 batteries (at least in my case).
Controllers from chinese (ebay) batteries are more tolerant. I opened an original once replaced the cells but didn't manage to bring it back to life. Then I replaced the controller from another dead chinese battery and it worked right away. The problem with replacing the cells in the chinese batteries itself is that they are very fragile. I didn't manage to open one without damaging the plastics, while the originals are more resistant.
Replacing the cells with 3400 mah panasonic cells is a way to go. Just remember to do a reset from powermanager of lenovo.
Now I use this 4 cell battery and it gives me 4+ hours on my x61s.

Of course this is only my experience, different manufacturers might have different controllers and plastics...

[nakopla_plechovka]

Pete,

either you go with driver hunting on your own, or check the new section "Drivers and HMM". Win7 after few windows update sessions had all drivers downloaded, Win8 was missing only the GMA driver. i didnt used the latest intel or lenovo offered drivers, but went for "RGH Drivers 3.2.64" and they are a bliss to me

if you want to "play hard" you can set up via LAN cable a PXE/Boot server and install Windows from network.

[Pete B]

You can replace the battery cells. You need to do one of two things. Either not break the circuit while replacing the cells, or short a certain pin on the battery's circuit board to reset it.

If you are replacing cells in an original battery the circuit must stay connected. Shorting the pins doesn't help for x61 batteries (at least in my case).
Controllers from chinese (ebay) batteries are more tolerant. I opened an original once replaced the cells but didn't manage to bring it back to life. Then I replaced the controller from another dead chinese battery and it worked right away. The problem with replacing the cells in the chinese batteries itself is that they are very fragile. I didn't manage to open one without damaging the plastics, while the originals are more resistant.
Replacing the cells with 3400 mah panasonic cells is a way to go. Just remember to do a reset from powermanager of lenovo.
Now I use this 4 cell battery and it gives me 4+ hours on my x61s.

Of course this is only my experience, different manufacturers might have different controllers and plastics...

Thanks, good to know, didn't even think of putting those high capacity cells in a 4 cell battery, helps to offset their high cost not needing 8. 4+ hours is mighty impressive. I was planning to use 3100mAh Panasonics to rebuild an 8 pack original battery since they are quite a bit cheaper. I'd like to have at least one laptop that can go 5-6+ hours on a charge. I will certainly keep it powered and just remembered that I have a small, unused battery backup unit that is 12V, and good to use on the bench.
This seems to cover it pretty well, though I would not use cheap cells:
http://www.summet.com/blog/2007/02/17/l ... ry-refill/

Interesting review, but many there have built in controllers per cell which I don't think that we need with the battery pack controller:
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries20 ... %20UK.html

[Pete B]

Pete,

either you go with driver hunting on your own, or check the new section "Drivers and HMM". Win7 after few windows update sessions had all drivers downloaded, Win8 was missing only the GMA driver. i didnt used the latest intel or lenovo offered drivers, but went for "RGH Drivers 3.2.64" and they are a bliss to me

if you want to "play hard" you can set up via LAN cable a PXE/Boot server and install Windows from network.

I do tend to prefer to just use the standard "approved" drivers from MS, unless there is a significant advantage to use others. I did search both the web and here, didn't find much of any discussion about the RGH Drivers 3.2.64 do they apply also to the T61? Where do you download them?

I might want just the specific Lenovo battery manager program and perhaps the power manager - assuming that they work well.

[Pete B]

AFAIK from other brands of laptops, if the RMB or keyboard behaves like this, you will need to check/clean/replace the keyboard. looks like the contacts are worn out/greasy/dusty/whatever.

I thought it would turn out to be a software problem but sure enough, swapped
in a good keyboard and the right click problems are gone.
Thanks!