Thinkpads Forum

When I carry my X60s with one hand by holding the computer by the front edge (fingers on the top, thumb on the bottom), I get a disturbing creaking noise from the top cover/lid. When the cover is open, at least some of the noise can be reproduced by pressure on the front edge of the bezel, particularly around the small raised tab between the sliding latches. The inner lining of the bezel readily flexes away from the lip of the metal cover.

Is this normal? Does anyone else notice the same thing? For what it's worth, I also find slight marks on the LCD from the trackpoint nipple and the space bar. These are easily cleaned and don't affect the display.

Happy New Year to all...

I usually carry it by the back end, but yes this is normal. It happens to mine and I've heard of it happening to other people. It is a bit disturbing, but I don't hold it in that way frequently enough for it to really bother me.

As for the marks on the screen, I have not had anything with the spacebar, but many-a-thinkpad have been plagued by the trackpoint marks on the screen. Just kinna something you have to live with, unless you want to put a cloth between your keyboard and screen.

Mine doesn't make any creaking noise.

ozmann wrote: Does anyone else notice the same thing

Same thing here don't worry it is nothing.

RUSH2112 wrote:I usually carry it by the back end, but yes this is normal. It happens to mine and I've heard of it happening to other people. It is a bit disturbing, but I don't hold it in that way frequently enough for it to really bother me.

I don't carry it that way. I will lift the thinkpad with both hands supporting the bottom and the sides. This is why i don't hear any creaking noise coming from my X60.

RUSH2112 wrote:As for the marks on the screen, I have not had anything with the spacebar, but many-a-thinkpad have been plagued by the trackpoint marks on the screen. Just kinna something you have to live with, unless you want to put a cloth between your keyboard and screen.

And that cloth placed between the LCD and keyboard must be lint free soft cloth and do not collect dust easily and must be 80% the size of the keyboard or else the cloth will slide to one side of the keyboard and exposed your LCD to the trackpoint when you carry the thinkpad.

Thanks for the responses. It seems as if the cover flex and resulting creaks happen to at least some of you. In my case, I'm not sure if the cover flex is new/worsening, or if it always was there. It's one of those annoying things that made me hypersensitive to its presence once I started noticing it. I've gone to the trouble of mapping out the flex zone on the cover: it starts in the front center and extends about 2/3's of the way to the back and to the right edge. Besides the noise, my concern is that it might represent lack of protection to the LCD screen. However, there have been enough "Thinkpad repair made it worse" stories in the forum that I'm reluctant to send my computer back for something that might be trivial.

BTW, like RUSH2112, I try to carry it by the back end -- the extended battery makes a nice handle -- but this is not always feasible when picking it up with my other hand full. That's the problem with following NS's model, I usually don't have both hands free to carry the computer.

I had the very same problem after I bought my thinkpad: Every time I opened the lid I heard that frightening creak that sounded like my Thinkpad broke apart. However in my case it became more and more rare and now after seven weeks of usage it's gone (maybe running Linux/KDE on it had a beneficial influence ).
The only unrelated issue left now is that I'm still waiting (since seven weeks) for my recalled battery to arrive ...