Thinkpads Forum

Hi,

I spilled a hot chocolate on my Thinkpad x60 laptop, and I now need my motherboard replaced. Since I'm getting quoted ~1000 to do the repair, I'm leaning towards just buying a new laptop altogether. My understanding (and I have very little understanding about hardware so please correct me if I'm wrong!) is that I can use the same programs and files that I had on my spill computer if I transfer my hard drive to a laptop with the same motherboard. So, my question is:

Do all laptops in the X60 line have the same motherboard or does it depend on what extra options you choose (including tablet vs. nontablet)? Does the Santa Rosa update for the X61 mean that I won't be able to use my current hd internally with it?

Thank you very much for your time in reading this and for your help!

Best regards,
jjiyunlee

Sorry to hear of the mishap! The short answer to your question is: any X60 or X60s motherboard will "see" your present hard drive as is, with no additional work required on your part. Such is not the case if you move the drive to an X61, X61s, or any X6x tablet motherboard.

Note: We are talking only about Windows "knowing" what hardware it has. Your programs and files will be there regardless of the new motherboard.

The longer answer is that the X61 or X61s will require new Windows "drivers" which can be downloaded from the Lenovo site. However, there is a "gotcha" in that: in order to download the new drivers one needs Internet access, i.e., the wired or wireless LAN needs to work, and that means one needs the drivers for either the wired or wireless LAN before one can do anything else. The easiest way to introduce the wired or wireless LAN drivers to the new machine is to use an SD card or a USB flash drive onto which you have downloaded the drivers using another machine that already has access to the Internet.

Moving the existing hard drive to any Tablet computer platform will require the "tablet" version of Windows, which will require a re-installation of Windows from CD-ROM or DVD.
Good luck!

Wow - that was incredibly clear and helpful. Thank you!

Reiterating what I read (sorry for the redundancy but there are a lot of un-backed-up files at stake )
I should have access to all my software, files, previous settings, etc., if I put in my existing HD into another X60 or X61 laptop given that, for the X61, I can install the necessary drivers after transferring the HD. This statement holds for all X60 and X61 laptops, regardless of the new laptop's processor, operating system, memory, and wireless card.

Is that right?

Thanks again and again and again!!!!!! Yay thinkpad forum!

jjiyunlee wrote:This statement holds for all X60 and X61 laptops, regardless of the new laptop's processor, operating system, memory, and wireless card.
Is that right?

Right, as long as you leave the operating system that's on the existing hard drive as is, and simply install the required drivers. Remember, you are moving the existing drive to a new machine, i.e., the operating system will continue to be what it is already on the existing drive. Therefore, your note about "operating system" in the list is inapplicable.

Do NOT reinstall the operating system. If you must for some reason, make sure you know how to do an installation which "repairs" the existing rather than installing anew.

EOMtp, you're marvelous. Much gratitude for your patience!