Buying a used Laptop? What to look for, how to test it, etc.

[StarGehzer]

I'm shopping for a used 12" laptop. I'm sure some of you have a methodology you follow when examining and testing a laptop you are considering buying.
Perhaps there is a program to run that checks battery condition? One that examines the hard drive?
Looking for physical damage is the easy part.. but it's what's inside that matters.
Can you tell me (us) how you go about examining & testing a used laptop before you spend $500.00 or more on it?

Thanks..

[rkawakami]

Are you talking Thinkpads specifically? If so, then there was a program called PC Doctor for DOS which checks most of the major components of the laptop, without requiring any operating system or hard drive installed in the system. For the newer systems, you would use a bootable CD so that means an Ultrabay optical drive or an external USB drive is needed. Much older systems would use one to several floppies. PC Doctor contains tests to check the system board, CPU, memory, video, serial and parallel ports, hard drive, optical drive, modem, ethernet, wireless, keyboard, Trackpoint, speaker. What it lacks is any thorough testing of the USB port(s), PCMCIA, Bluetooth and also Firewire. I say there "was" a program, since recently, Lenovo has removed the diagnostic from their Support pages. I still have the installation programs for a couple of them so I'm planning to set up a web site so people can download them. Each version is specific to a group of Thinkpads.

When receiving a used system, I run most of the tests contained in PC Doctor. The only major tests that I don't use are the memory and hard drive ones. For those, I use memtest86+ for the memory modules and if available, the hard drive manufacturer's own disk utility program. If none is available, then I'll use the hard drive tests in PC Doctor. There is a way to specify the number of times to repeat the selected tests so I generally use 10 for the systemboard and CPU tests and 3 for most everything else. Some of the tests are "interactive" in that they require assistance from you. For example, the keyboard test is performed by you pressing every key and a keyboard map on the screen indicates if the press was detected. Same goes for the trackpoint/mouse/touchpad test; you move the cursor around the screen and besides seeing it move, the X and Y coordinate numbers are shown changing. Other tests require additional resources for complete testing. The serial and parallel port tests normally do not need anything special. However, they can optionally use what's known as a "loopback" plug or adapter. This is a special connector that plugs into the serial or parallel port and contains wiring that connects the input pins of the port to output pins. You can then enable the loopback test sections and PC Doctor will execute them. For the battery condition, I rely upon the Windows Battery Maximizer program that's available from the Lenovo Support site. It reads the information stored in the battery such as, date first used, remaining charge capacity, design capacity, serial number, etc.

[wfoster]

Hi, I just bought a used T400 on ebay. It is in good physical condition, I am using it to type this message, but I am searching for good info on how to test it, and other general info regarding used laptops, thinkpads, etc.... this is the first used laptop, and first thinkpad i have bought.

Please feel free to drop any insights (beyond what is provided in the post above) or point me in the right direction if you are reading this.

Thanks.
wfoster

[TonyJZX]

IMO $500 is too much to spend on a 2nd hand. But be that as it may, it depends on how much time the seller gives you to play around with the laptop.

I would use batterycare and crystal disc info to check the hdd.

But like the above person here, if you're buying a T400 you're talking about a $50 unit so I assume the battery and hdd is dead.

IMO the battery and the hdd arent really worth testing. Why you say? Because they are easy to replace.

Like right now I generally buy sub $100 units so I assume the battery and hdd are rubbish and just buy an ssd and replacement battery.

On a $500 laptop... most important is to make sure the thing has warranty. If it has a bad hdd or battery, you have support, so why bother testing?

[wfoster]

Hi again. Thanks Tony, for the reply. I'm still using the T400 mentioned above, and it's still doing everything I am asking it to do - which isn't much to be honest. But, for 70 bucks i ain't complaining. The only problem i have had is graphics-related - short, embedded videos take a couple of seconds to clear up...

Anyway, I am now looking for a used W520 to play around with. I may take your advice and go cheap, then add the battery, HDD, extra RAM, etc.

[axur-delmeria]

If you're familiar with Linux, it's not that hard to test. I have a small SSD (32GB) on a USB enclosure with Debian 9 32-bit installed.

It already has tlp installed, which lets me check the battery status, psensor to monitor temps, 7zip as a basic CPU benchmark/stress test, and gsmartcontrol to check the HDD's condition. I even put get-edid so I can verify the brand and model of the installed LCD.

It still needs a bit of work though-- on some systems, X server doesn't load the correct graphics driver. I've managed to fix half the problem-- I can force X server to load the correct driver by copying the correct config file to a certain directory (different GPUs require a different config file), but I need to automate that process with a script that can detect the GPU on boot and copy the corresponding config file.

I've used that USB SSD earlier today, as I tested a barebones (no RAM & HDD) X220 before purchasing it.

[Hans Gruber]

"If I may ..."
I'd (atm) like to ask/know ... about ...
something pertaining to ... evaluating/buying ... a used T61 ...
Specifically regarding: NVIDIA GPU MOTHEROBOARD ISSUES
i.e.,
Should 2ndHand T61 models/types with the NVIDIA (as opposed to the Intel) chips be avoided
I suppose a 2ndHand T61 with the Intel as opposed to the NVIDIA would DEFINITELY be preferable ...
(in fact ... I already have just such a T61
however, should one DEFINITELY avoid any 2ndHand NVIDIA T61s

Also ~
are any 100%/pure Lenovo ThinkPads
(as opposed to the original/IBM machines ~
including the T61s)
seriously stellar machines ...
and worth considering
Which one/s ... why

Are "newer"/Lenovo components (e.g., UltraBays) interchangeable ...
with older/original/IBM components
(e.g., For sharing between my T43 & T61
I have four (4) UltraBays ~
two (2) P/ATA & two (2) SATA ...)

For whatever reason there are not many T61P models still living. If you look on ebay most are dead or do not boot which means the Nvidia graphics card failed. The good cards they say have a Thinkpad manufacture date of 08/08 if memory serves me correct. With that said and for whatever reason the mortality rate of the T61 thinkpads with nvidia graphics is much better. This is just my observation over several years watching the T61/T61P market.

With that said I have probably 6 or 7 T61 machines. Several have nvidia graphics and there is a noticeable difference in performance in anything multimedia with nvidia vs. integrated graphics. I think it's well worth the risk of buying a T61 with discrete graphics. Ask the experts here who have T61P's if they think that route is better than a T61 with Nvidia graphics. Just looking on ebay most T61P models are dead units and for parts only.

[axur-delmeria]

I'm not surprised that many T61p's are dead or dying. The Quadro FX 570M with 45w TDP (compared to the NVS 140M with 10w) puts a strain on the cooling system, resulting in high operating temps. Higher temps --> shorter component life. The NVS 140M, while rather pitiful as a discrete GPU, is still leagues ahead of the Intel GMA X3100.

[Hans Gruber]

I'm not surprised that many T61p's are dead or dying. The Quadro FX 570M with 45w TDP (compared to the NVS 140M with 10w) puts a strain on the cooling system, resulting in high operating temps. Higher temps --> shorter component life. The NVS 140M, while rather pitiful as a discrete GPU, is still leagues ahead of the Intel GMA X3100.

You have a very valid point withe regards to power consumption between the two Nvidia discrete graphics options. That seems logical as to why so many T61P have died. I would add that both (graphics cards) in 2018 both Nvidia graphics are equally pathetic. Throughout the modern thinkpad history the nvidia graphics have been largely marginally at best better than intel integrated graphics. Starting with the T400/T500 series and newer. I do not think it really matters if you have integrated graphics or nvidia graphics. On the T61 I would suggest a standard T61 with nvidia graphics and a backup unit in case the nvidia graphics fails. The T61 is 10 years old and figure if they have worked for 10 years they are unlikely to fail.

Consider the T410/T510 nvidia graphics vs. integreated graphics, no difference at all. With the T500 series the difference between the ATI graphics and integreated graphics is noticeable but the integrated on the T500 are much better than the T61.