Thinkpads Forum

Hi.

******* Ignore this meaningless background story, it's not really important **********
I got a small family of Thinkpads from a pile of devices heading to the dump.
There were a ton of X30/X31/X32, a bunch of X60/X61 and even a couple of X121e. I manged to go all "Dr. Frankenstein" on most of them, making one working laptop out of every two busted ones.

There were also a completely out of commission x201, and a W510 with a water-damage-fried mobo (it actually worked, but the GPU was toast, so anything other than BIOS or some CLI would cause it to go crazy and shut down). To be honest, I'm hoping this thread will help me replace the mobo for that W510 as well.

***************************************************************************************************

Last I found was a pair of X200. [censored], what a laptop. Love at first sight. Put the working parts of the two laptops in one shell, and it was heaven.
That is, until a couple of months later the southbridge on the MOBO got shorted and fried (tiny smoke puff and all). I don't have a ton of money put into it, so I'm looking for a new one on Ebay, which means I'm trying to filter a lot of nonsense. What I'm trying to find is the cheapest motherboard that is compatible with my keyboard, LCD and I/O adapter (I could go without the I/O adapter if I have to). I don't mind a downgrade either (the current board runs the P8600 CPU).

I don't understand how do I find a compatible motherboard. I've tried reading the MM, but I must be a bit thick because I can't seem to find any information that helps me there.

The type is 7458-WR6, the motherboard FRU (as printed on the sticker on the RAM slot) is 44c5319. Both my type and that FRU aren't listed in the parts list for X200, which is also a bit confusing.

I'd love it if someone here could help me understand how to tell a compatible motherboard from a non compatible one.

Thanks for any help.

P.S, when I punch in the S/N into the warranty page, it lists my type as 7458-CTO, so most of my search was based on that type.

neowizard wrote:... compatible with my keyboard, LCD and I/O adapter ...

Welcome to the forum!

Short answer:
-- Any X200/X200s or X201/X201s motherboard is "compatible" by the criteria you defined.

Longer answer:
-- If you get an X201 or X201s motherboard, then the Fingerprint Reader from the X200 will not connect. You will need an X201[s] Fingerprint Reader ... or you can leave the Fingerprint Reader not connected.

-- The difference in the X20x[s] motherboards is the CPU. Select a motherboard with a CPU that's to your liking, and it will fit your X200 base.

-- Note that a replacement motherboard (of any kind) is likely to cost more than a complete X200 ... that's just how it seems to be. One can buy a used X200 for circa $50 on eBay (US) ... perhaps similar where you are, also ... Therefore, although anti-intuitive, look for an a complete X200, for it is likely less expensive than buying only the motherboard.

Good luck!

EOMtp wrote:

neowizard wrote:... compatible with my keyboard, LCD and I/O adapter ...

Welcome to the forum!

Short answer:
-- Any X200/X200s or X201/X201s motherboard is "compatible" by the criteria you defined.

Good luck!

Thanks for the quick reply (and the greeting).

Quick followup, I read a lot of discussion here about LCD compatibilities. I also know that an X201 screen didn't work my X200 board (but that might be another problem, so I'm not sure). Doesn't this mean that I might end up with a board that isn't friendly with my LCD?

Regarding the price, I know that these laptops are old and cheep, and that their parts are getting pricy, but I try to avoid throwing away electronics that I can fix (both for the Eco-mambo-jumbo and because I enjoy fixing electronics). In any case, Shipping rates make it a lot more sensible for me to buy just the board, rather than the entire laptop (shipping the board costs around 10$, while shipping a laptop goes above 50$ at times).

Again, Thanks.

neowizard wrote:... X201 screen didn't work my X200 board ... I might end up with a board that isn't friendly with my LCD?

All X200[s] and X201[s] boards will work with all x200[s] and x201[s] screens -- mix and match as you wish. There are no compatibility issues whatsoever.

Your X201 screen not working with your X200 board was due to some pathology unrelated to compatibility.

EOMtp wrote:

neowizard wrote:...
All X200[s] and X201[s] boards will work with all x200[s] and x201[s] screens -- mix and match as you wish. There are no compatibility issues whatsoever.

That's fantastic!

One last question if you still have patience for me, how do you know this? I tried to figure this out myself without bothering others with this question, but I couldn't get any reasonable answer. I've got a W510 which I'd like to fix up in the future, and I'd love to understand how I can know what is compatible and what isn't.

Thanks, again.

All Thinkpads have a Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) in PDF format, which you can select here: http://download.lenovo.com/express/hmm_ ... ebook.html
Lots of people on this forum have gone through lots of Thinkpad models, and reported if they had success/failure.
Searching through the X200 forum will show you a wealth of info about these machines.

The X200/X201 have screens in 2 resolutions: WXGA and WXGA+, and these also are available in 2 types: CCFL and LED.
LED/WXGA+ is the preferred one for most people.
Because of CCFL/LED, one always replaces the whole, complete lid, rather than its innards, which are quite different.

As to replacing a mobo: all the boards listed in the HMM of that model are physically compatible, the difference is usually in the graphics.

In future, if available, always mention the 7-character TYPE of each laptop (from the bottom label), it makes it much easier for us to find out its original specs.

RealBlackStuff wrote:...
The X200/X201 have screens in 2 resolutions: WXGA and WXGA+, and these also are available in 2 types: CCFL and LED.
LED/WXGA+ is the preferred one for most people.
Because of CCFL/LED, one always replaces the whole, complete lid, rather than its innards, which are quite different.

As to replacing a mobo: all the boards listed in the HMM of that model are physically compatible, the difference is usually in the graphics.

In future, if available, always mention the 7-character TYPE of each laptop (from the bottom label), it makes it much easier for us to find out its original specs.

Thanks for your reply, RealBlackStuff.
I'm a bit confused now. I thought I did post the type of my laptop in my original post. I wrote it's a 7458-WR6. If that's not the type, can you direct me to the correct label?

Also, you said that the difference between motherboards is usually in the graphics. Just to make sure, this doesn't imply a difference in compatible LCDs, just the GPU, right?


I'm sorry if my questions are somewhat neat-picky, I'm just very worried about buying the wrong motherboard.

Thanks!

My "replacing a mobo" plus the TYPE remarks both pertained to your W510.
Sorry for not making that clear.
And different GPUs do not interfere with the LCD.

There is something that I don't understand here, and I am in a similar position.
I have an X200s with a WXGA CCFL screen which I would like to upgrade to
an LED WXGA+ screen.

Wouldn't I have to swap out the mb, or is the inverter in the lid?
Also, would I need a new LCD cable?

If you read the above posts (and the HMM) you'll see that you need to buy another LCD, cable and LED-board (or replace the whole lid).

By chance, would one be able to put a X200 palmrest on an X201 to get rid of the touchpad?

This is for aesthetic reasons.

No, palmrests from X200 and X201 have different connectors.

Thank you RBS

With one exception: if you don't have a FingerPrintReader (or else don't connect the FPR) then you can swap palmrests between them.