Thinkpads Forum

As reported last year too, http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=94191 the hinges of this SL400 keep breaking time and again. This is the third time now and I am fed up of buying new hinges. I have used Dells and Toshibas in the past and this was the first from Lenovo. Very bad decision to have bought this. And, now when I opened this forum, I see others reporting the same issue. Is Lenovo alive? I mean, they should have made a recall or something when the issue with hinges is being faced by so many users. Heck, hinges for SL400 cost about $40-50 in India! I checked on ebay.com and in the US, they cost just about $7. What's up with that?

Now the laptop is dead again with a broken hinge and the display was also shaky which I showed to a laptop repair shop here. I have been told that along with the hinge, the LCD also needs to be replaced now. I do not want to spend a penny on this old rat.

What I was thinking about is getting another laptop (used one this time) and use the parts (HDD, DVDRW, charger and may be battery too) from this SL400.

Can someone tell me if it would be possible to use the battery and charger of SL400 in T61/T400/T410?

You will be able to use the charge since it's the same yellow tip 20v.

Concerning batteries, the ThinkPad Battery 41/+/++ will not be usable in the T400 or T410. It should however be usable in the NON widescreen 14" T61, T/R/W500 and T60 as per http://support.lenovo.com/en_GB/product ... MIGR-67501

Hi, can someone tell me what the part number for the SL400 touchpad cable is? I gave my laptop for changing the hinges and LCD and now the service center has told me that the touchpad also does not work.


He has told me that the touchpad cable is not available anywhere, so I would have to procure it on my own and give it to him so that the touchpad can be made to work. Someone please help me out with it.

What's the part number for the touchpad cable? Can someone tell me the website or a store in the US or India where I can buy touchpad cable for SL400? I am in India but can buy the part in the United States through a friend who is coming to India in a few weeks. Thank you.

I don't think there's a part number for the touch pad cable. The cable would be attached to the palm rest where the touch pad resides.

ZaZ wrote:I don't think there's a part number for the touch pad cable. The cable would be attached to the palm rest where the touch pad resides.

Thanks. So, how and where to buy the cable from? What do I ask for, the complete touchpad with cable? What's the part number/reference I need to give and where to buy from in the US or India? Any pointers?

The Hardware Maintenance Manual contains most of the part numbers (commonly called CRU or FRU numbers). You can find the one for the SL400 here:

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... 762_03.pdf

As far as a source is concerned, you could try eBay or Goggling the relevant part number.

If touchpad doesn't work, there are two options turn it on with hotkeys. Second change palmrest for your SL400.

Sent from my HTC using Board Express

Although this thread is old, I have to chime in and say that I might agree with ya.
I ordered a SL400 as a part machine, mainly for the HDD and RAM, came with a broken hinge.
Today I finally got into replacing the hinge and this was one of the more diffucult ones to do.
There was about 3x as much screws to take out just to take off the hinge compared to a T60!
And the connectors, I spent half an hour trying to get one of the ribbon that connects to the volume and toolbox.

Nabbed some tape to make sure it doesn't get loose, it douesn't have a typical "plug" and the unit just broke off.
The keyboard bezel doesn't just go around the keyboard, it goes under it as well!
Not as servicable as I thought it would be.

I got a SL300, been hard to find a 300 out of a 400 and 500. I had a SL500 for 2 years and never got the broken hinge on it but had to turn it back in for work. I looked for a SL300 since it was smaller and it also has a very bright glossy screen, After using it for 3 days of use, the Left hinge broke and now have to press down hard on the left side to get the hinge to turn with the screen. I used CrazyGlue on it and it worked for 2 days and after opening and closing it broke again. Re applied glue again but its not sticking anymore now. I read that this is a major flaw in the SL3,4,5 models and can order new hinges. This reminds me of the other cheap ThinkPad line "i Series" with the i1200-i1300 left hing along with complete corner braking off. So is it worth getting this SL300 fixed or just selling it? Its in good condition and really liked the dot on the i of ThinkPad that lit red. Think its the only ThinkPad models that had it. I also just go online with my laptops, no games on them, so even a Pentium III PC to this SL300 Core 2 Duo still works for me online really well. Reading of opening the SL, it seems like alot more work then the other ThinkPads I repaired before. have to watch for cables and alot more screws. I think I can get it fixed with a stronger glue as I dont plan to remove the screen and I can pour into the hole and let sit. I was thinking gorrla glue or epoxy glue.

Get a new hinge, repair it and then flog it on Craigslist or donate it.