Upgrading an R60e

[Cowsayeveryday]

Hello there, just joined this place after purchasing my first ThinkPad (a used R60e) and falling in love with it. So instantly I started wondering if there is a chance of upgrading it with all sorts of stuff but since I'm terrible at anything hardware related I decided it'd be best to ask you fine fellows about what I can do and can't do. First thing I was wondering is if it could be possible to grab a T60 or T61 mobo and just well, shove it in there instead of the R60e one. Second question was if there was anything I should pay attention to while upgrading the HDD with a 160GB one from my netbook. And I think that's it for now, although future questions will surely arise. Cheers and much obliged to any future help that will be provided.

[RealBlackStuff]

The answer is no, you cant swap any of those mobos in, unless you are prepared to do major case surgery.
By your own admission you are not technically inclined, so leave it be.
Sell that R60e and buy a T60/T61 instead!
You cannot just put your netbook's HD in it and expect it to run.
You can put in any 2.5" SATA hard disk, but you'll have to wipe it, format it and install an operating system from scratch.

[Cowsayeveryday]

I like the sound of major case surgery but I'll leave it be for now. And about the HD, the OS isn't a problem. I'm fairly savy with Linux so I'll just slap a fresh install of Slackware on it if that's the only problem. I was just looking at the CPU upgrades for it and saw this beast which would be a major upgrade from the 1.73 GHz I currently have on it, would that thing be compatible? The lenovo site says yes but I'm asking just in case. I also just found out that I can add an extra 2GB of DDR2 RAM (currently at 1) so that's pretty great as well. Selling it isn't an option since it's used and probably wouldn't fetch all that high of a price. But case surgery is somewhat acceptable since when I got this one I got an extra R60e without a mobo but otherwise in pretty great condition. So I was going to use that to experiment and such. Thanks for the lightning-fast reply.

[ajkula66]

Posting the machine's 7-character model number would help...not all R60e units are upgradeable to the same extent.

A Core 2 Duo such as T5500/5600 or T7200 would make more sense for the same or similar amount of money...

[Cowsayeveryday]

Found a problem. there are two stickers on the bottom of my R60e, one says 41W4748 JS, while the other one says 41W4760 JS. There's also a bit that says "Type 0657" but nothing similar to what this page says there should be. Hope that helps, thanks.

[RealBlackStuff]

The T2600 would work fine, but you can do even better.
The R60e is related to the T60 and can use the same CPU and RAM.
See this for inspiration: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=88969
By going to a larger CPU, you may need to check the fan for a better version.
The e in R60e stands for economy, i.e. it is a low-level version without docking slot and a few other items.
If the machine boots, start it up and press F1 immediately.
This brings you in the BIOS, where you will find the type after the System serial number (first 7 characters we want).

[Cowsayeveryday]

I have two numbers here and since I'm not sure which one is which I'll just give you both.

System-unit serial number: 06574SGL3BK474
System-board serial number: 1ZCSW6BR21B

I checked out that thread and figured the T7600 would be the best way to go if it's compatible. I'm not all that versed with the fan options I have available so I'll have to check that out as well. Thanks in advance.

[RealBlackStuff]

This is what your machine looked like ex-factory:
ThinkPad R60e (0657-4SG)
Celeron M 420(1.6GHz), 512MB RAM, 60GB 5400rpm HD, 15in 1024x768 LCD, Intel 950, CDRW/DVDRW, 802.11abg wireless, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, 6c Li-Ion batt, WinXP Pro

Your machine dates from December 2006.

With the HMM you can take it all apart: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-64200

[ajkula66]

You've got to pull the FRU of the motherboard from your machine's parts list and run it against HMM.

If it's 940 chipset it will not take a Core Duo CPU, core Solo only.

If it's a 945, it will take Core Duo as well as Core 2 Duo.

[RealBlackStuff]

His machine came with the 42W2591, unfortunately the 940GML chipset.

[Cowsayeveryday]

This is what your machine looked like ex-factory:
ThinkPad R60e (0657-4SG)
Celeron M 420(1.6GHz), 512MB RAM, 60GB 5400rpm HD, 15in 1024x768 LCD, Intel 950, CDRW/DVDRW, 802.11abg wireless, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, 6c Li-Ion batt, WinXP Pro

Your machine dates from December 2006.

With the HMM you can take it all apart: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-64200

Never knew you could figure that much out from a serial number. I'm being horribly persistent about this I know, but since we're talking about the same series and only a different model would it be possible to upgrade to the Core Duo supporting mobo without the aforementioned major case surgery? In any case, much obliged for the help given thus far. Thanks.

[ZaZ]

You can swap it with another R60e board so you can use a Core 2 Duo machine, but you might just be better off selling and getting the one you want from a time and money perspective.