SXGA+ display upgrade for 14.1 R40?

[ibrazhko]

I have a 14.1-inch R40, and I am thinking about upgrading its 1024x768 screen to 1400x1050 SXGA+ screen.

I would appreciate if someone who has performed similar upgrades could advice me what I need to perform such a display swap. New inverter board? New cable? Anything else I need to know?

[unixed]

Download the appropriate Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) from the link at the top of the page and look up the FRU for the SXGA+ cable. Generally thinkpads of this period use the cable to select the resolution rather than an EDID. If you aren't using a SXGA+ screen supplied by IBM you have to check that the pinout is compatible.

[kfzhu1229]

I would appreciate if someone who has performed similar upgrades could advice me what I need to perform such a display swap. New inverter board? New cable? Anything else I need to know?

Unfortunately this model has lots and lots of LCD types. It has screen options anywhere from a 13" to a 14.1", both with a 20pin connector or a 30pin connector, to a 15" XGA or SXGA+ screen.
First you must be sure you have a 14.1" XGA screen and not a 13" one.
Then you gotta open up the laptop to find out whether you have the 30pin connector or the 20pin connector.
If you have 20pin connector the LCD cable needs to be swapped. I believe the 20pin LCD's for R40 should be the same old 14.1" 20pin screens used on T2x/A2x/A3x because with a low cost machine like this it makes sense for them to clear their inventory of old 20pin screens that are otherwise basically useless aside from equipping them in 14.1" A31. And that connector simply cannot do more than XGA resolution.
If you have the 30pin connector you *might* have a chance of getting a T4x 14.1" SXGA+ LCD working. But be warned those SXGA+ screens are quite poor in viewing angles, possible even worse than your current 14.1" XGA screen! There's also a chance of the motherboard BIOS not liking a 14.1" SXGA+ screen like the case with R52/T43, even though it works with a 15" one and a 14.1" SXGA+ will technically light up and work if you plug it in a 15" cable.
The trouble here is R40 never came with a 14.1" SXGA+ option because that option is deemed not useful for a low cost machine.
So you either have to gamble big by seeing if a T4x (or a T2x) 14.1" SXGA+ screen would work, or you just get the 15" version of the R40 which supports SXGA+.
Unlike the A3x series the R40 have a completely different chassis for the 15" screen option.

[RealBlackStuff]

And the R40 was not even made by IBM!
It was concocted by (oh, horror!) Acer and then rebadged.

[kfzhu1229]

And the R40 was not even made by IBM!
It was concocted by (oh, horror!) Acer and then rebadged.

Oh yeah right totally forgot about that!
I am curious for these Acer made ThinkPads, is there a drastic difference in terms of how things like case plastics age?
For instance, would the R40 be crumbling right now while the T30 is more or less fine in its plastics?

[ibrazhko]

Unfortunately this model has lots and lots of LCD types. It has screen options anywhere from a 13" to a 14.1", both with a 20pin connector or a 30pin connector, to a 15" XGA or SXGA+ screen.
First you must be sure you have a 14.1" XGA screen and not a 13" one.
Then you gotta open up the laptop to find out whether you have the 30pin connector or the 20pin connector.
If you have 20pin connector the LCD cable needs to be swapped. I believe the 20pin LCD's for R40 should be the same old 14.1" 20pin screens used on T2x/A2x/A3x because with a low cost machine like this it makes sense for them to clear their inventory of old 20pin screens that are otherwise basically useless aside from equipping them in 14.1" A31. And that connector simply cannot do more than XGA resolution.
If you have the 30pin connector you *might* have a chance of getting a T4x 14.1" SXGA+ LCD working. But be warned those SXGA+ screens are quite poor in viewing angles, possible even worse than your current 14.1" XGA screen! There's also a chance of the motherboard BIOS not liking a 14.1" SXGA+ screen like the case with R52/T43, even though it works with a 15" one and a 14.1" SXGA+ will technically light up and work if you plug it in a 15" cable.
The trouble here is R40 never came with a 14.1" SXGA+ option because that option is deemed not useful for a low cost machine.
So you either have to gamble big by seeing if a T4x (or a T2x) 14.1" SXGA+ screen would work, or you just get the 15" version of the R40 which supports SXGA+.
Unlike the A3x series the R40 have a completely different chassis for the 15" screen option.

Oh wow, thanks a lot, this answer is even more comprehensive than I expected.
Yeah, I am aware that R40 never came with a 14.1 SXGA+ screen. But I am still thinking whether I should give it a try...

I've heard that R40 was manufactured by Acer, but I don't know if it makes any difference. Of course, it's not as classy as, say T40, but I still love it. I should probably post a separate topic with the photos and a story behind this lovely 19-year-old machine. In short, I got it from my father, who used to work for an American company here in Ukraine. And let me tell you, using a ThinkPad in Ukraine in early 2000s was something else!

Since then, I have spent hours and probably a few hundreds of dollars on upgrading this machine and trying to prolong its life. What I've done so far:

- swapped the motherboard to the one that supports Pentium M and has ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 32MB (used to be P4M and ATI Mobility Radeon 7000 16MB);
- upgraded CPU from P4M to the best CPU R40 supports - Pentium M 1.7;
- maxed out RAM (2GB);
- upgraded old 20GB HDD to a Kingston mSATA SSD 128GB via Ableconn mSATA-to-PATA adapter (other than speeds being limited to UDMA33, it works like a charm, even TRIM is working);
- installed TP-Link MiniPCI WLAN card that supports "N" standard (this was possible thanks to the no-1802 fix);
- installed BMDC instead of modem card to add Bluetooth functionality;
- installed PCMCIA-to-USB adapter, it doesn't protrude from the laptop and provides two additional 2.0 USB ports;
- installed new battery...

(And this is not to mention numerous minor things, like changing the dead CMOS battery.)

[kfzhu1229]

Oh wow, thanks a lot, this answer is even more comprehensive than I expected.
Yeah, I am aware that R40 never came with a 14.1 SXGA+ screen. But I am still thinking whether I should give it a try...

Since then, I have spent hours and probably a few hundreds of dollars on upgrading this machine and trying to prolong its life. What I've done so far:

- swapped the motherboard to the one that supports Pentium M and has ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 32MB (used to be P4M and ATI Mobility Radeon 7000 16MB);
- upgraded CPU from P4M to the best CPU R40 supports - Pentium M 1.7;
- maxed out RAM (2GB);
- upgraded old 20GB HDD to a Kingston mSATA SSD 128GB via Ableconn mSATA-to-PATA adapter (other than speeds being limited to UDMA33, it works like a charm, even TRIM is working);
- installed TP-Link MiniPCI WLAN card that supports "N" standard (this was possible thanks to the no-1802 fix);
- installed BMDC instead of modem card to add Bluetooth functionality;
- installed PCMCIA-to-USB adapter, it doesn't protrude from the laptop and provides two additional 2.0 USB ports;
- installed new battery...

(And this is not to mention numerous minor things, like changing the dead CMOS battery.)

Wow that's definitely quite a mouthful of upgrades.
I am pretty sure the R40 should support the Dothan based CPU's with 400Mhz FSB with a BIOS update though. That would mean the fastest CPU you can stick inside is Pentium M 765. I recommend you NOT to get that CPU, but to get the 755 instead. The 765 is rare, expensive, and full of fakes online!

[ibrazhko]

I am pretty sure the R40 should support the Dothan based CPU's with 400Mhz FSB with a BIOS update though.

Nope, unfortunately there is no way to make R40 support Dothan. 1.7 Banias is the best it can do.