Thinkpads Forum

I just picked up my first 600X and it seems like the fan is significantly noisier than on my 600E. It comes on and stays on even when surfing this message board. I can hear it blowing even with the TV on. Is this normal?

This is a 2645-9FU (650Mhz w/ 544MB memory). I can't imagine that the fan is going bad cause this machine is pristine. It was described by the seller as "like new" and he wasn't kidding. Even the corners still have their rubber coating. FYI it was $50 shipped and came with one stick of 256MB and a working battery.

OOooo.. what a deal! The system is about 7 years old so it's possible that the fan has lost all of its lubrication or has worn bearings. I also had a 9FU but can't recall how often the fan spun or how noisy it is/was.

Since it's that old, you may also want to consider checking the CMOS battery. If the original is still in place, it would be about time to change it. Prior to removing the battery, make sure that you can get into the BIOS (Easy Setup) and see if it is accessible without a password. Now would be the time to discover this (hidden) fact; not after you take the backup battery out and can't get in touch with the previous owner.

I just sold my 9fu. To check it out I've been using it again for the past week.

No, the fan wasn't any noisier then any of the other 600's I used..

Pop it open and CAREFULLY try to add some lube to the fan..

Or look for another on Ebay...

That is an AMAZING deal. I strongly suggest checking the CMOS battery as Ray says ... if the fan is too noisy you can get a better one from ebay.

Thanks for the helpful tips. One of the first things I did was replace the CMOS battery. No passwords.

I've never thought about oiling the fan. I didn't think that was an option. I'll have to try that next chance I get. Hopefully I'll have a chance to work on it this soon. If I can quiet this down, my 600E will be on sale!

Don't know if it is possible or recommended to oil the fan. Some designs are sealed, others shouldn't be oiled and some might cope well with a tiny amount of oil. I don't have a 600 series fan to look at to say for sure. If you are planning to do this, it may only be a temporary fix or it could really foul up the fan. Your call.

I mentioned CAREFULLY trying to oil it, but as RK said thats probably just a stop gap fix, if you can even get the oil to the bearing..But it's worth a try until the fan can be replaced..

If this 600x is going to be your main machine changing the fan is your best bet..

The -9FU is a great machine

Is the fan really noisy or do you mean, the fan is running... and running... and running? ...like the bug from VW... -> than I know you're running XP

The ACPI-Interface from 600x doesn't match to XP. All 600x+XP-Lover are looking for help...

virge wrote:I just picked up my first 600X and it seems like the fan is significantly noisier than on my 600E. It comes on and stays on even when surfing this message board. I can hear it blowing even with the TV on. Is this normal?

This is a 2645-9FU (650Mhz w/ 544MB memory). I can't imagine that the fan is going bad cause this machine is pristine. It was described by the seller as "like new" and he wasn't kidding. Even the corners still have their rubber coating. FYI it was $50 shipped and came with one stick of 256MB and a working battery.

Fantastic deal. the memory stick alone is worth $30. Most 650 processor units I see sell for over $100 as they are pretty rare. Good find.

Wingnut wrote:Fantastic deal. the memory stick alone is worth $30. Most 650 processor units I see sell for over $100 as they are pretty rare. Good find.

100$? Look at eb*y... there's a chinese man, who sells 850/700 for less money. Used 256 mem-sticks are sold for 40EUR in germany...

u.mac wrote:

Wingnut wrote:Fantastic deal. the memory stick alone is worth $30. Most 650 processor units I see sell for over $100 as they are pretty rare. Good find.

100$? Look at eb*y... there's a chinese man, who sells 850/700 for less money. Used 256 mem-sticks are sold for 40EUR in germany...

I should have been more clear, I was refering to the laptop, not the processor.....600X units with the speedstep motherboard (aka 650mhz) are rare and sell for over $100.

Wingnut wrote: I should have been more clear, I was refering to the laptop, not the processor.....600X units with the speedstep motherboard (aka 650mhz) are rare and sell for over $100.

ahhh - complete units... 100% agree.

virge wrote: This is a 2645-9FU (650Mhz w/ 544MB memory). I can't imagine that the fan is going bad cause this machine is pristine. It was described by the seller as "like new" and he wasn't kidding. Even the corners still have their rubber coating. FYI it was $50 shipped and came with one stick of 256MB and a working battery.

Good lord. You should put that thing behind a glass display and not touch it without gloves. Such a classic in such a condition for such a price.
I really envy you. Unfortunately I haven't had much luck with ebayers in the past, who were a bit liberal with their "like new" descriptions.

pxa, I know what you mean! It seems almost a shame to put any wear on this machine. I have it set up as a guest computer in our spare bedroom, so it won't get too beat up. Its more of a shame to see it not being used at all.

u.mac. It does run at what seems like a high speed most of the time... and you guessed it, I have XP on there. I didn't know that this was an issue. Thanks for the heads up! I'll have to look into this some more.