Thinkpads Forum

My poor old 755CE may or may not be fixable. If not, who sells replacement system boards?

If that's not economical, what's the fastest 8.5"X11"X2" (the perfect size) ThinkPad in the old "square-cornered" style (if it's shaped like a 360CSE or 755CE, it's probably old enough that it's not too expensive. Besides, I'm used to that style now and I kind of like it. Even the <shock> Toshiba I almost got looked like that, only a little too pale!)

Is there one with a CD-ROM? A Pentium? 133Mhz? 233Mhz? Where can I get complete, detailed information, including size and accurate pictures, of the entire thinkpad line, including upgrades & accesories?

This doesn't have all of the models which match your search terms (size, pictures, accessories, etc.) but it might be a good starting point:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Hardware_Specifications

You can also download a copy of the twbook.pdf file from that page which lists the older "numbered" systems.

The 600X is 11.8" x 9.4" x 1.4" (twbook says, but I don't remember mine being that big), so just a little larger, but they were made as fast as 650MHz PIII, and they can take 576MB RAM. More than enough for Windows XP or a modern Linux without the latest eye candy. You can further upgrade the CPU to 850MHz.

I used mine for seven years until I got my T60. (Something about sixes apparently.)

What's wrong with your 755CE? Ebay is one of the best places for the old stuff. I source my Tankpad's parts from there and the prices are extremely inexpensive....

The 755CE, which I really liked, had some corosion on the system board. It wasn't as bad as it looked, but after I cleande it off, I noticed the big (for surface-mount microelectronics) yellow capacitor at the front of the board looks really bad. There are a transistor and two resistors(?) that are a little darkened on the ends, and some of the holes where the traces go from one layer to another are a little green, but it looks like that's just on the surface.

When I turn it on, first, the memory test shows an error 201 (bad RAM) and only shows half the 8MB tested. Then I get a power on password that won't go away when I disconnect the CMOS battery. After that, I get two more error 201 messages (easy setup diagnostics, then a weird message pointing at a "stack of paper" icon) and then it will boot up.

If it's in DOS, or any text mode application with a cursor, it locks up. If I start Windows with the MWave drivers enabled, after 0-20 minutes the computer restarts itself, and after that, I can't keep it going long enough to reboot.

Could one capacitor cause all that?

I don't dare touch it with a slodering iron. (No, I didn't accidentaly misspell "slodering". I have "slodered" a couple of less sensitive boards already.)

If I can't find someone less dangerous to circuit boards, or if the problem is bigger than it looks like, (I suspect it is) does anyone have a spare 765D laying around? If so, how much, including shipping?

LOL.....slodering. I don't know about one capacitor causing all of that but I think it's a part of the problem. The ESS audio seemed to cause less problems than MWave in all of the early iron. Sounds like the TrackPoint is also buggy with corrosion or it could simply be screen redrawing. A good reflow in an around the laptop sounds in order. 201 is a memory error and if it's caused by oxidation a simple cleaning and reflow probably would solve that. I wonder if your DC/DC card is in good order as well. Run the diagnostics in EZ-setup (F1), see if you get any other failures.

I'm very good at working on older laptops. I'd love a crack at it but time is money..... I'm currently charging $65 for memory slot disconnects.... on T23/T30's. I'd charge nothing more. http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=57368

I watch fleabay like a hawk, especially for the older iron. I've seen 765D's go for less than $20 shipped but they are rare, very rare in working order simply for the larger screen over the760's. 760's are near and dear to me, it was my first "work" laptop issued to me and I bought it when we upgraded. I like your style in choice. I currently have a 760XD which has a 12 inch screen, everything else is the same. Ebay 760XD.

Interesting that you mention the trackpoint. I assume you mean the little orange joystick between the g,h, and b keys. The stick itself is fine, but the left button was so stiff when I first got it that I bruised my thum by repeatedly beating a response out of it. Not that I hit the button hard; I just had to hit it often. If it hadn't quit responding at all, I'd have worn off the side of my thumb. The most anoying part of that would be everyone I meet asking what happened to my thumb. That would get old after a while.

It works better now. Being the genius I am, I just had to fiddle with it, thinking I might be able to lift it up and get to whatever wasn't working and clean it or something.

I broke it.

*D*U*H*!!!

You'd think I'd learn not to mess with it if I don't know what's under it, but no, not me. @#$% &*%?... ... ...

So now it sticks up a little and looks funny, but I apparenly took the pressure off a misaligned spring or something and now it works. How many people do you know who can fix things by breaking them? If only banging my head on the keyboard was as constructive...

The nice thing about the 765D is the CD drive. All the software I keep finding at thrift shops (mostly Windows 95 or NT 4 compatible, $1.00 to $1.85 depending on the shop) is on CD. I could also use it for a walkman.

Hilarious!!!!! I seems you have everything under control..... sort of. LOL

Sounds like your having fun with it. I like the idea of finding old software, wish I had a place I could do that. Kind of like looking for old vinyl.

You know what, I have a 760XD that isn't being used as much as it should, would you be interested? It's right up your alley and is in near mint condition with no issues. PM me if so.

To find old software, check Goodwill, The Salvation Army, Church, senior center, and Gospel Rescue Mission thrift shops. These or something like them are found in all American cities and some small towns, and something like them must be common in England, Canada, etc. The local senior center thrift shop was a gold mine for a while, but I've pretty much cleaned them out for now. More donations will come in this summer. Lately I've been raiding the Salvation Army every time we go to the big city.

How much do you want for the 760XD? I'd "PM" you but I don't know what it means.

"Private Mail", it's the little button in the bottom left corner of everyone's posts.

We do have a Salvation Army here, I'll give it a shot and thank you!