Thinkpad i1200 in A21m clothing?
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 6:04 pm
Hi all!
I have a totally rad i1200 that I want to keep alive for a few more years.
The part of the lid that meets the hinge has been messed up - it's broken but it hasn't fallen off. I coated whole lid with the black duct tape so it works *almost* as if it weren't broken. I just need to be very careful when opening & closing the lid and replace the duct tape "skin" every 6 months because it falls off with usage.
But I have a bigger problem - it's cooling, or the lack of it. Last month the CPU has reached 90 degrees celsius a few times (measured in Everest) but I turned it off rapidly so think it didn't leave permanent damage.
I cleaned and lubricated the fan, ran memtest and prime95 after that and no errors. My hard disk and DVD-ROM still work as good as new (HD Tune Pro). PSU is OK, the battery is busted, but I use AC anyways.
My CPU is Celeron 600, and RAM is 192MB PC100, it's the max amount this model can support.
My buddy has a A21 (maybe it's A21M, can't remember) that occasionally has problems starting up. He says it's a "problem with power button" but from my experience with desktops I see it more as busted capacitors or something similar, but bottom line is - I think he's got a dying motherboard. He also took out hard disk and now uses it in enclosure. He is willing to give me this buggy diskless A21 for free.
So I was Thinking... Can I take apart his A21, pull out his P3 @ 700 MHZ (beats Celeron 600 anyday) + cooling assembly, put his CPU on my mobo, keeping my RAM, HDD & DVD-ROM, and throw all of that in his A21.
My main question is: will the i1200 motherboard fit into A21? Other parts are almost certainly interchangeable, but I dunno the dimensions of A21 mobo.
EDIT: A21(M) has 14 inch screen while my i1200 is 12-incher. But that shouldn't be a problem, I think all A21 version run on same mobos, regardless on the screen size.
I have a totally rad i1200 that I want to keep alive for a few more years.
The part of the lid that meets the hinge has been messed up - it's broken but it hasn't fallen off. I coated whole lid with the black duct tape so it works *almost* as if it weren't broken. I just need to be very careful when opening & closing the lid and replace the duct tape "skin" every 6 months because it falls off with usage.
But I have a bigger problem - it's cooling, or the lack of it. Last month the CPU has reached 90 degrees celsius a few times (measured in Everest) but I turned it off rapidly so think it didn't leave permanent damage.
I cleaned and lubricated the fan, ran memtest and prime95 after that and no errors. My hard disk and DVD-ROM still work as good as new (HD Tune Pro). PSU is OK, the battery is busted, but I use AC anyways.
My CPU is Celeron 600, and RAM is 192MB PC100, it's the max amount this model can support.
My buddy has a A21 (maybe it's A21M, can't remember) that occasionally has problems starting up. He says it's a "problem with power button" but from my experience with desktops I see it more as busted capacitors or something similar, but bottom line is - I think he's got a dying motherboard. He also took out hard disk and now uses it in enclosure. He is willing to give me this buggy diskless A21 for free.
So I was Thinking... Can I take apart his A21, pull out his P3 @ 700 MHZ (beats Celeron 600 anyday) + cooling assembly, put his CPU on my mobo, keeping my RAM, HDD & DVD-ROM, and throw all of that in his A21.
My main question is: will the i1200 motherboard fit into A21? Other parts are almost certainly interchangeable, but I dunno the dimensions of A21 mobo.
EDIT: A21(M) has 14 inch screen while my i1200 is 12-incher. But that shouldn't be a problem, I think all A21 version run on same mobos, regardless on the screen size.
. Black duck tape on the back of the screen and custom 