Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message

T440p upgrades/palmrest compatibility

T430-T490, T530-T590 Series
Post Reply
Message
Author
Mightyena
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2015 3:58 pm
Location: London, England

T440p upgrades/palmrest compatibility

#1 Post by Mightyena » Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:29 pm

Hi all,

I've recently decided to treat myself to a nice little upgrade, and replace my trusty T420 with a T440p. I found a 'fixer-upper' on Ebay, that is a low spec base model to upgrade, and won it for £115. When it arrived I discovered it was actually specced better than the listing claimed: it claimed an i3-4000M and a 1366x768 display, but when I powered it up I discovered it had the following:
  • i3-4100M (Woo! 100MHz extra!)
  • 4GB RAM
  • 1080p IPS display (apparently the LG LP140WF1-SPK1). It has a yellow spot on it though, which although not a dealbreaker (it only shows up on dark colours), is kind of annoying, so I've ordered an AUO BH140HAN01.3 to replace it.
  • 500GB HDD
  • WWAN Card in the M.2 slot (left it in as short M.2 drives are kind of expensive. Went for a 2.5" SSD and Ultrabay caddy instead)
I've already upped it to 8GB RAM, added an SSD, a T450 touchpad (Alps unfortunately, the Synaptics seem extremely hard to come by. Still the Alps version seems perfectly serviceable), and swapped out the i3-4100M with an i7-4700MQ, and so far, it's amazing!

I just have a few questions on where to go from here:

My T440p does not have a fingerprint reader. However I do also have a regular T440 on the way, which does. Are the palmrests/connectors of the two compatible?
Also as a note, I'm planning to install the AUO screen in the T440p, and swap the LG screen into the T440, which has a 1366x768 one. This should just be a plug & swap, right? I shouldn't need any whitelist trickery for either machine?

I run a dual boot between Linux Mint 19 and Windows 8.1 on it (Lenovo Product info says it shipped with W7, but the COA in the BIOS is for W8, and there is no W7 sticker anywhere on it). In Linux, everything works perfectly, but on Windows 8, I am unable to get the taskbar battery icon and charge thresholds working, since Power manager or the Lenovo modern app thingy work on Windows 8 anymore. I've been using BatteryBar to get the tray icon, but since installing the 4700MQ, that seems to have stopped working too. Are there any fixes for those?

Thank you for any advice!
In regular use:
T440p, T420, X230, X1

Part of the collection:
T61p, X201, X220, X300, X301, X100e, T61(14"), T61(15.4") 2xX200

Pending TLC:
T60, X240, T440

agarza
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1538
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:31 am
Location: Guadalajara, Jalisco MEXICO

Re: T440p upgrades/palmrest compatibility

#2 Post by agarza » Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:00 am

1. I don't think the fingerprint reader are interchangeably but I might be wrong
2. Yes, FHD and regular lower resolutions use the same eDP 2-lane cable, brightness should work unless you have a T450 in which you need specific Lenovo FRU LCD's in order for brightness to work under Windows
3. Power Manager is no longer compatible with W8/W10, you should download Lenovo Vantage from the Windows Store to get similar functionality
4. So you are using W8.1 licenced?
Current
T440p:
Core i7-4710MQ|16GB RAM|Intel 200GB SSD| 14.1" AUO IPS FHD|Win 7 Pro|T450 Trackpad|Backlit keyboard|2nd Caddy

T460p:
Core i5-6300HQ|16GB RAM|lPNY 256GB SSD| 14.1" Panasonic IPS WQHD|Win 7 Pro
Past: T420 HD+, X61s XGA, T61 14" SXGA+, T42p 14.1 SXGA+, T30, A22e

RealBlackStuff
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 23812
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:17 am
Location: Loch Garman, Éire

Re: T440p upgrades/palmrest compatibility

#3 Post by RealBlackStuff » Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:02 pm

If you still can, cancel that AUO BH140HAN01.3 and get an Innolux/Chimei N140HCE-EN1 rev C2 instead.
Make sure you get Rev C2, any other Rev will not fit without major mods.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
.

Mightyena
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2015 3:58 pm
Location: London, England

Re: T440p upgrades/palmrest compatibility

#4 Post by Mightyena » Wed Jan 30, 2019 5:42 am

agarza wrote:
Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:00 am
1. I don't think the fingerprint reader are interchangeably but I might be wrong
2. Yes, FHD and regular lower resolutions use the same eDP 2-lane cable, brightness should work unless you have a T450 in which you need specific Lenovo FRU LCD's in order for brightness to work under Windows
3. Power Manager is no longer compatible with W8/W10, you should download Lenovo Vantage from the Windows Store to get similar functionality
4. So you are using W8.1 licenced?
1. Yeah, I discovered the palmrests are completerly different as soon as the T440 arrived. Ah well, can't have it all

2. Yep, everything swapped over just fine, and both displays working perfectly. Weirdly though, my X240 does have the brightness issue, despite supposedly not having a whitelist. I should probably have sent back that screen, but it runs Linux exclusively so not worth the hassle.

3. Yeah, Power manager was discontinued, and I can't use the Lenovo Vantage app either, it's been updated so that it only works on W10, not 8.1. I was using a 3rd party battery gauge (BatteryBar), but after upgradng the CPU, it no longer opens...

4. Yes, presumably the key in the BIOS was for 8.1 as the installer never asked me for a key, and was activated after installing network drivers. Just confused me since the Lenovo Info page says it shipped with W7.

RealBlackStuff wrote:
Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:02 pm
If you still can, cancel that AUO BH140HAN01.3 and get an Innolux/Chimei N140HCE-EN1 rev C2 instead.
Make sure you get Rev C2, any other Rev will not fit without major mods.
Unfortunately the AUO arrived a couple of days after my original post. That said, I've been using it for a month now and I can't find anything wrong with it, save for a slightly yellow default colour profile. Is the the Innolux much better, and is it worth paying double for?
In regular use:
T440p, T420, X230, X1

Part of the collection:
T61p, X201, X220, X300, X301, X100e, T61(14"), T61(15.4") 2xX200

Pending TLC:
T60, X240, T440

agarza
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1538
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:31 am
Location: Guadalajara, Jalisco MEXICO

Re: T440p upgrades/palmrest compatibility

#5 Post by agarza » Wed Jan 30, 2019 4:15 pm

Regarding the Windows 7 issue, I think you should be able to activate W7 using the OEM method described here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XRWRZT0GUA
Current
T440p:
Core i7-4710MQ|16GB RAM|Intel 200GB SSD| 14.1" AUO IPS FHD|Win 7 Pro|T450 Trackpad|Backlit keyboard|2nd Caddy

T460p:
Core i5-6300HQ|16GB RAM|lPNY 256GB SSD| 14.1" Panasonic IPS WQHD|Win 7 Pro
Past: T420 HD+, X61s XGA, T61 14" SXGA+, T42p 14.1 SXGA+, T30, A22e

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “ThinkPad T430-T490 / T530-T590 Series”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 66 guests