Thinkpads Forum

So I bought a W530 for college. Working great, but I'd love a dock for at home. They are very expensive, and after talking with my friend, he told me he has an older Thinkpad dock (Type 4337) he doesn't use. So he brought it in with the 90w power adapter.

I know the power adapter wouldn't charge it, but for testing I wanted to see if the dock worked. So we plugged in the 90w adapter, and connected my W530, and lo and behold, it seemed to work (or at least the USB ports do), but it doesn't charge, or even be seen as connected to power.

So here's my question. Where can I find a cheap 135/170 power supply for this dock that will power and/or charge my W530? Additionally, the barrel power connector on my W530's power adapter is a keyed connector. How could I connect that keyed connector to the non-keyed dock?

I'm thinking that if I could use my 170w adapter with the dock, I could maybe use a 135w adapter in my bag, if that works. But I'd like to be as cheap as possible (and buying in Canada). Any ideas?

Suppose I purchase a non-keyed 170w adapter. Will it work with the dock and charge my laptop properly?

Welcome to the forum.
That dock is not suited for your machine.
If you modify the connector or socket, so it can accommodate a 135/170W adapter, you run the risk of it burning up!
The electronics are just not geared for that much power!
What you need is this: ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 – 170W (433835U)

RealBlackStuff wrote:Welcome to the forum.
That dock is not suited for your machine.
If you modify the connector or socket, so it can accommodate a 135/170W adapter, you run the risk of it burning up!
The electronics are just not geared for that much power!
What you need is this: ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 – 170W (433835U)

What if I just bought a 135w power adapter that has a standard barrel? I tried my friends dock with his 90w adapter and my W530, and it works properly (USB and DVI work, at least), it just doesn't charge it while powered on. A 135w should charge it and work fine, right? Where would be the best/cheapest place to buy a 135w adapter?

I repeat:

RealBlackStuff wrote:That dock is not suited for your machine.
If you modify the connector or socket, so it can accommodate a 135/170W adapter, you run the risk of it (the dock) burning up!
The electronics are just not geared for that much power!

RealBlackStuff wrote:I repeat:

RealBlackStuff wrote:That dock is not suited for your machine.
If you modify the connector or socket, so it can accommodate a 135/170W adapter, you run the risk of it (the dock) burning up!
The electronics are just not geared for that much power!

Sorry, I just didn't know. You said if I modify the connector. But I wouldn't be modifying the connector. Additionally, I've seen people say they have no issues with it with a 135w, but didn't know if there was any official word. I would guess this would be it, then?

I did NOT suggest to modify anything, just warning IF.
Bit expensive to run a trial...

Sorry, that's what I meant. You said "If you modify the connector or socket...you run the risk of it (the dock) burning up!" I just meant I won't be modifying it if I got the 135w. I'm just trying to do as much research as possible so I'm not wasting money on something that won't work. From what I've seen online, I should be fine using a standard 135w with this dock, but I just wanted to get a more solid explanation of why it would/n't work.

Check this out (lots of stuff to read...): https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-T ... d-p/841161

RealBlackStuff wrote:Check this out (lots of stuff to read...): https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-T ... d-p/841161

Thanks for the link. After reading through that, it seems to confirm my thinking, but I'm rereading it all 10 times over

RealBlackStuff wrote:Welcome to the forum.
That dock is not suited for your machine.
If you modify the connector or socket, so it can accommodate a 135/170W adapter, you run the risk of it burning up!
The electronics are just not geared for that much power!
What you need is this: ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 – 170W (433835U)

Nah, I doubt they are different on the inside. Also: the 135W adapter has the same plug as the 90W adapter. Design safety factor should also be big enough to accommodate a modest increase from 135W to 170W. Not to mention that in reality one (next to) never achieves such a power draw.

That's probably also why we've never heard from Lenovo why the 170W adapter had a keyed connector. The only reason is probably to sell more adapters.

Or Lenovo might of made the 170 watt keyed to prevent people from doing what this guy was saying and or using outdated 90 watt adapters, but money probably had more to do with it.