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My new T61P

T60/T61 Series
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sdfox7
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Posts: 131
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Location: Danbury, CT, United States of America

My new T61P

#1 Post by sdfox7 » Sun Jan 06, 2019 4:35 pm

I just took delivery of a ThinkPad T61p in beautiful condition, from the original owner who bought it new in 2007. This is very exciting as I have been looking to collect a T61p in this condition for many years.

I've restored it back to factory condition with the Windows XP Professional recovery discs. I added a few programs I like to use, and installed Service Pack 3 and Internet Explorer 8 because my new HP dj2600 USB/wireless printer requires both of those updates.

Pictures:

http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/1.jpg
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/2.jpg
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/3.jpg
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/4.jpg
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/5.jpg
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/6.jpg
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/7.jpg
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/untitled.bmp
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/untitled2.bmp
ThinkPad 600E (Win98); T23 (WinNT 4.0); T41 (Win2000); T61p (WinXP)
My name is Stephen Fox. I am a '18 BBA and '20 MBA student at WCSU.
Disable Google Chrome End of Support Infobar on Windows XP/Vista

ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
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Re: My new T61P

#2 Post by ajkula66 » Sun Jan 06, 2019 4:47 pm

That's one gorgeous ThinkPad. Congrats on grabbing it.

Now, you may want to "get under the hood" and re-paste along with installing Middleton's BIOS and then proceed with an upgrade or three more unless you intend it to just sit there as a museum piece.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

One FlexView to rule them all: A31p

Abused daily: T520, X200s


PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.

Bondi
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Posts: 222
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:44 am
Location: Yerevan, Armenia

Re: My new T61P

#3 Post by Bondi » Mon Jan 07, 2019 4:38 am

Great machine! Amazing condition! Congrats!
Thinkpads: 330C, 360CE, 560, 755CD, 760LD, 760EL, A21p, A31p, X60s, X230

storm-chaser
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Posts: 155
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:46 pm
Location: Schenectady, NY

Re: My new T61P

#4 Post by storm-chaser » Sat Jan 12, 2019 5:36 pm

Yeah, very cool project you've got going on here. That laptop is a perfect 10.

Did you install XP in it because you want to preserve factory condition?
Because Windows 10 runs fine on a T61p and gives you much more in the way of usability.
Might I also recommend ThrottleStop and TPFanControl.
Are you planning to get under the hood at some point and upgrade the processor?
AMD Phenom II 965 @ 4.1Ghz, 8GB DDR3 1600, SSD
AMD Phenom II 960T @ 4.1Ghz, 8GB DDR3 1600, SSD
Lenovo T61p 15.4" - Core 2 extreme X9000 CPU @ 3.4Ghz, SSD
Toshiba Satellite A505D - 2.5Ghz, 4GB RAM, 80GB SSD

sdfox7
Sophomore Member
Posts: 131
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:06 pm
Location: Danbury, CT, United States of America

Re: My new T61P

#5 Post by sdfox7 » Sun Jan 13, 2019 2:24 pm

Hi all, I am satisfied with restoring the ThinkPad to factory condition and Windows XP. The only change I made was I swapped out the hard drive for a brand new SSD.

That being said, I have access to the Vista Business recovery discs (this T61p shipped with XP but the T61p was eligible with either XP or Vista.) If I get bored one day I might put the hard drive back in and install Vista just to marvel at how poorly it runs. :lol:
ThinkPad 600E (Win98); T23 (WinNT 4.0); T41 (Win2000); T61p (WinXP)
My name is Stephen Fox. I am a '18 BBA and '20 MBA student at WCSU.
Disable Google Chrome End of Support Infobar on Windows XP/Vista

Raidriar
Freshman Member
Posts: 113
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 12:43 am
Location: Richmond, VA

Re: My new T61P

#6 Post by Raidriar » Mon Jan 14, 2019 11:54 am

sdfox7 wrote:
Sun Jan 13, 2019 2:24 pm
Hi all, I am satisfied with restoring the ThinkPad to factory condition and Windows XP. The only change I made was I swapped out the hard drive for a brand new SSD.

That being said, I have access to the Vista Business recovery discs (this T61p shipped with XP but the T61p was eligible with either XP or Vista.) If I get bored one day I might put the hard drive back in and install Vista just to marvel at how poorly it runs. :lol:
My T61p has the intel X9000 CPU, FX 570M 256mb, intel 6300 wifi, intel x25-E 64gb SSD, running windows 7 ultimate x64. It is quite usable even today for web browsing/word processing. Core 2 has aged, much, much better than previous thinkpads have in comparable timeframes. A T30 was pretty much unusable 10 years after it was produced, yet the T61P is still quite capable 10 years later.
Thinkpads: 760XD, 600E, T23, T30, T43p, T61p
Alienwares: M17x R1, M17x R2, M18x R1, M18x R2, Alienware 18
Razers: Razer Blade Pro 2017 FHD

sdfox7
Sophomore Member
Posts: 131
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:06 pm
Location: Danbury, CT, United States of America

Re: My new T61P

#7 Post by sdfox7 » Fri Jan 18, 2019 1:42 am

Raidriar wrote:
Mon Jan 14, 2019 11:54 am
sdfox7 wrote:
Sun Jan 13, 2019 2:24 pm
Hi all, I am satisfied with restoring the ThinkPad to factory condition and Windows XP. The only change I made was I swapped out the hard drive for a brand new SSD.

That being said, I have access to the Vista Business recovery discs (this T61p shipped with XP but the T61p was eligible with either XP or Vista.) If I get bored one day I might put the hard drive back in and install Vista just to marvel at how poorly it runs. :lol:
My T61p has the intel X9000 CPU, FX 570M 256mb, intel 6300 wifi, intel x25-E 64gb SSD, running windows 7 ultimate x64. It is quite usable even today for web browsing/word processing. Core 2 has aged, much, much better than previous thinkpads have in comparable timeframes. A T30 was pretty much unusable 10 years after it was produced, yet the T61P is still quite capable 10 years later.
I own a T23 that I picked up in mint condition from the original owner in September 2017. It's running Windows 2000 with a compatible PCMCIA WiFi card. I restored it back to the factory condition (the T23 disc images are on the Internet Archive) and got a new battery on eBay.

There are pictures of it running Windows XP here: http://sdfox7.com/t23.htm. The T23 could be ordered with XP and I originally installed that to see how it would run. Afterwards I installed Windows 2000 since it was "Designed for Windows 2000".

The T23 are heavier and you could knock someone unconscious if you hit them upside the head with one. :lol: They certainly don't make anything in this world like they used to!
ThinkPad 600E (Win98); T23 (WinNT 4.0); T41 (Win2000); T61p (WinXP)
My name is Stephen Fox. I am a '18 BBA and '20 MBA student at WCSU.
Disable Google Chrome End of Support Infobar on Windows XP/Vista

sdfox7
Sophomore Member
Posts: 131
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:06 pm
Location: Danbury, CT, United States of America

Re: My new T61P

#8 Post by sdfox7 » Fri Jan 25, 2019 7:22 pm

Update: This laptop came with 3GB RAM (1 x 2GB and 1 x 1GB). Out of curiosity, today I removed the 1GB and installed a 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400 module to complement the remaining 2GB PC2-6400 chip for a total of 6GB. I also installed an SSD with Windows 7 64-bit.

I have to say I am completely stunned by how good the performance is. The overall WEI of 5.5, and the graphics scores, are higher than I would have expected. I was expecting an overall WEI somewhere between 2 and 3 considering the laptop's age.

I know people with mainstream laptops only a few years old that can't even run up to a 5.5 overall because of crappy graphics which pulls down the overall score. Mine has the 256MB dedicated which I'm sure helps.

For the reasonable price you will pay for a used ThinkPad, it will smoke the garbage they are peddling at Walmart with single core CPUs, 4GB RAM and HDD for $300-400.

I want to note that I use this computer for web browsing and college Office documents, so my needs are very modest. I want something smooth and reliable but I am not looking for a barn burner!!!

http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/t61p6gb2.png
http://sdfox7.com/ibm/t61p/t61p6gb1.png
ThinkPad 600E (Win98); T23 (WinNT 4.0); T41 (Win2000); T61p (WinXP)
My name is Stephen Fox. I am a '18 BBA and '20 MBA student at WCSU.
Disable Google Chrome End of Support Infobar on Windows XP/Vista

RealBlackStuff
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Location: Loch Garman, Éire

Re: My new T61P

#9 Post by RealBlackStuff » Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:07 am

Apply Middleton's BIOS and up the CPU to T9300, and it'll go up even more.
And that CPU runs cooler than your T7500.

ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
SuperUserGeorge
Posts: 17303
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:28 am
Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Re: My new T61P

#10 Post by ajkula66 » Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:18 pm

RealBlackStuff wrote:
Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:07 am
Apply Middleton's BIOS and up the CPU to T9300, and it'll go up even more.
And that CPU runs cooler than your T7500.
+ 1.

Not to mention that such an upgrade would give you an excuse - not that you should need one - to re-paste the system.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

One FlexView to rule them all: A31p

Abused daily: T520, X200s


PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.

DartMan68
Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2017 2:33 pm
Location: Covington, GA

Re: My new T61P

#11 Post by DartMan68 » Mon May 20, 2019 2:05 pm

sdfox7 wrote:
Fri Jan 25, 2019 7:22 pm
For the reasonable price you will pay for a used ThinkPad, it will smoke the garbage they are peddling at Walmart with single core CPUs, 4GB RAM and HDD for $300-400.
I have two of them. One with Windows 7 Pro alone, the other with both Windows 7 Pro and Manjaro 18.0.4_stable MATE edition Linux. Both are quite capable in daily use and much more sturdy than pretty much any laptop made nowadays. Google "YouTube" + "ThinkPad torture tests" and see what people put the older ones through, trying to kill them. :lol: With most found at Wal-Mart, one can hold them at opposite corners and flex them a bit. And I absolutely hate Windows 10 of any version, though two I sold recently after rebuilding, upgrading them, a T61 and a T61p, had 10 Pro on them at the customer's request. I got those on eBay at $25 each and spent maybe $60-$70 each for parts, etc. and sold them for $140 each. As you said, "reasonable".
Lenovo TP T61p MTM 6460-DVU T9300 4GB 128GB SSD WSXGA+ nVidia FX570m
Lenovo TP T61p MTM 6457-W3P T7700 4GB 128GB SSD *WSXGA+ **Intel X3100
*(repl. dim Samsung WUXGA) **(repl. faulty FX570m)

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