My oldest oldie - 340CSE

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#1 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:27 pm

This is one of my latest acquisitions. It's a Thinkpad 340CSE 2610-DS2, which according to the Lenovo Website does not exist

Although I can find info's about the -DS1 and -DS3 models, guess Lenovo DB wasn't very accurate in the earlier dates

This one has 12Mb RAM and a 360MB, is running Win95 decently and seems to be in excellent shape! Enjoy the pics...

What's supposed to be here?

Dusty and shiny CH-Layout

Kaze22 · #2 Post by **Kaze22** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:33 pm

Original Bento Box design. Wow
Never though I'd see it in the flesh

dr_st · #3 Post by **dr_st** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:28 pm

My first PC ever was one very similar to this (maybe 350/360 series, not sure, but the exterior was essentially the same).

It ran PC DOS 6.3 (equivalent of MS-DOS 5.0), and I had lots of fun learning about using a PC and playing some old DOS games on it.

A piece of history come to life!

CheddarTrek · #4 Post by **CheddarTrek** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:01 am

*thumbs up* Actually quite like this design.

#5 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:39 am

CheddarTrek wrote:*thumbs up* Actually quite like this design.

+1 Bento box design

dr_st · #6 Post by **dr_st** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 3:38 am

Please edit the post and remove the pictures from the quote. No reason to show them twice.

#7 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:15 am

dr_st wrote:Please edit the post and remove the pictures from the quote. No reason to show them twice.

Seems you scared him dr_st, he deleted the whole post!

(or maybe be a Mod did it?)

#8 Post by **JaneL** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 5:03 pm

He was a spammer.

vanaya · #9 Post by **vanaya** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:11 pm

Great pics, especially the first!!

ajkula66 · #10 Post by **ajkula66** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 10:27 pm

It's been a long time since I've seen one of those anywhere near this condition. A great find indeed...

Now load W8 and enjoy the multimedia....

#11 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Mon Apr 23, 2012 2:18 am

ajkula66 wrote:Now load W8 and enjoy the multimedia....

Will better wait for the final version

P.S. Added two more pictures...

emeraldgirl08 · #12 Post by **emeraldgirl08** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:08 pm

What a handsome ThinkPad! It looks very very sturdy and well built. What year was this model released?

twistero · #13 Post by **twistero** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:01 pm

Cute. I wouldn't mind a modern machine in that chassis... Alas, no commercial laptop will ever look like that again. The closest will probably be this: http://openpandora.org/

#14 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:36 pm

emeraldgirl08 wrote: What year was this model released?

It seems it was released in 1995, my model number is not in the Lenovo Database though... I've uploaded some more pictures in the German Thinkpad Wiki: http://thinkwiki.de/340

Summilux · #15 Post by **Summilux** » Thu May 03, 2012 10:18 am

Really beautiful, the Bento box design is truly timeless.

Norway Pad · #16 Post by **Norway Pad** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 2:20 pm

Sorry for bringing up an old thread, but apparently I didn't notice this at the time you posted it.

Really nice and clean machine, and interesting to see one, as I have ever only read about the 340. That's one of those odd cases where IBM apparently jumped around a little bit in the numerical orders, as my 360CS(E) machines have an slightly older look and lower/older specs than the 340. Power button on the side and status LEDs on the very back. They were released in May 1994. The more Thinkpads I collect, the more I have learned to appreciate these old black "boxes". However, my collection seems small compared to yours, provided you actually still own all the Thinkpads in your signature.

Btw, what is the slot / pushbutton on the front, to the right of the floppy drive? (Edit: I see it now; it's the latch/release button for the lid

)

#17 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 2:59 pm

I have two 340CSe in the meantime, and yes. I own all the TP's on my sig, these are the working ones, I have a couple more that are not functional or not fully restored yet, hence not listed in my sig...

This old Bento-Era TP's are so great. I can't have enough of them, one of my favorites is the 360PE, and the 750C are really nice too. Incredible that they still work after so many years. They're really sturdy

Unknown_K · #18 Post by **Unknown_K** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 5:43 pm

Very nice looking machine.

Norway Pad · #19 Post by **Norway Pad** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 12:28 am

That's an impressive collection. Ïf I ever go to Switzerland, I might stop by to see it in person. The 360PE is a really cool machine, particularly if you have one in working condition. They are apparently very valueable, according to the one seller on eBay. I assume you have seen that auction. However, there is no apparent rush to buy old Thinkpads in the $200K range. Which is probably good for us, otherwise collection Thinkpads might have become an expensive affair.

I am in the process of restoring my non-functional 360CSE machine, with installing a new motherboard. But I found that the upper and lower casings are so cracked and bad that I consider simply sourcing a defective unit with ok casings to use for parts. So it's always something to do and something to buy.

#20 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:03 am

Norway Pad wrote:The 360PE is a really cool machine, particularly if you have one in working condition. They are apparently very valueable, according to the one seller on eBay

That auction is so out of space crazy! It got famous in all Thinkpad forums available

Mine is in perfect working condition, the battery is dead of course but the rest is in pristine state, I was very lucky to get it together with a 750C for about 40 bucks (also in excellent condition). The only little imperfection is the previous owner was a smoker so both TPs still have a slightly smoke odor

Norway Pad wrote:I am in the process of restoring my non-functional 360CSE machine, with installing a new motherboard. But I found that the upper and lower casings are so cracked and bad that I consider simply sourcing a defective unit with ok casings to use for parts. So it's always something to do and something to buy.

Restoring old TP's is an excellent hobby! I wish you luck finding the parts

P.S.: If you ever are around in good ol' Switzerland you're welcome for a visit of course!

Temetka · #21 Post by **Temetka** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:15 am

That machine looks excellent and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of longing for wanting to get my hands on it to play with it.

Out of curiosity does it have an active matrix or passive scan LCD?

Again, awesome looking classic Thinkpad.

#22 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Mon Aug 04, 2014 3:40 am

thinkwiki.org says it's a DSTN display. So it should be a passive LCD if my google-fu is correct

Temetka · #23 Post by **Temetka** » Sun Aug 10, 2014 1:49 am

Ugh. I hate passive LCD's. But it is your machine. If the display is goog enough for your eyes, then by all means - enjoy.