Expected temperature for T23? Also loose keyboard.

[BlueDevilTide]

Hi, I just recieved a T23 as described in my sig from ebay and for the most part it's in good shape, fine screen and such. I installed TP Fan Control and unfortunately, the system seems to run quite hot. Rarely below 50C, and when accessing a lot of website tabs on Firefox at once, easily around 60C or 66C. Granted, the fan isn't turning on, and there isn't much noise, so it's really not terrible, but I wonder what it could be? Often times the CPU Usage will skyrocket as well, and I've monitored my installations onto the machine...there shouldn't be anything that's using so much CPU. Windows Update did it once, but that's the nature of the beast =)

My other concern is with the keyboard. My X30's is fabulous, everything a "Thinkpad Keyboard" was made out to be. While the T23 is older and has that "shiny key" look, the right side of the board feels totally fine. The leftside, however, has a lot of..."flex" maybe? When I hit 2, 3 or qwe,asd,zxc keys, or caps lock or tab or shift or anything else on the left side of the keyboard, all of the keys seem to bend quite dramatically, and together as well, as though they're all one piece. It's as though there's nothing solid underneath that side or something. Any ideas?

Both the X30 and T23 have pretty dirty trackpoints, but there's a box of six on the way =)

I would rather not buy a new keyboard if possible, as those look expensive...is there any other remedy? Taking out the keyboard and sticking something solid underneath it maybe? Maybe it's a bezel problem, I don't know. The palm rest on the left is nice and solid, it's just the keyboard area on the left.

Thanks for your help.

[rkawakami]

Sounds like a missing/loose screw holding the keyboard down. I believe that there should be one under the MiniPCI hatch which holds the small ethernet card in. If I remember correctly, that screw goes all of the way through to the keyboard. If that doesn't solve your bouncing keyboard, look at the left edge of the keyboard just above the PCMCIA cage. It may not be fully snapped into the keyboard bezel.

[AlphaKilo470]

Check all screws on the underside that have arrows pointing to them. If they are all tight and the keyboard is in all the way and this problem exists, you might want to remove the keyboard (consult the hardware maintenance manual listed in the FAQ) and make sure there are no obstructions and that the keyboard itself is flat and not bent or distorted.

[Thinkpaddict]

The temperatures that you are getting are very acceptable for your computer. I've had 2 T23 1.133 Ghz, and both ran hottern than yours.

[dsigma6]

my t23, running adaptive cpu, is usually around 45-50C when browsing the forums. it'll hit 60-65C if i'm streaming a video or something like that.

on my 800mhz T20, it's sitting at 57C right now and I'm hardly doing anything. plus it's throttled down to 666mhz, so it really shouldn't be giving me such a high number for such little demand.

a side note, i've found scrubbing those old dirty trackpoint caps with a little soap and water usually restores them to new (at least if they weren't severely worn down).

[BlueDevilTide]

Thanks for the info on the temperature.

As for the keyboard, I got the hardware manual and took out the keyboard entirely. It feels more flexible than I might have thought, but I have no experience so it could be fine. Also, the right side (which is fine) had just as much flexibility has the left side (which is the problematic one.

I don't have a dummy or anything in the 2 PC card slots so they are empty. Furthermore, the bezel on the left near the PC Cards and the headphone slots is a tad loose. A little pressure from beneath the PC Card slots and it will snap out a bit (but far from entirely out. Might that be the problem?

The fan unit, which was right under the problematic part of the keyboard, looked to be solid and fine. Any thoughts? Should the keyboard be flexible at all?

Thanks!

[rkawakami]

Any thoughts? Should the keyboard be flexible at all?

All of my T23s have a solid feel to the left side of the keyboard except one. On that one I believe I am missing the screw I mentioned in my first post. During the removal of the keyboard did you find all of the screws as detailed in the HMM?

(edit: If you mean the keyboard is flexible when removed from the laptop, then yes, it does tend to bend somewhat. However, when properly screwed down, there should be no movement while typing.)

[BlueDevilTide]

Yep, I took out the MiniPCI cover, inside were some delicate instruments, and on one of them, there were two screws. I removed one, the other was in the corner and I believe held the card to another device, as it was still screwed in when I attached the keyboard. I guess the other that I removed is the screw you are talking about, but that seemed to secure the middle of the keyboard, not the left.

[BlueDevilTide]

To add, the keyboard itself does not "move," perse, as it stays secure in the frame. The left part is just very "bouncy" as a whole, almost like a trampoline when I press individual keys on that side.

[ambientscape]

Yo! BlueDevilTide! How's Durham? Fine weather??? Left NC year a go....

[BlueDevilTide]

The weather is normally great, if humid...if you've kept up with American weather in the past few days I bet you know what it's like now =) Terribly wet and rainy! That said, it should cool off in a few days at least.

[mpcook]

To add, the keyboard itself does not "move," perse, as it stays secure in the frame. The left part is just very "bouncy" as a whole, almost like a trampoline when I press individual keys on that side.

Mine was very similar. I removed and replaced it, made sure everything as screwed, tight and snug per HWMM, and it is much better. However, I have a crack in the bezel which contributes to the problem.

[gearguy]

Haha those temperatures are nothing.

Old P1 MMX Laptops run at ike 90 degrees

I burned my hand on a thinkpad 760 once XD

[agarza]

There's always the possibility to replace the thermal compound with some Arctic Silver. Old laptops thermal compound tend to desintegrate after the years, so it's better to replace it.

[BruisedQuasar]

look at the left edge of the keyboard just above the PCMCIA cage. It may not be fully snapped into the keyboard bezel.

After I replaced my T23 keyboard it was loose. I found I just needed to snap it down on the left side corner. I took a wood popcycle stick and pressed down until I heard the corner snap into place. No problem afterward.