My T40p problems..

[jobber]

Hi,

I have been reading this board for hours and decided to sign up. I been in the UNIX server field for years, but I'm new to laptops. Anyway, upon leaving my company I got the option to purchase the T40p for $200. I took it of course. Unfortunately, about a month later which is now, my display is gone. This is not the usual fade in/out stuff I been reading about. This is totally corrupted display even from bios. Like a fuzzy TV and squares all over the screen. I assume my video "chip?" is shot.

I did disassemble only down to keyboard removal level, and blew everything out with an air compressor. The other screws were security style so I stopped there.

Since I have a "p" I think I have some nice items on this laptop. It has 1gb ram and a 7200rpm disk. I think this laptop has the upgraded LCD screen also?

So, I am planning on buying a used T40 (used T40p are hard to find), and I will put my hard drive and ram in it.

The question is, are there are valuable parts left after that? Is the T40p LCD worth anything if I sell it used? I didnt see any dead pixels, but its too late to confirm now. I used this laptop for a month for Linux/XP until it broke last night.

[jobber]

ThinkPad T40p 2373-G3U

Original description:
P M 1.6GHz,
512MB RAM,
60GB 7200rpm HDD,
14.1 SXGA+(1400x1050) TFT LCD,
64MB ATI Fire GL 9000,
16x10x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD(slim),
Bluetooth/Modem(CDC),
1Gb Ethernet(LOM),
802.11a/b Wireless(MPCI),
Secure Chip(TCPA),
UltraNav,
9 cell battery,
WinXP Pro

[jobber]

You can watch a video of my problem here:

http://74.220.202.31/~bellbott/laptop.MPG

[richk]

There are some parts that are worth selling. You could even swap a regular T40 motherboard into it. You would lose some graphics capability, but it won't matter if you use it for regular office things. The security screws are not a big problem. I have the parts here and can even swap it for you. If you are interested, send me a private message. I am in San Francisco.

[SHoTTa35]

sounds (and looks) like the infamous "BGA" problem. This is because the motherboard is bent and twistest sometimes when you pick it up by the edges and therefore loosen or break the connections between the videochip and the motherboard. If you are really good you can weld them back to the mobo but that's not for everyone to try.

You can just buy a T41 mobo and stick it in your machine, you might even get lucky and find a broken T42 system, buy it, stick your LCD in there and have about the same performance as before or even more (if you get a T42 with a Radeon 9600 chip)

[Harryc]

Or just get a system board like this and put it into your machine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-T40p-T42p-T41p- ... dZViewItem

There are a lot of possibilities because the T4X line has interchangeable parts for the most part.

[jobber]

i dont really want to go to the motherboard fix level. im looking at T60 possibly.

[jobber]

anyone know how much that broke laptop would be worth if i took out BOTH my hard drive and the ram?

mainly only leaving someone a cpu, CD-RW/DVD-rom, and LCD screen?

[Harryc]

$150 if the LCD is in perfect condition and all of the plastics are not cracked or scratched.

[SteveS]

Harryc replied:

$150 if the LCD is in perfect condition and all of the plastics are not cracked or scratched.

I am sure you will get more than $150. I have been searching e-bay for weeks now, looking for a broken T4x with an SXGA+ display to use to update a T43 I have. I am willing to pay about $150, a bit more if the keyboard is in new condition as well. I have been shocked to see how much these go for. The high $2xx is the norm, and even more if the battery is new (Lenovo recall replacement)

[jobber]

I sold the broken T40p minus ram and hard drive for $200.

And i have a T60 now.