Thinkpad R50p Newb Suggestions?

[burnt_toast]

Long story short, I've just recently acquired this laptop and eager to personalize and make it my own. I've never been much into Thinkpads before, but after having my motherboard fail on my weaksauce Compaq Presario laptop I started looking around for cheap alternatives (used and older..) to buy instead of replacing the mobo. Being a college student, and after some enticing reviews a Thinkpad started looking like a good option.

I've now bought a used R50p with some nice specs, for a great deal: $200! But it has a few small issues and I have some questions so here goes:

1. First off, this laptop did not come with any restore disks. I've yet to read the details but is there a built in feature to restore using the Access IBM button instead of using restore disks? If not, what are the alternatives?

2. This laptop had a fresh install of XP Pro when bought, and I've since updated to Service Pack 2, other updates, and installed ZoneAlarm firewall. I would like to clean up the startup items and remove any unnecessary programs that are preloaded, can yall suggest what is safe to remove? So far I have only disabled tgcmd.exe and windows messenger from the startup via msconfig.

3. There appears to be some internal smudges on the screen in a few areas (not dead pixels), its a long shot but is there any way to remove these smudges besides replacing the screen?

4. I am happy with virtually every feature of this Thinkpad, even being 3yrs old it trumps my Compaq in almost every way. Except.. Sound quality! Is there any way to upgrade the speakers? Or should I just get a set of good external ones? My Compaq had Altec Lansing speakers which had great sounds with no distortion, not the case here.

5. I've salvaged the HD from my dying Compaq and have it in an external enclosure that requires two usb ports for optimal operation. Since the R50p only has two (and mouse is using one) usb ports, do you think a hub would be a good idea? maybe a powered one?

6. Lastly, the power cord has a weak connection at the laptop and will easily disconnect with the slightest touch. I've tried bending the prongs inside the connector to grab better but it is still the same. Should a new power adaptor fix this or should I grab some tape?

Thats everything off the top of my head so far. I've only used this laptop for 1 day and I'm loving it! Everything seems so much faster and the keyboard really is very nice to type on, as I've read in many reviews.

Here are the full specs on my R50p Thinkpad, model 1832-22U.
• Refurbished Intel Pentium M 1.7GHz Processor
• 1GB RAM
• 60GB 7200rpm HDD
• 15in UXGA(1600x1200) TFT LCD
• 128MB ATI FireGL T2
• CD-RW/DVD-R Multi-Burner DVD Recordable
• IBM 802.11a/b/g wireless(MPCI)
• Bluetooth/Modem(CDC)
• 1Gb Ethernet(LOM)
• UltraNav
• Secure chip
• 9-cell Li-Ion battery
• Windows XP Professional

In reviews I've seen similar spec systems cost upwards of $3k when unveiled, so I think got a pretty sweet deal with this one. If you have anything to add that may be news to me please feel free!

[ajkula66]

Welcome to the forum!

You've gotten a great deal on one of my favourite ThinkPads, congrats!

If you post a WTB ad in the forum's marketplace, you may be able to locate the restore disks. Access IBM button only works if the original restore partition is still in place (for restoring purposes). I usually don't worry too much about that as long as the machine runs smoothly.

One thing that you should know is that R50p is prone to the same type of GPU failures that T4x machines are infamous for. Never carry your laptop with one hand and lid open. DVD-multiburner used in these machines also has a tendency of developing a mind of its own and failing quite often.

"Smudges" that you're referring to are not removable. You'll have to learn to live with them or replace the entire LCD. As for the power issue, you may want to try another adapter, and if that doesn't solve the problem replace the AC plug in the machine itself.

When you get the chance and funds available, upgrade your RAM to 2Gb and watch that baby fly...

Hope this helps. Enjoy your new ThinkPad.

[burnt_toast]

Thanks for the quick response. Can you explain this a bit more?

One thing that you should know is that R50p is prone to the same type of GPU failures that T4x machines are infamous for. Never carry your laptop with one hand and lid open. DVD-multiburner used in these machines also has a tendency of developing a mind of its own and failing quite often.

I don't plan on carrying the laptop open at all, it will mostly be a desktop replacement. Is this problem screen/graphics related? I've noticed the screen doesn't show up when coming back from standby, so I disabled that feature. And the previous owner mentioned that same issue with the DVDR, I'll keep an eye on it.

Any ideas on what startup programs I can disable? thats one thing I'd like to take care of, I like a quick startup. Memory upgrade sounds good, but even at 1gig its just so much faster than my Compaq was at 512mb, plenty for now.

[burnt_toast]

bump.. anyone else?

[seaweedsl]

What a deal. The catch is that your screen is not perfect and the power jack is going. Consider it a $300 savings.

The power jack is replaceable and cheap. Find the service manual at the Lenovo site that tells how to remove each part. Until then, as you say, tape is a low tech solution for a desktop replacement.

Another solution is to get a dock. There are several choices and they will power your notebook through the docking connector.

Here's one: http://tinyurl.com/4xtlzs

Your external drive enclosure should not need both USB connectors. It comes with two for using with (lower powered) USB 1.1, but USB 2.0 ports should have enough power for a single jack. Experiment to see which connector carries the signal and you can use that one alone, I bet.

The Ultrabay is useful Thinkpad feature. It allows you to hot-swap in an extra slim battery or a hard drive adapter where the optical drive goes. Put your spare notebook drive in the drive adapter, slot it in save your USB ports for other stuff if you want.

http://tinyurl.com/443exb

Your R50p has bluetooth. If you don't get a dock, then you can get a bluetooth mouse and that frees up another USB port. I have a logitech V270 that works well.

http://tinyurl.com/2qsmau

Built-in speaker quality is the weakest link on these for me too. I got some compact portable USB speakers that don't need a power adapter. They are portable, but sound good enough to use on the desktop.

http://tinyurl.com/3vfout

Here are some threads about preloaded stuff and ThinkVantage utilities, services and startup
:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... inkvantage
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... inkvantage
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... inkvantage
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... inkvantage

I am of the camp that believes that the Windows XP SP2 firewall/ along with my router's firewall are enough. To me Zonealarm is a complication that I would not tolerate and it would go before some of the Thinkvantage utilities. To each his own, though.

Finally, concerning restore disks, there is nothing that beats a disk clone for protection. I use old spare 40GB notebook drives for this. There are stickys on the forum that explain how to clone your drive using Acronis.

There is a way to burn recovery disks using the ThinkVantage software as well. I forget the details, but they worked for me once when I didn't have a clone.

Cheers,
Steve

[burnt_toast]

seaweedsl, thank you so much for the info!

You answered everything with great detail, much appreciated.

That dock seems like a great solution actually, being a desktop replacement, and giving me 4 extra usb ports and solving the power cord issue. Since the DVDR drive is acting flaky, I've ordered an external enclosure for a NEC DVRW I have laying around from a previous PC. So with spare HD connected, external drive, USB speakers, that dock would sure come in handy.

Just setup a Logitech speaker set that I rarely use for my PSP and its a good temporary solution for better sound

[seaweedsl]

seaweedsl, thank you so much for the info!

That dock seems like a great solution actually

Yep, it does. I got one off of somebody here on the forum, which is a good idea. There are three different kinds that work, so you may want to sort that out. I think the middle one in the line is the preferred. Has a key lock and lots ports.

The Ebay item link I gave was just a quick pick, not an endorsement of the seller or item. Your dock should come with a high watt power supply, which means the smaller one can stay in the case or act as a spare in another room.

Glad to be able to help. I have mostly come for advice myself. This forum really enhances the value of the thinkpads

Steve

[seaweedsl]

Couple more comments:

The optical drive that is problematic on the R50p is the DVD burner one. I was advised to forget about replacing it, because, basically, the replacement, if the same brand (Panasonic/Matshita), will tend to the same problem.

Instead pickup a DVD/CDRW combo drive to replace it which is cheaper and more reliable. You can get one here on marketplace if you ask, I imagine. All T4x and R5x drives fit your R50p.

Concerning your power adapter - is it IBM or aftermarket? It's possible you have a slightly mis-matched plug.

I doubt that your problem of no display after standby is the graphics chip/motherboard problem.

Steve