Headless X61

[SmallWalrus]

I managed to get hold of a X61 with a cracked screen, and instead of getting the screen replaced I'm probably going to remove the top lid/LCD assembly of the laptop, and just have it permanently hooked up to a monitor to use it as a "desktop" of sorts

Just wondering if this is a feasible idea? Will the laptop be able to notice that the inbuilt lcd is no longer there and output to the monitor directly, without having to toogle through the display modes?

[Harryc]

This would work just fine with no issues that I can think of. You might want to disable the lid close switch in Power Management just so you don't hit it inadvertently.

[smugiri]

I did use a setup like this for a while (with a unit with a working screen) and the one additional piece of advice is a practical one. Find an ultrabase as it provides all the ports on side (the back) as opposed to having cables hanging off all sides. it also gives a bunch of additional ports and the option of having an optical drive or additional storage in an Ultrabay.

[SmallWalrus]

Thanks for the replies

One more question before I proceed to crack the laptop open over the weekend... is the antenna for wifi stored inside the screen assembly?

[Neil]

Yes, it is.

[SmallWalrus]

Yes, it is.

Oh, then that'd make things quite tricky.

[smugiri]

Don't sweat the small stuff.

I recommend not even trying to fix it and just getting a PCMCIA or USB wireless adapter. I would also do the same for the Bluetooth. You can certainly find cheaper options than the ones I have put up links to if you look a little and can probably spend less than $15 on both.

[craigmontHunter]

If the screen is broken, I would try pulling the wires out (if you need wifi), and just letting them dangle off the back of the desk. that would not cost anything, and I think that it would provide better performance than an external card. (I have a set of antennas for a t41 that I pulled out in case I ever needed them - if you are not trying to save anything, it is very easy to take out the wires. (the putting back together is where the issues occur )

[SmallWalrus]

If the screen is broken, I would try pulling the wires out (if you need wifi), and just letting them dangle off the back of the desk. that would not cost anything, and I think that it would provide better performance than an external card. (I have a set of antennas for a t41 that I pulled out in case I ever needed them - if you are not trying to save anything, it is very easy to take out the wires. (the putting back together is where the issues occur )

Thanks for the many replies, by the way does anyone know if a LCD screen from a X60s will work in a X61?

[Cunha]

99 percent sure that it would. The only possibility is that the X60s has the ultralight display which would mean you would need to swap lids. If you are buying the screen on its own its a very slim chance you would accidentally get the ultralight display though.

[SmallWalrus]

99 percent sure that it would. The only possibility is that the X60s has the ultralight display which would mean you would need to swap lids. If you are buying the screen on its own its a very slim chance you would accidentally get the ultralight display though.

But isn't the ultralight display a "better" display? How then is it possible for one to "accidentally" get it?

I guess if the lids are interchangeable I will just swop the lids anyway and swop the screen bezel so the X61 wouldn't say X60s

[richk]

You don't need to swap the bezel. The clearplate (sticker) comes off easily

[x40Dallas]

To OP: I have done something similar. I am such an X-series loyalist that the lenovo external USB keyboard (that looks like a T-series laptop keyboard) wasn't close enough for me to use with my desktop. So, I ripped the screen off of an X40 that's running on a 16gb PATA/CF, installed synergy on XPLite, and viola! I now have a wireless keyboard that is exactly the same as my X-series laptop's, and it controls my 3 other computers via synergy.

To your question earlier, yes, the 2 antennae are in the LCD, so what I did was to re-thread them back through the mobo, coil them, and have them end up between where the additional memory and (I think) the modem card would notgo.

not sure how to attach a picture, but you can PM me if they'd be helpful.