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    #1

    Laptop replacement time

    I've decided I want to upgrade my IBM T43. Basically I'm in the midst of whether or not I should sell my treasured T43 for a few peanuts or not, but that's another story. I am however definitely selling some older units such as my Tecra M2 and Dell D400 so I can regain some cash before buying a newer one.

    Basically I'm not sure if I should get a Lenovo T61 or the Toshiba Tecra A6. I'm going second hand as always, and both units are similar in price at $120. Both have Core 2 Duo CPU's.
    I'm a business user so my laptops do travel a lot and are subject to some rough treatment whether it'd be at work... or in the boot of the car, so none of that plastic fantastic obviously. I have only ever used magnesium alloy based laptops and will stay that way.

    I am very happy with the design of my IBM Thinkpad T43, it's also very tough and the matte screen is very welcome in my eyes anyway, so I'm hoping Lenovo laptops are still as comfortable and durable as well?
    Toshiba Tecra A6 looks like, but it seems a bit too plastic to me, but the point of this thread is to help me choose one over the other.

    So guys, what shall I get? Tecra A6 or Lenovo T61?

    Thanks!
    Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous
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    #2
    Re: Laptop replacement time

    anyone...? Toshiba Tecra A6 or Lenovo Thinkpad T61?
    Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Laptop replacement time

      Does the t43 do what you want it to do?
      Do NOT touch heatsinks when testing for voltages as they may be LIVE!

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Laptop replacement time

        Originally posted by gilly1984 View Post
        Does the t43 do what you want it to do?
        Yes, but I'm really getting the shits with the hard drive right now. I've got bad sectors on an 80GB drive, and to replace it, I have to find an IBM approved drive which is $150

        A replacement laptop is cheaper in this case. However, as I said earlier I still have a soft spot for the T43 because it's so tough. I dunno what people have been saying about the motherboard flex issue, but I sure didn't get any!
        Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Laptop replacement time

          Why does it have to be approved?

          Just get a decent 2.5?
          Do NOT touch heatsinks when testing for voltages as they may be LIVE!

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Laptop replacement time

            IBM has this silly BIOS lockout feature where if you put a non approved HDD in, it comes up with a bunch of errors due to the SATA to PATA bridge or something like that. I also tried to flash a hacked BIOS but it wouldn't even flash it for some reason
            Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Laptop replacement time

              Got to be a way. Have you tried changing the setting in bios to ide? I had a problem installing windows on a hp once (not related i know) and it wouldnt even see the drive until i changed it to ide mode even though it was working fine in sata mode before i tried installing xp?
              Do NOT touch heatsinks when testing for voltages as they may be LIVE!

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Laptop replacement time

                There isn't a setting like that in the BIOS. However, with the latest BIOS that I have installed, it still works with a generic 2.5" HDD, but you have to press F2 every time it boots. That kinda annoys me a bit, but it works. I just want that message to go away and all is sweet.
                Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: Laptop replacement time

                  Google doesnt show me anything about ibm hard drives, Do you get an error message?

                  I am more than likely searching google with the wrong string.
                  Do NOT touch heatsinks when testing for voltages as they may be LIVE!

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: Laptop replacement time

                    Here's what I'm talking about.

                    http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Proble...Pad_hard_disks
                    Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Re: Laptop replacement time

                      Ah i see.

                      Apart from trying the modded bios again you are stuck.

                      On with plan B and get a new laptop
                      Do NOT touch heatsinks when testing for voltages as they may be LIVE!

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Re: Laptop replacement time

                        Yes, still the question stands, should I fuss around with a Tecra A6 or Lenovo T61? What's the better one out of the pair?
                        Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Re: Laptop replacement time

                          lenovo! can do 4 gig ram, an tecra can only do 2 ! also 2.6 over 1.6! hands down, the lenovo..

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Re: Laptop replacement time

                            The thinkpad. I have a similar laptop (a Thinkpad T60), and I love it. It also has a keyboard light and a 3 button trackpoint, which the tecra doesn't.
                            I love putting bad caps and flat batteries in fire and watching them explode!!

                            No wonder it doesn't work! You installed the jumper wires backwards

                            Main PC: Core i7 3770K 3.5GHz, Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP, 8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1600, 240GB Intel 335 Series SSD, 750GB WD HDD, Sony Optiarc DVD RW, Palit nVidia GTX660 Ti, CoolerMaster N200 Case, Delta DPS-600MB 600W PSU, Hauppauge TV Tuner, Windows 7 Home Premium

                            Office PC: HP ProLiant ML150 G3, 2x Xeon E5335 2GHz, 4GB DDR2 RAM, 120GB Intel 530 SSD, 2x 250GB HDD, 2x 450GB 15K SAS HDD in RAID 1, 1x 2TB HDD, nVidia 8400GS, Delta DPS-650BB 650W PSU, Windows 7 Pro

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Re: Laptop replacement time

                              Dell latitude D620 or D630

                              same spec range, superior construction. I have a D630 and have no complaints other than weight (but it's a magnesium frame just like your d400(s).
                              sigpic

                              (Insert witty quote here)

                              Comment

                                #16
                                Re: Laptop replacement time

                                The Thinkpad line is horrible for anyone who wants to mod or tinker with the system. Since that includes most members of this forum, I am surprised that you are even considering another one.

                                I purchased a Verizon 3G card, that was a Thinkpad pull. The regular manufacturer's drivers didn't work because they have a special manufacturer's ID embedded into the card. The Thinkpad drivers didn't work either, because it wasn't installed in a Thinkpad.

                                It did work just fine in Linux. No vendor lock-in allowed in Linux!! But, Verizon required using a Windows application to activate it. After going around-and-around with Verizon, they finally activated it on their end. It worked fine in Linux, but I noticed that the account wasn't registering any data usage. After 2 months it started asking for a password, and Verizon said the card must be bad (what BS!), and I needed to buy a new one. They don't sell those cards retail!! I cancelled the Verizon account and tossed the 3G card in the trash.

                                I will never deal with Verizon again, or purchase a Thinkpad. If I was having hard drive problems like yours, by now I would have fixed things WITH A VERY LARGE HAMMER! (After buying a replacement laptop, that is.) I have absolutely no tolerance for vendor lock-in.

                                Comment

                                  #17
                                  Re: Laptop replacement time

                                  ^ dell doesn't do that kind of horsecrap. Hence why I suggested a latitude.
                                  sigpic

                                  (Insert witty quote here)

                                  Comment

                                    #18
                                    Re: Laptop replacement time

                                    Originally posted by ratdude747 View Post
                                    ^ dell doesn't do that kind of horsecrap. Hence why I suggested a latitude.
                                    You sir, just sprung a leak in my head! (in a good way of course).

                                    I have one of those in my shed at the bottom of a pile of boxes! A client of mine left it behind after breaking a hinge or something like that (can't remember exactly what happened)... but I know it's out there! completely forgot till you said D630.

                                    I'll take a look tomorrow and let you know if it's still there or not. Now RD, just wanted to know... how do you find the D630 in terms of ergonomics? and can it work with 4GB of RAM? and of course, is it tough like a Thinkpad?
                                    Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

                                    Comment

                                      #19
                                      Re: Laptop replacement time

                                      The d630 can do up to 8gb. Ergonomics is good.

                                      They have beefy hinges... must have been a heavy hit.
                                      sigpic

                                      (Insert witty quote here)

                                      Comment

                                        #20
                                        Re: Laptop replacement time

                                        ... looked everywhere today... couldn't find it. must have thrown it out while moving house. :-/

                                        However, I haven't got much patience left so I ordered a T61 with a 9 cell battery pack. This is the version with the inbuilt webcam as well.

                                        I'll let you guys know how it goes when it arrives here.
                                        Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

                                        Comment

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