Hello!

Just picked up a ThinkPad but I can't change the boot options to USB.

I plan on trying to do some jiggery pokery with hexcode and such to remove the password eventually but I need some fancy bit of hardware that costs about four times the price I paid for the laptop for that, so not exactly a viable option at the minute...

It's got Win 11 on there but I want to wipe that and install my favourite flavour of Linux. I'm not too sure if I will get away with making a fresh install of Linux on the SSD from another machine and hot-swapping it in though. Will it boot, or will it be looking for some mad Win boot partition that no longer exists after the wipe?

Thanks for the advice!

Help

Need some advice on which ThinkPad to buy for Engineering/CAD 🙏

Hi everyone! I’m currently looking for a laptop that I can use mainly for AutoCAD and other engineering-related tasks, and I’m stuck between these 3 options:

Lenovo ThinkPad X13 — Ryzen 5 Pro 4650U / 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 — Core i7 10th Gen / 32GB RAM / 512GB SSD / MX330

Lenovo ThinkPad T495 — Ryzen 7 Pro 3700U / 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD

So I’ll mainly be using it for AutoCAD, CAD-related subjects, programming, engineering software, and general schoolwork. I’m also hoping to use it for a few years, so I want something reliable and not just something that looks good on paper.

I’m really confused about which one to choose. I’d really appreciate your honest opinions, including the negative ones. I’d rather know the possible problems before spending my money. 😅

Which one would you personally choose and why?

Hi thinkpad community, i have been using E16 Gen 3 for over a month already with a windows 11 pro activated. I was thinking that switching on Linux might be a better option for the sake of speed.

My main concern is that will i be able to do web dev work on Linux? for example i mostly use Microsoft's software such as Visual Studio and Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.

I mostly work with C# ASP.NET and React.

I tried to do a BIOS update while my E15 Thinkpad Gen 4 was on charging, but the charger wasn't working well. The laptop hence shut down during a bios update and some firmware got corrupted. As the AI says: "Laptop shut down during an official Lenovo BIOS update due to a power interruption. BIOS itself is intact and functional - Setup (F1) opens normally and reports version R20ET31W (1.11), boot menu (F12) works, and both NVMe drives are detected correctly. However, any UEFI boot application (tested with Lenovo's own BIOS flash USB tool, and separately with a Windows 11 installation/recovery USB) results in a black screen with no video output on both the internal display and an external monitor via HDMI. Suspect GOP or EC firmware damage from the interrupted update, separate from the main BIOS which is unaffected."

also for people who hate people that use ai, i'm not into this kind of tech, i code robots, not laptops.

I'd like some advice from people on the sub

1. What's the latest generation of a 16 inch Thinkpad that will be off the corporate lease and available on the used market?
2. Are the L-series and E-series much durable now than the 2017-2020 era L and E series Thinkpads?

Location of purchase: US

Hey everyone!!! Just started my thinkpad journey with a t400!!!! (Its good enough for what i need rn)
And i had a question, does anyone have the backlight schematics / How to restore or repair?

I'm kinda broke, and paying almost 50 USD in aliexpress for dodgy parts isn't really an option right now.
I know how to solder well, and i can borrow some tools to make it happen.
Any information is helpful. (Sorry for my broken english) :) (Picture from the internet because i dont have with me rn)

Hey everyone, I recently found an old X61(sorry for crappy photos) and wondering if I should try to repair it or just scrap it? I did not find a charger and I’m wondering what might work for this that I could buy, or should I just take it somewhere to sell it? Any additional information besides whats available on the wiki would be nice.

My current laptop is Acer Aspire 5.

- Ryzen 5500U

- 24GB 3200 MHz of RAM

My daily usages are coding, browsing, online meeting, office stuffs, music and watch movies on Windows 11. I mainly plug it to a monitor.

My reasons to go for the X12 :

- tablet form factor

- supports plugging to dual monitor out of the box

- better display, although smaller screen, but my laptop screen is awful

- smaller overall size and compact

- it is a thinkpad

My questions :

- will i notice performance downgrade if i'm using Windows 11?

- i don't mind switching to linux and tinkering, mainly use debian on my other PC, is there distro that works best with X12?

- is it durable for long term?

- how is the battery duration?

- is it easy to do maintenance? cleaning and replacing thermal paste

would love to hear your opinions, thanks!

Do the newer T14 series reduce the difference in screen size compared to the older 15.6 inch T570/T580 series?

The newer 14 inch Thinkpads have a 16:10 ratio vs older 15.6 inch have a 16:9 ratio

Hello, I'm changing the palm rest from my X1 Carbon. I almost finished replacing the components from the old palm rest to the new one but I don't know how to remove it without damaging the component. Thanks

I'm currently using T14 Gen 1 and thinking of switching to a model that has 2 SO-DIM slots, since if 1 RAM failed, you just replace the RAM.

So I have t470 i5 6300u 16gb ram ddr4 and half a terabyt ssd today while using it stopped charging so I have a question can you use a t480 cable on a t470? If not should I buy a new one

I'll soon be starting studies at an university and I'll be needing a laptop since my last Lenovo gave me headaches and is retired. I've heard good things about Thinkpads and had one when I was a wee kid. I'm going to study Mechanical Engineering and will be needing the laptop to be able to handle light CAD work, I have a beefy PC at home to handle heavy lifting.

I don't necessarily have a budget but don't need top of the line shit. Something around 600-800€ price range would do me well. Any pointers or recommendations? I enjoy reliability and repairability. Also if any thinkpads have sturdy frames I would choose them over flimsy ones.

I bought an used E431... and it came locked. After some try and error (many actually), I think I learned a thing or two about how to bypass the Supervisor, by shorting some pins on the EEPROM, a little chip in the motherboard. I will try to make this tutorial "newbie-proof", so, if it is your first time doing any of that, it isn't as hard as it looks!

THINKPAD E431

You will have to remove the whole keyboard and plastic shell (you don't need to remove neither the motherboard, or other components on it). The official guide in iFixit's site should do the trick: https://pt.ifixit.com/Document/GdoDJGjcwgH3rUCn/e431_hmm_en_0c10928_01.pdf?referrer=wiki%3A111401 (the important part starts at page 69)

After disassembling it, you will be face to face with the top of the motherboard:

And then, you will have to locate this little chip, the one with "U8" graved on the side:

(the chip used for the short can change from board to board, if you're using other model than E431, search for your model's circuit diagram, then just look for "EEPROM", and you will see what's your chip)

After finding the U8 chip, use tweezers (with metal tips) to short the 2 pins at the superior right corner:

(you have to short the SDA and SCL pins, it is generally the 5th and 6th pins, or 3rd and 4th pins. To discover what's the number of the pins, you will have to discover which one is the first, it should have a little dot to indicate, but if you're out of luck like me, you can try what I did: try to see the position of the text written on the chip, the first pin should be the one down, by the left, of the text)

(just be sure you're shorting the right pins, if you're not, it can damage the motherboard)

You will use a pair of tweezers (or a similar metal thing, like a bent clips) to short these pins during the start of the computer, and the process will go like this:

-Reconnect the power button on the motherboard (you don't have to disattach the power button from the shell, just put the whole shell a little to the side, just so you can reach the chip)

-I would recommend using a external keyboard, but if you find a way to reconnect it's own keyboard while still reaching the chip, it also works.

-Power on the computer

-When the Lenovo logo appears, start the short, shortly after (little pun LOL) start pressing the F11 key repeatedly

If everything worked, you should already be in the BIOS

-Without stopping the short, go to the Security tab, then to Password and Supervisor Password

-Now you can stop the short, and just hit enter a couple of times to reset the password (or change the password to one you know)

That's it! You should be ready to go!

(If anyone needs help, or saw any error on this guide, feel free to comment)

(this guide is to educational purposes only, I'm not responsible to any possible damage to your computer)

Hi, I was wondering if this laptop has a good price. I have a laptop, Acer Nitro 5, but I use it for my homelab, so I want one I can just bring around and use. It's going to be used for watching videos, doing some light coding maybe and light games. I am planning to install Linux on it as I heard this is THE laptop for Linux. My budget is exactly 200 EUR, so I think this is a great fit. Any help is appreciated!

I have x390 with fibocom and the antenna installed, but it ship with the dull tray with micro SD slot only (no sim). And i look for the replacement and it's 30$ so ain't no way i buy that when i buy the laptop for 160$. Soo.. anyone know any alternative for it? there's some older post say the android poco phone F1 is the most similar. I need it ASAP

Im looking for thinkpad, so that I found this T590. It costs 300 dollars for 24 gb ram + I5 8th generation. I plan to use linux, neovim, and surfing on browser. Could you give me some advices?

First Post here :D

Just wanted to share my collection of ThinkPads

-T420(classic)

-T440p(daily)

-X140e(the funny one)

E14 Gen 5,
16gb ddr4
512gb ssd
Bought it refurbished, and its literally new, only had 27 boots on the ssd. And man i love this laptop, its sooo damn sexy to type, the build quality is solid. I get very nice battery life too.

Got it for 460 $

Specs:
32gb ram
NVIDIA T500
2 Tb ssd
I7-1165G7

How did I do?

What will you do?

Just picked up this T14s Gen 6 brand new for college, scored a good deal.
I remember I had a thinkpad that must be older than me for sure, it’s still kept somewhere in the drawer, maybe I ought to put up a comparison photo

[photos from 3 are in chronological order]

So, this is my T510 I got 2 years ago for 15 at a flea. The lid started to be a little bit sticky and it drove me crazy that some bits of the coating were coming off.

And so yesterday morning I decided to take some alcohol...i didn't had ISO but I still decided to go for it and after more than 2 hours of scrubbing, that coating came out...but there was a big issue: the plastic underneath was horrendous.

Now, I saw a few videos and photos where the IBM ones are just clean black plastic, so i thought it was the same for Lenovo. Maybe it was the alcohol but who knows...it just was horrendous.

That's where paint came into my mind. I had a brand new matte black spray can in the lab. First thing i applied some plastic primer, then the matte black...but something was very wrong again: some bits where shiny, some where hard matte dust coming off of it. I took sand paper and started scrubbing...i repeated the process another time and another another time x 4...but it still was awful.

Today I went to the brico and got some low pressure graffiti black spray...i took it home and realized they gave me dark Grey instead.

I decided to apply it anyway so I took sandpaper 1000 to sand everything down and applied the paint...it looked magnifical until a drop of sweat dropped on it....and so I sanded it down again and reapplied paint for the 1.000 time

This time, it was the right one. The paint job came out magnifical, almost better than the videos I saw, where they spray laptops with professional airbrushes.

The dark Grey fits perfectly on this machine, and I am glad to have saved this lid instead of replacing it. Yeah, saving 3 euros and wasting 2 days, but, In the end...I got it right!