Subj : Re: almost-new pc with win10
To   : August Abolins
From : Nick Andre
Date : Fri Jan 10 2020 02:08:33

On 10 Jan 20  06:41:11, August Abolins said the following to Nick Andre:

AA> My first Thinkpad, T40p, developed a common screen fade/blank problem. I
AA> sent it to a fellow in the States to replace the backlight.  Then, it
AA> ran quite well until the fan started to make noise, and sometimes refuse
AA> to boot because of that. Probably just needs some dust to be blown out
AA> of the fan assembly, but I never had the confidence to open it up before
AA> I moved to the T60 that I am using now.

Yup, I've seen those problems before. The inverter is usually the problem, 
then the VGA ribbon cable. The fan problems I've seen were always rare but 
caked with cigarette smoke or dust. Sometimes the fan would need to be 
replaced because the bearings would be worn.

AA> I forgot to mention that I probably have one of those too! It's a Lenovo
AA> G530.  It was $649 + taxes in 2009.  It's actually a smooth operator.
AA> The battery can't hold much of a charge anymore, but it's operating as a
AA> 2nd terminal on the network, always plugged-in, and a UPS to support it.

I didn't have a chance to elaborate on what I meant by the cheapo-models... I 
found the widescreens did not have the proper support that you have with the 
reenforced hinges on T and R models.

So what happens is the customer who owns the cheap model opens/closes from the
"side" of the screen eventually breaking or wearing out the hinge on one
side. The cheapo laptop ends up on the workbench and the poor tech is told
to "just fix it" but at that point the cost of the screen assembly or labour 
is not worth it to the customer. There are ways to fix the screens but upon
opening the cheapo-model the screw holes tended to strip wayyyyy more than
T/R models.

Its too bad because the cheapo Thinkpads still ran Windows pretty good...

AA> I researched the R's at the time when I settled for the G530 because of
AA> lower price.  I read many good things about the R's.   I have rarely
AA> needed to reboot any of my computers too.  I always use hibernate, and
AA> enjoy the fast boot.

Likewise with my T440P. I always hibernate and the SSD is lightning fast.

I *could* put an SSD into the old Fidonet Thinkpad, but the amount of heavy
disk-access from tossing mail would likely wear it out quicker I think.

AA> I have already sourced Win7pro, and almost convinced to just go for it.
AA>  But I'll finish the darn Win10 setup and see if I can tolerate it.  I
AA> have to migrate some essential register apps. If that works, then maybe
AA> I'll stick with it.

Well like Kurt said, Windows 10 unfortunately is here to stay and Windows 7 
is on its way out for support. I'm sticking with 7 however. I rarely do 
anything on my T440P other than Remote Desktop and web surfing. Its already 
pretty locked-down and fully backed-up to a disk image, just in case.

Nick

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
 * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)

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