Revitalizing an Aging Notebook On the Cheap

jcatcw writes "Brian Nadel's ThinkPad R50 just hit its fifth birthday, and the years haven't been kind to it. When it was new, the notebook was reliable and fast. Now it's slow and prone to annoying shutdowns. Is it a good investment to revamp a notebook that's worth about $350? It sure is, because this old notebook will get a new lease on life for about $125 — a bargain, considering what it could cost to replace." On the other hand, upgrading RAM, keyboard and hard drive don't get you a smaller (netbook-style) computer, a new battery, or the transflective screen on the Toshiba linked above.

Comments

Should've upgraded

[AKAImBatman]

On the other hand, upgrading RAM, keyboard and hard drive don't get you a smaller (netbook-style) computer, a new battery, or the transflective screen on the Toshiba linked above.

Amen. Not to mention that the plastic casing is almost certainly weaker than a new laptop, making it more susceptible to damage. Just pay the $1099 and get a new MacBook. You'll get the latest in WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities, a beautiful TFT screen, a fast dual-core processor, plenty of RAM, a battery that's new, battery life that his 5 yr old laptop could only dream about when it was new, a massive hard disk, a multi-touch touchpad (cue nipple-warriors), and a better operating system. All in all, a pretty good deal. ;-)

Re:Should've upgraded

[Bootarn]

I own an Atari Portfolio, and I love it! Sure, it's slow as hell compared with today's machines, but it has all the apps you need in ROM. The operating system is DIP-DOS(Like MS-DOS with extensions) and it's the size of a VHS tape. I use it every day and as far as I know, I'm not mad. While many people have the need for power, it's interesting that something so slow as the Portfolio is still usable for everyday tasks.

Re:Should've upgraded

[Corporate Troll]

Tssss.... You don't understand, do you? My dad has a P-III 733MHz laptop, which I think is from around 2000. The machine is completely set to his hand, he loves the resolution (1600x1200, I think... might be a tad less).

Over the years we scavenged parts from left and right: it now has 512Meg RAM instead of 256Meg RAM (scavenged), he has a Linksys 802.11g PCMCIA card ($30 ?), he as now a 80Gig disk instead of a 20Gig disk (scavenged from a more modern defective laptop - I used g4l to copy contents from the 20Gig to the 80Gig) and a scavenged DVD drive instead of the original CD drive. Now last year, his keyboard started acting flakey, and I told him: "Okay, look it's time for a new laptop".

He didn't want to. His XP installation was last redone in 2002 (I secured it, and he runs as User and knows about proper adiministration), and he likes it as it is right now. He spend $300 on a new laptop keyboard and two LiIon batteries that fit his machine. The battery life of his machine is simply astonishing.

He has enough power, he has enough memory, he likes his installation, and he has great battery life. Just by scavening around and spending a little (over time, of course)

So, by doing this: he saved himself money (he would never go for a 1280x800 screen... that's what cheap laptops come with), he saved the environment, and he's happy! What is more to ask?

I just did some work on my thinkpad

[damn_registrars]

I am a cheapskate that also owns a thinkpad R-series (an R32, to be more specific). I just dropped about $60-70 in parts (more when you include shipping) to replace a crack in the LCD bezel.

I almost gave up on it, and replaced it with a new unit, until I realized just how well my 7-year-old thinkpad still runs. I've seen my colleagues replace numerous dell, apple, and HP laptops in this time. This notebook has been in 4 countries, 3 provinces, and over a dozen US states with me. Its on its third battery, but thats not bad for its age. I bought it when I was finishing my 4-year degree, and its still with me now, over halfway into my PhD.

And when I realized that I would spend over $1,000 to get a new thinkpad with the options I wanted, I realized that my repair was a great investment. And of course the IBM (lenovo) website has all the documents you need to completely disassemble your laptop (and put it back together, too).

Unless you have extra money - and I'm guessing you don't, since you bought an R-series - you would be wise to put some money into refurbishing your laptop. You'll be glad you did.

It makes sense for quality notebooks

[Isaac-1]

Refurbishment makes sense for higher quality notebooks. My grab and go travel notebook is a loaded out (max memory, 80 gig HD) nearly 10 year old Compaq M300, it weighs in at 3.3 pounds has a magnesium case, and quality construction. The P3-500 is fast enough to browse the web, play youtube videos, and all that other basic stuff. Best yet I only have about $300 invested in it, so if it breaks I am not out much. Sure I could spend $1500 on a similared sized high quality replacement, but do I really need all those extra wasted clock cycles. And if I did spend $1500 on it, would I treat it like this grab and go, toss it around, leave it in the open in motel rooms while I am away, etc.

Insurance

[Amphetam1ne]

Backup essential data, throw down stairs, claim on home insurance accidental damage policy, pay excess, get new laptop.

Works for me.

Re:Yep!

[Trespass]

Go look on ebay before you say that. No kidding. Picked up a Toshiba Portege M200 convertible tablet there last week for $250 and I couldn't be happier. The prices are so low on new low-end laptops it drives down prices on used machines that often have more features.

Re:Or battery life!

[Technician]

I'd say the screen quality would be the limiting factor. Dead pixels eventually add up.

For me that is nothing I have had problems with. Dead batteries and limitations on maximum RAM or the lack of USB ports is tht biggie ones for me.

I have an old, very old, Toshiba Sattelite laptop with Windows 3.1 and a monocorome screen. Dead pixels isn't a problem. Small hard drive, small memory, and no USB is the problem. The external monitor is color.

Next oldest is a CTX 400 laptop. Again the screen is fine. The limitations again is it is maxxed out at full capacity of 72 Meg of EDO memory and no USB. It is running it's original Windows 95 due to the lack of RAM. I use it with MIDI and my keyboard and GPS due to the built in MPU-401 port and RS-232 port. It makes a great GPS topo map display as 2D graphics isn't memory intensive.

My newest laptop is also fairly ancient a Thinkpad T21. It is maxxed out again in the memory department at 512 Meg. It only has 1 USB port. I run Ubuntu Dapper Drake as an upgrade from Windows 2K professional on it and am quite happy, but I expect to outgrow it soon. Again Pixel death is not a problem. I have replaced the cold cathode lamp. They are only $20, but you need some serious soldering skill before attempting it. The lamp is fragile, toothpick thin, and the leads need trimmed to fit. Lamp replacement is not for the faint of heart.

Max memory capacity, dead batteries, lack of modern USB, and a dying lamp on older laptops are the problems faced by me, not dead pixels.

Is there a manufacture that had a problem with pixels that die?

Nope.

[FranTaylor]

Ha ha ha.

New battery is $50. 802.11g wireless card is $30 and goes in the mini-PCI slot where the useless modem was. No dongles. You're the one with the dongle if you want to plug in your GPS.

Screen, backlight, and DVD drive still work great. Old case has nice texture instead of sexy new shiny finish that attracts scratches and fingerprints.

You've spent at least $600 and have a laptop that smells like a chemical factory. I've spend $400 and have a laptop and $200 left in my pocket.

Damn small linux

[goombah99]

I took win 98 off my wife's Pentium 2, 186Mb machine and put on danm small linux. It was like a new machine. boots in under 30 seconds and all the programs with their low graphics usage run snappy. The battery doesn't work and the screen is barely back lit but that doens't matter.

try Damn small. It hardly matters if you boot of CD or HD so just try it out.

No Battery Required - AC Power is Ubiquitous

[littlewink]

This is the key: AC power is available everywhere.

Take the battery out of your laptop and throw it away. It's dead weight - without it your laptop becomes truly portable.

Laptop manufacturers have missed a significant market by not producing lightweight laptops that use only AC power (_no_ battery packs).

Re:Or battery life!

[Mattsson]

why is it so hard to find displays that good any more? Have you noticed how prices on laptops just seem to plummet?
They do this by using cheaper and cheaper component, like low quality displays and marketing 16:9 screens as if they where 4:3 screens...
If you buy a laptop in the same pricerange as you did 5-10 years ago, you still get good quality.
It's starting to get tricky to get 4:3 displays in a laptop though. 8-(

Re:I don't think so

[SpooForBrains]

This Thinkpad T41p (a four year old machine, according to the review I read, but lets be generous and say three years) is worth MORE to me than the Toshiba u300 I recently purchased for GBP600. For while the newer machine is shinier and ostensibly has a faster processor, the older machine is better built, looks better (because the casing was designed by a sensible person, the Toshiba looks like shit already) is more portable, has a better and more practical screen and, quite frankly, is better in every way. When the Toshiba Portege 7200 my wife was previously using (another old but peerless machine) finally died, it was a no-brainer which of the two machines I was going to give her. Should I chose to sell this (I won't) I would be quite justified in charging a decent sum of money for it. Which I would get.