Thinkpad T420 Owner's Thread

I have 3 ssd's in my thinkpad
1. 80 GB Intel Msata as the boot drive
2. Samsung 256 GB 470 in the Main bay
3. 512 GB Samsung 830 in the Ultra Bay

I love having a near silent notebook.

 

Which dock are you using with your T420 and how are you cabling the Apple display? Are you using dual link DVI or DisplayPort?

I am using the 135W Series 3 dock and drive several monitors. The 27" Dell U2711 is connected via DisplayPort.

 

I am using the 90W Mini Dock 3, 433710U. It was $100 new off an ebay reseller.

As for the connection. I already have an Apple made mini-display port to dual link DVI adapter that I use with my Macbook and other mac computers.

All I did was get a displayport to mini-displayport dongle.

This is the one I got:

Amazon.com: StarTech.com DP2MDPMF6IN 6in DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Video Cable Adapter - M/F: Electronics

 

Finally joined after hee-hawing about other systems- could not beat the price that I got $560 for a used T420. Price/cost ratio & features could not be beat.
Getting rid of the 320gb HDD for an intel 180gb SSD and put a 500gb HDD in the ODD bay. Option for mini-sata disk I would pass on as it would not equal the intel ssd speeds. Great and informative thread- took me 2 days to go thru the thread though.

 

Also joined recently after getting a similar deal on CL to FMruss. I was reading earlier posts that mentioned re-applying thermal paste to the heatsink so I figured I would check to see what the temperatures were running. With CoreTemp and Prime95 stress test, I could see that CPU temperatures quickly rose above 90 degrees and I stopped the test before I found out just how high they could go. Under idle, it seems to be around 45-55. Also, especially under load, it seems like one of the cores gets hotter than the other....
I would normally be pretty game for re-applying thermal paste, but the computer still has over 2 years left on the warranty and I'm not sure how this would affect it. I can't imagine what Lenovo support would say if I inquired about this.
In Power Manager I have System Performance: Turbo, Optimize Fan Control: Balance all levels, System Cooling: Active. Oh, and does anyone know what those green dots mean in reference to "System Temperature" and "Fan Sound Level"? Do more green dots mean cooler and quieter or louder and warmer?

 

Hmmmm just noticed one more thing. If I press the right arrow, it doesn't do anything, except if I press it over and over all of a sudden the cursor will start flying to the right like I'm holding down the button. This seems to go on until I press another arrow key. It doesn't really feel like there's anything underneath the key, but I suppose the symptoms point in that direction. Does anyone have any advice for removing the arrow keycaps? I don't worry too much about removing the normal keys, but I've had mixed results in the past with the off-size keys.
Any other ideas re: what it could be?
Thanks!

 

As long you follow the procedures correctly then normally it should be fine. I have redone the paste on my T420 a couple of times (due to many processors changes from 2410M > 2720QM > 2520M) and sent it for warranty work on some hinges with no major fuss. Of course if you are having it repaired make sure you put the original processor back in, a Quad Core in a T420 for example will likely raise some questions from Lenovo on what you have been doing!

More dots means higher power usage, the notebook can fully utilize the system's performance but naturally it will come at the expense of heat and noise.

The keyboard shouldn't really affect the cursor so it sounds like a problem, you might to call up support to see if they can provide you a new keyboard if you're not confident taking the key caps off.

 

Hey that sounds like a great deal. Where did you get the T420 for $560? I'd like to see if I can do the same.

Also, does anyone know the part number for the T420 i7 with NVidia motherboard?

 

You can find the T420 motherboard part numbers here, for the NVIDIA boards look for the discrete graphics versions. I doubt they be cheap though...

Wait re-reading your comment, are you after the system model number rather than part number? For model numbers see the Tabook instead for complete systems.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm in a conundrum. I've a fully loaded T420 i7 with discrete graphics, and it met its demise in the Amazon, unfortunately voiding its warranty. The motherboard seems to be fried, and there could be other problems but I'm not sure. LCD seems to be working.

Is it cheaper to install a new motherboard on your own or buy a used T420 again?

 

That's pretty unfortunate, the motherboards are not usually very cheap from Lenovo. It usually makes economic sense to get a new system, i'm not sure in the US but where I am they quoted me £424 for just the board and excluding shipping!

 

Why isn't the replacement a warranty item? Is the unit out of warranty or does it have water damage and Lenovo won't fix it?

 

Hey Guys,

Anyone know where I can get a replacement LCD screen and instructions on how to replace it? I cracked mine.

 

Because they said that it does not cover "normal business use". I was using it for a consulting project for an ecotourism firm in the Amazon. It was stored snugly inside a case inside a backpack. I don't believe it's water damage (no spills or drops), but it could have been humidity, electrical short, or some other cause. In any case, Lenovo declined to cover and I'm quite upset given I bought a 4 year warranty due to Lenovo's supposed stellar reputation with warranties.

So I am now looking for alternative repair solutions. Simultaneously, I'm appealing the warranty decision with additional info to support my claim.

 

If you're from the US/Canada, you could look at ScreenCountry or ScreenTek for replacement panels. eBay can be another good place to look for replacement panels too. For part numbers you can look at the Q&A section for info.

 

Ok thanks I'll look for the paste and I think I'll go ahead and do it. Its pretty hot here right now during the summer, but I'm not pushing the CPU much. I figured that I'd have more work to do within a couple months though so I'd like to not have to worry about it.

Hmmm so if "System Temperature" has more green dots next to it, that means that it will be hotter?

Yeah I'm pretty sure its a problem with the keyboard now--It basically doesn't work or gets stuck on. I'm on hold with customer service as we speak..... I forgot how much I hate being on the phone with support...

 

So support told me that it could take 24 hours for them to get back to me. At that point I figured I would just take the keycap off. I'm not generally afraid of taking things apart, but this computer is so nice that I just worry....
Anyhow, I took the keycap off and if I press the button without the keycap, the right arrow key works. hmmm... So I put the down arrow keycap on the right arrow key button and now it either doesn't work or gets stuck. So.... I guess I'm a bit confused. Something wrong with the key hinges? I suppose I could try to swap those....


EDIT: Ok so I'm going to just ramble on about this as I keep working. I think the problem is that the suction cup (the button underneath the keycap) for the right arrow key (which doesn't work very well) is too sensitive. If I barely depress it it registers, whereas for the down key (which works fine) I have to press the suction cup fairly hard before it registers. I wonder if there's some DIY solution for this as I'd rather not have to replace the whole keyboard just to fix this one little thing.

 

I was able to get it from my buddy and he gave me a buddy price as he needed some moolah.

 

The GPU is pushing very hot in the 90's while playing civ5- I think i have to open the whole thing and reapply thermal- or maybe get a good notebook cooler.

 

I would definitely be interested to hear how re-applying thermal paste works for you. I might not get around to it for a couple weeks.

 

Wow, I don't even know what that means. If you mentioned the Amazon, it looks like they just found some lame excuse not to cover it.

Moral of the story: Play dumb and never tell the helpdesk anything other than, "It won't turn on".

 

I am waiting for my ODD caddy and memory to arrive so I take it apart it one get go- I want to clean any possible dust inside also-

 

Can your buddy give a another buddy quote?

 

Indeed. It's a lesson I'm learning.

 

Sorry that was his only lappie- switched to a cheap AMD desktop

 

I purchased mine on Craigslist in the silicon valley area for $580.
Its not quite the deal that FMRuss got, but close:
i5 2540M
4Gig Ram
1600x900
6-cell battery
320Gig hard drive
2 1/2 year on site warranty (although I'm re-learning how much I hate dealing with support)

I'm not sure if these are just silicon valley prices, but if you're patient around here there are plenty of good deals to be had.

 

Agree with that- good bargains on year old tech, Sandy Bridge systems are still excellent performers.

 

Just recently received my T420, with the Nvidia GPU, 9-cell, i5 2540, purchased from lenovo, for about 920. I wanted new, instead of buying a used, as I did with my previous R61.

Just a quick opinionated question. Is the touch pad on the T420 this horrible? I hate how I have to tap it twice in order for it to work right when I finish using the track pad. My old R61 allowed me to switch between the two almost simultaneously.

 

Well you can still alternate between the touchpad and trackpoint just like the R61. I think the common complaints of the T420 touchpad is that some don't like the bumpy surface which you can remove if you don't like it. Secondly some people report the scrolling gestures to be poor, fortunately the Two Finger Scroll app seems to rectify that problem for most.

 

Found out through my Lenovo software that I have 1061 days left for the warranty on this system- sweet!

 

Yes, the touchpad input isn't the greatest for scrolling. The two-finger scroll can only be done on the right hand side of my touchpad. Because of that, I can't move my fingers even a tad to the left or right while scrolling. I'll try the scroll app, thanks! I must say that the bumpiness of the touchpad is a nice change from my other notebooks. I don't usually use my notebooks' touchpad, but I will on the T420.

 

So when I contacted support about my keyboard issue, I was told that an engineer would call me back. I waited about 48 hrs thinking that it was kind of a long time not to hear from anyone, and all of a sudden this morning in the mail was a brand new keyboard. Honestly I was quite surprised. I just told someone in the support department my name, address, model # and that a key was basically stuck and all of a sudden they ship me a new one. If whoever I spoke with is out there reading this, Thanks!
On the other hand, what I realized I needed to do to fix the old keyboard was cut just a tiny sliver off the very top of the suction cup (button underneath the keycap). Now, the keycap sits slightly lower than the rest of the arrow keys and doesn't have quite as much spring as the rest of them, but doesn't basically trigger the keypress automatically and is totally functional....
By the way, if anyone is interested, in order to remove the keycaps on the arrow keys for the t420, what I found best was to pull up from the LEFT side and the key detaches from the brackets on that side. Then slide the keycap to the right to pop it out of the slot on that side. I think if you were to pull too hard on the right side, you would break the hinge or the keycap. Just my $.02.

 

Well here's a crazy proof of concept...

Caution: The following images can be distressing for the hardcore ThinkPadder.

Spoiler

Does it work? Well yes...



But what's important about this in general is that it shows the T420 to be unfussy when it comes to the EDID of the panel unlike some of the previous generation ThinkPads. Therefore it seems that instead of being tied to the two or three panels that Lenovo offers, anyone can choose a 14.0" panel (glossy or matte) of their fancy as long it uses the correct 40 pin LVDS connection and the user have the correct LCD cable to use it with. How interesting...

 

Fishnet? (Heavy sigh.)

 

Hearst, is that yours?? That is very very good news... All hope is not lost, then. What remains to be done is find a good 14'' panel and I'm set . I'm so desperate about the viewing angles that I would even give up the matte finish.

 

Yes it's my unit and it wasn't really hard to do the conversion since it took me about 5 minutes max! I'm on the look out to see which panel is worth changing to. The panel I have at the moment is the glossy version of the AUO B140RW02 V0 panel for testing purposes (well stripped out from an unit in my office), the graininess is gone due to the lack of antiglare coating which is a bit pleasing to my eyes but viewing angles is not as great still.

However it would be interesting to put the Alienware M14x's LG-Philips LP140WD2 panel in since NotebookCheck have praised the high contrast ratio and above average viewing angles. It is hard to find at the moment but I'll let you guys know if I come across it.

 

we had our power out in our neighborhood and I was happy that I had the ever lasting thinkpad battery but alas- it lasted 2 1/2 hours on full blast with the NVS4200! That is one power hungry GPU! My meter refected an available 14 hours with wifi off and screen dimmed- did a clean reinstall thru the USB- system no likey and install would not go through- burned an iso DVD and viola-it worked! I have read thru the net with a lot of complaints about installing thru the USB

 

in an almost perfect world, we'd have an HP radiance infinity panel (auo103e if i remember correctly) as an option for our damn expensive thinkpads...

 

After my T420 suffered a lot of scratches on the top lid cover (i'm not a fan of the rubber finish) I decided to give it the Carbon treatment...



I used 3M Di-Noc Carbon Fibre Vinyl which is the stuff they use on cars so it's a resiliant piece of kit, plus the texture really does feels like carbon fibre. It's not one of those cheap printed skins you find on some places.



The process does take a bit of time and effort, especially since you have to dismantle the unit to apply the vinyl properly. Looking back I didn't use the Hardware Maintenance Manual when I did this! Maybe I just got used to dismantling my system on many occasions...



I also did the palmrest and the touchpad still works so no more bumpy touchpad! Well not that it matters to me since I prefer using the TrackPoint anyway. But the matte like finish means that it's pretty much scratch proof and no longer a fingerprint magnet like before.



Unfortunately I ran out of the 3M Di-Noc to finish off the LCD Bezel and base but that probably comes next when I have the time and funds.

 

That is really awesome Hearst. Will you do my T420 now?

 

Haha, well anymore vinyl wrapping and I may lose my sanity since it's such a meticulous process! Maybe Lenovo should offer some sort of external Carbon option, especially on the X1 Carbon machine.

 

I love the carbon treatment Hearst!!! Gorgeous!

How long did it take to do the lid?

 

Well the Lid Bezel is the easiest to do due to the large rectangular surface, it took me about an hour and a bit to get it just right with the craft knife and heat gun. The Keyboard Palmrest is the trickiest as you have to wrap the various sides such as the headphone ports for example. I think that took me about 3 hours but then, that was my first effort with the wrap so maybe I got progressively got better with the lid top!

 

0_o I like it. I think I will have to try this on my Das Keyboard first before strapping some to a laptop.

And sorry for the stupid question, but this wouldn't void the thinkpad protection warranty would it?

 

LOL. Yea, offer Carbon on the X1 Carbon as an option. That will go over great.

I recently read the X1 Carbon only has a carbon lid. Is that really true?

 

Hearstie, give T420 to your sister now and buy a M14x.

I would like to try it on my X61t...but I despise taking it apart now. :X

 

Well it's vinyl so you can just strip it out with no lasting effects. But given how difficult it is to obtain reasonable service from IBM UK I've pretty much given up on my remaining 2 years depot warranty and decided to self service instead!

It wouldn't meet her requirements as a gaming system though...

 

Better save up for that M14x and fast. :|

I wonder if the vinyl would void manufacturer warranty...?

 

Would it be treason to consider applying a white carbon fiber finish to a lenovo... Its not so much that I am a fan of white over black as I like standing out in the crowd. I do prefer my Darth Vader approved electronics but the idea of a white Thinkpad screams heresy. Also what does anyone think about applying little squares of the stuff to each key to cover the letters much like the Das Keyboard ultimate models which have no letters on their keys. Hmm...this is all very tempting...or perhaps I'm just a little off in the head.

 

Well it's your system at the end of the day and if that what makes you happy then go for it! A white ThinkPad would certainly be eyecatching that's for sure. I personally went with the black carbon fibre look to balance with the standard ThinkPad colours, generally I like dark subtle colours on my tech stuff!

The Das Keyboard is doable with the vinyl but it will be a lot of work given how intricate the keyboard keys are.