Thinkpad R40 Questions

[mallik]

I have a Thinkpad R40 and the top of case has some scuffs/scratches in the bottom left corner. I was wondering, is there any way to get rid of these. Would repainting it be an option? I know the casing for the R40 is different than the casing for the T40, but I'm not sure what the difference is. Otherwise, where could I get replacement casing? I'll try and get pictures of it with my camera.

Also, I got an Intel 2200 wireless card for it. When I installed it, I got an error (1802 or something like that). I searched here, and I found a solution for that using a small file. After that it booted up fine, and windows detected it and everything. The thing is how do I know it's working? The LED at the bottom of the screen doesn't come on, so I don't know.

 

[mallik]

anyone?

 

[alzan]

If you have a service warranty on the laptop, you could get the case shell replaced. W/O warranty you could also get it replaced but it'll cost money. In either case, IBM will most likely have you send the laptop to their repair depot, rather than dispensing a tech. If they do, be sure you pull your hard drive from the laptop before you send it in; IBM has no need for your hard drive for a case shell replacement.

alzan

 

[Paperlantern]

ibm will never do a plastics replacement with one of thier techs, at least not under any standard warranty. Id say dont worry about it, the back lcd cover can run as high as 100 bucks on some models, then paying someone to put it in on top of that, rediculous. just like a car, dings and dents build character

 

[mallik]

Heh, I don't disagree that they build character...but tell that to someone who's buying it. I know it has warranty until 2006/2007 but I'm not sure if that's standard or extended warranty. Are there different levels of extended warranty?

 

[Paperlantern]

yes, with most manufacturers (and third part vendors) there are at least 2 levels of warranty coverage, standard and full (sometimes known as complete care like dell, or "system guard" like toshiba). Standard covers hardware failures, full coverage (usually) covers ANYTHING. I had a guy bring a laptop to me that had complete care, he has accidentally backed over it with his SUBURBAN, dell replaced it, id check and see what kind of coverage you have, either by calling IBM and giving them your and the lappys information, or by getting with a local repair center, see if they can run a warranty check on it.

 

[mallik]

So I checked with IBM, and it turns out that it has extended warranty until 2007, but there are two levels of extended warranty. Mine has the first level, which is on-site service and warranty, so if there's any hardware failures or anything that needs to be replaced, then I'm covered. The second (better) level is basically full coverage. It covers everything the first level does, but it also covers damage from negligence. So if I dropped it or ran a Suburban over it and it cracked, I would be covered under the second level, but not the first.

So is there anything I could do by myself? I searched on ebay for parts, but I found nothing. Would it void the current warranty that I have if I tried to fix it myself?

 

[Paperlantern]

it might, but only if you TOLD IBM about it, lol, on the other hand you could send it to a service provider/service center and have them quote you the parts and labor, having it worked n by a IBM certified/authorized center wont void the warranty. Just a ballpark, that part should run $65 - $100 ish and labor (at least what WE charge, and we are IBM authorized, id give you our info, but i'm not sure on the board's rules on that) is $65.

 

[Paperlantern]

just a post script to one of you original questions about the wireless card, the only way to tell if its working, besides device manager saying its working properly, is to hook it to a wireless network, see if it gets signal and can surf