Comments on: ThinkPad T400s: Upgrading

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:45:34 +0000

Hi, does anyone know where I can buy an original T400s UK keyboard ?

Thanks in advance.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:36:13 +0000

There are two Intel Wifi Link 5300 cards available :-

533AN_MMW (supports 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N1 in a PCIe Mini Card form factor)
533AN_HMW (supports 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N1 in a PCIe Half Mini Card form factor)

Lenovo/HP use 533AN_MMW and Dell use 533AN_HMW

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:08:59 +0000

Ooops ! – Just emailed the seller and it’s NOT compatible. Let me know if you find one.

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:50:09 +0000

Johan, nice idea ! – I have a T400s on the way from the US also bought on ebay. Comparing pictures with this review and the Dell site they certainly look the same and are both made by Intel so I see no reason why not. Look on ebay though as you can get them £20 cheaper !!

By: Johan

Johan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:52:09 +0000

Hi,

I bought a T400s on eBay, and it’s a great machine. However, mine is lacking WiFi and I would like to add the Intel 5300 WiFi adapter. The only place I could find them in the UK is on the Dell website:

http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/category.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&category_id=5823&~ck=anav

“Wireless : Intel WiFi Link 5300 (802.11 a/g/n 3X3) 1/2 MiniCard – Kit”

Do you think this is compatible? Would any half-size PCI-E wireless card do?

Many thanks!

By: Needed Help

Needed Help — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:01:24 +0000

Thank you so much. That was just enough guidance for me to get it put back together again! Back in business.

By: John Hobbes

John Hobbes — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:13:31 +0000

The best thing I can suggest is to look at the T400 Hardware Maintenance Manual. That has step by step instructions for assembling/disassembling anything on your T400. If you’re still stuck, try http://forum.thinkpads.com or http://forums.lenovo.com for help.

By: Need Help

Need Help — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:47:01 +0000

Hi, you said: Previous ThinkPads (including the ‘regular’ T400) made this a bit of chore in the reinstallation process. You had to finagle little tabs around, hook one end in first, then the other end, and use Jedi mind tricks to get everything to snap back into place perfectly.

I need those Jedi mind tricks. Here is what happened. At work I was given a T400 and additional memory for it and I went to YouTube for information about how to upgrade the memory. Only I didn’t find it, but found a video for T60 which looked a lot like T400 in terms of the case and how it was put together. Based on the video I took out 5 screws with the keyboard icon next to them. Then I popped off the palmrest plastic piece and added the memory. But now I can’t manage to get the palmrest plastic piece to snap back in properly. I can feel that it’s not on quite right and if I try to put the screws back in, the topmost screw which now I’m wondering if I needed to take out at all, won’t screw back in.

HELP!!! Your reference here to the T400 reassembly issue is the only clue I’ve found.

I also didn’t realize that IBM created a T400 and T400s. Maybe I’m in no position to talk, but that seems a really dumb naming convention since the plural of T400 would be T400’s or T400s. It took me a minute of carefully reading your article to realize there were 2 different models T400 and T400s. What I have is a T400 and the problem you referenced. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.

By: scanner07

scanner07 — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:10:11 +0000

Good image!

Checked Hynix site http://www.hynix.com/products/module/module_sub.jsp?menuNo=1&m=1&s=1&menu3=01&RK=20&SK=SO&RAM_NAME=DDR3 SDRAM&SUB_RAM=1GB&SUB_RAM1=2GB&SUB_RAM2=

It has a link to its Databook. The individual chips are 1Gb, CL 7,7,7

I’m guessing the SODIMM is 2 sided for a total of 2GB. Just a note : the cost differential between the 2GB modules (about$30) & the 4GB modules (about $300+) is substantial.

Thx for the additional help – it was very useful to me.

By: John Hobbes

John Hobbes — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:38:16 +0000

I didn’t remove the RAM from the system, but the chips on the stick were Hynix. I’m admittedly not as up on DDR3, but to my knowledge with most systems RAM compatibility isn’t much of an issue anymore. Cropped the original image for you – warning its a 900+ pixel wide pic

Link to image