My IBM ThinkPad T40

I recently purchased an IBM ThinkPas T40 running Windows XP Pro. I am having trouble with two of the arrow keys and a mystery key (I don't know what it does), as i took them off to clean them. The trouble starts when i try to put the keys back on. You see, i think that the bottoms of the keys are worn down in some way so that they don't snap down.

No pics as of right now, as I am in school.



*This post does not mean i am returning to this website, i just need help*

 

Sounds like you damaged the keys when you pulled them off, don't forget the T40 is a 15 year old laptop now, the ABS plastic the key's are made from is probably becoming very brittle and fragile.

 

try to move the plastic connectors around, as some keys might not snap on unless they are in the correct position

 

Here it is.

 

Update- Might need a new battery as it is running solely off of the charger.

 

You pulled the stabilizers off with the keys, you'll have to pull them mechanizms off the keys and re attach them to the keyboard. I hope you're not planning on dailying this laptop, it's horrendously outdated. I have a T42P in my collection of ThinkPads, I love it but I could never use it daily. Good luck finding an OEM replacement battery for the T40, buy a good quality replacement, cheap ones are known for causing fires.

 

Lol ok thanks for ruining literally all of my hope of having a cool laptop to restore

Guess I’ll just shut it off forever and leave it to collect dust

Ah, I love this forum

 

I have several ThinkPads including a T42P. Doesn't stop me from maintaining it and keeping it pristine. I love ThinkPad's and love collecting them. I'm not trying to desuade you, I'm trying to be real with you. You gotta think about what you have invested into that notebook and what it's worth to you. I can tell you now that T40 won't play videos on youtube. My T42P barely can and being a P variant it has all the best options you could spec a ThinkPad T4x series with. It's a 15 year old notebook with a single core Pentium M, I'm telling you not to expect being able to daily use this machine.

 

No need for a snappy reply, hes just being honest. I have a slightly older but similar Compaq laptop and I like working on it and its fun to mess with but it would be a nightmare to use daily.

It will load websites (given plenty of time) but it craps out on large images never mind videos or interactive pages. It will only really be capable of some very basic browsing and it'll be slow at that. Thats not to mention all the hoops to jump through, stuff like disabling java is the only way to get sites like google images loading in an acceptable time.