Dropped T43 :-[

I tripped over the power cord and sent my 3-year-old Thinkpad crashing hard to the floor tonight. It even made a small dent in the hardwood floor. My T43 did not escape damage... see pics

Computer was on at the time, and I'm not sure if APS was activated. Have been using laptop for past few hours with no problems though. Going to save important data in case it won't reboot properly. Also, I'd probably have to somehow tape (?) that hanging piece so that it doesn't rip off completely in case it accidentally hooks on to something.

I wonder what would have happened to a less sturdy built laptop...

 

Less damage to your hardwood floor?

 

Quite true, never thought of that.

 

You would be looking for a new laptop right now. lol

From the pictures it only looks like you damaged the palm rest. That is easily replaceable. Search on ebay and you will probably find something.
Good luck
Tim

 

**** dude, that really sucks. That's a great machine.

I'd probably do what Tim said, try and find the parts on Ebay.

If not then now's a good time to upgrade .

Good luck.

 

The laptop knows you’re in the process of replacing it and is rebelling…

 

That sucks. The T43 is a great machine. Shows how tough it is, it still works after a fall like that. Any other machine would be totally destroyed. I would make sure to check your harddrive and RAM. I think you should run some harddrive check programs to make sure your harddrive isn't damaged, though I am not sure how it works unless APS was on. I would also run memtest86+ on the ram to just check it out. Also when the machine is off, I would just shake the machine to see if you hear anything rattling inside, might be parts that dislodged themselves from the motherboard.

 

othermachines would need motherboard replacement, you surely happy of owning thinkpad

 

Your floor looks in worse shape then your laptop.

 

Oh wow, I'm more amazed at the dent in the floor.

 

Yes, it's the left front corner. It looks as if the metal frame inside has been bent very slightly little as well, I can see through the PC card slot. Thanks for the idea, never occurred to me that this is easily replaceable. I'll have a search on eBay. I might also take it down to my local depot and get a quote on getting it fixed 'officially' after I get my other PC running again.

Funnily enough - even after all my hours of research between the T400 and HP 6930p - I had decided earlier in the evening that I would resurrect my half-dead desktop! After 3 years of careful usage, sucks that this happened... but better it happened now rather than when it was a new machine. That would have hurt a lot more

Yup, the Thinkpad has survived the drop. The pics are for anyone who has doubts about the legendary toughness

I haven't tried memtest86+ or running any hard drive check programs, though that is a good idea. Any recommendations on the latter besides the one that comes with XP? I was able to reboot just fine with no errors so that's good.

PS. My APS has been disabled for a while. The first page options are all greyed out and I can't enable it for some reason.

 

Yes now that is not as easy to fix as my Thinkpad

It was about a 3ft drop, but with the wire trip it was probably traveling quite fast. I didn't even see it as I was walking in the other direction with my back facing the TP when I stepped onto the power cable.

I actually pulled it hard enough that the power brick separated from the cable that plugs into the wall.

I wonder if Apple's MagSafe would have helped. Sounds like it would have detached itself safely.

 

I think this is a great design choice—even if they’ve had lots of issues with it.

 

I got a quote today from Lenovo HK, they said it's in the neighborhood of ~US$125 to replace just the top palmrest. If they find the bottom is broken as well, that's an additional US$125!

Any way to tell if it's only the top palmrest that's broken?

Second, I found on eBay a replacement that looks to be compatible with my T43 - however, it has a small crack in the middle underneath the mouse buttons. Will I feel that when I am pressing down on the buttons? This option is gonna cost me US$30 ish I'm guessing. ($25 for shipping, currently auction at $1)

Here's the pic: http://www.drmworx.com/e/41v9126.jpg

 

photography 101, there shall be light. low light = bab bad photos

 

You have my sympathy. Glad to hear it's still working though.

I dropped mine a few days after I got it, a little piece of plastic broke off the back right above the parallel port. Never missed it. A few months ago the optical drive popped out by itself as I was pulling it out of the case I carry it around in, the drive snagged on something and got tweaked, it doesn't slide smoothly in and out now but it still works. I ride a bicycle to work almost year 'round, so my T43 definitely gets some rough handling.

**** tough machine. Thinkpads set the bar pretty high when it comes to durability.

 

Thanks mawk. At this point it's not bothering me too much so I may just let it be.

 

Interesting, my t43 has a crack in almost the exact same place as that one (but mine is just to the left of the indentation, instead of through it.) The crack makes no difference at all, though. It doesn't affect the buttons or anything, so I wouldn't stress about it.

 

Thanks for the heads up. His auction ended, but I'll see if he has another one up for sale.

 

Question: Will this fit in my T43 for sure?

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Thinkpad-T4...ryZ31568QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

i dont know, but it looks like bidding on those ends Really quickly. if you are unsure, look up the part number on lenovo's site.

 

Hey everyone,

I'm not sure if this is related to my "drop" -- but instead of starting a new thread I thought I would post here.

After the big drop, the T43 continued to function just fine. but recently (within the last 3 days) my T43 started behaving very strangely. I finally discovered that the machine does not work unless I press down on the trackpoint very hard.

For example, I am trying to do a factory restore (IBM Product Recovery) and the timer is completely stopped, the hard drive does not work... UNLESS I apply some pressure on the center part of the keyboard.

As soon as I apply some pressure, the timer and the hard drive starts churning again. I just put a huge & heavy "Office 2003" book on top and it's working continuously now.

Has anyone seen ANYTHING like this before???

Any suggestions for me to try before I send it in? My warranty is expiring very soon.

 

Still in warranty? What are you waiting for?

 

I think I still have roughly a month left.
I'll take it to Lenovo tomorrow...