How long should a ThinkPad last?

About month ago, I tried to resume my ThinkPad T61 out of hibernation and I noticed that the computer behaved somewhat strangely. Pressing certain keys on the keyboard caused the system to become unresponsive and then cause any further keys to be ignored. Pressing certain other keys would actually actuate a series of keystrokes. And sometimes, the system would respond normally as if nothing was wrong at all.

So I tried formatting and reinstalling Windows Vista on the machine, but the problem appear the moment I started my machine since I couldn't even create an user account because my name contained one of the keys that would trigger the problem.

Knowing that I had a problem, I called up Lenovo support and explained the problem to the technician. He then looked up the warranty on my system and told me that I was out of warranty by about 3 weeks and that there was nothing that he could do for me. However, he suggested that it was most likely a keyboard issue and that I might want to consider buying one since it would be a relatively cheap fix. If it wasn't the keyboard, he said that it could be a system board problem. He told me that if I sent it back to Lenovo for warranty repair, it would be at least $150 diagnostic charge plus more for parts.

Considering my ThinkPad T61 has hardly been off my desk and always handled carefully by me, I was very disappointed that I had problems just 3 weeks out of warranty. But I figured I do type a lot and I guess a keyboard problem wouldn't be that big of a deal considering it was only going to be about $60. Still a problem with a ~$1300 machine just 3 weeks out of warranty is disappointing. If you considered the fact that it almost took a week to get to me and I didn't open the box until a week after I received machine, then the machine was really only used about one week past the one year mark.

Then I realized that I charged the ThinkPad T61 on an American Express card which extended the warranty by a year. I contacted their extended warranty department and was told that the extended warranty did apply to my case. They gave me two options, either send it to Lenovo and get reimbursed by AmEx or send it to the AmEx affiliated repair center and let AmEx deal with everything. Since the quoted turnaround time was pretty similar (one to two weeks) and I thought I would help save AmEx some money, I decided to just send it to the AmEx repair center since a keyboard replacement should be a relatively simple repair.

AmEx sent me a prepaid box and I sent the machine in. About two days after I sent the machine in, I called their affiliated repair and they told me that they had identified the problem and that they were preparing the quote for AmEx. Then I waited and then waited some more. I knew that it would take some time since their repair center would probably have to order parts and claim center would have verify my eligibility. After about two weeks, I decided to call AmEx to see if there was any problems with the claim. Unfortunately, a specialist wasn't available and I was told that I would be called back.

Later that day, I received a call from an American Express specialist. The claims examiner told me that he had some good news and some bad news. The bad news was that it turns out that the system board failed and that AmEx determined that my barely one year old ThinkPad T61 was beyond economical repair. However, the good news that American Express would refund the purchase price so that I could buy new computer.

So here I am, back in the market for another computer. While I haven't specifically eliminated any manufacturer yet, my most recent experience with Lenovo has left a somewhat unpleasant taste in my mouth. American Express, on the other hand, was terrific and I really couldn't expect anything more from them.

While ThinkPads have a reputation for being reliable machines, I can't help think about my T61 which barely stretched it past the one year mark. I also have a T43 which has been humming along for over three years now (though it is humming quite loudly now). So how long should someone reasonably expect a ThinkPad to last?

 

I think like a lot of things in life, luck plays the preponderant role. You just happened be one of unlucky ones who got a bad board. Life's how you look at it. Sure it sucks you got to go looking for a new notebook, but you're going to get a newer better machine at little or no cost. I hope you pulled the drive before sending it in. My AE warranty just ran out on my R60, but I've been pretty lucky with it so far.

 

Thank you for sharing. My TP cost about yours =P It had been sent to repair once for noisy fan. They just changed bios battery and flash it to the latest and clean the fan according to the description on paper they sent back with it.

 

Luck has nothing to do with manufacturing products. it's bad design/engineering/QA to blame.

 

Luck may not play a role in whether the manufacturing process is flawed. But, electronic parts are quirky. If you build/buy a few systems, you may get a dead component.

I don't think an assembler can test every board for life expectancy... plus, perhaps it was something not even lenovo related... while the machine was safely on the desk, is it possible that some sort of electric discharge shortened the life of the board? If it were plugged in to an outlet, what about a power surge/sag? Lotsa things...

I understand a possible reluctance for lenovo from that experience, but I would probably look for an overall trend before condemning the company as a whole.

 

To respond to the original question posted, "how long should a Thinkpad last?", based on my experience I'd say, with care, it will last as long as you want it to. It sounds like you ran into an unusual situation, but the brand itself carries a well-deserved reputation for longevity and durability.

I've owned four TPs so far, the longest for four years, and have had zero problems with any of them. I sold each to move up to the newest model.

So, I would unhesitatingly recommend purchasing another TP.

 

My old X31 lasted four years before I replaced it with a X61. Sure they were cracks here and there due to abuse (sat on it accidentally once, and dropped it twice onto hard floor when tripped on power cable), but the harddrive failed way before the TP. Keyboard still works to this day.

 

I understand your odd situation, but in my opinion towards IBM (now Lenovo) about Thinkpads is again they're RELIABLE machines. They run cool, you can control the fan, the best keyboard out there. You could've purchased the 3-year protection warranty just in case.
In my home I still have a old classic IBM Thinkpad A22e bought back in 2001 and it has not been serviced for a broken part.

I strongly recommend you try again with another Thinkpad, a T400 is a very nice machine. Good luck!

 

Thinkpads are reliable in my experience, but that doesn't make them infallible. I have three right now (need to sell one) and haven't had real hardware problems with any of them.

I bought my X31 used on eBay a couple years ago, and at this point I think it's around the 4 year old mark and is running perfectly. I did plop a bigger hard drive in it because the one it came with was tiny and slow. I hardly hold failure of parts like that against the manufacturer of the laptop though.

My T43p is 3 years old now and retired only due to the fact that I needed more power. I need to sell it, but it is in otherwise perfect working condition aside from some marks inside the LCD which seem to be a problem with the FlexView displays. An unfortunate issue, although not major, and again not something IBM themselves were likely responsible for. The machine, aside from that, has been completely reliable.

At the same time I have a friend with a T61 that has had a bad fan, although apparently not bad enough for him to fix in the past two years. I guess it's just making a funny noise but it still works.

I've been very happy with my T400 which I've had for not quite two months now. I did have some sort of fingerprint software explosion which required a registry update and possibly a patch (I did both, no idea whether it required one or both to fix it) before I could reinstall the software and have it usable. Crap like that can happen with any make or type of computer, it's just the way computers are.

 

Kubala: Umm as with any large scale manufacturing there are some % that are flawed or fail prematurely, etc. No large scale manufacturing is without faults. Just assuming it is bad engineering isn't fair. But system boards DO fail. It sounds like Amex handled it great though. GL choosing a new laptop.

 

Seems like Thinkpad would last about 5 years to those that commented here.

Anyway, I found something fun to watch http://www.monkey-proof.com/ =]

 

My first Thinkpad lasted about two years (1999-2001). Then the socket that the power cord plugs into started having a bad connection with on the system board because of flex from plugging and unplugging. My housemate at the time was a computer tech, so he disassembled and soldered it back in place about 3 times for me. I couldn't trust it anymore, especially since the battery was dead and gone. I got my current A31 in 2001 or 2002 to replace the old TP. The plug in location looks much more solid on this machine and has been fine. The screen backlight went blank on me this past April, and I'm still in the process of getting it diagnosed and repaired (it's an otherwise really nice IPS Flexview). Had tried a new invertor, now the screen is out to get a new backlight. If it isn't that, it might be a fuse on the system board. It's been a pain using external CRT monitors or shining a desk lamp at the dark screen for the past 7 months, so I would call the effective life of this one about 6 years.

I'm hoping the screen fix will really happen. I'm trying to stretch out the life another year or so. Because I don't replace every year or two like most seem to on these forums, I want to make sure I have things like USB 3.0, Windows 7, and Blu-ray (at a reasonable cost) on my next machine. My current A31 doesn't have USB 2.0, and that's been a notable missing feature. I don't want to go another 6 years with USB 2.0 right before 3.0 comes out like last time with 1.0 and 2.0. Would like to skip Vista... and by mid-life of my next computer, Blu-ray will probably be really mainstream and I don't want to not be able to watch something (don't have a TV).

 

Unfortunately, electronics break. Regardless of what you buy, I'd highly recommend getting a 3 year warranty.

The focus on laptops now is to make them as thin as possible, which is putting the motherboard dangerously close to lots of other components. If you search, you can find it's a big problem with lots of brands. Getting the extended warranty, however, would make it a non-issue.

 

I agree with the skipping vista part. I think its really helping Linux become more mainstream, also helping apple. But vista is a new release (aside from Longhorn, 2007). It will be a while before MS drops a new OS. As for usb 3.0 it's looking like 2010. "Hardware partners are expected to have USB 3.0 controllers designed by mid 2009, and consumers won't see the first end products utilizing the spec until early 2010" http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fe..._about_usb_30_plus_first_spliced_cable_photos

Per the original title, you should get 4 years out of a good PC, period - but you know how it is, all these parts have mechanical parts and are subject to wear. HD's can break down, power surges, drops and spills; stuff happens. There's also the product "half-life," being that tech updates/outdates itself every 2-3 years now. Thinkpads are pretty reliable in that they are frequently used in business lines that upgrade just a few components instead of buying a new system.

 

There is no doubt in my mind that my ThinkPad T61 was probably one of the exceptions. The design of the machine was definitely superior to the ThinkPad T43 that I had and am currently using right now.

However, the T61 wasn't put together particularly well. The LCD cover wasn't aligned properly around the screen bezel and there was a bulge on the LCD cover lid. The palm rest also came misaligned and the recovery partition didn't work. I don't see how it passed quality control. I kept it anyway since I figured it was a computer and the problems were cosmetic. Plus, I was starting school again so I didn't have time to deal with it.

Generally, I think the Lenovo designs are getting better, but the quality control has seen better days. It is most obvious with the new software utilities they have been releasing. The System Updater can't find most of them, sometimes chooses the install the wrong update, or can't install the update at all.

I haven't ruled out getting ThinkPad T400 yet, since Lenovo seems to be pricing them very aggressively now. Right now, I think Lenovo actually has the cheapest business notebooks around. That is a sharp departure from the old IBM days.

Personally, I expect a computer to have a 2 year useful life. That is why when the ThinkPad T43 that I am using right now started to develop the noisy fan problem, I didn't send it back for repair (since the early ThinkPads had 3 year standard warranty). It was already 2.5 years old at the time so I thought that I would upgrade to the new T61 and hope that it would deliver a similar life expectancy.

I didn't think it would break just outside of its one year warranty. I mean, I hardly ever moved it (the corners still had all their paint) and it was plugged into a surge protector. It was never dropped and it never ran intensive programs. Heck, the only programs it had installed was Office 2007 and Firefox. The fan never kicked into high speed. It must have been the least stressed machine out there.

 

perhaps I am the only one who sympathizes with him. I think any laptop should last more than one year without a major breakdown, regardless of use (and this one wasn't even abused slightly). My 5 year old dell inspiron 5100 is still working fine. My 4 year old inspiron 600m is still amazing, fan rarely ever goes on. My asus took me through 4 years of university, waiting for the train in blizzards, smushed against piles of textbooks. Surely a thinkpad would last longer than this. Sure, he probably got unlucky and had a bad board. But still, if I was him I would be upset.

 

If they (lenovo/ibm) trust in their products so much, why don't they make a standard 3 year warranty is beyond me.

Nowadays, all seagates come with a three (or is it five?) year warranty. Those fragile spinning things that we're always so worried about dying on us have possibly a better warranty than the machine they're in. Standard.

Though of course, give me a inch, and I'll take a mile, I suppose.

 

Agreed. I've always bought a warranty (even the X31 I bought used carried some warranty that I think ended earlier this year). On my T43p I had a 3 year depot warranty with Thinkpad Protection, on my T400 I got the 3 year at home Thinkpad Protection plan because everything was discounted at the time. Anything can happen, parts IBM buys can fail, parts IBM builds can fail, you can break it.

As far as I'm concerned a warranty is part of the cost of buying a laptop, no matter what brand it is.