Lenovo laptops

[Robert Heller]

I too have been using older (used or refurbs) Lenovo/IBM ThinkPads.  They are 
easy to deal with, work great, generally quite rugged (for a laptop).  Well 
built, easy to do "basic" repairs -- keyboard and disk replacememnt are the 
two things I do (I tend to wear out keyboards and I tend to look for refurbs 
that come without disks -- I install a separately acquired disk and install 
Linux myself).  Memory upgrading is also easy.

I have no experience with new models.

IBM's original laptop designs were very good, and so long as Lenovo keeps to 
those design principles, Lenovo will continue to be at the top of the list for 
good quality PC-ish laptops.

At Sun, 19 Dec 2021 21:10:47 +0000 "Ubuntu user technical support,? not for general discussions" <ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com> wrote:

> 
> Hi Mark,
> 
> On Sun, 19 Dec 2021 at 20:58, MR ZenWiz <mrzenwiz at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > I've seen a fair number of posts (many from Liam - hi :-) that tout
> > the ease of using Lenovo machines.
> >
> > I wonder - are their laptops also that easy to work with?
> >
> > I'm looking at one that looks decent, a little more than the HP I want
> > to return, and it also would require replacing the hard drive with a
> > faster one (SSD).
> >
> > Is this also a relatively easy operation?
> >
> > How hard are they to open up?
> >
> > Feedback welcome
> 
> 
> I can only comment on relatively old lenovo ThinkPads. The one I am using
> at the moment is a T420 which is quite old. For some time, I have been
> refurbishing unwanted systems with Linux and given them away to people with
> mental health problems, their families, or carers. When I get given a
> system I always download its relevant user guide and hardware manual where
> available. Someone in a Linux User Group recommended them to me. I must
> admit, given my experience of different systems, I do hold a special place
> in my heart for ThinkPads :) I have replaced keyboards and upgraded systems
> from HDDs to SSDs on old ThinkPads. In my experience, they are well built
> and more practical to repair. I am quite risk averse when it comes to
> hardware so I am always reluctant to change things (even though I have
> dones so in the past). They are OK to open up.
> 
> When it comes to changing the main drive of a laptop - assuming we are
> talking about a conventional 2.5" HDD here - it is a routine operation
> (remove laptop battery first, press power button for about 30 seconds to
> drain capacitance), you need to make sure that the drive is the correct
> height - IIRC I've seen systems that take 7mm high drives or 9mm high
> drives.
> 
> I can't comment on modern ThinkPads. From what I've seen with new systems,
> I'd be inclined to buy a system with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled.
> 
> HTH,
> 
> 
> Ian
> 

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