Follow along as reader [Seth] combines two i1400 Thinkpads. He refreshes the batteries, fixes the keyboard and trackpad, removes the floppy, adds USB ports and WiFi to end up with a ghoulish, but functional machine: The Franken-laptop!
I have been known to keep old hardware alive, long past it’s use-by date. Over the last year I acquired a couple of laptops. One of them had been smashed up (I think someone sat on it..) and the other got a drink spilled in to the keyboard. So I ended up with enough parts to make a cheap laptop.
The i1400 Thinkpad came out with a few different variations of processor. The one I salvaged is a Celeron 500. I was
also recently given another damaged laptop, which I robbed the DVD drive from and some RAM, so it’s maxed out to 256MB
(I tried more, but it just didn’t like it). I’ve only spent around $180 total, not including the 60GB drive. That’s not
bad for a cheap work laptop, with wireless.
Battery Revival:
The batteries on laptops are often a problem. Most people sit their laptop on a desk and use AC power, so the
battery usually suffers, resulting in a chemical ‘memory’, which gives them a life of about 3 seconds under load. The
batteries in my donor laptops were both made in 2000, so I had to try and revive them. If you have any NiCd or NiMH
batteries that won’t hold their charge, you can often revive them. This is not a new concept, but here is my recipe for
reviving rechargeable batteries:
- Discharge the battery as much as you can.
- Place in a sealed plastic bag.
- Place the bag in your freezer for at least 24hours. Overnight is sometimes enough, but I leave it about a
week. - Take the bag out of the freezer and leave the battery to return to room temperature. Make sure you wipe off any
condensation from the battery contacts before you use it. I just leave them in the sun for a few hours. - Fully charge the battery, then run it down again, as low as you can get it. Repeat this charge-discharge cycle a
few times, and see if you get a longer life.
Your mileage will vary, but two of my 5-year-old batteries are now useful. I get between 2 and 4 hours from one of
them, depending on the load on my laptop. You can do this with cellphone batteries, or batteries from lots of other
gear.
Membrane Keyboard Repairs:
The first keyboard was a problem.. it had already been ripped apart by it’s ham-fisted owner, so it wasn’t working
at all. I was also a bit careless with the second keyboard and creased the plastic ribbon cable, which broke one of the
tracks.. grrr. If you’ve ever seen this problem, you know it’s impossible to fix. Almost ;) The tracks are conductive
traces etched onto a plastic ribbon. You can’t solder them and you can’t replace the cable, because it’s part of the
membrane keyboard. You have to get tricky. I used the following:
- The ring from a keyring
- A pencil
- A random strip of rubber I had
- A thin piece of metal plate
The pencil provides you with enough conductive material to join the broken track, but you have to stop it flexing. I
searched for ages for something spring-loaded and slim enough to fit under a laptop keyboard, before noticing my
keyring.. you know, the split ring that you feed your keys onto.. they’re common as dirt. So I just drew a new track on
the cable, then sandwiched it between a slim piece of rubber and a piece of metal around the same size, and used the
keyring to hold it together. It’s actually stayed in place and worked without any problems ever since.
Trackpoint Transplant:
The connector to the trackpoint was also broken, so I did a trackpoint transplant. It’s possible, just a bit fiddly.
You have to remove some clear plastic from the back of the keyboard and make a little room to get the cable out. The
trackpoints have 3 little prongs bent over on the back of the keyboard, so you bend them back, remove the trackpoint
from the front of the keyboard and carefully fold the cable so it comes out through the slot in the back of the
keyboard. That’s the easy part. Fitting it back into the good keyboard was a little more difficult. I had to use a
Dremel and a knife to make the slot a little larger in order to feed the cable in between the layers of keyboard
membrane, plastic and aluminum backing, and black plastic under keys.
I have often thought of doing something else with the space the floppy takes up. It uses up about 20% of the real
estate in a laptop. One idea was to fit another battery or a 3.5″ drive bay (which would require a bit of modification
to the case).
One thing that bugs me has always been wires dangling everywhere.. this model laptop came out before 802.11, so I
decided to fit some wireless hardware into it. You can get USB dongles for many purposes, and they’re cheap enough now.
I could also add a USB-NIC adapter, but the PCMCIA slot works fine and I have a 100MB card. This old Thinkpad only
supports USB 1.1.
Adding USB ports and wireless to an IBM Thinkpad i1400:
1 – Disassembly of laptop:
I’ve done plenty of repairs to all kinds of electronic equipment, so this wasn’t a problem for me. If you’re going to
take a laptop apart, I have a little advice – remember where the screws go! Haha, as if I needed to tell you. Another
tip, if you have no idea how to get it apart is go to google and search for a technical manual. Most manufacturers give
very good detailed, step-by-step instructions for removal and replacement of any part. Also make sure you have a good
space to work in.
2 – Recycling the floppy drive:
The floppy drive in an i1400 sits in the front, left corner. Once I got the top cover off the laptop, I unplugged and
unscrewed the drive and it slid out of it’s metal cradle. I removed the motor, circuitry and disk-loading mechanism. I
was left with the top and bottom covers and the plastic fascia, which I fitted the USB hub into.
3 – USB hub prep:
The hub I used was a cheap, 4-port USB 1.1 hub. It was nice and small, and all the ports line up along one side of it.
One port was used for the wireless dongle. I actually cut that part of the PCB off and soldered on a cable that I ran
back up to the lid, where the dongle is mounted.That leaves me 3 USB ports to mount in the floppy case.
4 – Installation of wireless:
The dongle I used is based on a zd1201, which is pretty common. It’s only 802.11b but it was cheap enough, and the
laptop only has USB1.1 available. I split open the plastic case and removed it, and used a standard 1m USB extension
cable to connect it. The other end of the cable runs down to the USB hub.
I had to do a little mod to fit the wireless dongle in the lid. The speaker enclosures are actually ‘L’-shaped
plastic tubes, which run up the side of the LCD. I cut off about 100mm from the RHS speaker, which gave me plenty of
room for the dongle to sit. The width ended up exactly the right size, and everything fit in perfectly, so I didn’t
have to worry about mounting, screws or glue or anything. I was also expecting to have to trim things down, but I was
lucky.
5 – Cables:
This was the trickiest part. I had to run the cable from the USB port on the back of the laptop, to the input of the
hub in the floppy drive bay, then the other cable from the hub to the wireless dongle in the lid. I cut the pins to the
original USB port on the back of the laptop (it only had one), leaving pins 1 and 4 (power) connected. This means its
not usable for data, but I can still plug in a USB lamp in the back if I want. I ended up stripping all the insulation
off the cable to the dongle and covering it with heatshrink to slim it down. They’re only little 4-core shielded cables
but when you’re adding stuff to a laptop, it has to be small! I could have taken the shielding off and just used 4
single cored wires, but I wanted to keep the shielding, to guarantee my signal quality. With a bit of trimming here and
there, I managed to run the cables under the top cover, in an S-pattern.. They would have taken a more direct route,
but the processor and heatsink were just too much of a tight fit.
6 – Going wireless:
The wireless dongle installed (before stripping the insulation from the cable). You can see the 2 white rectangular
antennae, mounted on the top end of the dongle. I was planning to remove these and fit an external antenna, but the
signal strength is pretty good, and it’s a bit nicer to keep everything contained. Apart from the USB ports, and lack
of floppy drive, I’ve still got a normal-looking Thinkpad.
7 – USB Ports:
The USB ports installed in the former floppy drive. I was going to fill in the empty space but decided to leave it
empty, for future additions :) ports 1 & 2 are separated by a gap, where a little LED sits. It just happened to fit
exactly right where the floppy LED used to go. I might trim off another of these ports and use it for a bluetooth
dongle (that will fit in the floppy case, alongside the hub, easily). This will leave me some room for a card reader or
something else, perhaps.
8 – Up and running:
A quick screenshot. You can see entries for the USB hubs (the original Thinkpad one, plus the additional one), the
wireless adapter and the camera is plugged in as well (the USB Mass Storage entries). The device manager reports “Power
Usage: 500mA” on the wireless adapter, which is actually a maximum figure for the USB port, not what the dongle is
drawing. The battery wouldn’t last long at that rate. It runs Linux, of course – Ubuntu, because it just works. I also
took advantage of the spare keyboard and replaced the Windoze key with a spare menu key, then removed the windows
stickers on the case ;)
The zd1201 wireless dongle also has a power-save mode, which you turn on in software. This prevents excessive
battery drain when you’re not using it. If you look sideways through the very small gap next to the screen, you can see
the LED switching yellow/red in normal use, and it turns off when powersaving activates.
Future plans:
Remove and respray the multicoloured buttons (ugh.. red,green,yellow,blue everywhere is too much), for a red+black
colour scheme. Add bluetooth.
I ALSO want to know how to reattach missing keyboard keys to a dell inspiron !!! Yikes…it’s my shift key!!! need it!
38. Posted Oct 4, 2005, 12:25 PM ET by josh:
Most batteries also have a thermal cutout (like a fuse, that will melt if the cells get too hot) You could try ripping it apart and fitting a new fuse (or replacing it with a link, which removes the protection against overheating the cells – so don’t come crying to me if your batteries explode and your house burns down ;)
Failing that, one of the cells is probably dead. A lot of batteries can be repacked with AA cells, if you can get them cheap enough.
40. Posted Oct 25, 2005, 12:00 AM ET by scorpio:
41. Posted Oct 26, 2005, 1:15 PM ET by toarney:
Do some troubleshooting:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/homeLenovo.do
46. Posted Nov 13, 2005, 9:32 PM ET by nik:
Thanks Nik. The idea was just to give the battery a “thermal shock” and get rid of the chemical memory.
48. Posted Dec 8, 2005, 12:44 PM ET by mitch:
The beeps are a message…
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-4YLR6R#posterrors
49. Posted Dec 20, 2005, 12:55 PM ET by mARK:
51. Posted Jan 1, 2006, 9:29 PM ET by nan
When I see one, I’ll tell you ;) The thinkpad ones are an easy press-fit clip thingy.
YOu can buy a whole k/b on ebay for about $20:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-9300-6000-Keyboard-Brand-New_W0QQitemZ6835385543QQcategoryZ51155QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
50. Posted Dec 30, 2005, 6:46 PM ET by chris:
Did I really need to say YMMV?
Here it is:
YMMV
Your mileage may vary.
I would like to try replacing the cells in a Dell Lattitude C610 3800 mAh Li Battery. (Type 75UYF) HOW DO I OPEN IT?
i know this is a lil off from what you did with this one i would like to know how to rebuild a laptop batory pack to work on AA batterys but in the same pack my m305 crv battery died on me and i got anotherone but would love to have a secondone that used reguler batterys
“I would like to try replacing the cells in a Dell Lattitude C610 3800 mAh Li Battery. (Type 75UYF) HOW DO I OPEN IT?”
I’ve pried my open very carefully with a small tip flat head screwdriver…it seems like it was held together with superglue. there are circuit boards on one the short side near the label, and on one of the long side near the contacts…so be careful when you pry.
a word of caution on Notebook battery rebuild;
“During cell replacement, the circuit of many ‘smart’ batteries must be kept alive with a supply voltage. Disconnecting the circuit, if only for a fraction of a second, can erase vital data and render the circuit unusable”
source: http://www.buchmann.ca/article21-page1.asp
HI I need help I have an IBM thinkpad 1161, here is the scoop I turned the on button and I pulled the screen back and that was it it just shut off and wont turn on even when I put in the electrical plug in the back I am wondering if its the connection of the electrical plug ( transformer plug) to the base or something else . regards if you know what to do please email me at johnbarrons123@yahoo.com
Great tip on the battery revival. Worked well with my Dell Latitude d600.
Recently my IBM Laptop R40 has been showing flickering lines. I can see a better view of this during playing in Windows Media Player, the left half of the screen has horizontal lines while the other side is fine. Then it transfers completely from left to right.
Is it time buy another Laptop and transfer all my data to it or can the R40 be fixed, cleaned or repaired?
I changed Li-Ion cells in lapptop ThinkPad T22 battery, but there is no voltage on output of the battery gas-gage electronic. Before it was OK.
On battery side of gas-gage electronic is 11.4V.
During the refill process the gas-gage has been disconnected completely and later connected to cells again.
I have two explanations
1. the electronic inside disconnects output
2. the electronic inside is damaged because I connected cells in correct polarity but random order (not ground first, max. plus second, …).
Gas-gage electronic has 4 MOSFET driven by M61040 and processor M37516.
Pls, do you have any experience or advice?
I changed Li-Ion cells in lapptop ThinkPad T22 battery, but there is no voltage on output of the battery gas-gage electronic. Before it was OK.
On battery side of gas-gage electronic is 11.4V.
During the refill process the gas-gage has been disconnected completely and later connected to cells again.
I have two explanations
1. the electronic inside disconnects output
2. the electronic inside is damaged because I connected cells in correct polarity but random order (not ground first, max. plus second, …).
Gas-gage electronic has 4 MOSFET driven by M61040 and processor M37516.
Pls, do you have any experience or advice?
I recently purchased a laptop off ebay that apparantly had a dead LCD. I had a spare LCD. The laptop before I changed LCd had a very dimm picture. Video worked fine when i connected laptop to my desktop lcd.
After I replaced the LCD, all I get is a white screen. I opened the lcd panel again and noticed that there wwas a small cut in the LCD to motherboard cable and one of the tracts is cut. Could this be the cause? and if this is could this be fixed with conductive pen.
owner of a fujitsu laptop. the L is not working on the keyboard – i tried cleaning it and it worked for like 5mins then stopped again. TIPS?? ADVICE?
Hi,
I have a laptop whose Li-ION baterry pack dies off after about 20 min and is charging very fast. from 0% to a 100% in 5 min.
Can I use you battery reviving tip on my Li-ION battery. Im thinking of replacing it but if I can revive it I’ll stick to the old battery.
Please help.
Thank you.
Great tip for batteries!
I bought an Acer Travelmate 510 that would run on batteries for about 2.5 seconds then shut down. Found this page and froze the battery, recaharge and disharge a few times now getting over an hour from the battery.
Thanks for saving me over one hundred dollars!!
I followed this Freeze and drain procedure and it worked great – HOWEVER…
I then ran the Li-Ion pak dead flat with a CD playing audio on repeat. The pack did not like it and once again refused to charge. I assumed that the circuitry was holding bad data so put it in the freezer for 30 mins, no change.
Good news! after an allnight freeze and thaw in the morning sun for 30 mins It is happy to take its charge again, currently at 8% and feeding happily.
I would like to know how one could reboot the onboard battery circuitry a little quicker, but I am happy to have a working battery again.
I’m a pimp from SF and i think your article is really a fine piece of modern or should I say contemporary litterature. I would like to thank you for this texte. You know, for me when my computer goes backs the f**k out(excuse my french!) I’m almost happy cause I could buy a new and improved one! I can’t wait for this sh*t to happen! But still man; west side, peace, and keep it real…! I’m inspired by your style! Please keep writting, and don’t copy write your sh*t; I’m making a wicked piece with it!!! Respect your self and the animals. One love , Sammy
Wow, i’m surprised but the freezer trick actually worked. My >4 year old inspiron 5100 went from next to worthless to >2 hours battery life again. I left mine in for only about 36 hours.
Bravo sir.
i’ve used the freeze trick on my li-on batteries from dell inspiron 8200. i’ve managed to charge them back to life.
Hey my li-ion battery(Sony Vaio FE VGN-FE45G)is like dead a million years ago, and i really wanna fix it. my laptop couldn’t detect the battery at all (that’s how bad it is) and before that, it was all backwards like it says its life 70%, when in fact its like 20 or below%, AND before that, the battery life drains very quickly from 2hour to 1 hour to 5mins.
i think i might try the freezer technique, but im scared it’ll backfire..who knows it might not work on li-on batteries, so i’ll just wait for more reviews..
-peace out-
I have an old ibm thinkpad running on windows 95 and it won’t turn on. So i want to salvage d hard drive but i can’t unscrew a stripped screw so i can’t find it. Can you tell me where it is?
It ia a thinkpad 560x.
I had two batteries for my DeWalt drill that would no longer hold a charge. I was about to purchase two new ones when I stumbled upon this posting. So, I figured I would try it out. They are NiCd batteries that come with the drill, and I don’t the drill often enough to cycle them and keep them fresh. So, I am assuming that’s why they lost their ability to hold a charge.
I taped the trigger of my drill down and totally drained both of the batteries, then placed both batteries in sealable plastic bags and put them in the freezer for 48 hours. I then took them out of the freezer, removed them from the bags and let them sit for a few hours on the counter. I wiped everything down with a paper towel and charged them.
Battery 1 now holds it’s charge like it is a brand new battery. I’ve cycled it multiple times and it is still holding a good charge and lasting me a long time, like a good battery should.
Battery 2 did not give such good results, as it doesn’t spin the chuck with much force anymore. I tried discharging/charging this battery about 10 times and even tried freezing it for a full week, but it still won’t hold any kind of a charge.
So, based on my experience, I guess you have a 50/50 shot of this working. Some batteries might react well to this treatment and others might not. If you are at a point where you are going to buy another battery anyway, I guess you have nothing to lose.
tldr= Tried battery revival on 2 NiCd drill batteries that wouldn’t hold a charge. One now works wonderfully, the other one still won’t hold any kid of a charge.
noone cares about your fruit-top faggot
at last the information i needed thank you.
Good post.
I think your blog is really cool! Keep up the good work! I also got a site about laptops with proper information. My site is mainly about laptop-information , where to rent laptops and alot more! I hope you visit me site soon and ones again thank you for sharing articles on this amazing blog!
I know this is old but i will still reply
This is a great hack
My sister gave me her laptop a while ago
and i’m not that keen on laptops its a hp compaq
nx9005 with a bust battery i know these laptops wasn’t built for speed and nor do i intend to gain anything out of it i just want to add new hardware like wireless extra usb ports more ram etc
I’m not using this for gaming
i will only use this for basic home usage
check emails, browsing the internet, etc
i have a wireless usb adaptor
i need to buy more ram and new battery
Anyone got any tips on anything else i should upgrade
This article is awesome. I’m going to try the battery trick soon, my battery died completely yesterday. Is it possible to replace video memory? Or is it just too tricky to do manually?
So Freezers for can be used for Laptop battery discharging and hard drive recovery according to another article I read. Great project