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I picked up and configured this W500 4061-B13 for my workbench to test and wipe hard drives/SSDs, which has worked great. I appreciated the feel of the laptop itself, the indicator lights for just about everything you could want (that are visible open and closed), and how easy it is to work on and upgrade a ThinkPad. IMHO the system is responsive on Windows 10 x86 Enterprise LTSC and with Linux Mint. You can get Windows 11 installed, but with the max 8 GB of RAM the experience is frustrating at best (at least for me) – and getting drivers to work in Win11 is a fruitless endeavor as well. The WiFi and ethernet connections both work fine in Win10 and Linux.
This W500 4061-B13 has a Core 2 Duo 2.53 Ghz T9400 processor, ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 GPU, and a maximum display resolution of 1920 × 1200. It also has VGA and DisplayPort video output, three USB ports, and a docking station connector.
Note that one of the DDR3 RAM slots is wonky, not securing the SODIM down into the slot. If you are careful, you can install the SODIMM and close the cover to the RAM slots so that the SODIMM is inserted.
In this W500 4061-B13 I upgraded:
- Upgraded the BIOS to the latest version, dated 10/2012
- Maxed out the DDR3 memory to 8 GB
- Swapped out the spinning rust hard drive for a Zenith InfoSys 120GB SSD. Booting up is speedy fast now with the SSD.
- Currently running a fresh install of Windows 10 x86 Enterprise LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel)
- Has Office, Visio, Project, LibreOffice, and a ton of open-source applications and tools installed
- The battery that came with it seems to work ok. I also found a spare, used extended OEM battery which also seems to work ok.
- I also picked up five (5) brand-new old stock (NOS) third-party batteries, Dill model ML-T60. I charged one up and it worked great.
The W500 4061-B13 is ready to use, just create a new user ID & passphrase and encrypt the local drive with Bitlocker. Windows Defender is active and running, so if you wanted a different endpoint protection that is up to you. Also, there are Powershell scripts you can leverage to further harden and ensure a higher level of privacy.
The spare W500 4062-4FU I picked up intending to use for a different project, not knowing/realizing that the LCD is broken. You can boot to boot into the BIOS, but the damage to the LCD is bad (IMHO). This W500 4062-4FU has an Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 2.53 Ghz processor, with 3 GB of memory and an OEM extended battery. The CMOS battery is dead and needs to be replaced, as well as is missing the multidrive, the hard drive/SSD mounting bracket and cover. An LCD replacement is a relatively easy project, but I am overbooked with projects – hence offering it up as spares for the working W500. With the wonky DIMM slot, perhaps using the best parts from each to make one system would be prudent?
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns regarding the items or conditions of the offer, please feel free to send me an email. Asking $170 for everything or Best Offer (OBO) - My asking price was a WAG for both ThinkPads, the upgrades, and the multiple new old stock batteries; LMK what you think would be appropriate. I will consider all reasonable offers - I would rather have you benefit from having this in your home than sitting in my garage.
Reasonable arrangements can be made for meeting up/pickup/drop off in the San Francisco Bay area, keeping prudent pandemic precautions in mind (social distancing, do not meet when you are sick/asymptomatic, wear N95/KN95 mask, etc). Otherwise I can also ship & use PirateShip (having sent things to folks in the vintage computer communities I also lurk in), though only stateside so far.
The full gallery, that expires in 30 days: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2yQFFDr
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