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Title: ThinkPad x301 Restoration: Hardware Mods
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Author: Alessandro Mauri
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# ThinkPad x301 Restoration Project: Hardware Modifications
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As I have to tear at least one ThinkPad down I thought that doing some hardware
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modifications would be a good idea. Some things I would like to do are:
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1. A display mod, the stock x301 display is decent but for 2008 standards.
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As far as I know there are no good options for a display mod, as the x300
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and x301 screens were made specifically for these laptops, but maybe a
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good AFFS screen can be found and substituted.
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2. USB-C charging, cheap USB-C PD power delivery [boards][usbc] can be used
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instead of the default charging connector, they signal compatible power
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supplies to deliver 20V thus charging the laptop. This is very cool because
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it allows old ThinkPads to be charged via modern chargers, which are among
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other things, much more efficient and light.
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3. Cleaning the fan bearing. The old bearing is, well, old and it makes an
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awful sound. This is not only very unpleasant but also lowers cooling and
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power efficiency
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4. Full re-paste, very basic, much needed.
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5. Changing the default WiFi card to a "freedom respecting" [Atheros AR9382][wf]
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card, from 2010 it has a maximum speed of 300Mb in download and god-knows in
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upload. Certified under false brands as [RYF][ryf] hardware by the FSF is
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is very well supported by open-source drivers.
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6. Use a microSata to MSata converter in order to use faster and more modern
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SSDs, this will increase the responsitivity of the machine by a lot.
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7. Upgrade the Bluetooth module from 2.0 to 4.0, this is not only for better
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speeds but also for better power saving.
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8. New third party battery, this is also needed on most old laptops
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## The Easy Stuff
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This stuff is rather easy, calling replacing a card a "hardware mod" is a
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stretch but better put it here than somewhere else.
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In general a good resource for simple modifications and general information
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about the ThinkPad x301 is the [Mc Donnell Tech website][donnell]
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Let's begin with the battery, the ThinkPad x301 came with three battery
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[options][batteries]:
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- Battery 49, 3 cells, 27.3 Wh
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- Battery 49+, 6 cells, 43.2 Wh
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- Bay Battery 50, 3 cells, resides in the UltraBay Thin slot, 23.7 Wh
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The best _new_ option is to get some third party battery with 6 cells more
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or less equivalent to the 49+. As for the UltraBay battery, they don't make
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them new, and buying a new old stock costs an eye and a liver. Also having a
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DVD reader in 2021 is comfy.
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Buying a new battery can cost you upwards of 50€ and I'm not really sure about
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the difference between the third parties, I'll have to do some more research
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on that.
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Moving on to WiFi, the preinstalled one is an Intel 5XXX WiFi link something
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something. Not bad but not great, some other options are:
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- [Atheros AR9382][wf], good driver support but _average_ speeds, also this
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chip is used in [freedom respecting][ryf] hardware
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- [Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300][centrino] (FRU 60Y3233), better speeds and
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power efficiency, unsure about driver support and "freedom respect"
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- [Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Plus Bluetooth][ac7260] (FRU 04W3814), as
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the name implies it has Bluetooth builtin and even greater speeds, again tho
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I'm not sure about drivers and freedom. Also a [hardware mod][ac7260mod] may
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be required for it to work.
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**NOTE:** all these cards can be installed only after flashing a new BIOS with
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the device whitelist removed, a good resource on that is once-again
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[Mc Donnell's website][donnell].
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Onto Bluetooth, there are a couple of [FRUs][fru] (cards) that will work out of
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the box (and for all I know at all), there are:
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- The preinstalled BT 2.0 boards
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- [FRU 60Y3303][bt1] Bluetooth 4.0 from Foxconn
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- [FRU 60Y3305][bt2] Bluetooth 4.0 from Liteon
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One of the 4.0 cards will serve me nicely, as far as I know there is no real
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difference between the two so no stress in picking one or the other.
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Finally the [micro SATA][usata] to [mSATA][msata] converter board. The x301
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originally used a micro SATA SSD or HDD, these come in a non-common 1.8"
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format which to my knowledge manufacturers no longer use. So the idea is to
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use a [commercially available][umconverter] converter board along with a
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[3D printable caddy][caddyfile] (source [here][caddy]) in order to use
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common mSATA SSDs.
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## Display Panel Replacement
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Easily the hardest mod of all, since no direct swaps are possible the only way
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to proceed is heavily modifying either the case and/or the eDP cable (which
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let me tell you is not fun). But after all that trouble you can end up with a
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really nice AFFS display as shown here:
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This image was taken [from this forum post][affsforum]
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[usbc]: https://www.electronics-lab.com/usb-c-pd-module-provides-9v-12v-15v-20v-sells-1e/
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[wf]: https://static6.arrow.com/aropdfconversion/3819c6435740abdd592c1d40adffdfba809ffe79/ar9382.pdf
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[ryf]: https://ryf.fsf.org/
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[affsforum]: http://thinkpads.kr/xe/?mid=gallery&document_srl=80883
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[batteries]: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/pd013390
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[centrino]: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/it/it/ark/products/59474/intel-centrino-ultimate-n-6300-dual-band.html
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[ac7260]: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/it/it/ark/products/75439/intel-dual-band-wireless-ac-7260.html
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[ac7260mod]: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/49wjv1/x220t_and_intel_wirelessac_7260_installation_woes/
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[donnell]: http://x301.mcdonnelltech.com/
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[fru]: https://support.lenovo.com/it/it/solutions/ht118572-what-is-a-field-replacement-unit-fru-service-part
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[bt1]: https://www.amazon.it/Adattatore-Bluetooth-Thinkpad-60Y3303-60Y3305/dp/B07XQ8MHCC
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[bt2]: https://www.amazon.it/Adattatore-Bluetooth-Thinkpad-60Y3303-60Y3305/dp/B07XQ8MHCC
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[usata]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Micro_connector
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[msata]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Mini-SATA_(mSATA)
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[umconverter]: https://www.amazon.it/Sconosciuto-msata-Express-Converter-Adapter/dp/B01AP5RSZY
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[caddy]: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/e0rbfq/thinkpad_x301_msata_adapter_caddy/
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[caddyfile]: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3996754
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