IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad X41T: The original iconic Tablet PC
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- When it comes to tablet computers, this ThinkPad X41 Tablet is one of the more iconic examples of the beginning of an era. Come learn more about this computer and the X4 Docking Station.
Hardware Maintenance Manual: (X41T and Docking Station)
thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm...
PSREF Doc:
psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/...
Release Announcement from IBM:
www.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bi...
/ laptopretrospe1
teespring.com/stores/laptop-r...
laptopretrospective.com
Looking for one yourself? Check eBay and your local classifieds. By purchasing from the links below, as an eBay Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases that go to supporting the channel.
eBay:
ebay.us/XcGk26
Timecodes:
0:00 Introduction
1:33 Interview Segment
4:05 Specs and Unique Features
6:56 Ports and Features
8:04 ThinkPad X4 Dock
9:25 Disassembly
12:47 Windows XP Tablet Edition
16:01 Conclusions
#ThinkPad #IBM #Lenovo 
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I got an X220 tablet yesterday and I really enjoy how the display moves. Really fun to use!
Yeah, I remember a while back looking at the X230T the same way. It was nice to go back to the beginning.
@@LaptopRetrospective I got it for $90 with an 11e. I'll probably order a stylus with it and use it as a new machine for a bit.
I have one of those and I use it daily. Fantastic computer.
i bought one of those for school a few years ago because i wanted a machine with pen input, while i don't use it much today, I still use it as a backup in case my surface goes down for some reason, great machine.
I would love to see a video about the X62, which is an unofficially upgraded model. Not many of these around.
That sounds interesting. What do you know about this unofficial upgrade?
I have this last year found it in local market for 10$ but in bad condition as the screen was blank and must use an external monitor. But tbh this is my 1st thinkpad 😄
That's awesome, glad you're still getting use out of it.
That was my dream machine way back when!
It would have been mine if I knew it existed at the time.
Excellent review, as usual.
Thanks Ted, glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for doing a story on this model. I always wanted one of these. I do have an X60T and several X301s, and also an X20 and an X120e. I also have a couple of W5xx models, and some real oldies too. I have a 701CS, but it doesn't work.
That's quite a collection you've got going. I'm still working on my 701 to see if I can get it to live again. I hope to feature more workstations too one day.
@@LaptopRetrospective I forgot to mention I also have an X220t. Great machine that I use every day.
I use my X220 every day around the house. Great piece of kit. Nice size and still very useful.
... Cheers to you ...
Likewise. 😁
I can see right away where the X60t comes from that I have in my collection.
Also reinstalled Windows XP two weeks ago for nostalgia reasons (which is funny because I got tired of XP when machines at work still ran with it like 5 years ago).
Is the Tablet Edition the one however that is needed to make the Wacom screen work? I used the Recovery CD that came with my XP desktop 18 years ago.
Not sure if it's required to get the Wacom tablet to work in this era or not. I was fortunate that this unit had an intact image as you saw it.
I have one of these, funny thing is, I only bought it for its screen (it has an IPS panel). I have a Thinkpad X32 that I was planning to make into a retro gaming laptop, but it has a horrific TN panel, so I wanted to take the nice IPS panel from the X41 tablet, and (after some modification)use it in my X32. But I never went ahead with my plan because of the following two reasons:
1: The backlight is dead in my X41 tablet (I can see the screen still works, but completely unusable in this state).
2: The X41 tablet turned out to be in very nice condition physically, very little wear and no damages, so I just wouldn't be comfortable trashing this beautiful machine just for its screen.
I really would like to upgrade the backlight in my X41 to LED, but I don't know what would be the best way to go about it. There used to be a guy called Xiphmont, who made amazing LED backlight kits for many different thinkpad models, with great colour rendition, very high max brightness, and no PWM flickering. Unfortunately ha has completely disappeared from the face of the earth a couple of years ago, so those kits are not available anymore.
From what I have read it seems most chinese kits have that PWM flickering, and for someone like me, who has sensitive eyes, they just wouldnt be a good option. Also I have no idea which kits would even support correct screen brightness adjustment or that screen LED status bar under the screen.
If anyone here happens to know more about the currently available chinese LED backlight kits, maybe even has hands on experience, I would be very grateful for some quick tips, or guiding me in the right direction.
Best of luck on your restoration!
This reminds me of my gateway M275 running Elive OS!
Guessing that's a Linux distro?
@@LaptopRetrospective Yes, it is Debian-based, with the Enlightenment desktop environment. Also, it is a Windows XP tablet as well, with a Pentium M 745. It is the same form factor, even down to the pen slot. No trackpoint though sadly, but it has a 14 inch screen, which is nice.
Interesting! Thanks for the information.
@@LaptopRetrospective Thank YOU for information. I really enjoy watching your channel. Have a nice day:)
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! People like you make creating videos fun.
If you don't mind, could you run a backup of this machine and upload it? I am missing a lot of the stock features and drivers on my X41 and I haven't been able to find much for it at all. It would be great if you could upload it to the Internet Archive or something and put the link in the description
Sorry for the late reply. I'm not sure a backup would do what you'd want. I know there is a Recovery ISO on Archive.org but it might be the French version, I think you can change the language after the installation though.
I briefly had an X41 (non-tablet version) a while back. It was very slow even when running Win XP. I could barely watch RUclips videos in 480p (but not in full screen). The worst part is that I had to replace the hard drive and it turns out there is a blacklist in the BIOS which only allows IBM hard drives (specific FRU parts) to work. I had to install a modded BIOS in order to use a different hard drive.
Interesting. I suspect mine would also have a whitelist. Glad to hear from you as always. Coming soon will be some machines you'll recognize if everything goes according to plan.
@@LaptopRetrospective I'm looking forward to those videos. Hehe. Yes, I would suspect that your X41T would have a blacklist for the hard drive as well.
There are a few videos ahead of them but not many. There's one in particular I want to do prior because it will tell a better story. 😉
Whats up man! I enjoyed your video on this Thinkpad =) I commented on a couple of your other videos a few weeks ago. I didn't get back to you cuz I've been busy. Doing what u ask? Just work and.. collecting Thinkpads baby! Yeahh 😎 Do you think the R50e and the R31 are worth adding to my collection? I try to get the highest CPU-spec Thinkpad out of every 2-3 CPU generations. So far I have: X201, X220, X140E, Twist S230U, X1 Carbon (2nd gen), X1 Yoga (1st and 3rd gen) AND.. my pride and joy: X300 & 755CX. And guess what, all my Thinkpads work and a battery for the 755CX is the only missing piece from the entire set!
I think an R series of any kind is a great addition for a collection, especially if it has a cut corner like the R40. Sounds like you have a fantastic start to your collection.
@@LaptopRetrospective I just bought a R31 in mint condition right after you replied; it has a cut corner. I'm excited 😁 I appreciate your time man! I've been watching several of your videos =) You should consider a Patreon, I'd join 😀
Thanks for the kind words. I've thought about something like that but I'd want to have something good I could offer in exchange for that level of support.
@@LaptopRetrospective Whats up man. I wanted to give you a suggestion that could help you get a growing # of Pateron members. You do a really good job of demonstrating that a laptop as more than a laptop. Most ppl don't think about how there's a team behind a device and behind that there is usually older teams and predecessor hardware. Using your X300 series as an example, I watched it with a friend of mine who isn't into tech at all really. She can appreciate a good laptop or tablet but mostly bc she sees my enthusiasm for a well-designed piece of tech. After she saw your series, she said something like "wow, I didn't know so much work was involved in making a laptop and that Thinkpad is special" She now wants a X300! So you my friend have that effect on ppl bc of how you present everything; your passion shows. You tell a story really well and you even manage to personify a device. If you can present more tech like that (doesn't always have to a series), ppl will enjoy it much more than a usual review or discussion!
Thanks for the feedback/suggestion. I've certainly got a few more videos like the X300 planned but the machine has to be special to warrant that level of work.
Thanks for the great video! I recently purchased one of these tablet PCs and was excited to use it but it came with a blanked out HDD. Its proving difficult to find a copy of the recovery disks for this PC.
If it is possible to do so, would you be able to upload a copy of the recovery disks from your installation?
Have you tried Archive.org for disc images?
@@LaptopRetrospective I have, and I found images for this laptop, though none of them were for the English language version of Windows. I tried looking for ways to install an English language pack on a non-English Windows XP but didn't see a way to do that.
Please give me some pointers if I'm missing anything here. Appreciate your reply and the help!
@@LaptopRetrospective Also, when I try to install from a generic image of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, it did not accept the product key on the label under the laptop. I was wondering if this is because the key only works with an OEM copy of Windows.
There might be a way. Here is some information from the person who originally uploaded that image:
"You'll find the X41T recovery CD in my archive.org uploads. Be aware that it might contains only the French language so you may have to bear with that during the setup and switching to English by installing a dedicated English MUI pack afterwards (if that's possible on XP Tablet Edition, I never tried)."
I think this is indeed possible.
@@LaptopRetrospective I guess it's worth a try then. I'll see what I can find. Thanks again!
I have one of these in good shape but no is. Can you share an OS image?
Windows XP Tablet Edition is a good place to start.
@@LaptopRetrospective aha I got an msata to IDE adapter and it works great 👍 Debian bulls eye with XFCE, or MATE works great, the pen is awesome! The ips screen is fantastic! I still haven’t found windows xp tablet edition
There are some iso images on archive.org, archive.org/details/windows-xp-tablet-pc-edition-2005
I immediately replaced all hdd with adapters for ssd for my X40/41 collection. As for the hinge, replacements are readily available as the arms for it can break easily. The slowest harddrives in the business at the time only the Microdrive was slower😒😒 I think the X300 was another example of Thinkpad using a non standard storage again.
Yeah the X300 uses non-standard storage for sure. I'd love to hear more about the fru/part numbers to replace for the hinge system.
As a 15 year old boy I worked 5 months to buy a 1GB IBM microdrive because it had the lowest $/MB of all flashcards for my Casio Cassiopeia smartphone.
Hi could you please hint me with the hdd I could use? also a tip for RAM, as I understood it can run 2GB? Now I!ve got W7 on it but, also looking for the original recovery:/
Looks similar to my X61T.
Not surprising since they are generationally close.
@@LaptopRetrospective The X41 is smaller, isn't it?
@@basicforge Both are roughly the same size in their standard configurations:
The X41T is 274mm (W) x 242mm (L) x 32mm (H).
The X61T is 274mm (W) x 244mm (L) x 33mm (H).
I'm guessing they don't make an SSD in that size.
I'm sure one exists, but it wasn't available when this was being built. Lots of adapter options out there too.
Yes it does. I have a Dell Latitude D430 which uses the same size HDD and looked into getting an SSD for it. They're quite rare though so you often find they're pretty expensive. Fun fact: The 1.8" HDD is the same one used in iPods.
I was able to purchase an IDE to mSATA adapter and pop an SSD onto it to use with this tablet.
Nice!
Yes tge ide to sata works, but you need to find one that’s small, and there are two voltages available. I think you need the 3.3 volt one. Miata drives are inexpensive in 64gb size