Lenovo Thinkpad T430 "Classic" 7 Row Keyboard Installation / Mod
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
- Today I am finally going to replace the awful chiclet / island style keyboard on my Lenovo Thinkpad T430 with a more traditional 7-row row keyboard from the Lenovo T420. Along the way I discovered the easiest way to install the 7-row keyboard into the T430 which required absolutely no modifications to the keyboard or palmrest. It turns out that this was a very easy modification and, if done right, should only take 15 - 20 mins to complete.
====Resources====
Thinkwiki: www.thinkwiki.o...
T430 maintenance manual: thinkpads.com/...
New firmware for the keyboard (not tested at this point): github.com/ham...
New T420 keyboard: rover.ebay.com/...
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A few people have complained that I did not isolate the necessary pins on the internal keyboard connector. I addressed this issue in the video but just to reiterate, many have successfully performed this mod without making any changes to the internal connector. According to Thinkwiki "Further investigations on three keyboards shows that the over-current condition described above quickly lead to the same failure each time - a small burnout on the keyboard just after the retaining bar (see circled area on photo below). This burnout has had the effect of removing the short circuit and stopping any other issues." any foreseeable issues should take care of themselves. If you want to still isolate the pins on the internal connector, then feel free to, I am not going to stop you. However, I found it to be an unnecessary step.
can i have the old keyboard because mine broke
Andrew Vickers
/userroot- scrub
AA Computers and Technology would it work on a t430s model?
Just as a bit of defense, as the original author of that article... I didn't write anything about a palmrest. Someone else shoehorned those instructions in later, and I think it was mostly intended for the X230.
By removing your palmrest, installing the keyboard into it, and then putting both back in at the same time, you don't have to modify the nubs on the keyboard, but you also remove the ability to remove the keyboard without first removing the palmrest, which some would view as a relatively big issue (especially when shortening the nubs isn't hard at all).
So, yeah. Nothing was a "lie" so much as a lot of other people misinterpreting instructions and then broadening them.
imo, the bulge is caused becuause of a wifi cable or some clipsing part badly seated on the rest, still, i would go for that mod if i ever get a newer thinkpad.
especially if this keyboard comes with NMB switches.
The reason your back of the palmrest is now raised is because you broke the clips on the back of your palmrest (check the back, under the battery, you'll notice 4 clips - your 2nd one from the right should be broken according to what I saw in the video). It took me 3 new palmrests for me to get this right, it's ridiculously annoying and difficult to properly seat with the keyboard without breaking them.
I recently got this problem with my t430, i almost bought a new palmrest, but i happen to find out that one of the clips was just twisted, so i just had to twist it back, and it worked fine.
The plastic on the palmrest are really good
Can you connect the keyboard when the palmrest is still on the laptop?
@@ramiveiberman3182 yes, you just have to unscrew some screws on the back, don't really remember which, but I think is the ones more on the middle of the back
love how this guy gives new life to old laptops.
Just love it.
*Notices a bulge in the keyboard*
OwO what's this?
This is cheap and dirty MS Ergonomic keyboard imitation. On a laptop!
I wish laptop keyboards were modular so third-party manufacturers could join the party.
Exatly! Btw nice reference to rpgs
most Laptops out there as of 2012 actually use a PS/2 connection, this means any keyboard can work on them as long as you can figure out which pin on the connector goes to each pad on the ribbon cable
now the annoyant part is the individual connectors, but on the keyboard diversity, i had a certain experience with my T60 and T61p. one had a NMB and the other one was a Alps. I found out by doxing the serial numbers recently. This laptop is ten years old and has seen some shit so I replaced the keyboard with a cheap one from Amazon, a Lenovo Genuine, and the serial indicated it was made by Chicony. the NMB brand is really an original design common to HP and Lenovo's high end, and is very comfortable to type on. The Alps one is a bit more clumsy, but the Chicony, as the T60/61 marked the end of the transition from IBM to Lenovo, Lenovo decided tpo get the cheapest keyboards with scissors switches, you cannot type with all your feels without having keycaps breaking, something that never happened on the original NMB. I finally ordered a couple of remaining NMBs from a seller in Canada to replace both my T60 and T61's, because that counts!
- Apple has left the chat.
if you think this is awful experience, you should do a video on your first experience of typing on a Macbook Pro 2017 keyboard xD
@@user-zu5qx4xg6h no the old ones though not the best were OK but nothing compared to thinkpad keyboards of the time
I currently have a T60 and a T420 and they are both fantastic computers, however I am looking at a T430 because of the native USB 3.0 support and the improved processors and graphics. If I were to get one, this mod would be one of the first things I would do to it.
update: I have ordered a T430 for parts off of ebay, it is missing the screen and keyboard. So I get to pick the screen that goes in it AND I get to order a T420 keyboard! So because of that I will never have to deal with the T430 keyboard! :)
Good of you
I miss the build quality of my T61. This t-430 is a cheap pile of shit in comparison.
@@SebisRandomTech Is this the same T430 you are using today? I am using the classic keyboard on my X201 right now, very nice keyboard.
@@KylesDigitalLab Yup, the T430 with a classic keyboard has been my daily driver on and off for the last several years.
I grew up using my dad's Lenovo T60 (he used to work for IBM), and while the Wave keyboard on my X1 Yoga 3rd gen isn't bad, it simply doesn't compare. It's worlds better than those nearly-zero-travel new Macbook keyboards, but nothing compares to the feel of those good old 7-row IBM Thinkpad keyboards when it comes to laptop keyboards.
Some of the earliest Thinkpads came with buckling sleeve keyboards that felt absolutely amazing. Miles better than any modern laptop keyboard, dare I say even the more recent “classic” rubber dome ones.
Nice video, I'm actually planning to do this when my T430 arrives in the mail, along with a bunch of other upgrades like you did in your other video. Thanks, your videos are what made me buy the T430!
I am in love with the T430, for me the most equilibrate possible laptop; cause you can approach it with the vintage keyboard as well as a FHD screen, pulling it Coreboot, and using a decent 'old' i7 with 4c/8t...
Too bad there is no aftermarket
backlit old style keyboard
Oh yeah would be an instant buy for me
If there was, it would probably be crappy and cheap.
you don't need to, just use the thinklight
There are actually - they're just third party
@asc3n d3ad There are Chinese manufacturers on Alibaba that build them or will upon request. Most of them are based in Guangdong
I can help you with flashing the EC by uploading an already made image with the keyboard patch applied. I won't be able to test it though, because my T430 still has the original chiclet keyboard installed (I plan to install the classic one myself sometime), I did use the same program to remove the battery validation check though. I don't like saying this, because it just feels a little mean, but I am not responsible for any bricked motherboards.
Seems like I always have to play devil's advocate when it comes to the *30 line...
I like the new keyboard better. Not because of the layout, but because it fixed the abysmal build quality of the *20 series' keyboard. Since the T60 there was a steady decline in quality, and by the time Lenovo released the T420 the flex on these things was insane, and you had to be really lucky to find one that was actually as clicky as they were meant to be. They messed up the layout with the precision keyboard, but it is sturdy, clicky, and overall my preferred option on my T530 and X230.
I agree, I have a T430s and the keyboard is rock solid in my opinion. It's not worse than the old style, just different. It blows modern keyboards of the same style out of the water (Macbooks for instance). This guy saying that his fingers hurt from typing on a T430 keyboard is ridiculous.
To me this is a really tacky mod. The keyboard clearly does not fit perfectly, as seen by the weird bulges and flexing you see in the video and other examples of the completed mod. For the X230 it's fine, as you can replace the palm rest and get a truly perfect fit. Otherwise just leave your computer alone.
I appreciate your tutorial on how to swap the keyboard. If you're going to do this, make sure you have a good pair of wire cutters and a file. I wound up just cutting all the tabs on the bottom off and some small plastic parts in the top part of the keyboard to make it slide in completely. I didn't bother isolating the pins as per advice on this video and elsewhere. Everything seems to be fine and the keyboard is still working. It was actually not as easy as people make it sound, and the keyboard does not technically fit (maybe if you get the T420 palmrest...??), but after you knock this square peg into the round hole well enough, it does feel a lot nicer than the original T430 keyboard to type on, and is stable enough. I got a T410 keyboard instead of a T420 since I think, even though they might be the same part, it might sell a little cheaper under the T410 title. twenty bucks on Ebay.
I use my t430 as daily driver, i didnt get any problems with the included keyboard
It’s a preference thing.
The T430 uses the same switches as the older models, it’s just a different layout. The layout is more a personal preference thing.
Dude is a giant baby apparently, because imagine being physically hurt by a fucking keyboard. Like not carpel tunnel or anything, just not liking a keyboard layout so much that you pretend it has physically injured you
@@dstinnettmusic Layout and 7th row may be a personal preference but missing gaps between F4-F5, F8-F9 and index protrusions on F and J was a major blow to the usability (for anyone who types blindly and uses F-keys).
Brilliant! I've owned the T430s, for the last 8½ years, coming from a company-owned T420...and I've been a ThinkPad user since 1995.
Switching from the T420 keyboard to the T430s chicklet was difficult for a few days. I eventually got used to it and now comfortably type.
Three years ago I found a minty-mint T420 with 8gb of RAM and a 256gb SSD for $155. It looked and felt new.
Whenever I need to do extensive word processing, that's my go-to. I also use it for all of my Internet and coffee shop needs...keeping my T430s away from all Internet virus and malware horrors. The T420 is still a fantastic notebook.
Idiocy for Lenovo for changing the greatest keyboard design ever. It was the perfect keyboard.
I've been watching your videos, especially since I too really like the Thinkpads and see the value in buying some used T420 's, T430's and T440's and upgrading some of the components, especially for what i want to use them for.
I've been on the fence for weeks because I like the keyboard of the T420, but have been looking at T430's. So I'm really happy that you made this particular video.
I'd really be interested in any update if you get the keyboard functioning at 100% with the driver updates.
Back-lighting-
I assume that since the T420 never had a back-lit keyboard that there's no configuration that lets you have the T420 keyboard on the T430 and have back lit capabilities. Or is there?
Keep up the good work, and thanks for making so many videos covering this line of computers. They've really helped in the decision making process.
Harold Mansfield I've used t420s, t430s, and t440s, and I personally like the t440s because it has a backlit keyboard and is noticeably lighter than the other two. I also don't mine the keyboard at all, but the screen and trackpad are pretty junky compared to the previous models. You can replace the screen with an IPS panel and the trackpad with a trackpad from the next model up , which is highly recommended by most people. I plan on replacing the trackpad and panel on mine as soon as I can afford it but it's still a fantastic machine and I use it as my primary. great battery life too with 2 batteries.
I have a T420 and love it, I don't think there is any way to backlit a T420 keyboard, since the T420 has the thinklight (next to the webcam) for that reason. And to be honest, I like it a lot.
Only real downside I see in the T420 is the lack of USB 3.0 (for external HDD usage), but that can be solved by an expresscard usb 3.0 expansion card.
Other than that it's excellent, at least for what I use it for (programming, internet and watching videos), even outputs 1080p video playback perfectly to my home TV.
And mine is the more modest config. i5 2520m, 4gb ddr3 RAM and 320gb hitachi HDD (I live in a 3rd world shithole so that influences price of new electronics)
Sort of reminds me of what I did with my Dell Inspiron 1545, an old laptop that I use in part for the same reason--I don't like modern laptop keyboards at all. The 1545 comes with a solid black keyboard that is impossible to see in low-light conditions, so I swapped it out for a silver keyboard from a 1520/25, which works just fine and fits perfectly, but a few keys are mapped differently. But with the 1525 keyboard, you can be in the dark and the light from the screen will illuminate the keys.
Always feels good to find a workaround to a problem and make supposedly locked-down hardware bend to your will. 🙂
My 1545 I absolutely hate it
The performance and keyboard is one of the worst
@@Maximus20778 I actually like the keyboard. Performance-wise, it's been long ago updated to the best CPU it can run and has an SSD installed. So it's usable.
@@johncate9541 best CPU and it still runs like crap. I wouldn't wish intel gma on my worst enemy.
When I first watched this video I didn’t have any point of reference so I just believed you. Now I have a t530 and older thinkpads like the t60 for reference. While the older keyboard is better, the newer one is still pretty great. It’s better than most other laptop keyboards in fact. Only beat out by the older thinkpads, a Toshiba tecra m10, and the newer MacBooks(pre-butterfly)
Nice. Thanks. I really like the included mistakes. Traps to watch out for !
I would say you don't even need to remove the palmrest at all! At least that will fit the original keyboard just fine
It might have been easier to just get a T420 instead of a T430.
They're worse though.
Yes, the old 7 row Thinkpad is more comfort for long hours typing.
The new design chiclet keyboard not too ergonomics, make my finger hurts after 2 hours typing.
Completely disagree, am typing on an x230 keyboard. Great feel, the best.
you can remap the del/home button thing on windows using Sharpkeys, or put some labels on those keys like the ones on my t20m
Im wondering, how has the quad core i7 been treating you with heat? seeing you don't have the better heatsink (the one that comes with the dgpu) it cant be great, but i've been thinking of throwing in an 840qm into my T410.
xBane_ the i7 is the same TDP as the i5 he previously had, so heat shouldn't be an issue.
Elgoog Botnet if he used a dual core i7, then yes. If he used a quad core, than no. All i5s and dual core i7s from this gen we're 35watt chips but the quad core i7s are 45 watts.
Pretty sure the i7 he chose is this one ark.intel.com/products/64901/Intel-Core-i7-3612QM-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz-BGA which is a quad core @ 35w tdp.
It may not make much difference, the tdp is not that higher... There were some i5 that used 35w, or something close to that, and when swapped to 35w i7's the computer actually got colder because with roughly the same tdp, the computer had more performance and the processor would need less effort to process things generating less heat.
Just verify the tdp of the envolved processors (the old one and the new one)!
the non backlit version of the chiclet keyboard uses the same switches as the t420 keyboard
All of this makes me wonder why you didn't go with the T420 in the first place. It's only a year older.
I don't think the performance difference between both CPU is that big really + a USB 3 PCMCIA card comes to the rescue. (I thought i already said that the T420 is older, why did you need to tell me that again?)
I think he didn't expect the new style keuboard to be such a dealbreaker. I agree with you, 1-2 year difference doesn't make that much of a difference, hell I am using a T60 from 2007.
cant i install t420 keyboard on the t440??? because the t420keyboard is the best laptop keyboard i ever seen
Not that I know.
I've been looking too.
the chiclet keyboard is still pretty good tho
Great to see it works and is easy. Has anyone been able to get a hold of the converter kits for IPS panels in the T430 recently? All the googling leads to outdated info etc.
Might be a bit late but I just did this for my T430 and am quite pleased with it. I did not find a kit but just looked for the specific panel model and bought the cable and converter board setup directly from China via aliexpress. The issue is that the T430 has an older LVDS connecter, while the screen, which is a similar one to the one on the T440p, has an eDP connector. But its very easy to install and you just need to get hold of the right panel to go with it which was the AOU B140HAN 1.3 in my case, which I could get new in my country from an eBay seller. The sellers for the converter bords usually also have the compatible panels on the product page. The issue is that this upgrade was quite costly (~150€ in Germany) but since mine had a broken screen anyways it was okay to pay the premium over getting another shitty 1600x900 TN panel.
By the way, did you get the firmware update to work and what was the problem? I'm tempted to try it.
Love your thinkpad related vids👍🏻
Os deseo el mejor de los resultados en este camino arriesgado y valiente que estáis emprendiendo.
I've never minded the keyfeel of the new ones so much (I prefer the old ones for it still, but not massively.)
What pisses me off is the layout or the chiclet
Ikr, I love the feel of the chiclet keyboard, it's so clacky and you can get some serious type speeds on them
iceberg keys do not belong on a thinkpad! it is haram! impure! sacrilegious! NEIN, VÖRSTRICHT!
heh.
now, here's a joke. a challenge.
Upgrade the screen to a 1920x1200 or 2560x1600 IPS screen.
for the delete key, just try Randyrants's keymapper software, works on all windows. on linux it's easy, you modify a language-specific text file., that's how i converted a native qwerty into a proper azertyuiop french, keeping the right 1234567890 unshifted; and à éèÈà ôü keys included.
oh, reminds me to add, linux humans also say it's haram to modify the keyboard locale file using a random text editor as root, as the proper way to map key should require 250 command lines in terminal. here's my answer : this is how I always did it with .INI or .INF files in Windows. Your freedum OS is no different, these files are editable for a reason.
Thanks for that sir
Did you figure out the issue with the bulge at the back of the keyboard? I think it might be an installation problem.
Awesome man! You should try putting a 1080p panel now and share your exp with us ;) :)
T430 or T440
Only 30 bucks different at where i live. Same 8GB of RAM
Don't worry so much !!! Your still a kid and new technology will grow on you if you are a little patient !!!
Thank you, very nice video.
I need to check your channel for info/videos on upgrading the T430.
I want an i-7, better display, & maybe a backlit keyboard or al least a better keyboard.
T430 squad! like if your apart of the T430 squad.
nah W530 for life.
I guess I am but I wish it was as durable as my dual branded IBM/Lenovo t-61 was. I bought it right when IBM was selling everything off and has both sets of logos on it. That thinkpad was a fuckin' tank compared to this fragile piece of shit. Still better built than most but not good enough.
Nah, Lenovo T400
Great mod mate! I'm experiencing the same issue with the chiclet keyboard on T430.I really miss my T60..... Have you found a way to assign the keys to their proper function?
Any thoughts on eGPU setups? I personally have gotten it to work just fine with my ThinkPad in Windows, but I haven't had any success in Linux.
Something else that doesn't work right in linux... Imagine that! I tried and tried and fuckin tried with linux. Many different distros over several years and regardless of the computer they ran on I could never get the video quality for my shows and movies to my personal satisfaction. Always some screen tearing or chopping or something to make it shit. Windows just does a better job and if you aren't a buffoon who clicks on dumb shit you wont ever get a virus. I haven't ran antivirus on my machine in years and never have issues. If linux could fix this one issue... and I guess they are FINALLY WORKING ON IT, I would swicth over in an instant. Hopefully they get it done before windows 7 ends support.
Tried swapping old T410 keyboard with my T430 but can't seem to find a method of flashing 7-row changes from Windows 10. I don't plan to install Linux.
Is it possible that EC Flash (once flashed via Linux) will then also work for Win10? In that case I might try installing a portable distro like Lupo or Mint only for flashing.
You dont need to install linux - just boot it from USB/DVD or external HD.
Nice! I hate chiclet keyboards, too, and will never understand why they became so popular in the laptop industry.
I love your ThinkPad-Mod Videos! More please! ;-)
Question: fit the batteries of the T420 also into the T430?
why ?
I had a Lenovo T420 and unfortunately messed it up a little bit with my clumsiness, it's gone now (sold it) regardless. I use a T530 right now and I've left everything factory stock, except for the HDD which I upgraded to an SSD. I think the newer keyboard is perfectly fine. I have the backlit keyboard and even though it has less travel than the non-backlit keyboard. I find it...fine.
most of this video is you messing up... why not edit it down to show people how to do it right and not make them sit through all the dross?
i disagree, video was good
but iv also done my research before watching, on thinkwiki
Well.. this is like a diary or something of that kind, not a simple tutorial, but a video about the hassels, obstacles, and the process behind the change of the keyboard. If you want a simple tutorial without any opinions and warnings, just go to another channel..
Dude needs to download the hardware maintenance manuals for all these thinkpads he owns. Thinkpads are, by far, the easiest laptops to work on as long as you follow the manufacturer provided step by step instructions.
Or just leave it as it is so we can actually learn what to look out for. To many people are to embarrassed to show their mistakes although that can be a great way for better understanding.
he left the fuck-ups in the video to show/tell people that thinkwiki was giving the wrong instructions I'm assuming.. but I don't think this was meant to be a full blown tutorial anyways, just him documenting his experience doing the mod.
It's just a matter of taste. I found the "newer" version the best I've ever used, fast precise, very reliable. With useful backlight of course. ;)
Mine is self-destroying: I write a lot for work, I've alreay bought 3 keys and I need other 4...never happened before with Dell (it's not my fault) :-(
The plastic on my IC42 backlit type keyboard seems too fragile and the typing feeling is so "uncertain"; it's difficult to mount/unmount keys without broke them. Not to mention layout that needs a bios update to partially patch the crazy Fn key position...
I just ordered an externale wireless keyboard waiting the spare keys: I can't find an italian backlit replace keyboard and on ebay T430 keyboard (without backlight) costs twice other models...should I change my i7 notebook only due to this awful keyboard ?
Finding a light on, they’re pretty worn today. Tbh idk if I prefer backlit 430 chicklet or the old school.,
Ok well at least the old ones didn’t mark the screen so bad but k don’t get a huge pleasure personally
there are a few plastic lock at the top of the palm rest, please be sure to fit all of those annoying locks before lock the entire palm rest. I have been struggle with 4 t430 for a long time and I finally get all of them work and modified. Haha
love the montage
Glad someone finally said it. Tired of stupid useless fads and gimmicks from consumer products meant for useless idiots who jack off on facebook all day making their way into nice professional products like this. I fucking hate the chiclet keyboard and also the FAD touchpad with no mouse buttons on the bottom, it's shit for anyone who does any actual work on a laptop and has to mouse around a lot specially portably when using an external USB mouse isn't an option, not that that is even a valid excuse for making the touchpad that way in the first place.
If there is something terrible and horrendous about t430 it is the display - it was really unusable for longer than hour and I had the "good" one, there wasn't a decent replacement. The thing you like it is the flex on the old one, I guess it is because you are smashing very hard the keys, if you learn not to bottom out the keys with insane power will be better even with the mechanical. The new keyboard is perfectly fine for a laptop, in my opinion it is even better than the old, but I don't run around saying the old is garbage because of my opinion.
The key switching seems to be a problem. I have a T410 with a T430 keyboard and that also switched the Delete and Home keys...
but the chiclet board is virtually identical. Same mechanism. Only different is slight layout changes.
i wish i found this guide last year when my t430 keyboard broke i bought a actually really nice and clicky 3rd party keyboard in the same island style as the original, its a nice keyboard just not as good as the older 7-row
Hi.. sorry to come back to a month old video, but I follow this to upgrade my t430 and was almost 100% successful, my only problem is some keys aren't working at all, and they have a pattern. I mean all the keys on the right side of the red button are not working, this means n,m,h,j,y,u, looks dead, the keyboard is new (i bought on the same eBay store).
Also in the wiki forums mention performing a patch of the bios in order to make work some keys (but mention only some special functions).
My question is did you experience something like this? and did you patch your bios?
regards
Silvio... Did you ever get the problem resolved or did you end up puting the old keyboard back in?
I got an x250 and i hate the keyboard i keep accidently hitting home when i go to back space or accidently tapping the touch pad which sends my cursor to the middle its so annoying
I don't see any better PC even today. I can only compare a Thinkpad to only another Thinkpad. T430 is a real beauty. I'm about to buy a new "old Thinkpad" but I'm not sure Which one should I pick? x230? T430? T430S? (if I'm lucky enough to find this one). No other Thinkpad I'm interested for now.
I don't get why they made this change, the layout is awful compared to the 7-row keyboard and you can't find the pageup/down and home/end without looking.
so i guess the backlight keyboard is not working after u installed the t420 keyboard. :D
So can we install T420 Keyboard without removing the T430 palmrest at all? Just ordered t420 keyboard for my T430. hope i do not need to open palm rest to install T420 keyboard. Fingers crossed.
Any idea if I could swap the keyboard of a X230 with the 7 row of the X220?
Yes
I can understand the mistakes you made, because I have made similar mistakes before. Also, I hope it's possible to install the X220 keyboard on the X230.
yea its possible I got it
To be honest I find the new keyboard just better. It's more stable, doesn't catch half a dirt the older one does. I get the "I've been using the old one for my whole life and can't get used to anything new" kind of thing, but everything is moving away from a 7-row keyboard
No, the standard Keyboard Layout and propper Desktop Keyboards don't. That was the strength of a Thinkpad Keyboard. It gave you a propper Terminal format keyboard and no "laptop keyboard" with a learning curve for it's quircks to get used to.
Who cares about how the industry is moving from 7 row keyboards. The "industry" is filled with Macs.
ThinkPad users should NOT worry about what classic-but-loved features are removed.
I was worried when I first got my t430 but I haven't had any issues with it. It's actually one of the more durable parts of the laptop, which is saying a lot since the build quality dropped like a rock after IBM sold off to Lenovo. I too like the fact that I don't get shit stuck under the keys like the old one on my t61.
Don't throw the palmrest away yet, you can still use the touchpad as spare parts. :)
Isn't this keyboard a bit taller than island-style one? I was wondering if it won't scratch the screen.
Is this keyboard still available? The eBay link didn’t work...
will this mod work with t530?
it should since most thinkpads like the X230 L430 T530 and W530 have the same keyboard.
Oh, how I miss the classic Thinkpad keyboard on my T480... :-(
Still suffering through these damned island keyboards... (I dearly love my X220)
at school we always fight for the laptop that has all the keys, the red dot and either a stripped or fresh trackpad
Very informative.
i really love the island keyboard on my T450
so
when you gana study for finals?
The new keyvoards feel a lot better to me, the layout is a bit of a shame, but still miles ahead of the rest of the competition. It gets way to much hate in my opinion.
Regarding the key mapping issue: on Linux xmodmap (with a GUI XKeyCaps) seems like a very promising way to deal with that. It allows you to create a custom keyboard mapping. That is if you want to run Linux, which I can really recommend since the T430 runs pretty much with no issues any popular Linux distro. Switching between the integrated and dedicated graphics (if your version of the model has an Nvidia's NVS5400M).
Recommended for further reading on modding the T430: medium.com/@n4ru/the-definitive-t430-modding-guide-3dff3f6a8e2e
Can we do that to x230?
Chiclet keyboards are rubbish. Manufacturers should revert to old school type keyboards instead of forcing us to follow this stupid trend.
All in the name of thinness, which really just increases heat and reduces battery life (at least with the current technology we have, but that's improving). *SIGH*
I have a T420, can I replace my keyboard with T430 keyboard? Will it work fine? I want backlit keyboard.
how to flatten the T420 keyboard and flash bios, any news?
Does the keyboard drain still direct liquids to the drainage holes?
Is there a way to do that on a dell inspiron 15r 5537? To install a keyboard from a previous dell that had a normal one, and replace the awfull chiclete one?
can u still use the light that comes from the camera on top of the screen?
t520 for the win
wat? The keyboards on Lenovo Thinkpads are really good! You're most likely just a hardcore nerd that fanboys for IBM's thinkpads. They were good back then, but to me they were mushy and not as tactile as the new ones.
Martin Jensen i used the lenovo keyboard just fine, but the old keyboard just look like a lot more functional and intuitive
Mine works fine and it seems to be plenty durable. It takes my abuse and I am not nice to my equipment. I have enough broken plastic shit on this machine already, just not worth it. Especially since it spends most of it's life sitting on top of my stereo with the lid shut running my tv as a screen and I use wireless keyboard and mouse.
Will this work on the T530??????
A company should make the T420 keyboard with RGB
I have a x230 shoul I do this? I find the new keyboard nice but have never tried the classical keyboard.
Hello, do i lose the warranty doing this?
This.
genius
My dude my man this computers are at least 4 or 5 years old now.
You’re still missing an IBM Badge on a Thinkpad
Can i change the keyboard of ThinkPad W530? same as you do. the new keyboard is so bad!
What’s the cheapest quad core you can put in this?
Thanks!
i7-3632QM
There are cheaper but they aren't worth it. This one is only 100 bucks and smokes the i5 3320 that probably came in it. I am still using my i5 3320m and it has plenty of juice for the vast majority of applications. It even plays GTA 5 at about 30 FPS (I do have the dedicated NVidia Quadro chip, intel hd 4000 wont even attempt to play it smooth lol) without maxing out the CPU. Runs about 80-90% though and gets real hot even with TP fan control running. About 90 C.
I'm gonna shoot for the i7-3840QM myself. It does run hotter though since it's a 45 watt chip and I have heard horror stories of the stock power supply not being able to cut the mustard so be sure to do your homework and upgrade accordingly if you pick this chip. The heatsink also should be from one of the dedicated GPU models, even if you don't have the GPU. It has more copper and a better fan.
I actually have an i7-3632QM in a SONY VAIO (dead board). I prefer the T420 to the T430 but I might just mod the T430 with the 7 row and put it in there.
He was saying you no longer need that one screw, any clue if it causes keyboard flex?I forgot it once on my T30 and it caused flex in the center of the keyboard.
will this work on a t530
Am I the only one who prefers the T430 keyboard? I own a T420 and a T430 and I much prefer the T430. The keys on the “classic” keyboard are just too spongey for me with too little feedback. Also I prefer the keys to feel a bit more separated from each other, which the T430 nails. My ideal config would be to have a T430 with some internal upgrades (i7 quad-core, ram, ssd, and a 1080p IPS panel).
Do the spillproof holes line up or do you sacrifice that feature?
Also does the T430 have a ThinkLight?
thinklight is a standard for xx30 series which if you cannot get a backlit one. my x230 is just running straight with thinkight only and no backlit
Thoughts on the T470 keyboard?
i bought a t430 around the same time you bought yours, i am from germany (we use a 105 key design) and i got an american keyboard with stickers over all the keys
good job man
Can this be done with a newer thinkpad like the t480?