From: Mitchell Leben (mitch_at_leben.com)
Date: Tue Sep 04 2001 - 21:45:50 EDT
Randal,
The more I look at it, I realize it will happen to all T20's
eventually. That is a very thin plastic piece, which is stressed by screen
movement. Perhaps reducing tension on the hinges would prevent/slow this
from happening.
I am pretty annoyed, because I always thought it was lesser brands that
fell apart from simply using them. I will try to call tomorrow and find
out of any possible warranty coverage, and costs to repair.
BTW now that the right side is cracked, I bet the left side will crack
very soon. It is taking more stress than before.
On the subject of repair, what do people do about their hard drives? For a
repair like this, I doubt they have to boot the machine. Would it be OK to
remove the HD before I ship it out?
Thanks.
On Tue, 4 Sep 2001, Randal Whittle wrote:
> At 05:20 PM 9/4/2001 -0500, you wrote:
> >My faithful T20 cracked today. The case cracked directly to the right of
> >the right cursor key. This is also forms the top left corner of the media
> >bay. Now the right side of the keyboard bounces up and down as I type.
>
> I have this *exact* same crack on the *exact* same laptop PC (a
> T20)! It just happened a couple months ago. Mine is just a bit over 1
> year old (purch. May of 2000). I'm guessing yours is right about the same
> age, indicating a problem that appears around the same time. If this was a
> car, it would be recalled to fix this.
>
> >Since it is just a simple crack, I might try to glue it. Otherwise, time
> >for repair.
> >
> >Question is, might this be covered under warranty?
>
> >Believe it or not, there was no abuse. In fact, it was not cracked this
>
> Same here--no abuse on my part. The problem is the design of the
> case (and now that its happened to you, it confirms my suspicion). Its
> just a very weak point in the system case design, subject to stress every
> time you open the lid, adjust the angle of the lid, or ever pick up the
> computer with the lid open. It wouldn't be a big deal, except that
> particular point is so tiny and weak that it simply breaks. and some time
> or another.
>
> >morning when I booted up. This afternoon I come back and start typing, and
> >notice the bouncing keyboard. Just one of those things. Now that it is
> >broken I can tell it receives a fair amount of stress when the lid is
> >moved back and forth. When I push the screen back, the cracked part sticks
> >up in the air :(
>
> Actually, it probably would/should be covered under
> warranty. Clearly you and I can't be the only ones this happened to. This
> is a design flaw. Much like when they replace keyboards that have letters
> worn off of them. This is but one reason I purchased a "real" thinkpad
> instead of an i-series. 3 year warranty, and once upon a time they didn't
> point the finger at you for "causing" the problem--it was fixed, no
> questions asked.
>
> But for now, I used some 2-stage plastic glue to re-join the two
> parts. If I do it well, it lasts for a few weeks before breaking apart
> again, then I have to clean it up (generally requires using a file) and
> re-glue. When I can find some time to be without my T20 for a few days,
> I'll arrange for a warranty repair. How about you?
>
> - Randy Whittle
>
>
-- -Mitch
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