On 1/10/2020 2:08 AM, between "Nick Andre : August Abolins":

 AA>> My first Thinkpad, T40p, developed a common screen
 AA>> fade/blank problem.. Then, it ran quite well until the
 AA>> fan started to make noise, and sometimes refuse to boot

 NA> Yup, I've seen those problems before. The inverter is
 NA> usually the problem, then the VGA ribbon cable. The fan
 NA> problems I've seen were always rare but caked with cigarette
 NA> smoke or dust. Sometimes the fan would need to be replaced
 NA> because the bearings would be worn.

The T40 screen is not as bright as on the T60 or even the new T540p, but
   the plan is to retire it and use it as a Spotify server for the
house. I could always control it from the network with another instance
of Spotify, VNC, or even an external monitor if I must. So the laptop
screen is not critical.  Other then the fan problem (and it is most
likely the bearings based on the noise) at startup, it still works great
- and the fan doesn't need to run all the time.


 NA> I didn't have a chance to elaborate on what I meant by the
 NA> cheapo-models...

 NA> So what happens is the customer who owns the cheap model
 NA> opens/closes from the "side" of the screen eventually
 NA> breaking or wearing out the hinge on one side.

Heheheh.. I see people with the widescreens doing exactly that. It is
sad to see the lids not lay perfectly flat on close.

My el cheapo G530 (albiet I don't consider $650 a cheap laptop for year
2009) seems to have a fairly rigid construction all round.


 NA> ...I always hibernate and the SSD is lightning fast.
 NA> I *could* put an SSD into the old Fidonet Thinkpad, but the
 NA> amount of heavy disk-access from tossing mail would likely
 NA> wear it out quicker I think.

There is the whole matter of TRIM with SSD to maximize life and wear.
Only Windows 7 and up implements it by default.  Linux, depends.


 AA>> I have already sourced Win7pro, and almost convinced to
 AA>> just go for it. But I'll finish the darn Win10 setup..

 NA> Well like Kurt said, Windows 10 unfortunately is here to
 NA> stay and Windows 7 is on its way out for support. I'm
 NA> sticking with 7 however. I rarely do anything on my T440P
 NA> other than Remote Desktop and web surfing. Its already
 NA> pretty locked-down and fully backed-up to a disk image, just
 NA> in case.

There is the old adage: "If it ain't broke.."

I am still debating whether I should accept the Win10 on the T540p or
send it back. There is one sticky/noisy key on the keyboard that is
probably going to help me make up my mind and request an RMA.

Win10 will introduce its own security problems and the constant feed of
security updates.  I could always downgrade to Win10 later! LOL

About a month ago, I actually finished reinstalling Win7 on someone's
poorly matched pc that was using Win10. By poorly matched, I say not
enough ram, and the "old" pc was already maximized.  Win7 took several
hours to finish all the backlist of updates. That was a painful wait.
But after that, Win7 was a snappier performer than Win10 ever was on
that laptop.

--- Thunderbird 2.0.0.24 (Windows/20100228)