T42: A New Toy

Today I received a new toy from Canada…Today, I received an IBM ThinkPad T42 to add a vintage (pre-Lenovo) ThinkPad to my computer roster.

The ThinkPad line, along with the rest of the PC Division at IBM, was sold to Lenovo in 2005. The T42 was one of the last ThinkPads to be designed/made/sold by IBM, with some T42’s being actually manufactured by Lenovo. (My specimen was one of the ones manufactured after the transition. But it’s IBM at heart.)

My T42 is actually a T42 chassis swapped into a T41p body. It needs some work (it’s a clean machine all around) before it can be utilized more. Currently, it only has 512MB of RAM and is running Windows 7. My goal is to upgrade the memory (eventually) to the maximum 2GB, which should run much smoother in Windows 7 being utilized for simple, non-complex tasks. My T42 was shipped from the previous owner with a battery, but for some reason I can’t find the battery. (However, it works just fine without the battery – running on AC power.)

Stick around to see more of the T42.

IBM ThinkPad T42 Specs

• Processor: Intel Pentium M @ 1.8GHz
• Memory: 512MB (DDR 1)
• Storage: 25GB
• Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate
• Optical Drive: CD-ROM
• Display: Internal LCD color display, VGA port
• USB Ports: 2 USB (2.0?) ports
• Other Ports: Docking Port (IBM), Parallel port, Ethernet, AC power, audio in/out
• Internet Connectivity: Wireless (2.4GHz only), Cat5e ethernet
• Other Features: TrackPoint, “Access IBM”
• Planned Usage: ??? (to be determined)