Thinkpads are Tough!

[corkyg]

A week ago, I was processing through the TSA security at the C'ville, VA airport. I made it through, and was collecting my belongings, laptop, case, shoes, jacket, watch, belt buckle, etc.

At the end of the counter, my first impulse was to get my shows back on, so I set my laptop on top of its case.

As I was getting my shoe on, I heard a loud crash and looked down. There was my T60 on the concrete floor. Whoa! It had slid off the case.

I immediately picked it up, looked it over - no noticeable p[hysical marks or damage. I put it into its case and finished collecting all my stuff.

I then went to the public computer desk area, and got the T60 out and turned it on. Not a bit of a problem - it fired up normally, and has done so ever since. It took a 3 foot free fall to a concrete floor with no damage at all.

I have always heard that Thinkpads were built tough - and now I really believe it. Don't try it with your Dell or HP.

 

[IlllI]

i would have crapped my pants if that had happened to me

 

[996GT2]

Wow, that's pretty awesome. This should reassure those who were put off by rumors about the worse build quality of Lenovo-made Thinkpads.

 

[heymrdj]

2 weeks after I got my HP9550t the family went to Disney World. Pulled into parking and forgot that i had left the laptop on top of everything in the back of the Expedition. I opened the back hatch and out it fell, 5'8" to the ground, solid black top, onto the front edge/top of the LCD. Other that the Impression(tm) top being a little scratched, everything worked perfectly fine. It was asleep when it happened. Although i do rumor if it was that fall that just had me get the right monitor hinge replaced under warranty this week (they changed out the dinged top as well and i didn't even ask them to!).

 

[Rottie]

Corkyg
I can see why TSA loves you so much you almost lost your beloved digital camera they found and sent it to you...now Lenovo still survived the fall...What an awesome story.

My Compaq notebook still strong when it fell through the stairs...I trust Compaq/HP.

 

[corkyg]

Rottie, you are absolutely right. I am now preparing for a trip to Portugal next month, via Frankfurt. I am developing a checklist and a set of rules for transiting TSA.

Part of the problem is having to remove laptops from their sleeves and cases. One would think they would have capable X-Ray equipment that would make that unnecessary. I noted that in Frankfurt, Germany, removing the laptop from the case was sufficient - it could stay in its neoprene sleeve. That made recovery much easier and less chaotic.

As for shoes - I did process through a new air puff machine at Miami airport, and that allowed shoes to remain on. Much better!

Security comes at a price.

 

[Rottie]

I am jealous of you traveling around the world...are you and your family on vacation?

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Rottie
I am jealous of you traveling around the world...are you and your family on vacation?

Well, not really a vacation. I am retired and we love to travel and will keep on doing so as long as we can.

 

[Nathelion]

3 ft is really not that much. I wouldn't have been surprised if it had broken, but I'm not surprised that it survived, either.

 

[TheStu]

So long as we are talking about falls...

About 6 months after I got my MacBook, I was typing a bulletin post on it for a class I was in. After about 15 minutes of work on this post, I had to pop open a new tab from a link so I could quote the stuff properly. Well, apparently I did something wrong, and the link opened on the tab that I was working in. Bam, 15 minutes of work gone, and class was in about 3 minutes (yes I had procrastinated). This was the latest in a long series of annoyances and worse that week, so I just lost it. I slammed the lid shut on the laptop (really, really slammed it... the palmrest cracked) and then brought my hand back up and caught the edge of the laptop. Up it flies, about 2-3 feet above the surface of the table, and SLAM back down onto the table on its lid.

I just sort of stood there for a minute, staring at it, I couldn't believe I had just done that. I turned it over, and opened the lid. The son of a gun woke back up! It took about 30 seconds, probably because the hard drive had locked itself and needed to get moving again, but it still works great, 16 months later.

You would be surprised how much abuse they will take.

 

[NitrouseXpress60]

Indeed they are. I've dropped mine off of my bed while it was on and it's lid was open and there was no damage or anything. I've accidentally scraped it with a screw driver when trying to take off the keyboard. There was a light mark for a while, but it has since disappeared. I throw it on my bed, slam the lid shut, accidentally moved it while it was still plugged in, and it keeps ticking and it still looks brand new.

Thinkpads are beasts.

 

[Adn4n]

My T61p took a spill recently. My friend spilled his fountain drink cup full of coke onto my keyboard; non-diet coke->sticky. I put it under the faucet and let the water do it's job before the coke could cake up. Works like a charm.

I also throw mine onto my bed constantly, pick it up by the lid, etc. There are two magnesium-aluminum roll cages in the T61 and carbon fiber is utilized for the outer faces. There is a reason NASA uses Thinkpads.