IBM Thinkpad T43

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Specs

Intel Pentium-M 1.86GHz
ATI X300 GPU with 64MB
15“ 1024×768 screen
2x DDR2-SODIMM slots (this came fitted with 2x 512MB DDR2-400 modules, 2GB is maximum)
2.5” PATA/IDE drive
2x USB 2
vga OUT
Parallel
PS2 keyboard/mouse
10/100/1000 Ethernet
Modem
3.5mm headphone out
3.5mm microphone in
1x Expresscard slot
1x Cardbus slot
CDRW/DVD drive in Ultrabay module

Screen Versions

The T43 is available in a variety of screen sizes and resolutions. Typically the inverter, cable and LCD panel all need to be from the same size/resolution series:

Size	Resolution	Shorthand	Type	Cable Part #	Inverter Part #	Screen Part #
14“	1024×768	XGA	TFT	91P6941	27K9972	92P6765, 92P6731, 92P6733, 13N7044, 92P6726, 92P6759, 13N7024
14”	1400×1050	SXGA	TFT	91P6942	27K9972	92P6737, 13N7046, 92P6760
15“	1024×768	XGA	TFT	91P6856, 91P6891	27K9974, 39T0359	92P6699, 92P6701
15”	1400×1050	SXGA	IPS	91P6857, 91P6892	27K9976, 39T0361	92P6680, 92P6761
15“	1600×1200	UXGA	IPS	91P6858, 91P6893	27K9976, 39T0361	92P6753

Ultrabay Modules

Ultrabay Slim SATA HDD Adapter: adds a 2.5” SATA bay (includes PATA to SATA chip). Part numbers 40Y8725, 45J7901, 45J7902, 26R9246, 26R9247
Ultrabay Slim PATA HDD Adapter: adds a 2.5“ PATA/IDE bay. Part numbers 62P4554, 41U3148, 41N5661, 41N5660

Batteries

6 Cell, 4.8Ah: 92P1087, 92P1089, 92P1091
9 Cell, 7.2Ah: 92P1077, 92P1073, 92P1069

Good Points

Relatively good condition - limited amount of wear / scratches to case
Nothing smashed or cracked

Bad Points

Stuck GPU/CPU fan
Discharged BIOS battery
Missing hard drive / PATA only drives
Backlight/inverter aged

Fan

The proper way to repair the noisy fan would be to replace it with a new part. In this case I didn't know if the machine was in a fully working state so I went the hack route…

First I soaked the fan bearings in isopropyl alcohol to clean out any residual oil/grease - the fan wouldn't turn when the machine first arrived. After getting the fan spinning freely again by hand I then drilled several small holes through the plastic central hub and carefully dripped in some lubricating oil. This clearly isn't the best way to solve the problem, and the sleeve bearing really isn't design to be serviced, however it did work, and the fan spins freely and is somewhat less-than-annoying in terms of sound level.

If the machine all checks out, then it may be worth replacing the fan with a new part.

IBM T43 Hardware Manual
BIOS - Last official BIOS v1.29
Platform Controller s/w - Last official Platform Controller software v1.06
DOS PS2 utilities - DOS PS2 configuration utility for T4x series (LCD control, speed, brightness, fan control etc)

If BIOS and/or platform controller software is not up to date, the order to install them is BIOS then Platform Controller.

Audio

Use VSBHDA - audio support is detected as ICH6.

Mouse

Use Cutemouse - detects Trackpoint nub. Touchpad doesn't appear to respond.

Memory / UMB

Disable USB ROM Floppy/CDROM boot support to claim back a portion of upper memory.
Disable Network PXE ROM support to claim back a portion of upper memory.

With both ROM extensions above disabled, use D000 as the EMS page frame in EMM386/JEMMEX.

You can seem to use B000-B7FF with JEMMEX for a small amount of UMB memory - though be aware this disables support for really old monochrome DOS games. There are no other regions available.

The entry to config.sys looks like this:

device=c:\drivers\jemmex\jemmex.exe frame=d000 i=b000-b7ff
dos=high,umb
fileshigh=20
buffershigh=10

Test	Base Config
3DBench 1.0c	625.8 fps
Chris 3D Bench	700 fps
Chris 3D Bench SVGA	127 fps (1)
PC Player VGA	538 fps
PC Player SVGA	63.4 fps
Doom (low detail)	147 realtics
Doom (high detail)	494 realtics
Quake (320×200)	360 fps
Quake (360×480)	142.9 fps
Quake (640×480)	60 fps
Norton SI	1236
Landmark CPU	18000 MHz
Landmark FPU	24000 MHz
Landmark Video	37809 chr/sec