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Since my "mature" x220 Thinkpad, circa 2010 is going to be my main computer on the road I decided to show it some love and perform some upgrades and maintenance. This resulted in an almost complete tear down- something I've never actually done on a laptop before.

I replaced the bottom cover because one small little battery clip was broken, which would sometime result in a sudden shutdown if it was jostled too much and the battery came loose. (This was manufactured back when laptop batteries were external and you could put new ones in on the fly!) I couldn't find a replacement for the clip itself, but it was included with a new bottom cover plate.

Since that required taking out the motherboard, I figured I might as well repaste the CPU.

The biggest upgrade was a screen panel replacement, getting rid of the ole' TN panel in favor of an IPS display. Huge difference. If you don't know TN panels, basically the colors are usually washed out and you can only view it straight on- any other angle and everything on the screen basically turns black.

It took a couple of hours and I needed to do a lot of improvising. At one point I busted out an old trick- taking a Dremel rotary drill to delicate equipment. I didn't have needlenose pliers to remove a couple of screw bits so I sliced some grooves in them so I could use a screwdriver. Always works like a charm.

It took a couple of hours and now I'm exhausted, but it all works- the screen is gorgeous and breathes some new life into the ole' girl.

Was a nice way to kill some time indoors on another poor quality air day.

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