11 December 2017: IBM Thinkpad T42p now on its seventh life
In unrelated news, I also bought one of these.
This actually happened in late 2015, but I never got around to updating this list until now. The CCFL died again, but at least replacing it was much easier this time around than the last time(s). This time I was able to acquire a replacement with new wires already soldered onto the bulb instead of having to get it just right (read: just a little off from just right) myself, so it was a much simpler swap. Plus, I've already torn apart and reassembled the screen so many times it's just easier to do now. So, if I've kept track correctly, this Thinkpad has gone through the following repairs:
- Fan died in 2006, but was replaced under warranty.
- CCFL broke in 2008 and I replaced it myself.
- New fan burned out too in 2009, and I replaced it myself.
- Screen went out again in 2009 because I did a lousy job replacing the CCFL in 2008.
- Hard drive failed in 2010, and I replaced it myself.
- CCFL failed again in 2015, and I replaced it myself.
So, this laptop has died six times and is now on its seventh life. That's probably going to be the last time (not counting inevitable battery failures), since I never use the computer for anything anymore. I guess there are still a few old video games I never finished, and I could theoretically fire it back up for old time's sake, but we'll see.
