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Thinkpad X200 Tablet

updated 2022-01-25

Contents

• See also
• Camera
• SATA drive
• Drive caddy
• Memory
• Operating Systems
• Screws
• Software
• Stylus

See also

• Lenovo Thinkpad X200 (Arch Wiki)
• Thinkpad X200 Tablet and X201 Tablet Hardware Maintenance Manual (fourth edition) (Archive link)
• Thinkpad X200 Tablet (All) (Linux Hardware Database)
• X200 Tablet Overview (Thinkwiki)

Camera

Some models have the camera, some don't. Camera kits are available on-line for the X200 Tablet for around US$15 or so.

SATA drive

As far as I know, any 2.5" SATA laptop-sized drive will work.

To replace the drive, locate the drive cover between the stylus holder and RJ-11 modem port on the right side of the laptop. Unscrew the screw holding in the cover, to which the hard drive icon on the bottom of the laptop under the stylus holder is pointing. Lift out the cover and there the drive will be exposed.

Hard drive caddy

Most of the eBay listings for X200 Tablets don't have hard drive covers or caddies. You will want a caddy because it makes it much easier to get a drive out, and because it spaces out the drive in the space provided and provides some (minimal) amount of shock protection. This is especially good for hard disks as you don't want those moving around in your laptop chassis, even if there's no risk of them being disconnected.

In a pinch you can use cardboard to space out a drive. I made out okay using folded cardstock given that my X200 Tablet was going nowhere except my desk. You should not do this for long periods, not really because there's some risk that increases as time wears on but just because in general it's stupid.

The same rubber rails that go around the hard drive, and the same metal thing that you screw onto the drive that has the black ribbon attached used to pull the drive out, are used for the X200, X200S, X200 Tablet, X201, X201S, X201 Tablet, T420, T420S, T430, and T430S, as far as I know. Rubber rails for the X220 Tablet did not work, nor did the bay cover for the X220 Tablet work for the X200 Tablet.

Memory

RealBlackStuff says the X200 Tablet is compatible with DDR3-1066 (PC3-8500) and DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600).

My ThinkPad X200 Tablet (type 7449-43U) came with 2x2GB DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM (PC3-8500) from Elpida as the OEM provided. It's a Core2 Duo SL9600 model and Intel's datasheet doesn't show any maximum memory for the processor. My Thinkpad X200 Tablet (type 7450-EYU) came with the same type of memory, from Samsung. I haven't checked what processor it has.

Rumor is the X200 Tablet can take 2x4GB DDR3-1066 (PC3-8500) or possibly DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600). I ordered a Corsair 2x4GB DDR3-1066 (PC3-8500) set. I probably got bad modules as they're a bit finnicky, but I've managed to get 6GB reported in the BIOS so far by mixing them with OEM memory.

Apparently for technical reasons the X200 Tablet must take 2Rx8 memory; two ranks of eight chips, and for 8GB memory, 256MB per chip (divide 8192MB by 2 modules * 2 ranks * 8 chips).

I got in touch with eBay seller woosterpsu who was auctioning off an X200 Tablet to benefit the Electronic Frontier Foundation with 8GB RAM installed and reported in the BIOS. The seller sent me an image of the installed memory: a Hynix 4GB 2Rx8 PC3-10600S and a Dell P/N SNPX830DC/4G, both scavenged from other laptops. These are confirmed working in a Core2 Duo L9400 X200T.

Operating systems

The following operating systems were available pre-installed by the OEM, depending on the variant:

• Microsoft Windows XP Tablet (32 bit)
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit)
• Microsoft Windows Vista Business (32 bit)
• Microsoft Windows Vista Business (64 bit)
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (32 bit
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic (32 bit)
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (32 bit)
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
• Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (32 bit)
• Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

9front system usage is described in the 9front FQA, section 3.2.5.2.1.

Linux system usage is described in detail on the Arch GNU+Linux wiki - any Linux or UNIX specific knowledge I have I add to the Arch wiki rather than putting on this page.

Screws

Per the hardware maintenance manual (page 225), the following screws are necessary for full assembly of the X200 Tablet:

Additionally listed are 9 circular screw caps and 6 square screw caps.

Two screw kits are listed with part numbers 45N3139 and 60Y4164. The difference is that 45N3139 has one more M2x3.5mm silver wafer head screw listed (18 versus 17). 45N3139's contents in particular are reflected in the table above.

On page 79 of the hardware maintenance manual some very rarely-noted screw notices are listed that are worth repeating, though it's up to the maintainer to follow the practices they so choose:

• Always use new screws. (This is repeated earlier in the page; according to the manual, ThinkPad Notebooks have "special nylon-coated screws" that should be used only once.)
• Use a torque screwdriver if you have one.
• When tightening plastic against plastic, turn an additional 90 degrees after the screw head touches the surface of the plastic part.
• When tightening logic cards against plastic, turn an additional 180 degrees after the screw head touches the surface of the plastic part.
• If you have a torque driver, refer to the "Torque" column for each step.
• Make sure that you use the correct screw. If you have a torque screwdriver, tighten all screws firmly to the torque shown in the table. Never use a screw that you removed. Use a new one. Make sure that all of the screws are tightened firmly.

Software

For some procedures in the hardware maintenance manual a ThinkPad Hardware Maintenance Diskette is needed. This was available only to licensed dealers.

Here's a chart of executable names relevant to the X200 Tablet as provided from Lenovo and their product names. A lot of this is sourced from hearsay and olden lore so it may not be fully accurate, and definitely isn't complete. Also, I trimmed down redundant sections of product names - for example, 7wuj45uc.iso is actually BIOS Update Bootable CD for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), XP - ThinkPad but if it's bootable itself operating system compatibility likely doesn't matter.

Lenovo's X200 Tablet downloads won't last forever. Here's a JavaScript that allows a user to download arbitrary executables from Lenovo's download servers.

Stylus

The X200 Tablet originally came with a single-button stylus with a gray "eraser". I found some single-button stylus from eBay, with a red "eraser", and that worked too. I have a two-button stylus that came with another X200 Tablet but it's as of yet untested. The Fujitsu T-5000 digitizer pen does work, identically according to xev(1).

Do not try to insert two-button Thinkpad styluses into the stylus holder of the X200 Tablet as they'll become stuck in there because of how the buttons are shaped. To remove a stuck stylus the digitizer pen case (part number 45N3146) must be unscrewed and removed from the chassis. Following the hardware maintenance manual, remove FRUs "1020 Battery pack" and "1060 Keyboard" and follow steps 6 and 7 of the removal process of FRU "1180 DC-in connector, fan, digitizer pen case, and pen switch assembly". No other FRUs need to be removed, nor do any other steps of the removal process of FRU 1180 need to be followed.