Hi I think I need to post my adventure upgrading to AC Wifi on my ThinkPad X61.
Firstly you need to update to a modded BIOS. For me this old guide helped me prep a tiny 128mb usb drive for the job.
I got the X61 patched firmware here.
Main benefits: swaps the FN/CTRL Key (optional), disables the wifi card whitelist and enabled SATA 2. Also much newer than my old BIOS, so quieter fan profile.
The card I used is: Intel 7260HMW -W041 it must be a Mini PCIE NOT M.2
Also the X61 uses a full length card and this is half-length you will need an adapter. An example name is: “Half Size To Full Mini PCI-E PCI Express Adapter For WiFi Wireless Card”
Okay for disassembly instructions I used this video.
Other upgrades I performed:
Ram upgraded from 2GB to 8GB. Officially 4GB is supported, but in reality you can get lucky like me and get ram that works. I am using Samsung M470T5267AZ3-CE6 which is 4GB 2Rx8 PC2-5300S-555-12-03 sodims
HDD to SSD: 80GB seagate HDD to 240GB Toshiba OCZ TR200
Pretty snappy now :slight_smile:
I don’t have the skill to do the TN to IPS swap on the screen.
First posted on Level 1 Techs forum by me