An IBM ThinkPad 701C, open, with its TrackWrite keyboard expanded

IBM portables & ThinkPads · 1991–1999

The Black Box Era

Service references for early IBM portables and ThinkPads, transcribed from IBM’s own maintenance manuals. They run from the 1991 PS/2 L40 SX and the original ThinkPad 700C of 1992 to the ThinkPad 770 at the end of the decade.

Find your machine, work through its checkouts and parts lists, and keep the original manual close by. Made for people who collect, repair and enjoy these little black boxes.

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Each reference covers one IBM machine type (MT), the four-digit type number on the machine’s identification label, and usually several models.

All 21 machine references are listed below. Use the family links above or your browser’s Find command to jump to one.

Pre-ThinkPad IBM Portables

  • IBM PS/2 L40 SX

    1991

    MT 8543

    IBM’s first PS/2 laptop: a 20 MHz 386SX with a 10-inch monochrome VGA screen, weighing under 8 lb.

  • IBM PS/2 CL57 SX

    1991

    MT 8554

    A 20 MHz 386SX laptop with a 10.4-inch active-matrix colour screen and a built-in trackball.

  • IBM PS/2 Note N33 SX & N51 SX

    1991–92

    MT 8533 / 8551

    Slim PS/2 notebooks with 9.5-inch monochrome screens: the 386SX-based N33 SX and the N51 SX and N51 SLC.

ThinkPad Laptops

  • ThinkPad 700 / 720

    1992–93

    MT 9552

    The first ThinkPads: the 700 and 700C with a 25 MHz 486SLC, followed by the 50 MHz 720 and 720C.

  • ThinkPad 300

    1992

    MT 2615

    A 25 MHz 386SL notebook with a 9.5-inch monochrome screen and Ethernet built into the system board.

  • ThinkPad 500

    1993

    MT 2603

    A subnotebook under 4 lb with a 50 MHz 486SLC2 and a 7.4-inch monochrome screen.

  • ThinkPad 750 / 755 and 370C

    1993–95

    MT 9545

    IBM’s premium 486 and Pentium notebooks, from the 750 to the CD-ROM 755CD and Pentium 755CX, plus the 370C.

  • ThinkPad 510Cs

    1994

    MT 2604

    The colour successor to the ThinkPad 500: a 50 MHz 486BL2 with a 7.7-inch dual-scan screen.

  • ThinkPad 355

    1994

    MT 2619

    A 33 MHz 486SX notebook sold through retailers, with a monochrome, dual-scan or 8.4-inch TFT colour screen.

  • ThinkPad 360

    1994–95

    MT 2620

    486SX and 486DX2 notebooks with monochrome or colour screens, plus the pen-enabled 360P and 360PE.

  • ThinkPad 340 / 345

    1994–95

    MT 2610

    Budget notebooks: the 486SLC2 340 and 340CSE, and the 486DX4 345C and 345CS sold outside the US.

  • ThinkPad 701 “Butterfly”

    1995

    MT 2630

    The 701C and 701CS: a 10.4-inch 486 subnotebook whose TrackWrite keyboard expands to full size as the lid opens.

  • ThinkPad 365

    1995–97

    MT 2625

    IBM’s value line, from the 486 365C and 365CS to the Pentium 365X; D models add a CD-ROM drive.

  • ThinkPad 760 / 765

    1995–97

    MT 9546 / 9547

    High-end Pentium notebooks with screens up to 13.3 inches and an automatic tilt-up keyboard.

  • ThinkPad 560

    1996–98

    MT 2640

    A slim Pentium notebook, 1.2 inches thick and about 4 lb, with an external diskette drive: the 560, 560E, 560X and 560Z.

  • ThinkPad 380 / 385

    1997–98

    MT 2635

    Pentium notebooks with a built-in diskette drive and, on most models, a CD-ROM, up to the Pentium II 380Z.

  • ThinkPad 770

    1997–99

    MT 9548 / 9549

    IBM’s high-end multimedia notebook: Pentium MMX to Pentium II, 13.3- to 14.1-inch screens up to 1280 × 1024, and CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives.

  • ThinkPad 390 / 390E

    1998–99

    MT 2626

    Mainstream Pentium MMX and Pentium II notebooks with 12.1- to 14.1-inch screens and a built-in diskette drive and CD-ROM.

  • ThinkPad 240

    1999

    MT 2609

    A 10.4-inch Celeron subnotebook weighing just under 3 lb, with a 95%-size keyboard.

ThinkPad Pen Tablets

  • ThinkPad 710T

    1993

    MT 2523

    A slate pen tablet: a 25 MHz 486SLC, a 9.5-inch transflective monochrome screen and hard-disk or solid-state storage.

  • ThinkPad 730T / 730TE

    1994–95

    MT 2524

    Pen tablets for mobile field workers: the 33 MHz 486SX 730T and the faster 486DX4 730TE.

Beyond the parts list