The Taiwanese IBM ThinkPad! - Thrift Store Finds

[@benkleinberg97]

Actually, all Lenovo COA labels said "Lenovo Singapore." Even the US ones said that on the COA. I think that keyboard is from Taiwan, so that is probably where the laptop originated from.

[@yunsui3491]

Based on the keyboard layout. I couldn't agree with you more. Taiwan is probably the only place in the world you can find "ㄅㄆㄇㄈ" symbols on keyboards.

[@kenlin121]

Taiwanese here~ The keyboard is pretty much exactly the same style as my vintage 570e, which my mom used to use on a daily basis back then. Those colored ㄅㄆㄇㄈ and other Chinese symbols are just so iconic.

[@michaels7900]

It’s Japanese!

[@StudioAZ08]

As a Taiwanese, I can confirm that this is 100% a Taiwanese ThinkPad.

[@kenlin121]

No it's not a Japanese Japanese don't use ㄅㄆㄇㄈs By the way, those other Chinese symbols are just for other typing methods, which there are a lot of in Taiwan, for example倉頡or嘸蝦米

[@jonathandenton6160]

Having worked in computer refurbishment, I can tell you that seeing "Lenovo Singapore" is pretty common on most older Lenovo products, even here in Australia. I'm assuming that's because most of the COAs and licences are processed in Singapore.

[@StrikeSNC]

That's Tranditional Chinese, also the "symbols" on the keyboard is for the input method

[@MichaelMJD]

Yes I’m aware of that

[@StrikeSNC]

@Dossier yeah isnt it

[@windowslab4820]

Yes, that's the phonetic (Zhuyin, 注音) system exclusive in Taiwan, and Cangjie or 仓颉(Simplified Chinese) 倉頡(Traditional Chinese) in HK and Macao

[@MashedPotatonator]

I have a T420 that came from the US and it also says Singapore on the Windows COA. The keyboard layout on your machine is actually Taiwanese. Singapore uses the US layout.

[@kristiantodorov5080]

Yeah, same!

[@popcade]

Hi, Michael, from what I recognize the keyboard layout, it's 注音(Zhu-Yin) and 倉頡(Canjie) symbols, which are exclusive in Taiwan, and the interface is Traditional Chinese, hope the info helpful for you.

[@adews7204]

My thrift stores are trash!, I'm lucky if I find a mouse!!!

[@connorm955]

Mine too. And a lot of them don't usually have computers because people often times don't wipe the drives.

[@adews7204]

Connor M. Music & more I mean I’m OK getting the computer without a hard drive since SSDs are dirt cheap

[@belstar1128]

Where i live people still ask for 100+ $ for windows xp era computers.

[@masterpootisman3500]

This laptop contains Windows XP Home Edition, Taiwanese Language. Not simplified Chinese.

[@xingjianfang5628]

It's Traditional Chinese, there is no Taiwanese Language

[@NewRepublicMapper]

That Was Traditional Language

[@marco_evertus]

Imagine that computer saying "Windows has crashed lah" that'll be a true Singaporean PC

[@anything9809905]

My Thinkpad from the UK has Lenovo Singapore on the bottom as well!

[@anything9809905]

@talldude123 Mines an X60s. Still runs great. From 2006!

[@dyter424]

Same. I have a T43 and an R60e, both Italian.

[@wantikjasonchiu4711]

This keyboard layout is the traditional chinese input method, which is also used in Hong Kong. Which is typing different keys to combined into one word.

[@kbhasi]

I don't yet have the time to watch this video, but when I do, I'll edit this comment multiple times as I watch it. I live in Singapore, and can give you some help if you want. First off, your ThinkPad may have originally been sold in ~~China, Hong Kong, or~~ Taiwan, as it has a Chinese keyboard layout. Singapore uses the US keyboard layout, but some PC manufacturers ship US International keyboards instead. 1:05 All my Windows XP era TPs have that on the COA too! However, I haven't checked my parts R52 that came to me from Australia, however, I think it might be the same there too. If I'm not mistaken, before this "Lenovo Singapore" thing happened, we would get our IBM gear through "IBM Business Partner" companies, at least based on newspaper archives at the library when I searched for stuff relating to the 760 series. First off, PCs here usually have Windows preloaded in US English (though I can't fully confirm that), but when I do reinstalls for my family and myself, I select UK English instead for Windows 8 and later, and US English for Windows 7 and older. Windows installed in Chinese would've been done by the user or someone else, as you can tell with the original IBM apps missing. Based on my rough estimates, Chinese religions make up most of the population, followed by Muslims. The former results in Chinese New Year being heavily commercialised here, which annoys me to no end until that ends for the year, and the latter means that fast food restaurants have to be Halal certified, which cripples their menus to not include pork products, which is also a problem for me. MSN Messenger was Singapore's most popular IM service, and I made a lot of memories there. When that shut down, WhatsApp took over as the next most popular. I prefer to use Telegram, but have to use WhatsApp because all my family members and close friends use it.

[@Joe89223]

Kevin Bhasi only Taiwanese can use ㄅㄆㄇ keyboard to type words ,China and Hong Kong keyboard not have ㄅㄆㄇ,my Hong Kong coworker can’t use ㄅㄆㄇ

[@xingjianfang5628]

It should be a Taiwan version since it is in Traditional Chinese and the wording looks more Taiwan to me instead of Hong Kong. Also, the mainland of China use Standard US keyboard since we use Pinyin (based on Latin Characters) instead of Bopomofo (used by Taiwan) and Cangjie (used by HK)

[@windowslab4820]

China use standard US QWERTY keyboard

[@wintermelon1795]

Pretty sure that's a Taiwanese keyboard layout- it has the phonetic system that they use, called Bopomofo.

[@windowslab4820]

Also Cangjie (倉頡，仓颉) in HK and Macao

[@grimmster111]

I think the keyboard was just changed out really. I have a T60 from this time and also have the Lenovo Singapore sticker, but it is fully a US laptop

[@jagardina]

I had a similar model and it actually runs Linux pretty well if you get one of the lightweight distro. 2GB of RAM is tough to do much with. Nice machine.

[@MaximumJoy]

I bet Puppylinux is good on it

[@jagardina]

@@MaximumJoy I found that Peppermint Linux ran quite comfortably but no matter which OS you run, open up a browser and see that 2GB chewed up pretty quickly. And remember, those things used RAM for video memory.

[@namesurname4666]

"show everything before actually turning it on just because it could explode"

[@elektron2kim666]

"Locale" keyboards don't mean a thing except that comfort when someone need a match in pressing a key that comes out in the software correctly. It can get complicated to use Windows in English or boot rescue commands when we have another keyboard attached, but it's a standard. I use 5 different locale keyboards and it's just a bit of micro management to do it right. For heavy typing in one language, it's just to stick with that specific software setting and keyboard hardware to not mess it up.

[@tod_hmm]

1:31 hes gonna be taking a bruh

[@tamaszachar6134]

11:48 The integrated video card is using that 8mb of ram

[@billhgong]

Basically all Asia-Pacific facing ThinkPads, even a majority of them manufactured recently, are using Lenovo Singapore COAs. Lenovo's got a trading company there for the Asia-Pacific market. Google does the same. There shouldn't be any difference from products exported to other part of the world, as they're all made in China. Also based on the keyboard layout, it should be distributed in Taiwan originally. Singapore uses normal US layout without Cangjie printings.

[@rahithahsan188]

7:49 All Lenovo Laptops say Lenovo Singapore on it, even the ones in the US.

[@musicmoviesandgames2004]

You should do a video on factory restoring this with the Rescue and Recovery environment!

[@BilisNegra]

7:44 Yes, it's a Thinkpad, but a low specced one, with a Celeron in it. No wonder it has no XP Pro in it. The OS version is not just a selling point you can offer to the customer, the licence is also more expensive to the manufacturer, and both things considered, you should not expect XP Pro in an entry-level Thinkpad like this.

[@BilisNegra]

I know it's been said, but "Lenovo Singapore" in the Windows COA sticker means NOTHING in terms of what market the unit was aimed at. I own several Thinkpads with such a sticker, and they are all European versions (Italy, France...).

[@malex_14]

I have an IBM ThinkPad R50 and it is actualy made by IBM. There is no mention, that it's a licensed produkt.

[@enginerd80]

During the boot there was option to use something called Rescue and Recovery Environment. Would there be an option restore the factory Windows installation, possibly Pro, and possibly in English? Someone else in the comments suggested that the previous owner might have installed the Chinese XP Home afterwards.

[@thatoneuser5066]

Doubt it, as you can see from the System properties, it is an IBM OEM version of the Chinese XP Home, so I guess that's what it came with.

[@windowslab4820]

@@thatoneuser5066 That's the software that's included with the original ThinkPad installation of Windows Xp

[@maniacaudiophile]

Actually it is a Taiwanese ThinkPad, Singapore is just the base of operation for Lenovo for Asian markets that are not big enough to have a direct operation.

[@r0kus]

Interesting video. I fondly remember my own IBM Thinkpad from the mid-1990s. Just so your viewers know, the Trackpoint is ideal for touch typists. (Guess there aren't enough of us around for anyone but IBM/Lenovo and Toshiba to offer it though.) The resting position of a touch-typist's hands places an index finger on each side of the Trackpoint. So it literally does not matter if you are left- or right-handed. You don't need to have a hand leave its rest position to move the cursor or activate a button or menu. For games, I still prefer a mouse, but for productivity work, the Trackpoint is superior. Plus, I hate trackpads in general.

[@OnlyEpicEmber]

I had a T61P I picked up for a fiver and it was awesome

[@evandex08]

This video : Published on Jan 29 2020 KZbin Recommendations : *pops this up in my recommended*

[@ezraindosing]

The keyboard layout is Zhuyin or Cangjie input, mainly used in Taiwan or Hong Kong and the language is Tradtional Chinese For Singapore their keyboard layout i believe is same like US Layout (they mainly use English) and for chinese, Singapore usually write in Pinyin Simplified Chinese not Traditional Chinese

[@judenihal]

Back the hard drive up as a hard drive image and store the file on an external hard drive. Never wipe the hard disk, you may always need something in there which you cannot find online, like a driver. Also being that this is an old computer, you might as well just put Windows XP Professional VLK on it.

[@PCWindowstechguy]

Wow I actually didn't know that and great video

[@MichaelMJD]

thank you!

[@fishmanloveslinux7978]

I always enjoy your videos. I actually bought a Lenovo Thinkpad R 61 with IBM branding still on it. I looked at the original tag and sure nuff there was the word Singapore on the tag. No chinese characters just a plan US qwerty keyboard. Keep up the great work! : = )

[@windowslab4820]

That's not Chinese characters. These are phonetic symbols (Taiwan) and Cangjie (HK and Macao)

[@CherryTv_CUP]

This guy is so underrated dang

[@karl-erikkald8876]

The R50e was definitely the lowest end ThinkPad in 2004/2005. It lacked many features a higher end ThinkPad would have such as the docking port that even the normal R50 would have. It also only had Intel's integrated graphics. And to further save costs, these mostly came preinstalled with XP Home instead of XP Pro (XP Pro came on more expensive R50e models).

[@hmich176]

I just watched a 48 minute ad on this video. It was a pilot of a TV show. You're welcome!

[@-GameHacKeR-]

I like the track point, I played alot of airline tycoon and theme hospital with the track point.

[@windowslab4820]

I have an IBM ThinkPad T43 in China and it also says Lenovo Singapore

[@kristiantodorov5080]

12:08 Why are you blurring out the tasks menu?

[@PearComputingDevices]

Just press f11. I would be excited to see if it still has the recovery. I have a disk set for the t420 and t430 series...

[@rostyc]

What version of Google Chrome does it have?

[@AWM2004]

49

[@windowslab4820]

thinkpad did not have windows key until the release of the Lenovo thinkpad x60 and the t60 series

[@ChessPuzzles2]

I have the same thinkpad, but it uses Intel Centrino CPU. bought on 2000 in Greece.

[@headbumb9022]

5:17 What are these plugs called, because I have an Asus N10E Charger, but not the laptop that it connects to, so can you please help me find these so I can use the Asus N10E Charger on a different PC??

[@PC4USE1]

Those plugs belong to a universal laptop charger,the only way you can use your Asus charger is to find a laptop that has the equivalent port and voltage(unless you can rewire it with another tip). Probably not worth your effort,though.

[@headbumb9022]

@@PC4USE1 ok

[@computercloset6165]

What state are you in? Goodwills in central Arizona don't sell computers

[@sjtsaur]

Hi, I'm from Singapore but I've never seen that kind of keyboard layout (and we don't use Traditional Chinese), the laptop is probably from Taiwan as other comments say

[@knzkyuya.archive]

actually TW

[@goodboy02network90]

I had a TI Windows 95 laptop using a track-point instead of a trackpad when I was 5 years old.

[@linux_doggo]

This is a brilliant machine for future OS installs if the $5 Windows 98 Machine™ isn't powerful enough

[@MichaelMJD]

Maybe we should dub it “The $10 Windows XP Laptop” : )

[@linux_doggo]

@@MichaelMJD oh totally :D

[@thatoneuser5066]

See if you can up the RAM and put an SSD in it.

[@NepgearGM6.1]

Michael MJD great

[@nigelcooper1191]

On the Windows 98 pc 29 floppy disks for Windows 95 is still too easy!! For your next challenge I think you should do a video where you try to install Windows 98 First Edition from floppy disks. Windows 98 First Edition was the last version of Windows sold on floppy disks and requires 38 (DMF formatted) floppy disks to install! I would love to see a video on that in the future! (There is no Windows 98 Second Edition on floppies just First Edition)

[@markkawano7980]

Can i install windows 10 on The Singaporean IBM ThinkPad ?

[@Luigifusion96]

if the processor supports NX and it takes 1GB of ram, it can

[@OfficialGH98]

Mark Kawano Windows 10 can run on a Windows XP PC, but I would recommend using a older version of a Windows 10 like RTM, and I agree with Luigifusion's opinion.

[@markkawano7980]

@@Luigifusion96 thank. The Singaporean IBM ThinkPad run on windows 10. It works the processor supports NX.

[@LeeZhiWei8219]

Even though the coa is from Singapore. It's probably not from here. We speak fluent Chinese and English. We have no need for the extra symbols which is for Taiwan. If I am not wrong maybe someone swapped the keyboard and was living in Singapore or even lenovo was just using extra coas. Idk enjoy your video and sorry for my rant.

[@LouiesWorkshop]

Will it be the famous Singaporean IBM XP pc?

[@NT1208X]

Please forgive me for using the translator Your machine is actually a version sold in Taiwan I am from taiwan I own a Thinkpad X61T Windows xp stickers are the same as your machine

[@dave4shmups]

Great video! I wonder if you could run some version of Linux on this laptop? Or Windows 98?

[@zsombor_99]

Maybe if you create a new user account, then delete the original account, maybe you can get rid of the original owner's name without reinstalling. But I'm not 100% sure...

[@robertoh1354]

Hello I have a number of older computers that I have tried to install XP on, but have never been able to use them as I can not activate them. I own a number of legal copies of XP and only want to use them to play older games. How do you activate or bypass activation?

[@EveryonesFavoriteEnby]

1 year ago today, how’s it going?

[@namesurname4666]

can you do a video about windows live movie maker & photo gallery

[@blainepalmerza]

Awesome video,Michael

[@questmedia3572]

You always make cool and intresting video's :)

[@goodboy02network90]

Try the recovery partition.

[@maniatore2006]

The best is, this IBM Branded Notebooks has no Windows Keys :D I think everyone knows why ;) Later under the Brand Lenovo, that has been changed.

[@BSJZUwIfQnY6j3]

This is Hong Kong or Taiwan? but i can sure not SG......

[@tsu-exp]

I’m pretty sure that the laptop came from Taiwan, I have a laptop that has the same Taiwanese bopomofo input.

[@changhsieh459]

That keyboard is only used in Taiwan, Singapore uses the input method from communist China.

[@pomidortv797]

The PolSat logo!

[@Krishnadas1.3]

Sir How to solve laptop not turning on

[@sovietunion565]

all coas are singapore lenovo

[@FreeScience]

I don't know if there are special versions, but generally Home has a green loading indicator on boot, and Professional has blue, as in this video, so that's kind of weird.

[@jjohnson71958]

I once owned a lbm x31 thinkpad

[@_baniraaisu6711]

I expect it comes with singlish for some reason lmao.

[@nurci67]

Trivia question: What does 火 mean?

[@windowslab4820]

That's a Cangjie (仓颉，倉頡)symbol

[@tonicroatian]

Its an r50e model

[@missiondemolition]

I have a Spanish Dell Latitude D630.

[@andreibunea2564]

Awesome! Keep up the good videos.

[@ChaseMC215]

We don't call the red thing the Mouse Pointer, we call it the mouse nipple

[@kacpreusz9911]

I'm confused is Lenovo a chinese or a japanese company

[@Tularis]

ThinkPad R series. The R is for Rubbish.

[@IkarusKommt]

US seems to be bursting with old, working tech...

[@mangamichael]

Mine won’t boot up help!

[@jjohnson71958]

This ibm thinkpad looks like my Lenovo Thinkpad T61 notebook

[@mrnemo204]

Why not change the languague to English on that thing?

[@thatoneuser5066]

I don't think it's possible with XP Home, only Professional, but you can with Windows 10 Home, but not Vista or 7 Home either.

[@parantezadam6293]

Nice video!

[@rayphoenix7296]

That laptop looks more impressive than my Alienware from 2016. Sigh, Windows XP really was the masterpiece pinnacle of the Windows series. Windows 10 is so dull.

[@minediamonds3045]

I have a thinkpad t45 a very similar laptop

[@tflsh]

Nice

[@leap123_]

Lenovo ThinkPad? No, it's *IBM* ThinkPad

[@AWM2004]

Late 2004-Early 2005 ThinkPads have the Lenovo logo along with the IBM logo

[@LouiesWorkshop]

install the Russian XP on it. Only if it was a Russian think pad it would better fit everything

[@thatoneuser5066]

Did you just change the title? Even after the comments from months ago that it is actually Taiwanese?

[@MichaelMJD]

Yes, it seems that the device is actually from Taiwan, so I updated the title.

[@thatoneuser5066]

Michael MJD Okay, I just noticed that when browsing the channel, but why didn’t you update it when you were first told about it?

[@Touhou2006]

Made in China: ❌ Made in Taiwan: ✅

[@aarontrupiano9328]

you gotta wonder how this stuff ends up in random thrift stores over here.

[@MichaelMJD]

yeah its pretty amazing!

[@jonathandenton6160]

Pretty simple: People buy the computer, move to the US, and then donate it to the thrift store some time after arriving.

[@red-kg7jy]

Hi Michael

[@TheEternitySnow]

I don’t know why this video is a called Taiwanese thinkpad. Ain’t all Thinkpads are from the Chinese company Lenovo and made in China? I think you should have called this Taiwanese region thinkpad.

[@supermariobit6447]

It came out in 2001

[@Jesse88789]

If it was from 2001, then it was from ibm

[@olivertzeng]

I see bopomofo or chewing on the keyboard!

[@windowslab4820]

ctrl esc=WinKey

[@MichaelMJD]

That will work to open the start menu, but Ctrl+Esc does not function exactly like a Windows key. Keyboard shortcuts that require it (ex. Windows Key + R to open run) do not work with Ctrl + Esc

[@windowslab4820]

@@MichaelMJD Thank you for correcting me. I just use it to launch the start menu.

[@finnisnotafish]

9.99??! you would not find it for that cheap anymore in todays age of goodwill. they have gone downhill so much.

[@JAGz_YT]

Do you speak chinese?

[@Moskito844]

Get linux on it !

[@graeme8934]

👍