From dde3cd6fbca534cf70227dbb0ad9f2d282f3891d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Chris Xiong Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:32:50 -0500 Subject: Frameowkr update (the typo is not intentional but it worked out). --- blog/post/2023-11-13.html | 197 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++- 1 file changed, 194 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) (limited to 'blog/post/2023-11-13.html') diff --git a/blog/post/2023-11-13.html b/blog/post/2023-11-13.html index 83b9625..411fb12 100644 --- a/blog/post/2023-11-13.html +++ b/blog/post/2023-11-13.html @@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ function ol()
  • Table of Contents +
  • “Repasting” with PTM 7950
  • Semi-long term review
  • Contemplating upgrades
  • RTC +battery substitute module installation and upgrades
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    • @@ -59,6 +61,8 @@ function ol()

    Framework Laptop: Repasting & Two Year Report

    2023-11-13
    #device-review #computer-repairing
    +

    Updated 2023-11-27: Added stuff on the RTC battery replacement module +installation and part swap.

    “Repasting” with PTM 7950

    I’ve been reading testimonials from people replacing thermal paste in their laptops with @@ -241,16 +245,203 @@ replacement any day of the week. The price is a little steep though.

    There’s another upgrade that I’d love to get. A trackpoint keyboard with proper mouse buttons. I’m sure Lenovo would do anything to sabotage it, but I can always dream.

    +

    RTC +battery substitute module installation and upgrades

    +

    The battery module was sent out the day before US Thanksgiving. I +also decided to treat myself with the aforementioned matte screen +upgrade and a proper Chinese keyboard, which were sent out on the same +day.

    +

    Following the official guide linked above, the installation was +pretty straight forward. I don’t have stellar soldering skills or very +stable hands, but here are a few photos from the installation plus my +commentry.

    + + + + + + + + + +
    +
    +
    RTC battery +substitute module packing. Unassuming. +
    +    		 +
    +
    The module itself. +
    +
    +
    +
    After soldering. I +applied a little bit too much solder. +
    +    		 +
    +
    Final position. +
    +
    +

    Troubleshooting the modded +laptop

    +

    Unfortunately, as things usually are for me, it didn’t go right after +this point. Immediately after finishing the mod the machine still +refused to turn on with the AC adaptor unplugged. It could boot with the +adaptor plugged in and stay on after unplugging it while the laptop is +running. Unplugging the machine with it turned off would erase all CMOS +data. This was the exact same behavior exhibited before I performed the +RTC battery modification.

    +

    So I had to start the troubleshooting process. The power wire to the +RTC battery substitute module measured 17.5 V to ground when the machine +was powered on, so I didn’t mess up the soldering [4]. The outer ring of the module measured 3.2 V to ground, +so the module itself is good. Neither values changed when I turned the +machine off or had it unplugged after that. At this point pretty much +all hardware faults that I could think of have been ruled out.

    +

    Then I remembered that my machine is on BIOS version 3.17, while the +latest release was 3.19 for this motherboard. So I decided to give that +a shot. I quickly grabbed the update from their website and installed +it, and voilà: the machine was able to turn on without the AC power +attached once the BIOS has been updated.

    +

    I still felt a bit iffy with my installation though, so I decided to +go through the official installation guide again to make sure I followed +everything – and of course I did not. There is apparently a specific +orientation requirement for the module (a working one is shown in the +second picture of step 3 in the guide). So I adjusted mine to match the +picture for good measure, which resulted in the final installation photo +shown above. There was also a comment under the official mentioning the +module orientation issue.

    + + + + + + + + + +
    +
    +
    3.2 V present on +outer ring of the module with the computer powered on and plugged in. +
    +    		 +
    +
    17.5 V going into +the module with the computer powered on and plugged in. +
    +
    +
    +
    3.2 V still +present when the machine is turned off but remain plugged in. +
    +    		 +
    +
    3.2 V still +present when the machine is both turned off and unplugged. +
    +
    +

    By now I have the RTC battery substitute module fully working as +Framework intended. However I couldn’t help but notice that this still +doesn’t give the laptop the normally expected behavior according to the +schematic of the module and a statement from Framework themselves, both +of which can be found +here. For a +normal laptop one would expect when its main battery runs out it would +still be able to keep time and the BIOS configuration. However with this +modification being essentially just a voltage regulator (NCP718) and +having no significant energy storage at all, the machine +will lose all CMOS data once the main battery cuts out, +which functions more like a normal laptop with a dead CMOS battery. But +I guess it’s probably better than losing CMOS data even with a fully +charged main battery…

    +

    Other upgrades

    +

    I actually performed these part swaps between soldering the battery +module thingy in and the troubleshooting process. But that didn’t really +matter because these upgrades went pretty smoothly without any drama. +There were a lot of screws to undo and screw back in though (25 black +ones and 48 silver ones?? I couldn’t really keep track +of the number.) [5] These screws are pretty annoying to +handle because they have incredibly short shanks and are incredibly easy +to strip. With the official screw driver they easily stick together and +the ifixit screw driver couldn’t reliably pick them up. The sheer number +of them only added to the trouble I had to go through to replace my +perfectly working keyboard with one that has additional legends on the +keys that I will barely look at. Is it really worth the trouble? (Yes… +if it had a trackpoint goddammit!)

    + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
    +
    +
    The screen. Wanky +Apple-esque packaging. +
    +    		 +
    +
    Screen unboxed. +Apparently the newer 13 inch AMD model comes with this type of screen. +
    (which is objectively superior btw) +
    +
    +
    +
    Keyboard unboxed. I +can type Chinese using bopomofo at like 3 ch/min and I barely remember +anything about Cangjie. +
    +    		 +
    +
    National guild of +screws. Nobody will get this reference. +
    +
    +
    +
    The screens side by +side. Original screen on the left. The matte screen actually looked very +good for what it is. +
    +    		 +
    +
    Back of the screens. +Original on the left. Both made by BOE. +
    +
    +
    +
    The new keyboard +with backlight on. Fun fact: practically all computers sold in mainland +China come with a standard US ANSI keyboard. +
    +    		 +

    [1]: [1] [2] -
    [2]: their +
    [2]: Their crappy GPU driver being a major PITA for me – my experience with AMD graphics seems very inconsistent with most Linux users. No I refuse to elaborate here because that would derail the entire post.
    [3]: Because I -run Gentoo. Now laugh at me as you wish.
    +run Gentoo. Now laugh at me as you wish.
    [4]: Even +admittedly it looked pretty bad as all my soldering jobs have been so +far.
    [5]: So many that they actually forgot to circle +out two of them in their official guide. Multiple comments under the +guide already pointed this out, but Framework hasn’t modified the guide +at the time of writing.