IBM ThinkPad 760 Series
The ThinkPad 760 Series were high-end desktop replacement laptops produced from October 1995 through January 1998. Below is a table showing the specifications of all 10 models in the series. As a quick reference tip - models with an "L" in the name have ESS audio, models without an "L" have IBM's Mwave card.
The entire 760 Series could be easily upgraded by simply lifting up the keyboard like the hood of a car. The keyboard also automatically elevated at the back when the laptop was opened for more comfortable typing. Under the keyboard, you'd have easy access to the battery, hard drive, and modular bay (called the Ultrabay). Some 760 models had the original Ultrabay, which could hold a floppy drive, 2nd hard drive, second battery, and a few other rare devices. Most 760 models had the newer "Ultrabay Thick" instead, which could also hold a CD-ROM drive.
Specifications
Note: Different configurations of each laptop often had different release and discontinuation dates. In these cases, the earliest and latest dates will be used for each respectively. See the PSREF linked in resources for the specific dates for each configuration.
| Spec | ThinkPad 760C | ThinkPad 760CD | ThinkPad 760L | ThinkPad 760LD | ThinkPad 760E | ThinkPad 760ED | ThinkPad 760EL | ThinkPad 760ELD | ThinkPad 760XD | ThinkPad 760XL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | October 1995 | October 1995 | February 1996 | February 1996 | May 1996 | May 1996 | May 1996 | May 1996 | April 1997 | April 1997 | |
| Discontinuation Date | October 1996 | October 1996 | October 1996 | October 1996 | October 1997 | October 1997 | Unknown | 1997 | January 1998 | January 1998 | |
| CPU Options | Intel Pentium (P54LM) @90 or 120MHz | Intel Pentium (P54LM) @90MHz (120MHz upgradable) | Intel Pentium (P54LM) @120, 133, or P54CSLM @150MHz | Intel Pentium (P54CSLM) @133MHz | Intel Pentium @100, 120, or 133MHz | Intel Pentium @100MHz (133MHz upgradable) | Intel Pentium MMX @166MHz | ||||
| RAM (Standard) | 8MB | 8 or 16MB | 16MB | 8 or 16MB | 8MB | 32MB | 16 or 32MB | ||||
| RAM (Maximum) | 64MB | 104MB | 72MB | 104MB | |||||||
| RAM Type | 2x 88pin EDO slots | 2x 144pin EDO slots | |||||||||
| HDD Standard Size | 720MB or 1.08GB | 1.2GB | 810MB | 810MB, 1.08GB, or 1.2GB | 1.2GB | 810MB, 1.08GB, 1.35GB, or 2.1GB | 810MB | 3.0GB | 2.1GB | ||
| HDD Type | IDE 2.5" | ||||||||||
| Uses Proprietary HDD Adapter? | I believe so for all of them. | ||||||||||
| Display Options | 10.4 or 12.1" TFT/Active Matrix | 12.1" TFT/Active Matrix | 10.4" TFT/Active Matrix | 12.1" TFT/Active Matrix | 11.3" DSTN/Passive Matrix or 12.1" TFT/Active Matrix | 12.1" TFT/Active Matrix | 12.1" TFT/Active Matrix | ||||
| Display Resolution | 800x600 (SVGA) | 640x480 (VGA) | 800x600 (SVGA) or 1024x768 (XGA) | 800x600 (SVGA) | 1024x768 (XGA) | 800x600 (SVGA) | |||||
| Display Color Depth | 65,536 Colors | 16.7 Million Colors | 65,536 Colors | 262,166 (SVGA) or 65,536 (XGA) Colors | 256 (DSTN) or 65,536 (TFT) Colors | 65,536 Colors | |||||
| GPU | Trident Cyber9320 | Trident Cyber9320 (SVGA) or Cyber9385 (XGA) | Trident Cyber9385 | Trident Cyber9320 or Cyber9385 | Trident Cyber9320 | Trident Cyber9385 | |||||
| VRAM | 1MB | 1MB (SVGA) or 2MB (XGA) | 2MB | 1MB | 1MB | 2MB | 1MB | ||||
| Sound | IBM Mwave MDSP2780 | ESS 1688 AudioDrive | IBM Mwave MDSP2780 | ESS 1688 AudioDrive | IBM Mwave MDSP2780 | ESS 1688 AudioDrive | |||||
| Battery | NiMH or Lithium Ion | ||||||||||
| CMOS Battery | Unknown | ||||||||||
| Power Supply | IBM 4-pin proprietary | ||||||||||
| PC Cards | 2x PCMCIA | 2x PCMCIA, CardBus supported | |||||||||
| Media Drives | Ultrabay (Original), does NOT support CD-ROM | Ultrabay Thick, supports FDD, CD-ROM, and more | Ultrabay (Original) | Ultrabay Thick | Ultrabay (Original) or Ultrabay Thick | Ultrabay Thick | |||||
| Networking | Modem | None | Modem | None | Modem | None | |||||
| I/O (Other) | 1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - Dock connector |
1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - 1x Dock connector - 1x External FDD connector - 1x Proprietary Multimedia Port*1 |
1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - Dock connector |
1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - 1x Dock connector - 1x External FDD connector |
1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - 1x Dock connector - 1x External FDD connector (if Ultrabay Thick model) |
1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - 1x Dock connector - 1x External FDD connector - 1x Proprietary Multimedia Port*1 |
1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - 1x Dock connector - 1x External FDD connector |
1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - 1x Dock connector - 1x External FDD connector - 1x Proprietary Multimedia Port*1 |
1x VGA Out - 1x Serial - 1x Parallel - 1x Line In - 1x Line Out - 2x Infrared - 1x Dock connector - 1x External FDD connector |
||
| BIOS | IBM BIOS with Easy Setup | ||||||||||
| Pointing Device | TrackPoint | ||||||||||
*1- I THINK this port can be adapted into MIDI/Game Port, Composite In/Out and S-Video In/Out.
Resources
 Service Manual |
Withdrawn Models PSREF |
|---|
Common Faults & Maintenance
The ThinkPad 760s are generally well-built laptops. Build quality is good, and hinge failures are rare. Still, a couple of things MUST be addressed to keep them working.
Reserve Battery Leaks
ThinkPad 760s have a Lithium CMOS battery, but they ALSO have a VARTA NiMH battery, hidden inside the keyboard palmrest. These batteries nearly always leak with age and MUST be removed from any ThinkPad 760 Series laptop, or the keyboard controller will eventually stop working.
Sticky Rubber
The entire case of the 760 ThinkPads is coated in a soft touch rubber coating. This coating nearly always turns sticky with age and must be removed from the laptop.
Gallery
Nothing here yet. If you own a 760 Series ThinkPad and would like to contribute photos, see here.
Page last updated (MM/DD/YYYY): 11/15/2024
Update Reason: pages consolidated
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