IBM ThinkPad T20 unable to BOOT

[mjboon]

Hi, i have a IBM T20 here.

when I power on the laptop, after the POST screen (which display IBM THINKPAD logo) and the Intel Boot Agent Screen, it does not boot the Windows OS from my hardisk !

I try to boot from Floppy and Internal DVD-ROM, but FAILED !

Moreover, i am unable to enter the BIOS configuration by pressing F1.

Any advice?

Thanks

[egibbs]

Does it show a lock symbol? If so, you just need to enter the password.

Does it prosuce a beep code after POST like 4 beeps, 3 beeps, 3 beeps? If so, post the code.

Does it display any other errors?

Ed Gibbs

[mjboon]

Does it show a lock symbol? If so, you just need to enter the password.

Does it prosuce a beep code after POST like 4 beeps, 3 beeps, 3 beeps? If so, post the code.

Does it display any other errors?

Ed Gibbs

no error show.. no beeps sound.. nothing .. ..

[jrhuerga]

Hi, i have a IBM T20 here.

when I power on the laptop, after the POST screen (which display IBM THINKPAD logo) and the Intel Boot Agent Screen, it does not boot the Windows OS from my hardisk !

I try to boot from Floppy and Internal DVD-ROM, but FAILED !

Moreover, i am unable to enter the BIOS configuration by pressing F1.

Any advice?

Thanks

Yeah, the same happens with my T21. It only is able to be boot up when I apply an AC adapter. After the operating system is loaded, I can remove the AC adapter and use the laptop with merely DC. I have changed the CMOS backup battery, but the problem is the same.

Any idea?

Jose Ramon Huerga

http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

[rhobite]

Try hitting F12 to choose your boot device.. then try the floppy or CD.

[mjboon]

Try hitting F12 to choose your boot device.. then try the floppy or CD.

hitting F12, and nothing happened at all ..

[rhobite]

Have you followed the directions in the hardware maintenance manual? Removed all nonessential devices, cleared the CMOS, reseated DIMMs, etc? If you've done all this then you may be looking at a system board problem. I don't know how much diagnosis you've done so I can't really say if this is the case.

[jrhuerga]

Try hitting F12 to choose your boot device.. then try the floppy or CD.

hitting F12, and nothing happened at all ..

In my T21 there is no option to hit F12, because:

. If I start the laptop with AC, I have the option to hit F1 or F12.
. If I start the laptop with only DC, I only have the option to hit F1.

Yesterday, I upgraded my BIOS (from a version from 2000 to a new version of Octuber 2004) in the hope to fix the problem.

Also, I have researched through the forum, and there is an story about a broken capacitor. More people that is not able to boot the T20/21/22 laptop using merely the DC (with AC it works properly) removes the battery pack, press the start button for 90 seconds (in order to discharge this capacitor) and then insert again the battery pack. I never tried this, and if this night, the new BIOS works the same way than the older, I'll try to discharge this capacitor and see what happens.

In any case, it looks like this is a common problem with T20/21/22 laptops, and I would like to know if there's an easy way to get the laptop to boot properly again without an AC connection. At home, this is not a major problem, but when you are in an airport, is not easy to get access to a electrical connection (and of course, in the airplane is almost imposible).


Jose Ramon Huerga
http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

[mjboon]

with AC or DC my T20 also unable to boot

[mjboon]

hitting F12, and nothing happened at all ..

In my T21 there is no option to hit F12, because:

. If I start the laptop with AC, I have the option to hit F1 or F12.
. If I start the laptop with only DC, I only have the option to hit F1.

Yesterday, I upgraded my BIOS (from a version from 2000 to a new version of Octuber 2004) in the hope to fix the problem.

Also, I have researched through the forum, and there is an story about a broken capacitor. More people that is not able to boot the T20/21/22 laptop using merely the DC (with AC it works properly) removes the battery pack, press the start button for 90 seconds (in order to discharge this capacitor) and then insert again the battery pack. I never tried this, and if this night, the new BIOS works the same way than the older, I'll try to discharge this capacitor and see what happens.

In any case, it looks like this is a common problem with T20/21/22 laptops, and I would like to know if there's an easy way to get the laptop to boot properly again without an AC connection. At home, this is not a major problem, but when you are in an airport, is not easy to get access to a electrical connection (and of course, in the airplane is almost imposible).


Jose Ramon Huerga
http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

Tried!!! but still failed to Boot!!!
Help...

[jrhuerga]

Tried!!! but still failed to Boot!!!
Help...

Ok. Also in the forums, a lot of people said that it is helpful to resettle the soDIMM of memory. For example, you can do this:

1. Remove all the soDIMM of memory.
2. Start the laptop, in order to see if the BIOS complains about the lack of memory.
3. Shutdown, and put one soDIMM and check that it is correctly settled.
4. Start the laptop and see what happens.
5. If the laptop starts properly, put the other soDIMM (in case you have two soDIMM) and repeat.

Hope this helps,
Jose Ramon Huerga

http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

[jrhuerga]

Tried!!! but still failed to Boot!!!
Help...

More ideas:

1) Remove the CMOS backup battery and try to start the laptop.
2) Another idea: Buy a new CMOS backup battery (in eBAY, you can buy one for 12€)


Jose Ramon Huerga
http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

[egibbs]

Try reseating the Mini-PCI card (under the small square cover with 1 screw on the bottom). Disconnect all power and the battery and take the card completely out (including disconnecting the cable) then reinstall it. On my T20 I occasionally had hangs duiring boot that were cured by reseating that card.

Also - there is a slight possibility that they system is actually booting but not displaying - either it is switching to external monitor or the LCD backlight is shutting off. Try looking at the LCD with a strong light, switching between internal and external monitor, or hooking up an external monitor if you can.

It's hard to diagnose with no beep codes or errors without being there to see it . But if it is POSTing ok and loading the Intel boot agent I tend to think it is a setting or software issue rather than hardware - could be wrong though.

You say you can't get into BIOS - what EXACTLY happens when you try?

Ed Gibbs

[jrhuerga]

You say you can't get into BIOS - what EXACTLY happens when you try?

Ed Gibbs

In the case of my T21, when I don't have the AC adapter pluged and I try to press F1, it says... 'entering setup BIOS'... and while it is trying to open the BIOS setup, the laptop merely gets shutdown (no beeps, no errors: only the laptop gets shutdown as if I had pressed the start button).

Of course, this doesn't happen all the time. For example, if I spend several hours working with the laptop, and I shutdown the laptop, remove the AC adapter, and then try to boot using only DC, it usually works fine, and I can enter in the BIOS and/or boot the computer without problems.

More or less, I think that if I spend one day working two-three hours with the laptop, and then, the next day (24 hours later) I try to boot the laptop using only the DC, it usually has boot problems. That is the reason I changed the CMOS backup battery (it looked clearly a CMOS battery problem). In fact, as I have reproduced the problem with a new CMOS battery, I'm a astonished.


Thanks in advance.
Jose Ramon Huerga

http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

[jrhuerga]

I've been researching in other places, and more people talks about replacing the voltage regulator chip (adp3410). Specifically, in this URL, more owners of thinkPad talk about the adp3410 being the source of the problem:

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/28867/

Has anybody in this forum had this same problem? Replacing this chip (or the entire motherboard) seems to be the way to go.


Thank you,
Jose Ramon Huerga

http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

[jrhuerga]

hitting F12, and nothing happened at all ..

In my T21 there is no option to hit F12, because:

. If I start the laptop with AC, I have the option to hit F1 or F12.
. If I start the laptop with only DC, I only have the option to hit F1.

Yesterday, I upgraded my BIOS (from a version from 2000 to a new version of Octuber 2004) in the hope to fix the problem.

With the new version of BIOS, the option of hitting F12 appears also when booting with only DC. Also, I have tried four consecutive days to boot the laptop using only DC, and with the new BIOS it is working properly. I will wait to see what happens in the next couple of weeks, but it looks like the new BIOS is able to start the laptop, no matter if I use AC or DC.


Jose Ramon Huerga
http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

[mjboon]

This is the reply i get from IBM support

"Thank you for contacting IBM.

We are in receipt of your e-mail requesting technical
assistance with regards to your IBM T20 ThinkPad.

Please be advised that you have reached the contact
forum for general, nontechnical inquiries.

If you are looking for any technical assistance, you may
contact IBM Serv at 1-800-426-7378. IBM Serv operates
24 hours, 7 days a week.

Please be advised that while contacting our IBM Serv,
you would need to provide the machine type model number
which will help us to assist you in a better way. Please
be advised if your machine is not under warranty,
telephone support may be billable.

Thank you for visiting our site and contacting IBM."

[jrhuerga]

Have you tried to remove the CMOS battery, and try to boot ? You are not going to be able to load the operating system, but maybe you can get a clue about what is happening.

This is my fifth day that I have been able to boot properly my T21, using only the battery pack. In my specific case, the trick seems to be to have upgraded the BIOS to the lattest version.


Jose Ramon Huerga
http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

[mjboon]

Have you tried to remove the CMOS battery, and try to boot ? You are not going to be able to load the operating system, but maybe you can get a clue about what is happening.

This is my fifth day that I have been able to boot properly my T21, using only the battery pack. In my specific case, the trick seems to be to have upgraded the BIOS to the lattest version.


Jose Ramon Huerga
http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

Thanks for advice... but i had tried remove EVERYTHINGS that are removable from the T20.

Unfortunately, still NOT ABLE to boot from AC or DC !