Rescue and reformatting is the safest solution as well as the quickest in most cases (and if one always prepares for it). I download all I can offline and burn to DVD, which I then have available for rapid updates. http://www.windowsupdatesdownloader.com/Default.aspx http://www.wsusoffline.net/ Maki...

System board functions fine after display swap. Booted many times to be sure.

The (vintage 1998 as a guess) old Dell CRT I have won't function with the A31 or the A31P system board. Works fine with various desktops. I have an LCD to test with, but I have to retrieve it from a machine shop where I loaned it out... The same system board (A31) is working fine with an A31P LCD, s...

No pinkish screen, worked fine until malfunction. Brief display when attempting to boot is not pinkish.

Thanks for the reply. It's furthering my education.

I suspect the inverter because the video is only displayed for a few seconds, then drops to an extremely low level and the A31 concerned halted did not boot. If that is a symptom of backlight failure then I stand corrected. I found it odd that the boot process halted, so i guessed "most complex part...

FWIW, any UXGA LCD from later models (T42p, T43p, R50p) will work in your A31p with your present cable and inverter.

If my inverter is suspect, would the UXGA LCDs work with their specified inverters, and would their cables work as well?

After skinning out two to assemble one A31 today, I agree with Harryc. Those cages are flexy and require correct attachment in UN-flexed position to stay straight. Page 104 in the manual: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-39796.html Pull the brackets as shown and everything clears, and...

Thank you, Harryc! Installed A31P system board into base, powered up with no accessories. Doesn't put out enough signal to turn on my old Dell CRT monitor either, so I'll use an LCD external monitor for future testing. The video dropout duplicated with the A31 LCD, so I dug out the supposed bad A31P...

Assuming you must use an OS that is susceptible to such things, There's a handy way around that problem too. Run Linux in a virtual machine and use it for browsing or other high-risk activities. No need to learn much, just download free VMWare Player http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ then grab...

Donor is A31P Type 2653-A5U S/N 99-GDBT7 , build date 03/06 System board was an easy pull from the donor. ( I'm seeing why folks like working on these. ) I'll bench test the donor board again now that it's free of the case (ran fine before). All that's left is the question if I can use the display f...

My apologies for not rapidly replying, but the flu (unknown version) kicked my posterior. (Get your flu shots, it's horrid and can last for weeks.) A31P stats: Type 2653-A5U S/N 99-GDBT7 , build date 03/06 Function key cycling on the A31 changes nothing. :( Additional question: A31P has misc bent/da...

"I thought you said you could see a faint IBM logo at all times? " Yes, but the display is at (full) brightness for a couple of seconds before dropping to a level that wouldn't even be visible except at very close range. CRT monitor won't cycle the internal relay one normally hears when signal trigg...

No joy on external display (video drops before it can cycle the monitor).

A31 is a Type 2652-C4U, Serial 78-GNYW8, build date 08/02.

Will dig out A31P carcass tomorrow to get numbers.

When I hit the power button, I get normal POST for a couple of seconds then video disappears with no hint of error messages. While still powered, an EXTREMELY faint illumination of the Thinkpad logo is barely perceptible, and can be distinguished from screen artifacts because it gets fainter when po...