T42 owners beware of bios v3.16...

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byron · #1 Post by **byron** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:02 am

it could just be a coincidence but within minutes after flashing to this new BIOS version my machine is dead. after about 10 minutes in windows after flashing it hung and i got a BSOD pointing to the video card, then on reboot it froze again just after logging in. i had to power it off and when i tried to restart it i got a BIOS beep code (one long, two short) which means a system board/LCD/DIMM failure. this may be totally unrelated to the BIOS flash, but I thought I would post it so others can make that decision themself.

FYI... my machine is an FVU with an extra 256mb of RAM, DVD-R/RW ultrabay drive, touch-pad free palm rest and internal bluetooth all purchased from IBM parts. i'm going put the internal modem (replace bluetooth) and old palmrest back in just so i don't get screwed if the depot replaces the entire thing. yanking the hdd as well. hopefully the DHL box will show up today.

#2 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:29 am

It's likely just coincidence. Version 3.16 seems to be working fine on my T41. ... JD Hurst

The Weissman · #3 Post by **The Weissman** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:34 am

BIOS v3.16 running fine on my T42.

byron · #4 Post by **byron** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:07 am

ya.. hopefully it was just a freak thing.

should i take out the extra memory DIMM that I ordered from IBM when sending this back?

IAmTheEvilest · #5 Post by **IAmTheEvilest** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:18 am

I think it is best to leave the computer in the state that it left the factory. That way, they can't blame you for the fault.

byron · #6 Post by **byron** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:39 am

ya... thats why i'm taking out the bluetooth radio i installed, my touchpad-less palmrest, and ultrabay DVD-R/W. however, I think im going to leave the memory in there and just make sure I note that on the checklist I get in the return box.

#7 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:46 am

IAmTheEvilest wrote:I think it is best to leave the computer in the state that it left the factory. That way, they can't blame you for the fault.

So if you purchased a ThinkPad pre-SP1 for XP, you would just leave it? And if IBM drivers fix and advance things (they do), you would not bother? Sorry, but to not patch and upgrade your computer is not good advice. I keep mine right up to date and usually post the results here to give people confidence, but I sure would not undo all my patches (no need to). ... JD Hurst

byron · #8 Post by **byron** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:51 am

wow... this machine is hosed. i made the 5 pc doctor DOS disks and booted to them.. started the "normal test" and the machine died after about 5-10 minutes. i left my desk so I'm not sure what test is was on. now when i try and boot it i get the same BIOS beeps (one long, two short). time to yank the hdd and set it aside for DHL.

brewt · #9 Post by **brewt** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 2:17 pm

jdhurst wrote:
IAmTheEvilest wrote:I think it is best to leave the computer in the state that it left the factory. That way, they can't blame you for the fault.
So if you purchased a ThinkPad pre-SP1 for XP, you would just leave it?

I believe IAmTheEvilest is talking hardware wise, not software.

Plinkerton · #10 Post by **Plinkerton** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:16 pm

That's a drag.

Mine's running fine on 3.16 though. Thankfully.

kaplanfx · #11 Post by **kaplanfx** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:17 pm

I'm running fine with the 3.16 bios. I just got my thinkpad 2 weeks ago and updated to the 3.16 bios last week. Everything seemed to go great, sorry to hear about your bad experiance. Let us know how Lenovo handles the situation.

-kaplanfx

kho-tele · #12 Post by **kho-tele** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 4:54 pm

Did you update the embedded controller firstly ?

byron · #13 Post by **byron** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 5:11 pm

kho-tele wrote:Did you update the embedded controller firstly ?

there was no need to... the last revision was nov 04, and i had been running it since then. thanks though.

kaplanfx · #14 Post by **kaplanfx** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 6:23 pm

kho-tele wrote:Did you update the embedded controller firstly ?

does the embedded controller require a diskette? What exactly is the embedded controller, I have never heard of it before today and never needed to update one on other machines I have used.

-kaplanfx

kho-tele · #15 Post by **kho-tele** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 1:29 am

The embedded controller is a controller which administers some of the hardware (which isn´t controlled by the BIOS).

A modern PC cannot rely of the BIOS alone anymore - there are too many and too complicated things going on inside the machine.

Having said that, I can´t really tell you a lot more, as I haven´t beein digging more into it myself.

You can find the embedded controller update at:
http://www.lenovo.com/think/support/sit ... MIGR-50277

Remmeber, that you´ll have to update the embedded controller prior to the BIOS update.

rvehock · #16 Post by **rvehock** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:05 pm

My T40 upgraded to the new BIOS without incident.

byron · #17 Post by **byron** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:11 pm

Would it matter that i've made a few hardware modifications? Integrated bluetooth and my touchpad is not connected at all (ordered a palm rest without a touchpad).

fbrdphreak · #18 Post by **fbrdphreak** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 10:40 am

The Weissman wrote:BIOS v3.16 running fine on my T42.

byron · #19 Post by **byron** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:59 am

DHL picked it up monday, IBM got it tuesday replaced the system board, and I have it in my hands right now (Wednesday)... thats pretty quick.

the checksheet says they updated the bios.. but its running v3.13. i'm not sure i want to upgrade to 3.16... does anyone else on here have an FVU with custom installed bluetooth radio and sucessfully running bios 3.16?

aaronpropst · #20 Post by **aaronpropst** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 2:59 pm

I have custom installed bluetooth in my 2378-DHU (t41). I ran bios update 3.16, and haven't seen my bluetooth card in my device manager since..

is that kinda what you were experiencing? I'm still considering rolling back my bios.. should i go to 3.13? I've tried everything else i can think of.

byron · #21 Post by **byron** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 3:08 pm

no.. mine machine just died a slow death. eventually it was giving bios beep codes (one long, two short). depot repair replaced the system board.

shux · #22 Post by **shux** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 2:45 am

I'm having nearly the same problem. Yesterday the screen started turning off randomly. Today I've gotten the one long two short beeps. Whats the process to get the system board replaced? DO I remove the harddrive before I send it off?

sugo · #23 Post by **sugo** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:30 am

shux wrote:DO I remove the harddrive before I send it off?

To be safe yes, since you don't believe hdd is the problem.

byron · #24 Post by **byron** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 11:37 am

shux wrote:I'm having nearly the same problem. Yesterday the screen started turning off randomly. Today I've gotten the one long two short beeps. Whats the process to get the system board replaced? DO I remove the harddrive before I send it off?

just call IBM support tell them the bios beep code your getting and have him reference it in the service manual. the first thing on his list is to replace the system board. they will send you a padded box via DHL to send back your TP, you should have it back in 2-3 days.

did this start happening after upgrading to bios v3.16? what modem TP do you have?

Daniel · #25 Post by **Daniel** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 12:44 pm

This is ridiculous. I had the intermittent screen going away thing and I had it serviced. They replaced the system board and updated the BIOS. After 3 hours of usage, I'm getting the long beep, 2 short.

byron · #26 Post by **byron** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:53 pm

and your bios version when the problem first arised was................?

what is your bios revision now?

the check sheet from the depot on mine said they updated the bios, but it was running BIOS 3.13 so they obviously didn't. i'm not updating the bios until i know for sure this problem isn't related to v3.16.

shux · #27 Post by **shux** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 4:02 pm

byron wrote:did this start happening after upgrading to bios v3.16? what modem TP do you have?

Nope I did not update the bios. Just started happening. Its a 2373-GRU with an extra 256

Daniel · #28 Post by **Daniel** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:53 pm

The problem didn't occur after a specific BIOS update for me. It just started happening out of nowhere. I didn't have a chance to check it after receiving it back because it only worked for about 3 hours.

sugo · #29 Post by **sugo** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:57 pm

Daniel wrote:After 3 hours of usage, I'm getting the long beep, 2 short.

Is it just beep or did the screen go away thing come back?

T42 owners beware of bios v3.16...

T42 owners beware of bios v3.16...

BIOS 3.16

Re: BIOS 3.16

Re: BIOS 3.16

Embedded Controller

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