GPU problem (artifacts) on T40

[WarMachine]

Hello,

I've bought a 14.1" T41p last week, with an SXGA+ LCD and 1.5 GB. The machine was very dirty but fully fonctionnal, with an ancient version of Fedora. I bought my first T years ago, and as I know I can face the infamous GPU problem, I've bought other machines too, to be able to replace MB or other components. Among these machines, I had a pristine T40 (without screen), and I used the chassis to make a "new" T41p. The board is the one of the T40, with a Radeon 7500M. It worked flawlessly during two weeks, with Debian Jessie / LXDE, and I'm absolutely satisfied with the performance. But today, I faced the GPU problem...

So, I made a "new" machine with the chassis of the T41p, after cleaning it. Everything works fine again, the GPU is now a FireGL. I'm very careful with those machines and my firt T42 is still fully functionnal and in mint condition, despite its age. But now, when I buy refurbished Ts, they are old, and often not well taken care of... As I don't think it's interesting to reflow the MB of the T40, I would like to do something on the T41p to prevent GPU problems. What can I do ? Is it possible to add something under the GPU, is it possible to make the chassis stronger ? I don't know what I could do. Meanwhile, I'm as always very careful with the machine, I take it with my two hands, I'm not brutal.

Thank you very much !

W.

[ajkula66]

I would like to do something on the T41p to prevent GPU problems. What can I do ?

Keep the system on at all times, do not put it to sleep or shut it down unless you *absolutely* must. Simply turn the LCD off when not in use.

Make sure that the fan is clean and the thermal paste fresh.

Using fan control and/or undervolting software could also help a good bit.

Is it possible to add something under the GPU, is it possible to make the chassis stronger ?

No. But that approach wouldn't address the underlying problem to begin with.

What you're looking at are several hundreds of tiny lead-free solder balls being exposed to constant thermal cycling over the years. At some point, the connection with the planar may start to weaken. While the "two hands" approach is a sensible and necessary one, it alone won't stop the system from dying unless the thermal cycling is minimized. And even then, there's no guarantee that it will last for another five years. Or that it won't.

Having said that, the youngest T41/p is more than a decade old and may succumb to its old age for a variety of reasons. While I am extremely mindful of how I treat the two oldtimers in my sig, I'm also fully aware that they are - at least to some extent - living on borrowed time.

Good luck.

[kfzhu1229]

Btw as for leaving the machine on, for some reason my replacement A31p motherboard also started to have the problem where occasionally it fails to turn on (backlight turns on immediately, no motorized parts spinning (fan, HDD, DVDROM) , no heat on CPU but there is low heat on GPU). Is that an indicator of capacitors failing due to powered on too intensely (p4 is intense stuff afterall)?
Also as for the GPU problem, you can try a T43/p/R52 motherboard which is far less prone to GPU failure but you have to take more care to the machine as the southbridge may fail instead

[WarMachine]

Hello kfzhu1229, hello George, and happy new year !

Thanks for your answers.

I apologize for the delay of my answer, I have a goooood excuse : I bought an X61s on past Saturday, and I spent the week-end with it.
The informations you give me for my T41p are precious. It's so sad to face this problem on otherwise so nice machines. Finally, those tricks are not difficult nor too restrictive :

- The T41p is not a machine which i use outdoor. It benefits of the warmth of my house and it stays on most of the time (it's the machine I use in the kitchen when I want to look at the news when I eat, for example) ;
- It has been totally disassembled and cleaned. It has new thermal paste, and there is no more dust, nowhere !
- I have Debian 8.6 installed on it, as XP is too old (what a pity, I loved this OS), and 7 is not an option for this machine (I've already tried, and I didn't like). The way I installed Debian makes the Thinkpad very responsive (I use LXDE as a window manager), and it's perfectly usable as a daily, and far more secure than XP. I installed thinkfan, and everything runs really fine.

I know that I could borrow the motherboard of an R, but those machines are even harder to find compared to the T's... I recently saw an R for 70€, but I have bought the T for 30€ shipping included, so it's a bit pricy... Well, I've not decided yet what to do...

W.

[RealBlackStuff]

I have a box with 8 (eight) R52 motherboards P/N or FRU 39T5558, they have Intel 915GM graphics, as well as a Firewire option.
Each board includes a Dothan M 750 1.86Ghz CPU and an interposer for 15" chassis.
These mobos will fit in any T4x/R5x (14.1" and 15") machine.
I'm still in a Happy New Year mood, and willing to sell you the lot (all 8 of them) for US $100 incl. shipping to France.
PM me if interested.

[WarMachine]

Hello guys !

Happy new year !
I think I'm lucky when I read the offer for the eight motherboards.
I don't need eight motherboards, but if you agree, I would buy you three of them.

I send you a private message, we will see together what to do.

W.

[wujstefan]

How about redistributing them around the Europe? Shipping from the US is pretty expensive, and maybe we could assemble a "lot order"

I would like to take two for instance, so we're 62,5% done

[RealBlackStuff]

The same price of $100 is valid for most destinations in Europe, incl. Poland.