t23 trouble

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biglen · #1 Post by **biglen** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 11:59 pm

i just picked up a used t23 and it was working fine and then for some reason it just turned off.i couldn't get it to boot back up so i let it sit for a few minutes and it powered back on.it worked for about another hour and then turned off again.i changed all the power options to always on so i know that's not the problem.it feels pretty hot on the bottom so maybe it's overheating?

mgenin · #2 Post by **mgenin** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 9:07 am

Try removing all the Ultrabay devices, along with the battery. See if it still has the same problem while running plugged in without those devices.

JHEM · #3 Post by **JHEM** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:19 am

Is the fan running? Sounds like it's shutting down due to overheating.

Regards,

James

biglen · #4 Post by **biglen** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 2:19 pm

i hear the fan running.as far as removing all the ultrabay devices,what is considered an ultrabay device?something else i would like to add is the little battery symbol with the + sign on it is blinking when it's plugged in.when i hold down the power button,it goes off for a second and then stays solid until i release the power button but it won't turn on.

JHEM · #5 Post by **JHEM** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 2:30 pm

biglen wrote:something else i would like to add is the little battery symbol with the + sign on it is blinking when it's plugged in.when i hold down the power button,it goes off for a second and then stays solid until i release the power button but it won't turn on.

Pull the battery out and try starting the machine with just the AC cord attached.

A constantly blinking battery LED is usally an indicator of a dead (internally shorted) battery on Thinkpads.

Leaving the battery in while the LED is blinking is considered a BAD thing!

Regards,

James

JoelME · #6 Post by **JoelME** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:53 pm

I seem to be having the same problem but my T23 shuts down after only a few min of playing a game. I can hear the fan when i start up the computer but it seems to stop before the computer ever finishes booting up. any ideas? ive tryed without the battery in and it didnt really do anything diff.

biglen · #7 Post by **biglen** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:02 pm

now i can't even get it to power on.

pphilipko · #8 Post by **pphilipko** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 12:25 am

It's a motherboard problem, then. You need to have it replaced (or put it as part of your antique gallery).

beeblebrox · #9 Post by **beeblebrox** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:57 pm

Re-seat the CPU, it is on a socket. Clean the contacts.
Looks like a common thermal problem with the T2x series.

biglen · #10 Post by **biglen** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 3:08 pm

i'm really not too familiar with laptops.how do i reseat the cpu and where is it located?i did get it to turn back on last night and it ran all night.this morning i turned it off and when i tried to boot it back up,nothing happened.if i keep pressing the power button,the hard drive light stays on.

biglen · #11 Post by **biglen** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 9:49 am

i reseated the cpu but that didn't work.i've searched around these forums for answers and came across a suggestion by jhem that the cmos battery might need replacing but that was with the earlier t's.does that pertain to the t23's?could that possibly fix my son's dead t23.i feel real bad because he is 9 years old and he sold all of his video game systems to buy this laptop.

JHEM · #12 Post by **JHEM** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 11:57 am

You could try replacing the CMOS battery, always a good thing to do with older Thinkpads, but I don't believe that's the problem here as a dead or failing CMOS battery will rarely cause a system shutdown, just a failure to start.

Please update your location in your profile. You might have an unknown neighbor willing to have a look at the system for your son.

Regards,

James

biglen · #13 Post by **biglen** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:28 pm

james,we are basically neighbors.i worked in mt. laurel for a few years.do you know of anyone in our area that could help?i'm just outside of philly.

JHEM · #14 Post by **JHEM** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:42 pm

Len,

Normally I'd say send it over here, but I'm leaving town Tuesday for a few days.

If it can wait until my return, send it over and I'll have a look under the hood when I return.

Email me for my address if interested, but we have some other Main Line denizens on the Forums who might be willing to help as well.

Regards,

James

biglen · #15 Post by **biglen** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 2:13 pm

here's an update with the t23.i took it to the post office to file a claim because it was insured when shipped.i told them it must have been damaged during shipping and it wouldn't boot up.a few days went by and they called and said it booted up but it couldn't recognize the hd.they said there was no visible damage to the box and they couldn't cover it.i picked it up and it was booting up but the error message kept saying no hard drive found.i pulled the hd and replaced it with the one from my thinkpad 600.it booted right up and found the hd.i put the original hd back in and it worked great for 3 days until my son closed the top.it turned off and i have not been able to get it back on since.does this info help in diagnosing the problem?

Way · #16 Post by **Way** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 4:59 pm

You might wish to check the little switch just abover the insert key to make sure it is not stuck.I believe this button tells the computer if the lid is closed or not.Hope this helps.

Steve007 · #17 Post by **Steve007** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 5:55 pm

biglen wrote:i just picked up a used t23 and it was working fine and then for some reason it just turned off

Was it plugged in to the mains?

biglen · #18 Post by **biglen** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:05 pm

steve,what do you mean when you asked if it was plugged in to the mains?i had the unit plugged into the outlet if that's what your asking.

biglen · #19 Post by **biglen** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 5:08 pm

after letting it sit for a day or two,it boots right up.what could the problem be?

verktyg · #20 Post by **verktyg** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 9:11 pm

It's summer and the ambient temperature may be will over 26°C - 80°F.

The thermal compound between the fan and the CPU may have hardened and is no longer efficiently transmitting heat or someone may have worked on your TP and removed the fan for whatever reason and replaced it without much or any thermal compound. This could cause intermittent overheating problems.

Also, you could have a defective HDD. Remove it and reboot the system. Turn it off when you get the message "No Hard Drive Found". Reinstall the HDD and see if it boots. If it does, go to this site and D/L the IBM-Hitachi Drive Fitness Test:

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm

The test was written to check IBM/Hitachi HDDs but it may work with other makes.

You will have to launch the file by double clicking on it. It will create a bootable floppy which you can use to test the drive.

biglen · #21 Post by **biglen** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 7:56 pm

after doing alot of research,it seems like the problem is most likely the mb.i picked one up for $80 and i should have it in a couple of days.i had the tp apart to reseat the cpu and i had no problems.how much more work is it to get the mb out?anything i should know before i begin?i do have the manual in pdf so i'm not going in blind.

verktyg · #22 Post by **verktyg** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 12:20 am

Make sure that you have premium quality #0 & #1 Phillips screwdrivers. Follow the instructions in the .PDF manual. Keep track of all of the screws. Get some premium quality thermal compound to put between the CPU and the fan. Arctic Silver 5 is a good one.

I'm a little surprised about your T23. I've never seen or heard of a mainboard problem with one of these. It's pretty common with the T20-T21-T22 TPs, also the early A2x models.

JHEM · #23 Post by **JHEM** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 9:55 am

verktyg wrote:Keep track of all of the screws.

Get the box from the last dozen eggs you purchased and use it to keep all of the screws segregated! Doesn't hurt to label each cell as to size.

Regards,

James

MadeInJapan · #24 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:05 pm

A lot of work is about to be undertaken. I hope that the new motherboard actuall works and that problems are solved but there is one thing not mentioned here that could still be the culprit. When I've had intermittent on/off problems and HDD not recognized issues on the T22's we've bought at work, I often times find that one of the RAM memory pieces is sub-standard and about to go. I would still try taking one piece out at a time and seeing if this corrects the problems you're having.

biglen · #25 Post by **biglen** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:49 pm

i tried removing the RAM and reseating them one at a time and it still won't boot.the mb that i bought is guaranteed to work so i should be good with that.

biglen · #26 Post by **biglen** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 7:46 pm

i let it sit for a couple of days and it booted right up.if it was overheating,would it take a few days to boot back up?i was just thinking out loud until the new mb comes.

verktyg · #27 Post by **verktyg** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 10:49 pm

There are 2 different problems that were discussed in this thread:

1. failure to boot, 2 lights flash green when you hit the start button and then nothing. That's the symptom which afflicts T20, T21 and a few T22 TPs plus some A2x models. It is probably caused buy either a bad CMOS battery or one or more defective capacitors in the startup system. If it starts after sitting for a while then this is more in likely the problem. Changing the CMOS battery may fix it if not replacing the mainboards is in order. This is the first T23 I've heard of with this kind of problem.

2. crashing while running could be a heat related problem.

biglen · #28 Post by **biglen** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:56 pm

this keeps getting better and better.the mb came today so i took the t23 apart and went to swap mb's.i noticed a big circle in the new mb that would be where the cpu went on the old mb.for some reason i have a t22 mb in my t23.the part # on the bad mb is 26P8098 and the new one is 12P3770.now i'm stuck with the wrong mb.from what people were saying,there was a mb problem with the t22's so now i guess it makes sense that the mb is bad.

verktyg · #29 Post by **verktyg** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 11:18 pm

There are a lot of differences between the T20-T21-T22 TPs and the T23 TPs. The earlier models used Intel 440BX chipsets with PC100 memory, 1 USB 1.1 socket, S3 AGP 2X, 8MB video.

T23s used Intel 830MP chipsets with PC133 memory, 2 USB 1.1 sockets and S3 AGP 4X, 16MB video. Also the T23 fans are different from the previous models.

There are a lot of hacks repairing PCs. When I was researching my T20, I ran across a number fly by night people on eBay and the web who advertised that they could put a T23 mainboard in my T20.

biglen · #30 Post by **biglen** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:38 pm

i found a 12p3890 mb and it says that it is the replacement # for the 26p8098 that i need.can someone confirm if that mb will work for me?

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