Thinkpad T20 Overheating...

[derrickdrew17]

Hello my name is Andrew and I just got this T20 for $200 and It works good exept for it shuts down for no reason. The fan spins but not all the time and when it does it dont seem to spin fast.. I downloaded Mobile Meter and It said that it reaches over 90c under load..so I made a powerscheme where it underclocks it to like 500mhz or so Mobile Meter says 266mhz so I dont know...I dont know what the temp is when it shuts down.. Please help I would like to fix this feature Thanks

[verktyg]

T20 TPs came with PIII M 650, 700 & 750MHz CPUs. If you have a faster CPU, someone has changed it and may have used the original fan.

The fan/heatsink that shipped with the 650 and 700 (maybe some 750 CPUs also) used a 1.5mm thick piece of rubber like silicone thermal compound between the fan and the top of the CPU. This stuff has been known to harden up and stop functioning.

Some klutz may have worked on the TP and discarded this thermal compound or tried to use a substitute thermal compound.

If you have any skill working on PCs or electronics, you can D/L the IBM T20, T21, T22 Maintenance Manual. It will show you how to remove the keyboard to access the fan/heatsink assembly.

If you are going to dig into it that far, if you find that you have the original fan and the thermal compound is damaged or missing, you can get a later model T21/T22 fan on eBay for under $10 USD.

Get some Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound and spread a thin layer on top of the CPU before reassembling the fan.

Search verktyg in this forum and you will find links that will help you.

Also, make sure that you have premium quality #0 and #1 size Phillips head screwdrivers. The little screws strip pretty easily. Ace Hardware sells some that are made in Germany. They have black plastic handles with red end caps. They are worth the money!

Good luck.

[derrickdrew17]

I think that im gonan go on ebay and get a new heatsink for it and put artic silver on it.. Thanks for your help..