Systemboard Question

[Lloyd Gordon]

I have a T41 2373-JU9. The systemboard doesn't work due to water damage. I noticed a small area with charred PCB which looks to be V+ near a ground. There was also a small amount of corrosion. It doesn't look horribly damaged. Of course it's a multilayer board so it's hard to know what was under the charred area. Nothing powers on. Any ideas? Has anybody ever heard of anyone fixing one of these? (93P3310). I'm trying to find all the fuses as I figure that would be the easiest thing to fix if that was the problem. So far I've found fuses 1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12,15,16,17 and all are working.
If I have to buy a systemboard do I have to go with a T41? I'd like to use the same memory, SXGA LCD, bluetooth, modem that I already have.
Thanks for any help. Please excuse any newbie-ishness.

[christopher_wolf]

Welcome to the Thinkpad Forums

I haven't heard of any User actively repairing their System Board in that manner; I don't even know if any repairs done by IBM/Lenovo under warranty would fix that...IBM would probably replace the system board.

You can get a different system board, as long as it is a T4X Series System Board and is the same size (either 14.1" or 15"); it should work.

I found this thread that talks about it;

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=20380

HTH

[Lloyd Gordon]

I read on the forum that T40 uses DDR266 and T41 & T42 uses DDR400. Will I be able to use the memory on my T41 with a T40 systemboard? Also my T41 has a SXGA LCD. Will some T4X systemboards not support the SXGA on my LCD?

[christopher_wolf]

Yup; you have to make sure that the system board supports SXGA+ or whatever resolution you have on your LCD. As for the memory, I would match it up with the new system board if you are indeed putting in another system board; it should, however, do OK with DDR400.

[Lloyd Gordon]

It sounds like I should stick with a T41 m/b to get the right memory speed. From other posts it looks like the the Radeon 9000 and the Fire GL video chips support the SXGA+ modes while the Radeon 7500 support only XGA. Would you agree? Also how much money would it be worth spending on getting my T41 2373-JU9 to get it working? At some point it would be cheaper to get a refurbished one. I've seen T41 boards with the 9000 or Fire chips for around US$250 + S&H.. I'm going to keep trying to fix my board but I know the odds are against it. Thanks again

[chan_man]

If the motherboard is charred, then it goes in the trash bin. I know IBM will not fix these, it is easier to just replace them. The copper traces will melt and even if you replace all the components on the surface, there is no way for you to connect the internals. Also once the board is charred, you have a dead short from all the carbon inside the board.

If you plan on upgrading the motherboard, make sure that the connectors are all in the same locations with respect to the base. The T4x should be similar but you never know. For instance, the T23 had an extra USB port out the back so if you tried to put a T23 board into a T21 or T22 case you can not do it without hacking up the base.

$250 for a new board is not bad, I think IBM charges more than 600

[Lloyd Gordon]

I'm waiting for my new systemboard which is also for a T41. The dead systemboard I have now has an security chip. If the new one doesn't have a security chip should I transfer the old security chip to the new one? Will the hard drive have to be reformatted if I don't use the old security chip? Are there any posts or websites with this sort of information on security chips? I couldn't find much of anything. Thanks.

[draco2527]

If the motherboard that you purchased HAD the security chip installed and it was removed; the motherboard WILL NOT work, even if you install the security chip from your motherboard.

IF the motherboard that you are getting NEVER had a security chip installed, IT WILL WORK; furthermore you can ADD your security chip to it.

Some of the T41 mobo's have the SC installed/soldered on board; some have the removable one.

[brentpresley]

For the record, T41/42 use DDR333, not DDR400.

[Lloyd Gordon]

For the record I successfully removed my "fried" systemboard and replaced it and it works perfectly. The documentation on the IBM site is really very well done. I think anybody could do it who is used to doing fine work with their hands and has the right tools and some non-conductive silver heat sink paste on hand. I took it really slowly and studied the documentation before doing it. If anybody has any questions, I'd be glad to help.

[lithium726]

Ok, some info in this thread is just plain wrong. any T4x board will support SXGA+, you only need the screen and the cable for it to work. I am currently working on an SXGA+ screen with a T40/mr7500 machine, and it works wonderfully.

course, you cant use a T43 board. as i recall, they are different layouts - i might be wrong though.