T21 boot problem

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dementedlemur · #1 Post by **dementedlemur** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:34 pm

I searched the forums for posts where other users had problems, but the solutions didn't work with mine. When I go to boot my t21, the battery flashes, and the HD light blinks, but nothing happens. I started pushing the power button numerous times, and it finally came on. I read that the battery has a built in surger protector, so I fully discharged it, but I still get this problem. The weird part is that I even get this problem if I take the battery out and try booting it on AC power. I'm pretty sure I will return this for a refund, but any input is welcome as that will be in a day or two.
Thanks in advance...

JHEM · #2 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 5:04 pm

Change the CMOS (RTC) battery. Download the Hardware Maintenance Manual for your system to see where it's at.

Regards,

James

dementedlemur · #3 Post by **dementedlemur** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 6:14 pm

Perhaps I said the wrong thing, I mean the system will not start up right away.
I took out the cmos battery to check, and the system will start eventually, but it will not boot, so that's not the problem.
Any suggestions?

JHEM · #4 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:27 pm

What do you mean by "it will start eventually, but not boot"????

Are you getting error messages? Will it BOOT into EZSetup (BIOS)?

Regards,

James

dementedlemur · #5 Post by **dementedlemur** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:06 pm

When the cmos battery was out it would start up, but not boot (it would only allow me to go into bios).
I mean that it often won't start up at all unless I repeatedly push the power button, like 10-15 times. It seems to do this a few times a day, but not everytime. None-the-less it is a major annoyance and I feel it might be the sign of a larger problem.

JHEM · #6 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:03 pm

1) Change the CMOS battery.

2) If you have the original HD in the unit, download and run Drive Fitness Test: http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm

But it really does sound like it's the CMOS battery.

Regards,

James

sharpc8690 · #7 Post by **sharpc8690** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:37 pm

Maybe it's main board's problem.

jrhuerga · #8 Post by **jrhuerga** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 2:09 am

sharpc8690 wrote:Maybe it's main board's problem.

In the end ... what happened ?

Have you been able to fix the problem?

My T21 laptop is starting to have the same behaviour (more or less). Sometimes, I can only boot using AC, because if I only use DC, just after the POST, the machine is shutdown. I replaced the CMOS battery, but the behaviour is the same. Maybe the problem is that I'm using a BIOS version of 2000. Yesterday, I upgraded the BIOS to a new version of October 2004 and I'll see if I can boot the machine with only DC. I'll tell you.

Jose Ramon Huerga

http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

beeblebrox · #9 Post by **beeblebrox** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:30 am

The voltage regulator chip (Atmel) is broken. Common problem on the T2x series. It starts with drop outs, then goes permanent.
If you are lucky, the internal regulator circuitry gets "stuck" at AC, so you can continue using the thinkpad.
You could try to buy that chip somewhere in Hongkong or get a new motherboard for cheap at eBay.

Yeah, electronics sometimes just die...

jrhuerga · #10 Post by **jrhuerga** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 10:04 am

beeblebrox wrote:The voltage regulator chip (Atmel) is broken. Common problem on the T2x series. It starts with drop outs, then goes permanent.
If you are lucky, the internal regulator circuitry gets "stuck" at AC, so you can continue using the thinkpad.
You could try to buy that chip somewhere in Hongkong or get a new motherboard for cheap at eBay.

Yeah, electronics sometimes just die...

It sounds terrific. I've been researching in other places, and more people talks about replacing the voltage regulator chip (adp3410). Specifically, in this URL, more owners of thinkPad talk about the adp3410 being the source of the problem:

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/28867/

Has anybody in this forum had this same problem? Replacing this chip (or the entire motherboard) seems to be the way to go.

Thank you,
Jose Ramon Huerga

http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

jrhuerga · #11 Post by **jrhuerga** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 3:02 pm

jrhuerga wrote: My T21 laptop is starting to have the same behaviour (more or less). Sometimes, I can only boot using AC, because if I only use DC, just after the POST, the machine is shutdown. I replaced the CMOS battery, but the behaviour is the same. Maybe the problem is that I'm using a BIOS version of 2000. Yesterday, I upgraded the BIOS to a new version of October 2004 and I'll see if I can boot the machine with only DC. I'll tell you.

Jose Ramon Huerga

http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

The new version of BIOS is working much better, and in the last four consecutive days, I have been able to boot the laptop using only the battery, with no AC at all.

Jose Ramon Huerga
http://www.terra.es/personal/jrhuerga

T21 boot problem

T21 boot problem

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