T42p laptop hangs unexpectedly without warning

[elvisjohndowson]

Hi ,
I have just bought an IBM Thinkpad T42p last week. I have a severe problem, which is intermittent and not consistently reproduceable. The laptop suddenly freezes or hangs unexpectedly and everything, including the mouse pointer, comes to a standstill. It’s a total hardware lockout and requires a cold reboot.

I first noticed after 4 hours of constant use, with my IBM Windows XP original software pre-load installation. Then yesterday, with my new Windows Server 2003 installation , it hung after 8 hours of use. Today morning, it hung after 15 minutes of use.

I have used an IBM A31p laptop before and the hardware was quite robust. There seems to be some intermittent hardware problem with my T42p. I sometime reads posts on the IBM Thinkpad forum (forum.thinkpads.com) and a few other users have also reported a similar problem with their T42p hardware.

I cannot spare my laptop for sending it across to a service center, plus I have observed how badly the engineers handle the laptops. My laptop is brand new and I don’t want any scratches on it, plus, most of the other users have reported that IBM simply returned the unit back and the problem still occurred.

I would like to know if IBM has confirmed that there is a hardware design flaw or component flaw the T42p design (model 2373-HTA which is an asian part number, more or less equivalent to the 2379-DYU, which is a US part number).

Thanks and do let me know !!

Best regards,

Elvis John Dowson

[kjarrett]

I would restore the factory preload and send it in. Sounds pretty reproducable to me. Since the new OS made no difference, chances are, it's a hardware issue and the Depot will figure it out. Good luck!

-kj-

[egibbs]

Just a gut feeling here - this smells like something going on with the wireless networking. Don't ask me why I think so -I have no good reason other than gut feeling.

Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile to try reseating the wireless card if you have one, and to try turning all the wireless functions off before you ez-serv it.

Ed Gibbs

[ZPrime]

www.memtest.org (the improved build of www.memtest86.com)

[Kenn]

Just a gut feeling here - this smells like something going on with the wireless networking. Don't ask me why I think so -I have no good reason other than gut feeling.

Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile to try reseating the wireless card if you have one, and to try turning all the wireless functions off before you ez-serv it.

Ed Gibbs

That was my initial thought as well. Pre-SP2, the system can hang for up to 120 seconds (2 minutes) or more as it seeks a connection...have you verified that the system doesn't come back to life after a few minutes?

[elvisjohndowson]

Hi !
I think it was the Wireless MiniPCI adapter. I disabled the Wireless MiniPCI adapter and it hasnt hung since then !! Its been more that 5 weeks and I think that this problem was due to the Wireless LAN looking for a connection. I hadnt tried waiting for more than 120 seconds for it to recover, but anyway, the problem is solved now !!

Thanks for your help !

Best regards,

Elvis Dowson