T42 - Boot Problem ~ Help appreciated

[ericx121]

Hello!

Recently my Thinkpad T42 (Type 2373-C88) will not boot. The following are symptoms:
- The display remains black
- The optical disk drive does not indicate receiving power (no green light).
- The battery indicator flickers a bit.

I tried the following without results:
- Hard Drive: Remove and reinstall
- RAM (both locations): Remove and reinstall
- Battery: remove and reinstall
- External Monitor: install and function F7

Note: I hear the hard drive spinning when physically turning off and the fan spins.

I appreciate any suggestions and will pay for repairs if someone is local (San Francisco, CA) and can fix on the spot!

Thanks!

[GomJabbar]

Make sure the volume is turned all the way up by pressing the volume up button several times while the T42 is trying to boot. Now reboot again. Do you hear any beeps? If so, how many and in what sequence?

Try plugging an external monitor to the VGA port and see if you can see anything on it when you boot up.

[ericx121]

Thank you for the prompt response!

I forgot to mention, I tried an external monitor, without success. Additionally, no beeps, at maximum volume.

Any other suggestions?

[richk]

I'm normally in SF, but am away until Saturday. Remove the main battery and unplug it. Push the power button 10 times, holdiong it for a full 15 seconds the last time. (this will discharge capacitors) Put battery back and plug in. Try again to start.

[ericx121]

richk,

Thank you for the advice! I tried your recommendation twice without success.

Any other suggestions?

[mitchellst]

This may help diagnose the problem... Half-way remove the keyboard, and push down on the heat sink over the GPU while you power on. If your video comes back temporarily, then it's definitely your motherboard.


9/10 times, a T4x thinkpad that doesn't boot, will at least try to boot if you do this. It won't fix it in any way, but it will at least identify the problem. It sure sounds like a bad board to me, but there are other possible causes.


(There's 3 or 4 screws, depending on whether it's a 14" or 15", on the back with pictures of a keyboard next to them. Remove those and the keyboard will slide back, and the front lifts up. They GPU will be just in front of the touch pad, underneath the heat sink. Just apply some pressure to it with your finger while hitting the power button.)

[richk]

When you plug it in and it is just sitting there, is the battery light on?

[ericx121]

mitchellst,

Your recommendation worked and the screen reappeared. I truly appreciate your help and glad to know the cause. Now I will need to find a motherboard. Once again, thank you for detailed instructions and assistance


GomJabbar and richk,

Thank you for help and assistance as well!!


Anyone selling a motherboard for a T42??

[mitchellst]

Glad it worked for you. Check your PMs.