Dead as a Dodo - T40.

[robertmrw]

Hey all,

My 4 year old T40 is dying as I speak. It refuse to boot, it just shown a blank screen upon pushing the power button. It sometimes shown the "IBM/Intel logos" and sometimes not. Earlier in the month, I notice the AC yellow pin is not aligned correctly with the AC adapter, hence no charging the battery. So I took it the local IBM repair shop where I live and paid to have it fixed (the warrenty had already gone). A week later, I got the machine back saying it had been fixed.

Cue to two weekends ago..the laptop just wouldn't boot up - blank screen upon boot (with the hard drive icon still flashing). So I replace the battery.

Cue to a weekend ago, I took it back to the repair centre again and I was told the original AC adapter doesn't charge the battery hence no boot. I got the adapter replaced.

Now, nearly broke....the laptop still wouldn't respond. Not a boot screen or anything when I push the power button. Nothing. Nash. Not a thing. Got told the hard drive and/or the motherboard is dying.

Help!

Tony
Auckland, New Zealand
T40, XP SP2, Intel Processor, >700Mb RAM (typing this on another machine, will refresh the spec soon)

[GomJabbar]

Try to verify that this is not a backlight problem. Connect an external monitor to the VGA port and see if anything appears on it. Try shining a bright light on the ThinkPad display and see if you can see any faint images or text.

[richk]

One thing I can say is that if the repair guy says "it is either the motherboard or the HDD", it means you need a different repair guy. That is like a car mechanic saying it is either the battery or the tires.

[robertmrw]

GomJabbar - will do once I get home.

richk – clarification: actually on the last line, I didn’t went to the repair shop. My old man said that...

[richk]

Does the battery light go on when you plug it in? If not, take it back to the guy who repaired the jack.

[robertmrw]

rickhk - yes, the battery light does go when the jack is plug in.

[richk]

First, make sure the screen isn't black because the lid-closed switch is stuck. The switch is above the access ibm key.

Try a complete reset. Pull the battery, unplug the machie, and press the power button 10 times, holding it for a full 10 seconds the last time.

[robertmrw]

It is now know the T40 is dead - the screen does not light up upon pushing the power button. Tried everything you guys suggested. It sometimes loads past the splash screen and a few minutes later, it goes into a blue screen.

Tony

[frankiepankie]

I think there is a great chance that your GPU chip is loose. You can fix this yourself with a heat gun, but that is only for professionals, who are handy with that kind of equipment. Otherwise you need a new motherboard.