T42 booting issues and other questions

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corleone · #1 Post by **corleone** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:01 pm

SO, it finally happened... I was on the computer and the screen went black... I rebooted and it booted up but then 2-3 mininutes later...black again...

It's weird... when i plug in the computer, the battery flashes orange (once) and then just goes dark... What could that be indicative of?

I have got it to boot through once or twice and was able to save some content....pics and word docs... but not all....

sometimes when I start it it gives me one long beep followed by 2 short beeps... what could that mean?

Also when the screen goes black, the circular shaped indicator light directly to the left of teh battery indicator light is illuminated... what could that mean?

Of course, my warranty ran out in August... If you have any suggestions you would be my best friend...

Thank you in advance...

C.

#2 Post by **GomJabbar** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:47 pm

From the Hardware Maintenance Manual:

Symptom or error
One long and two short beeps, and a blank or unreadable LCD.

FRU or action, in sequence
1. System board.
2. LCD assembly.
3. DIMM.

DIMM is of course the RAM memory chip(s) installed.

My guess is the system board is your problem. You can try removing the main battery and see if that fixes your booting problem. I had a ThinkPad 600E that had problems booting with the battery installed. Both the charging circuit in the ThinkPad and the battery itself were bad in that case. Put a good battery in the 600E and killed it. [I had just bought the 600E used from a local used computer shop and fortunately was able to swap it for another.]

corleone · #3 Post by **corleone** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 8:37 am

I am out of warranty... what should I do??? Look for someone local who can fix it or will IBM work on it even though it is out of battery?

Im super bummed... thanks for your help...

#4 Post by **richk** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 10:50 am

With the standby light coming on, (the little crescent moon), I wouldn't be surprised if the problem is either the power jack or the A/C adapter. Do you have access to another thinkpad T40/41/42/43? Can you try a different battery? Can you try your A/C adapter in another machine?

#5 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 11:27 am

I believe the OP is taliking about the AC power indicator and not the Standby indicator since he states that it is left of the battery icon...

@corleaone,
If you need a new system board, I do not believe you want IBM to replace it as that would be too expensive. You could try to find a system board on ebay or through Google. Check the AG Parts link at the top of the page. Note that there are some errors on part numbers for the T4x series. If possible, get the part number off of your existing board (rather than relying on the Hardware Mantenance Manual or Lenovo's website), to get an equivalent replacement.

#6 Post by **richk** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 12:52 pm

Sorry about the note about the standby. I hadn't had my 2nd cup of coffee.

T42 booting issues and other questions

T42 booting issues and other questions

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