HOW TO FIX FAN ERROR - SYSTEM BOARD STATIC DISCHARGE

[WilsonF]

My t42p wouldn't boot even to the HD password and the BIOS gave an ominous FAN ERROR message in the upper left corner of the display. IBM HELP CENTER said to send the unit in. My IT guy did the following to effect a motherboard static buildup discharge.

1. Disconnect power coard.

2. Remove battery.

3. Press and release power button 10 times, then press power button and hold for ten seconds before releasing it.

Reinsert battery.

Y-reka! The system booted. (I'm still going to send it in, but at least I can use it today and do a final backup!).

I've seen lots of messages about this disconcerting error. Hope this helps the next person who gets it.

[SimonCC]

thanks for letting me know, ill bear that in mind!

[lfeagan]

Thanks for the info. That is totally whacky that you would have to do that sequence of operations to fix it, but awesome that it worked.

[WilsonF]

This discharges static on the MB. The IT guy remembered it from a call to Help center a couple of months ago on another problem iwith another unit. My question is, if it discharges static, where does ithe fix discharge it TO with the system not grounded?

The IT guy gets an axtra Christmas cookie, though, for remembering it.