T40 GPU reflow done... System will not power up... HELP !!!

[edgeman99]

I have just completed GPU reflow to correct the GPU motherboard problem by following the directions given on Forum Sticky. Everything seem to have gone acccording to directions but after completion the system does not seem to power on. The LCD powers on with dim back light but none of the LED's light up. The fan does not come . No HDD noises or beeps and for all intents and purposes dead. Is there a procedure to be followed after MOBO repair? Prior to doing the reflow the system would work well until moved. Any help or suggestions would be appreaciated.

[BillMorrow]

if it were me i would have found a good replacement board rather than mess with re-soldering a surface mount chip..

UNLESS i had experience and the correct tools..

the first thing i would do now is recheck everything i did in reassembly..

a short could cause the symptoms you describe..

also get a magnifying glass and check the reflow job for bridges between the solder pads..
the silk screen should keep a solder bridge from happening but..

good luck..

[madkat]

same happened to me... except the Z and battery leds turn on, and the fan on max speed...

something got screwed along the reflow process - as i look behind i think the speed of heating up/down and duration o max temperature on the chip (to short) were the culprits...

but i've replaced the board with a R51 intel ... and kept the machine (at first just planned to fix it an sell it - but i've liked the result enough to relplace my old T30)

try again - with slower heating/cooling times - you've got nothing to loose

[edgeman99]

Thank you,

I figured that I had nothing to lose and to be honest I enjoyed the disassembly and re-assembly. I will do it again.

Do you think the board is fried?

[visionviper]

Most likely.

Doing a reflow (if it works) is a great way to keep a machine going for awhile longer - until you can replace the motherboard or replace the laptop entirely. My laptop is still going strong since I performed the reflow, but now I am in a better position to replace the laptop if it died again. When I first had the problem I had nowhere near the money required to replace the motherboard or get a new laptop (the joys of being a college student).

[edgeman99]

Where do you suggest that I buy a motherboard and does anyone sell a refurbished one ? I started looking for another laptop. I have a T22 but I am now skeptical of the T4 series because of this problem. Any suggestions for a similar model?

[richk]

If you want to reuse your LCD, keyboard & drives, you could get a T43 base with intel graphics. (not subject to GPU problem) You would need to replace your memory and your HDD will probably generate the pain-in-the a** 2010 error. I have board like that coming in. If it checks out, it will be available. (You would need a complete base - CPU, fan, PC Card bay)

[madkat]

there are two options - the T43 stated above - but you won't be able to keep your RAM and processor/fan
or R50/R51 mobo with intel graphics (there is a sticky thread about this - http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=65505 )
i went with the second option - but first read the thread to se the "ups and downs" of it

off: I understand you perfectly about the "joys" of disasembling a Thinkpad... there are quite well-engineered machines

[edgeman99]

Richk I look foward to an update on that board.


MadKat I think that may be a viable option to repairing that T40. In

Considering I am concerned about how easily a base or MOBO may

be damaged when being shipped but sounds good so far