Compatability T42-T40 motherboard

[souzalima]

I was a very contented T42p user until my motherboard fried after 3 years' use. Since this was my (sole) work machine and parts here in Brazil are not so easy or cheap to come by, I bought a local model as a replacement. All well and good, but I miss my thinkpad.

I am going to return to the UK in about 10 days, where I have a re-conditioned T40 I bought several years ago. My question is, how compatible are these machines. Could I take the motherboard from the T40 and put it into the T42p without any issues? Or would it be better to buy a motherboard on Ebay? The T40 has a slightly slower processor, but as my work doesn't involve anything too processor intensive, that shouldn't be a problem.

Any tips or advice here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[sjthinkpader]

Welcome to the forum.

Most of the T42p such as CPU, RAM, HDD can be moved to the T40 without much problems. Even the LCD can be moved.

If you are handy, take the MB out of the T40 and put it in the T42p will give you the look and feel of the T42p.

Do you know what failed in the T42p and what may have caused the failure?

[souzalima]

Thanks for the reply.

The screen just died one day and after scouring the internet I suspected a MB failure which was confirmed by an IBM repair centre here in Rio. The new motherboard would have cost almost the same as a new T60 and it would have taken a while to get this here. It's hard to find thinkpads here and buying anything electronic from abroad attracts a hefty import tax, so I opted for a locally-made machine, which in all fairness isn't bad, but just does't have the same solid feel.

I have another question, will the wifi work properly after I have moved the MB?

Cheers

[sjthinkpader]

It should. The T40 should have an intel ethernet NIC and the T42 may have a Broadcom NIC. So you want to get the driver before the MB switch.

[souzalima]

Thanks, that's good to know. I will look into that before I get my screwdriver out.

[sjthinkpader]

There is a nice post with pictures of all the screw location and type. The CPU fan does not need to come off the board for the MB to come out. I normally leave the antennae leads attached to the plastic spacer and LCD. They go back in easier that way. Don't forget the hooks in the back of the KB bezel. A small powered screw driver help too.

[souzalima]

Thanks for the tips sjthinkpader, that's really helpful to know.

[sjthinkpader]

Here is link to that screw location thread.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... ilit=screw

[Johan]

@ Souzalima:

I probably ought to start off by saying Welcome to the Forum!, so be that hereby said!

You have already heard that T40/T41 motherboards are compatible with the T42p base, but it is evident that you sacrifice some performance if going from a ”p”-ThinkPad to a ”non-p” ThinkPad. If your T42p has the 15” UXGA FlexView/IPS LCD, you need to make sure that the T40 (”non-p”) motherboard you consider using as a replacement will actually support UXGA-resolution on the internal LCD; I don’t remember this off my head (hint: Search this forum for the answer!). By the way, right now there are very cheap T4x motherboards for sale on this forum; see the thread Thinkpad T4* Planars for Sale CHEAP!- All have been reflowed.

If you however would rather want to buy a new or used (refurbished/repaired) T42p motherboard identical to your dead one, then please inform what specific model/type T42p it is… e.g. 2373-Q1U? Reason for asking is that (if looking for a new motherboard) there are quite a few different T42p motherboards; with or without fingerprint-reader… you may see the selection in the System service parts - ThinkPad T40, T40p, T41, T41p, T42, T42p. Note that there may be newer genuine IBM T42/p-replacement motherboards which are not listed there (newer boards which have been made by IBM e.g. owing to no-longer-available components etc.) The same is the case for the Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad T40, T40p, T41, T41p, T42, T42p – this so-called ”HMM” has also not been updated to reflect (include) newer replacement parts. A new/used T42p motherboard may perhaps be bought from baisley; consider asking if he perhaps also has refurbished/repaired T42p motherboards for sale? If not/alternatively consider putting up yourself a ”WTB” (Want To Buy) advertisement for a motherboard in the Marketplace. Perhaps a more ”direct hit” would be to contact forum-member BobA as Bob has recently sold many used T42p’s; see e.g. the thread FS: 14" T42p Systems. Bob may have T42p’s ”stand-alone” motherboards available – ask! I have bought a T42p from Bob, and without any hesitation I will give him my highest recommendations as an outstanding helpful seller. You may want to see more of his superb feedback in the sticky Positive feedback for FAIR Traders. About the anticipated shipping cost of a motherboard sent from USA to England, I know that the shipping cost for a 15” T60 LCD (panel only, hence approx. same size and weight as a T42/p motherboard) with USPS is $26 for first class, and $34 for priority. Neither of these have any kind of tracking ability. If tracking is a necessity, it is $46. If the shipment-value is stated to, say, $100, you will have to pay the 17.5 % (= $17.5) additional customs upon import into the UK. I am not sure if you will furthermore need to pay 2.2 % import-VAT? Maybe there is even some "handling fee" to the authorities on top of all this; I don't know. Some UK-based forum members no doubt knows this!

Alternatively, and depending on how long you are going to stay in England, you could potentially bring your dead T42p motherboard with you, and try have it repaired while in the UK. As you may probably already know, a common failure to T42/p’s is the ”loose GPU” syndrome; see much more information about that in the sticky T42 shuts down when I move it. There are – of course – other failures which may be the cause of a dead T42/p motherboard, but in the case that your T42p exhibited the symptoms discussed in this sticky before finally giving up, then this could point to that you have also been stuck by this problem. In such case, forum-member poshgeordie who is in England has very recently helped repairing T42p motherboards; see the thread T42p GPU reflow done!, so consider contacting Nick (poshgeordie) and ask if this is an option? If Nick is not available, there are a few GPU ”repair-ships” in England, but I have no idea of what equipment they use, or what their reputation is – and if they offer any kind of warranty on the service provided? Also, I have no idea about the prices, but nonetheless see the thread Providers to fix GPU problems in Europe. If the motherboard is dead for some other reason than the ”loose GPU”, then only reflowing that may not be sufficient, and you will probably need to find a new or refurbished T42p motherboard (if staying with T42p)

If you take apart your T42p (to take out the motherboard) there is help in the HMM and also in the very fine guide by poshgeordie --> T4x 14" Display Screw Locations in Pictures. You may perhaps also find the Hardware removal and installation - ThinkPad T40/p, T41/p, T42/p, T43/p helpful.

Hope this might be of some help – I simply couldn’t stand to know that a fellow-T42p’er is suffering!

Johan

[souzalima]

Thanks for your very comprehensive post Johan. When I try to switch on the machine there is no sign of life whatsoever, so this seems to be more serious than 'loose GPU syndrome'.

My model number 2373-GVU, T42P, but the difference in performance between this and the T40 won't be such a problem, I need it mainly for word processing and a translation application.

I will see if I can find a replacement m/board on e-bay and in these forums.

Cheers!

[souzalima]

I arrived back in the uk, ready to install a new mobo on the T42. Connected the machine and it powered up. I ran the lenovo diagnostics and everything appeared to be fine, except now the USB ports are not working. I have read on the forums that this can happen when power-hungry devices are connected to the usb ports (perhaps my external usb hard drive).

I reformatted the T42 hd and did a fresh install, bought a pcmia usb card and so far my beloved T42 is working as it should.

I don`t understand why this has happened. Especially since the IBM repair centre in Brazil told me that it was dead and that I needed a new motherboard.

I may be clutching at straws here, but could this be something to with the power supply? In Rio the mains voltage is 110. The transformer I received with the machine says that it accepts 110-240 (incidentally the machine was bought from Bill in the States) so I can`t see why that would be an issue, yet still I am baffled. And also wondering whether it is going to let me down again when I get back to the tropics.

If anyone has had similar experiences or any tips I would be grateful.

thanks.

[killer]

Souzalima, The first thing to suspect is the transformer. If there is an electrical shop near you it would be worth asking them to test it.

[Beaver]

Just for test - try to boot up from some liveCD Linux distribution and try to use the USB in Linux as for me it looks like only Windows can't work correctly with them if something is wrong... If your USB is fried completely, you will not be able to use them at all, but it's better to be sure