Dock II and T42: dock's USB hub not working >>

[Tim M]

I am currently using a faithful old T42, upgraded with a new motherboard and other sundries as in my signature. At the end of last year, I bought a used Dock II (2877) on eBay and found that the USB hub would not be recognized; devices plugged into the hub's ports remained unpowered and the computer did not see them. Plugging these devices directly into the T42's USB ports worked fine. Occasionally, I noticed that power cycling the computer could bring back momentary USB hub function on the dock, but that was more the exception than the rule.

Because they're so inexpensive, I purchased another dock, received today brand new and still factory sealed. This Dock II has the same problem; the USB hub does not function. I've spritzed out the connector on the bottom of the laptop with canned air and don't see any bent or broken pins.

Sadly, it seems that the motherboard upgrade that I bought a while ago may have a fault. Is there a way to diagnose for sure? PC Doctor shows no errors. If confirmed to be a motherboard problem, is it fixable?

[sjthinkpader]

If this T42 is otherwise working, and the USB ports on the computer is ok; just get a hub and call it a day. Yes, likely you have a bad solder joint somewhere.

[virge]

I have a T40 with similar issues. From the sticky in this forum, I think the consensus is that its a bad solder joint as sjthinkpader said. You could try reflowing it... but another solution (since you have it docked) is to put a PCI USB card in the Dock II.

[Tim M]

I was hoping to use the PCI slot for a second graphics card. However, I almost never use more than two USB devices at a time, so I can plug them directly into the computer. Too bad the mobo has turned out to be a dud; there has been no other evidence of solder joint breakage (such as with the GPU) and I carry the computer in such a way as to minimize flex.

[sjthinkpader]

Since you have a full dock, get a PCMCIA/USB card for the slots in the dock. I have one for my A31p.

[Tim M]

Since you have a full dock, get a PCMCIA/USB card for the slots in the dock. I have one for my A31p.

Tried that, and it isn't recognized either. If I plug in the external power supply for the card, a thumbdrive in one of the USB ports illuminates, but the computer doesn't recognize the drive. Plugging the PCMCIA/USB card directly into one of the laptop's PCMCIA slots works fine.

I don't know what the pinout of the dock connector is, but I'm guessing that the contacts for the USB hub and the PCMCIA slots are nearby and both must be borked up in my machine. The Ultrabay slot works fine (occupied with an FDD right now) and the PCI slot is untested.

I can't see what other cause there might be apart from a faulty connector on the laptop's mobo. Thoughts?

Guess it's time to look into a new ThinkPad...