T40 not booting - well occasionally it does!

[ideal-pc]

Hi guys,

I repair quite a few thinkpads & have had many T30's T4xx & X41 tablets Etc, most are successfully fixed but not come across a problem like this before.

When I first got the machine it would switch on occassionaly with system program damaged message.

After a lot of patience I managed to replace the system controller & BIOS using IBM's diskette with a USB 3.5" drive, all was fine, installed Windows drivers etc etc. After switching off last night the machine will not reboot again!!

I get nothing from it at all, no battery light, nothing. PSU is fine, battery needs replacing but holds about a 10 min charge, tried both with & without battery. Tried pushing on the GPU, changing keyboard, mouse, pcmia slot, CD/DVD drive, hard drive, memory etc etc. Now, the intersting thing is, if I remove all power sources including the BIOS battery & leave for about 12 hours before replacing the machine will boot!! Of course I get the check time & date settings but was wondering if anybody else has experienced this ever & what could be causing it, I dont see how it could be a MB component because it wouldnt run at all let alone after a power drain. Could it be a bad BIOS chip? if so does anybody know how to replace them, I am afraid I am totally useless at soldering projects!!

Look forward to your suggestions

Anthony

[poshgeordie]

Remove the fan assembly and check the CPU (processor)'s fitted in OK. I saw it once where the last owner had placed the CPU in but not secured it with the screw. Replace the heatsink compound.

Remove all the periferal components - HDD, CD, memory, wifi, modem, cmos and main battery but leave the loudspeaker connected.

When you start up do you get a series of beeps indicating the memory's missing - 1 short, pause, 3 short, pause, 3 short, pause one short beep.
That's a reasonable indication that the board may be working.

Add one memory module and start up and see what happens.

If you're OK, try adding more periferal components to see which one causes it to shut down.

Also download the bootable CD version of PC Doctor (download from here. Click and save the output of the .exe to extract the .iso. Burn as a bootable .iso CD).
Start the laptop and press F12 and select boot from CD. Run through the various tests to check your hardware.

Other than that it sounds like you need a new board.

[RealBlackStuff]

FYI, the missing RAM beep-sequence is 1-3-3-1, not 3-3-1.

[poshgeordie]

FYI, the missing RAM beep-sequence is 1-3-3-1, not 3-3-1.

Like you say!! I guess I should send my posts to you RBS to have you check them first!

[ideal-pc]

Thanks poshgeordie,

Have already tried all that except checking the CPU. What bugs me is that when it works it works perfectly, no error messages, no unexpected shutdowns etc. When it doesnt work however then you get nothing at all, no lights, no fan, nothing & the only way to reset it is to remove all power sources including BIOS battery wait a good few hours & then it's fine :S

I have never encountered a problem like this before, its really weird must be a ghost in the machine!!

[RealBlackStuff]

Try another power supply.
You could also have some dud capacitor(s) on the mobo. These are a lot harder to spot than on a PC motherboard, where they could 'pop' their cap.
Take the keyboard off, and do a visual near where the DC connector sits.
Corrosion perhaps, from that liquid spill you have not been told about?

[ideal-pc]

Try another power supply.
You could also have some dud capacitor(s) on the mobo. These are a lot harder to spot than on a PC motherboard, where they could 'pop' their cap.
Take the keyboard off, and do a visual near where the DC connector sits.
Corrosion perhaps, from that liquid spill you have not been told about?

Yes I suppose that is possible, will check when I get the time & report back. I have inspected the board once & found no obvious defects, but you never know. I have run a power meter over the contacts & a steady 16v is being supplied.

I will get some high res photos of the area & post a link to them on my web space if you woud be good enough to take a look please?

[ideal-pc]

Right have uploaded some hi-res images onto my website on an unlinked page so you can see the areas of the board mentioned above. Please be patient as the images are 3 to 4 mb each although truncated for basic viewing. If you want the full on 4mb file then click on the pic to download a .rar version of it.

http://idealpc.web.officelive.com/pics.aspx

On the bottom pic you may notice a brown stain? have no idea what this is but cant see anything that could have leaked there though.

Look forward to your comments

[RealBlackStuff]

That brown spot looks a bit weird. There are no contact points or PCB-traces there, so it's harmless.
Can't see any other suspicious items on the other pix either.
But looking at that last picture, I noticed the LCD switch. Have you checked that?
Alternatively, disconnect the LCD cable and try with an external monitor. Any better?

[ideal-pc]

That brown spot looks a bit weird. There are no contact points or PCB-traces there, so it's harmless.
Can't see any other suspicious items on the other pix either.
But looking at that last picture, I noticed the LCD switch. Have you checked that?
Alternatively, disconnect the LCD cable and try with an external monitor. Any better?

Hi RBS,

Yes i thought that brown spot was weird but does not seem related to anything. Problem seems to have changed now, can't get anything out of it. After being off with no power sources for around 18 hours, if I plug the battery in & then the PSU the battery light comes on green, push the power button & pffffft a great absence of anything! no power, no fan, no display, nothing. Battery light goes out then & won't come back on. Think im looking at a dead mobo here. Ah well

[poshgeordie]

@Ideal-pc: PM sent.

[ideal-pc]

Hi all,

Thanks for all your help but after the problem changed today, I think I must be looking at a dead mobo. Given how much these are worth these days I think i'll just break it for parts. Thank-you for the time you have given in trying to help. These are great forums & I hope i can be of assistance to others in the coming days. I have been searching for a decent help forums for some time now & before this could only find ones that were full of flaming & trolling etc. Nice to be here

[killer]

This is a very special forum. Flamers here are rare and get told off straight away. Everyone seems to aim at helping one another if they can.
Regarding your mobo; if poshgeordie can't fix it for a reasonable sum then my advice would be to scrap it.
Anyway thanks for your help with things so far and I hope you continue to contribute.