T43 Boot problem, Powers on, no HHD activity, no LCD/VGA out

[chiefmeisterflex]

Hello all,

I think my T43 (2668-J2U) has finally packed it in after 6 years of loyal service . I put the system into standby and now it won't boot at all. There were no previous symptoMs or problems with the laptop.

When you turn it on, the power lights come on, the CPU fan works fine and I can even hear the hard drive spinning away. However, there is nothing on the screen what so ever and even when plugged in to an external monitor. No keys work, for example CAPS and NUM Lock do not switch on their respective icons when pressed. Pressing the power button again just switches the laptop off again.

After searching extensively on the net about this problem, I've found a couple of similar situations and tried the recommended solutions. I have disconnected, battery, hard drive, memory for about an hour and reassembled but the symptons persist. I have even switched dimms, or tried just 1 dimm (in case of faulty memory) to no avail. If I remove memory altogether, I do get the same problems BUT i do get some POST beeps.

I can only assume (after reading other posts) that it is the system board at fault. I'm fairly confident that I can replace the board myself, however I just wanted to confirm the diagnosis before I splash the cash, and hopefully see if there any other alternatives.

On the topic of system boards - buying direct from IBM is obviously extortionate, so am looking to buy a new board from perhaps ebay or IBM parts stockist. There is option of buying refurbished but there's the question of warranty/longetivity with these boards. Just wondering if anyone has any experience purchasing refurbished boards.

I look forward to any help

Ajay

T43 Specs : Intel 2.13ghz, 2GB RAM, 80GB 7200rpm Drive, ATI X300, Intel wi-fi, 14.1" SXGA+

[l.butler]

The discussion in this thread, right above yours at the moment, is probably of use:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=89885

[chiefmeisterflex]

Thanks for the link l.butler.

After reading the forums more thoroughly, I tried booting the system again by applying some pressure to the palm rest (where the GPU and Southbridge) are located. And hey presto, IT LIVES!!

Will be contacting poshgeordie regarding reballing/reflowing.

[lukee]

Please take in mind that some mobo's with ATI chips has the chip glued from bottom of chip also and can't be reflowed/reballed Check your chip first if you can see an epoxy diffused between solder balls.

[ajkula66]

lukee wrote:

Please take in mind that some mobo's with ATI chips has the chip glued from bottom of chip also and can't be reflowed/reballed

This is incorrect. Every chip can be re-balled, but the epoxy must be removed first with a proper solvent.

BTW, all T43/p units have epoxied GPU and Southbridge...

[lukee]

This is incorrect. Every chip can be re-balled, but the epoxy must be removed first with a proper solvent.

BTW, all T43/p units have epoxied GPU and Southbridge...

Thanks George for correcting me I have noticed on few T43s that there are two type of epoxy fixation - first type of fixation uses just dots (usually red-colored) around a chip and second type uses fixation from bottom of chip. My 2668-G1U uses only fixation from the bottom of chip, not epoxy dots around. Perhaps it depends also on planar revision?