T-Series BoD Fixes List (quotes from other threads) *PIC*

[matthewpoer]

I am going to try to post/quote all of the potential fixes for the T-series Blink of Death. If I miss yours, or you see one that I have missed, please post it.

I am doing this because some people have had success with peculier and unforseen methods.

At this point, the only 100% fix for BoD is to find a new motherboard, which run around $80 on eBay. The problem with this (other than the cost) is that eventually, these new boards may well go BoD on the user, as this does seem to be a design defect on either the mainbaords themselves or on a particular chip used in many of the boards.

The second most likely is to replace the ADP3421chip. While this seems to typically work, it does not have a 100% success rate.

I had almost similar problems with my T20. I solved it by this.......

Go to BIOS
Press F9 to "Load the Default Settings"
Then go thru Config > Power > to "Intel Speedstep"
Disable it
Press F10 to "Save & Exit"

It may/should work for you.

Actually it is another way to manipulate with the PWR MNGMT isuues of the mobo without doing any hardware job, becoz amongst other things the Speed_Step thing also controls the CPU voltages.

As you have already dismantled the machine, take it as the oppurtunity to clean up all the mating points.

Since I posted that my soldering may have fixed the Mobo, I have had my laptop on test for over 24 hrs now.... it was switched off for 5 hrs and then back on for about 4... rebooted and randomly used with power and with battery... It seems 100%. ...

Just an update really... My T22 is working perfectly since I soldered the connections shown in the pic i posted. Not on that but it has just been flown to Lanzerote and back again... Dropped ! - from a plane seat onto the floor (me being clumsy) and used every day with 2 batteries and mains powered...

ALL IS 100%

It was dead (BOD) on 23rd Sept 07 and after soldering worked from 24thsept 07 - today (5th Oct07) which makes it 11 days of faultless performance...

Still working fine (8th october 2007) ...
It was working fine for 9 weeks+ but I ended up getting a brand new motherboard (not salvages or recon'ed) from a company for £20 in the end so I swapped the new one in for good measure....

Might be an isolated case or just got lucky but I thought I'd share. BOD T20. Reading how a CPU fan can affect a machine, all I did was clean the fan contacts with sand paper and scraped the fan contact pads on the MB with a knife. 2 weeks now without any BOD symptoms. I can now leave battery or AC adapter or both in for any period of time.

Seems like I have finally fixed my T21.
All I did was updating the bios - and thereby also the Embedded Controls firmware.

I had been thinking about doing this before, but always stayed away from doing it.
It did not seem to be such a god idea to update the bios on a machine the were having troubles starting and once
started, it would shutdown by its own will.
It would not have been so nice, if it had turned it selves off in the middle of a bios flash.

I used what I had learned about the machines behaviour, and brought the machine into a condition where I knew
it would start and run for at least 10 minutes.
I then update the bios and it seems to have solved the problem.
I have been doing some testing during the last 2 days, and I have not seen any BoD's. It is working just fine now.

Should someone want to try it, than be aware of the risk in doing a bios update on an unstable machine.

We are a laptop shop, and we have serviced dozens of T2x over the last years. Hopefully we can shed some light on the issue.

T20, T21 and T22 laptops all use the same motherboard, which use the MAX1632 and ADP3421 chips for voltage regulation. T23s use a different motherboard and what I will say does not apply to them.

BOD issues relate directly to a defective ADP3421. It may be that in some cases (about 10%) the MAX1632 chip is also bad, but this is the exception rather than the norm.

This is a design issue, meaning that bad motherboard design has caused undue stress on the chip, making it susceptible to failure. The problem is even worse on the A20/A21/A22 line of Thinkpads.

The BOD may eventually develop into an STOP Post Task 175 - CRC1 error situation, in which the laptop's EEPROM has become corrupted due to the ADP3421 voltage regulator failing during a read/write cycle to the EEPROM.

It is our experience that in 90% of all cases, replacing the ADP3421 IC will solve the BOD problem, but all the other secondary voltage regulators will need to be checked too or the replacement ADP will fail eventually, sometimes within hours.

The problem lies in acquiring a good ADP3421 chip to fix the MB. Up until recently they could be acquired through various online IC resellers (like digi-key.com for example). However, they are no longer available for resale. Usually, a motherboard that has failed for other reasons (video problems, spills, etc.) will have a good ADP3421 with which to fix your defective MB.

This is a long shot but it may help someone. I had a T21 bought from eBay that has the BOD issue. It was returned to the seller for repair or replacement. The tech there says he repaired it by replacing the lcd ribbon cable. Of course I was skeptical having read the posts here, but who cares, the laptop is fixed, returned to me and it was resold.

Recently I got another TP, a T22 from eBay. After XP was installed and a couple more of tests my heart sank it exhibited the BOD symptoms. Several attempts to revive the unit using the tricks described here proved futile so it was time to open the laptop. Connectors cleaned/reseated and lcd inverter board replaced and the laptop still refuses to wake up. In desperation I wanted to try the tech's solution on the T21. Using a spare T21 lcd ribbon cable included by a seller as peace offering for a late shipment, the swap fired back the unit to life Very Happy . The unit is behaving okay after more ON/OFF tries to find out if the BOD returns. The tech was telling the truth on the T21 Embarassed

I recommend replacing the ADP3421 chip on the board. I saw these somewhere on this forum, although the author just casually mentions it, w/o giving some thought that he might have answered a major question.

[krcmd]

Does this apply to T43 w/ BOD also?

[meander]

Simply bridge pins 16 and 24 of the ADP3421 with a resistor of 10k to simulate the "power good" signal.

[RealBlackStuff]

Does this apply to T43 w/ BOD also?

AFAIK there are no known BOD symptoms on a T43.
The T43 (and rarely R52) mobos suffer sometimes from a loose Southbridge chip, which manifests itself by things like freezing at boot, no access of hard disk, slow or no USB, loss of sound, etc.
The only known remedy is to reball the Southbridge chip.
Plenty posts on this subject.

[Raceboy]

Simply bridge pins 16 and 24 of the ADP3421 with a resistor of 10k to simulate the "power good" signal.

I received a free T21 (800 Mhz, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD, 14.1 XGA, DVD ROM) that was in excellent condition cosmetically (like new) but had BOD symptom. I tried bridging the pins 16 and 24 with 2.4 kOhm resistor and that worked perfectly. No BOD ever since. otherwise it wouldn't power up at all.
Plus it had a decent battery in it too which is very nice!

Thanks for the hint!

[cadillacmike68]

Exactly what is BOD (Blink of death). Is it the blinking cursor at the top left of an otherwise blank screen??

I have several T30 that do this, but the above is not the issue. I think i have a solution. I will post my findings in a day or two on the T30s separately.

[aljohn]

I was given a T21 in really good condition, except that it didn't work. I have only just (yesterday) found this forum, but on other forums it seemed that I needed a new motherboard. The fault was press power switch and hd light blinks then nothing. I bought a tatty T21 , spares/repairs. that booted up to post. I used this motherboard and rebuilt mine. It worked flawlessly, was I smug? 3 weeks later the same problem came back, I was really p****d off and ignored it for a few weeks. Next time I looked at it everything worked!!! for a few days. And that's how it went on, it might work, or it might not work... Thinking about it when power button pressed and it worked there was a noise, like a tiny clunk. I thought the only mechanical part really is the hard drive. I wondered if that wasn't always spinning up straight away and causing the laptop to crash. Anyway, I fitted a new drive and installed windows again. When I press the on button the machine does seem smoother starting. I may be imagining all this, it's hard to check. It's been working fine for about 2 weeks now. Fingers crossed.... I would appreciate thoughts on this as it may be that my solution is something that has been tried and not worked many times. Any ideas anyone?

[singbad]

I temporarily healed my T20's BOD by soldering a resistor across the ADP3421J. I had already ordered a new ADP3421J before reading about the resistor patch. I stored it in a good place and when the patch stopped working I couldn't find it any more. But last week I happened to find it again and soldered it in place of the old one. Now the T20 is doing well again after resting on shelf useless for about half a year.

The resistor patch had worked for about 2 years. I guess the ADP3421J controller has degraded more and more so the patch wouldn't help any more. Strange anyway for a small signal analog controller to degrade, just like an old vacuum tube.

Best regards,
singbad

[aljohn]

Ah, pride comes before a fall! I thought I'd cured the BOD when I replaced the motherboard - for a few weeks, then it re-appeared. Very intermittent, it would work for a couple of weeks then not for a week or two. I replaced the hard drive thinking that was slow to spin? and causing the fault. It worked flawlessly....for a few weeks, today it's back! Where do I find the ADP3421 chip on the mobo? The writing on most chips is barely legible. I feel I have nothing to lose now so out with my soldering iron. If repairing my Psion 5 is anything to go on then this could be the Kiss O D .....

[aljohn]

Well, I've been busy with too many other things to touch the T21, but I need to have another go. I asked, some months ago, where is the ADP3421 chip situated? I've looked all over the mobo with a magnifying glass but I can't identify it. I can't find it in the manual either. Please help an ignoramus, all other posters seemed to have no problem identifying the chip.
TIA albert

[RealBlackStuff]

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=59577

[rkawakami]

For the T21, go here for some references: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=47660

Using the "map": http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ibm_t2x/t21_ ... legend.jpg

the ADP3421 is located on the top side of the motherboard at the lower left corner of D6.

Edit: Sorry for the duplicating of RBS' post but I was side-tracked at work before being able to get back to this post

[aljohn]

Hi, thanks Ray I've now found it . After reading your reply I had another look with a strong light and magnifying glass !
I assume the pin numbers run 1 - 14 across the top and 15 - 28 along the bottom? Sorry to ask such a daft question but I'm getting paranoid about buggering the thing up - I did see a chip with odd numbers one side and even the other
thanks again

[rkawakami]

As pictured in the photos on my site, the ADP chip has pin one located next to the black "dot" or depression on the top surface of the packaging. Pins are then ordered down the "left" side to pin 14 (again, as seen in the photo). Numbering then crosses to the "right" side of the package at the "bottom" to 15 and then goes up to pin 28. Thus, pins 1 and 28 are directly across from each other at the "top".

If you are viewing the ADP chip such that you're reading the part number (ADP3421) and the lot and date codes, then pins 1 to 14 are on the "bottom" (going left to right) and pins 28-15 are on "top" (again, going left to right). Pin numbers for this type of package always starts at the lower left (next to the pin one mark) and works the way around the chip in a counter-clockwise direction.

Edit: As they say, a picture is worth a 1,000 words:

[aljohn]

Wow! Not such a silly question after all... I'm glad I asked. Thanks again Ray, your help is much appreciated. I now need to check out the smallest of my soldering irons, I suspect I shall need a new one. When I've soldered the chip I'll post the result for anyone else to see.
Regards
Albert