T23 used as NAS

[tmatheos]

Hi everyone, first time poster here.

I've had the same T23 forever, since around 2003 I think, and has been working great in a number of different capacities over the years. It's now being used as a NAS box, serving up around 600 gig of storage using external USB drives, a print server,and some other odd and ends. For those who aren't familiar, FreeNAS is an open source NAS based on FreeBSD.

Anyway, I have a couple issues. One is I can't seem to get 'wake on time' working. Actually I can't remember if that's the exact name.It's a bios setting that allows the machine to boot itself at a certain date/time. I can get it to shutdown automatically at a pre-set time via FreeNAS but then it won't re-start itself. I set the time, shut it down, and wait, nothing happens, pre-set time comes and goes,no startup. I'm running bios version 1.09 and ECP 1.03.

The other issue is the LCD stopped working. I get nothing, just a blank screen. I have an external monitor attached to it at the moment but it would be nice to go back to the LCD if I could.

Anyone have any ideas on either of these?

Thanks!

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

Taking the last question first, there's several reasons why the LCD panel may not light up. As you probably know, connecting an external monitor may automatically disable the LCD when the system is booted (there's a BIOS setting for that). If no external monitor is attached, then the causes (and fixes) of the non-display are:

- inoperative/disconnected inverter board; fairly low probability - re-seat the inverter board at the connector to the LCD ribbon cable or replace the inverter with a known working unit
- inoperative backlight (aka, CCFL); fairly high probability based upon the age of the system - usually replace the entire panel (although I just ordered several lamps and will hopefully try performing a replacement soon)
- disconnected plug/broken wire coming from the CCFL and going into the inverter; low probability - re-connect the plug/re-solder the wire
- stuck lid switch (half-circle button on the keyboard bezel in front of the right hinge); common problem - push/flick the button a couple of times or replace the I/O sub-board
- blown fuse on the motherboard; probably not too common - finding the right fuse, obtaining a good replacement and soldering it on takes some luck/skill
- disconnected/bad LCD ribbon cable; likely problem if screen had some other issues prior to the display dying - re-seat the connector at the motherboard or replace with a known good unit
- something else on the motherboard; not too likely but it's always a possibility especially if some liquid was poured on the system - replace the motherboard

As far as the wake-up timer in the BIOS, I remember playing around with it a couple of years back but I don't remember ever getting it to work. Version 1.09 is pretty old but there's nothing in the BIOS release notes to say that any newer version fixes a problem related to the wake timer.

ref: http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... uj20us.txt (T23 BIOS release notes)

[tmatheos]

I think I might try updating the bios, it's pretty old. I've been wanting to get ACPI support anyway. If I download the diskette versions of the bios and ecp updates from Lenovo will I be able to use them, since the system is FreeBSD, as opposed to Windows? I mean, since I'd be booting and running the updates from the floppy it should work, shouldn't it?

[rkawakami]

Yes, it doesn't matter which OS you run. The bootable diskettes have all of the information needed to perform the upgrade. You should have an AC adapter and a good battery attached in order to do the BIOS / Embedded Controller updates. Follow the instructions and be prepared for a loud BEEP at one point in the process. If you are not expecting it, it sounds like something just went wrong .