Fixed a T61p by baking it (Picture warning)

[QWERTY Andreas]

Hi
I bought a T61p with a dead nVidia chip, so i did the "oven trick"(7-10 minutes at 200 C), and now its up and running. Impressive

I know this method isn't the best, but when the mobo is dead anyway - why not give it a shot?

And now im going to sell that machine

Cheers

[Cigarguy]

Cool! I'll take one with a couple of slices of apple pie with it too. No Danish muffins please.

[RealBlackStuff]

Amongst other things, it's guys like you that make us stop buying T61/T61p with nVidia GPU on eBay!

[Cigarguy]

Amongst other things, it's guys like you that make us stop buying T61/T61p with nVidia GPU on eBay!

I think he's only kidding.

It's guys like him who fully disclosed what he's done that I have no problem buying from. It's the "This laptop have been working perfect since day one. Bought it brand new yesterday." that I'm most weary of.

[Binh]

Amongst other things, it's guys like you that make us stop buying T61/T61p with nVidia GPU on eBay!

I am sure the OP is kidding, don't take it hard

[miro_gt]

lol, nice. Did you put foil around the board ? ... post some pictures if you have

[Cigarguy]

lol, nice. Did you put foil around the board ? ... post some pictures if you have

I thought the tinfoil is to be worn on his head while he's backing it?

[QWERTY Andreas]

Heres some Pictures:

Heres the laptop working, after beeing baked:



The motherboard in the oven:



The temperature (in C ofc.):



The motherboard before i put it into the oven (could be after, no visible difference).It lifted by three balls of thinfoil (not for the hat, but the MB.. sorry)

lol, nice. Did you put foil around the board ? ... post some pictures if you have

As you can see, i didnt. I just too everything off, that could get off!

Amongst other things, it's guys like you that make us stop buying T61/T61p with nVidia GPU on eBay!

Dont worry - i wont sell it on ebay But where i sell it i will inform the buyer about how i fixed it, before he buys it.

Cheers

[flo.gruenwald]

what do you think about, the notebook would be working without baking it.
Maybee it is just working because you reassemble it?
Or is there an other serious argument why It should work to bake my mobo?

[QWERTY Andreas]

I tested the notebook before, trying the RAM one at a time, pulling CMOS, taking it apart to look for loosen cables etc. And that didnt Work.

I think the Mobo Works, because the GPUs solderings (or something like that) is getting melted together. There's a LOT of people around the internet WHO have done it already, so it wasn't my own idea.

But i thought that when the Mobo was dead anyway - why not give it a shot? And hey! Now it Works!

I dont know how long this solution will last, but i have read that it Works very well for some people, and some people just do it Again if the GPU fails Again...

Best regards

[RealBlackStuff]

If/when you bake it, make sure to LEAVE it in the oven until it's completely cooled off.
Any -flexing of the mobo/picking it up- while it's still warm, could cause further damage to other parts unknown!

[TuuS]

Ebay is full of worthless T61/T61p boards that have had this done, it never lasts though. Also, you could have done this much easier without even fully disassembling your laptop, but all you have done is caused the internal circuits in the gpu get momentary conduction.

Question: Have you ever had a lightbulb blow where the filiment breaks and if you tap on it you can get it to move until a connection is made and the bulb lights up? In this case the bulb will usually work until someone bumps into it. Only a fool would call that a legitimate fix for a light bulb and your GPU is no different. The internal circuits are still cracked, you just got them to touch and have some momentary conduction. I've seen dozens of people who have purchased a laptop or board after such improper repairs, some have been ripped off multiple times buying boards on ebay and other sources. This board probably won't be working next week, but I have seen it work for a few months, but it is rare for it to last more then a week or two.

[ajkula66]

I'm about to open my big mouth, and will likely live to regret doing so, but I simply have to.

Nothing personal, everything I'm about to say is based on sheer principle and nothing else.

What are you people - including OP but not limited to him by any means - thinking when posting this type of fix on Bill Morrow's ThinkPad forum?

Are you thinking at all?

This is THE place where people come to look for a *legitimate* fix for their ThinkPads, be it 700T, T61 or X230.

The oldest and best-known ThinkPad forum on the web.

We have a reputation to keep here. And if you think I'm kidding, think again.

You'll have some poor soul looking for a fix for his/hers T61, try baking the board, and when the board dies again after three weeks say "TPF sucks, these guys don't know cr@p" and never come back here again. Is that what we want? I would hope not.

On the other side of the coin, you're enabling a shyster selling baked boards to advertise that he/she fixed them using a "well-tested method originally presented on Bill Morrow's legendary ThinkPad Forum".

It does NOT matter for one split second that the web is filled with this type of advice and "how to" related to it.

This forum is NOT the place for it, not in my not-so-humble-opinion anyway.

The web also provides info on cracking BIOS passwords and safely downloading child pornography.

Does that mean that we should start advertising these services as well?

Post it on YouTube, your own website, your grandmother's knitting blog - who cares.

Not in the forum that has been the mecca for ThinkPad users ever since Internet was wearing diapers, for crying out loud.

[miro_gt]

oh no you dont bake like that cause this can mess up other stuff on the board, lol. You should have put foil around all board except the GPU so that heat gets reflected somewhat away from other components while you do the job to the gpu. Well at least it worked, lol.

people also use heat guns, which would have been somewhat the better way.

[miro_gt]

yes I did, and almost replied too .. but didn't.

If my nVidia t61 dies somehow (after 4+ years of 50%+ gpu OC) then I'm going to do the same thing. The OP tried something and it worked, heh, good. For how long - who knows, but for the time being it worked. As long as it's all disclosed in case of a sale then I dont see what's the big deal.

so what's your point ?

[TuuS]

I agree with ajkula66, there is nothing new here, I've seen people do this and claim success, then a few weeks later they are looking for a new board, or wondering why it won't charge batteries any more, or the usb suddenly stopped working, etc... I agree that it's your board to destroy, and your welcome to do whatever you want with it, I personally would never do all that work to get a week or two use out of it, and I would NEVER encourage others to do this!

I agree that it has no place on this forum, and if you have talked to as many victims of this scam as I have, then you'd agree that anyone who does this with plans of selling the computer (or the board) is the scourge of the used computer market. It's just wrong and I doubt even if someone discloses the way it was repaired will also offer the fact that it's been done by thousands of others world wide and with a failure rate at or approaching 100%. This is no better then an ebay ad I read selling boards with "resoldered VGA chip", which I guess that makes the crook feel better about scamming someone since it was disclosed.

[Cigarguy]

I don't know why in the land of the "free" are you guys getting your underwear all in a bind. My belief is this; This was and is the OP's own product that died. Wither he shot it, baked it, drowned it or ran over it with a pickup truck and got it working again doesn't bother me one bit. As with anything used or even new there's no guarantee that it'll work for 1 week or 20 years. Sometime stuff happens. Having said that, I would expect something that is baked to work a month or two if I'm lucky while something new to work a few years longer.

His product, he can do with it whatever and however he wants. If he wants to sell it afterwards AND GIVE FULL DISCLOSURE OF WHAT HE DID, and if someone still want to buy it, then I have no problem with it. If OP did not give full disclosure then gloves are off. There is some responsibility to the buyer to educate himself/herself a little bit. This forum is a great resource for that. And as AFAIK posting your experiences with baking a MB is NOT a banned topic.

The difference for me is disclosure. One allows me to make up my own mind and take my chances while the other is scamming me. So long as I'm fully informed, I have no problem making up my own mind and taking my own risks.

[ajkula66]

I don't know why in the land of the "free" are you guys getting your underwear all in a bind. My belief is this; This was and is the OP's own product that died. Wither he shot it, baked it, drowned it or ran over it with a pickup truck and got it working again doesn't bother me one bit.

I don't believe that anyone here questioned that aspect of the whole story...

As with anything used or even new there's no guarantee that it'll work for 1 week or 20 years.

Those amongst us who take pride in the "used" stuff that they offer for sale would beg to differ...

His product, he can do with it whatever and however he wants. If he wants to sell it afterwards AND GIVE FULL DISCLOSURE OF WHAT HE DID, and if someone still want to buy it, then I have no problem with it. If OP did not give full disclosure then gloves are off.

Define "full disclosure". I'm with TuuS on this one. The story here is *much* longer than most people would care to share with their prospective customers...

There is some responsibility to the buyer to educate himself/herself a little bit.

True. However, "a little bit" is hardly enough when it comes to stuff this delicate and serious.

The difference for me is disclosure. One allows me to make up my own mind and take my chances while the other is scamming me. So long as I'm fully informed, I have no problem making up my own mind and taking my own risks.

Hate to tell you, but you're NOT fully informed. Most of the people on this forum - let alone elsewhere - aren't.

[QWERTY Andreas]

I just want to say: I DO inform the buyer that it have been fixed with "the oven trick".

[Cigarguy]

Hate to tell you, but you're NOT fully informed. Most of the people on this forum - let alone elsewhere - aren't.

I think when the title of a thread is "Fixed a T61p by baking it" is, in my books, fully informed. Please give me the freedom to make my own decisions based on that info. You do not need to spoon feed me. There is really nothing else I need to know. Pretty straight forward to me. I don't think I'm that dumb. But then again dumb people like me don't know that we are dumb. Also, I give the people of this forum a little bit more credit than that. But I'm generally an optimist.

Regardless, the OP did not post a for sale ad in this holy forum, only a post that stated he baked his DEAD MB and got it working again. My thoughts on that is good for him. Is that so evil? Rather than throwing out the parts, if someone tried this and got it working for 3 weeks, 1 month, or maybe longer he/she have not lost anything. Personally I would never sell such a system but it is not my decision to make for this particular unit.

[TuuS]

I think when the title of a thread is "Fixed a T61p by baking it" is, in my books, fully informed.

In my opinion "fully informed" would read "defective system board rigged up to work temporarily by unconventional methods", and would not have the word "fixed" in it, because it's not fixed.


The thing that upsets many of us and you may not be aware of is that this is done so often and you can't even buy a good nVidia system for fear of getting scammed by someone who has done this, and here we are teaching people how to rip off someone.

[ajkula66]

I think when the title of a thread is "Fixed a T61p by baking it" is, in my books, fully informed. Please give me the freedom to make my own decisions based on that info. You do not need to spoon feed me. There is really nothing else I need to know. Pretty straight forward to me. I don't think I'm that dumb. But then again dumb people like me don't know that we are dumb.

It's not about being dumb. It's about being ill-informed, and there's a pretty big difference between the two.

Also, I give the people of this forum a little bit more credit than that. But I'm generally an optimist.

You definitely are an optimist which is a fine virtue indeed. However, I can guarantee that you're overestimating the general knowledge and understanding of the *extended* reader base.

Regardless, the OP did not post a for sale ad in this holy forum, only a post that stated he baked his DEAD MB and got it working again. My thoughts on that is good for him. Is that so evil? Rather than throwing out the parts, if someone tried this and got it working for 3 weeks, 1 month, or maybe longer he/she have not lost anything. Personally I would never sell such a system but it is not my decision to make for this particular unit.

I'm just going to remind you of the infamous "I read it on the Internet so it must be true" line...

All of this voodoo had snowballed from the concept of fixing the failed GPU solder joints on T4x/R5x boards by baking and/or heatgun, which in many cases did work because the nature of the problem at hand was completely different.

The next thing you know, people were grabbing heatguns and setting oven timers to fix the SouthBridge issue on the same machines and those of us who knew better were yelling "NO, you'll destroy the board" all over the web...too late for many.

And of course, comes in T61/p and R61 generation with the nVidia-related debacle and here's the same approach...

This type of "fix" puts people who are *legitimately* repairing these boards by swapping GPUs with good ones via reballing process at a huge disadvantage. It does the same to honest sellers who take their time to test the machines/planars further than just "Boots to BIOS" feebay-type-description.

I've got a basement full of various ThinkPad boards that boot to BIOS that will be going out with the next garbage pickup this coming Thursday...



Twenty-something years ago I went to take a look at a '74 Citroen DS that was offered for sale at the time. When I opened the hydraulic fluid reservoir, I saw that the owner filled it with cooking oil.

"Works just as well as LHM" said the seller. "She rides like a charm"

I just shook my head and walked away.

A couple of months later I got the call from the poor uninformed soul who ended up buying the car. After I looked the car over - again - he was given the Sophie's choice of having the entire hydraulic system replaced at three times the cost of what he paid for the vehicle itself, or selling it for parts. The car wouldn't raise above the ground anymore. No steering, no brakes either. One beautiful corpse.

The new owner chose to have it fixed, and it got done but...I would've honestly had preferred not to perform the overhaul in question, regardless of the amount of money involved. It was a mess. And then some.

There are stories from various walks of life about "voodoo fixes". Most of them are scary ones.

That's one of the reasons I don't like the idea of posting similar concepts around here. The damage done is usually a lot bigger than most people can initially perceive.

[Binh]

In my opinion, the topic on baking GPU is interesting. It has a kind of scientific content and can help some people, including me.
But the idea of selling baked motherboard is really bad, even with full disclosure. I still hope that the OP don't have a serious plan on selling his T61.