T61 boot hang after fan replacement

[jamesqf]

I replaced the fan on my T61 today. Had planned to do this for a while, as the fan was getting noisy, and finally got 'Fan error' message on boot. All seems to have gone well, except for one annoying problem: on boot, it now hangs at the BIOS screen (where it says 'press blue thinkvantage button..." If I press the button, it continues a normal boot, and works fine*. Any suggestions why this is happening, and how to fix?

*OK, a caveat on the 'fine'. The new fan is noisier than the old one was before it failed It also runs a bit faster in 'auto' mode (I run Linux): about 3500 RPM vs 2900 for the old. Any suggestions on finding a quiet, if not completely silent, fan?

[EvoT61]

Try to lubricate your fan wit sewing machine oil.


T61 14.1 , 120GB HDD , T8300 , 4Gb Ram.

[ideal-pc]

Is your replacement fan a genuine Lenovo part? If not maybe consider going down that route, this guy is selling one in the US: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Genuine-I ... 5888ccf2b0

As far as hanging on BIOS, you could try removing the CMOS battery so as to give it a total reset & see if that helps. If your fan is not genuine Lenovo that may be why it's hanging at startup

[RealBlackStuff]

Be VERY careful about removing the CMOS battery!
If there's a Power-On-Password that you are not aware of, it will change into a Supervisor Password if you remove the CMOS!

[ideal-pc]

Be VERY careful about removing the CMOS battery!
If there's a Power-On-Password that you are not aware of, it will change into a Supervisor Password if you remove the CMOS!

:O:O I had no idea about that either! Been repairing these things for years too, you learn something everyday Is that all newer Thinkpads?

[RealBlackStuff]

From T40/R50 onwards you run that risk.

[jamesqf]

Is your replacement fan a genuine Lenovo part? If not maybe consider going down that route, this guy is selling one in the US: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Genuine-I ... 5888ccf2b0

Probably not genuine, as I replaced just the fan itself, not the entire heatsink assembly. Had hoped for a quieter fan than the original

Thanks for the suggestion about CMOS battery. I'll give it a try if other things fail. Apropos of which, does anyone know how to record the boot diagnostics? I changed the BIOS from fast boot to diagnostic, but after the memory check it just flashes stuff on the screen far faster than I can read it.

And if all else fails, I'll try lubing the original and sticking it back in.