T61 Dead, Second Time

[audioresearch]

This is the second time my T61 has gone dead in about 12-18 months. Is there a known problem with them? Better yet, is there a simple fix? I did find the bizarre solution about holding down the power button once a second for 10 seconds and then holding it down for 30 seconds. Even though that sounds like a real croc, I did try doing that, but like I figured, it was useless.

The last time this happened, I bought a used mobo on Ebay and that fixed the problem.

The LED that indicates power from the wall adapter is off as are all the other LEDs. My voltmeter shows the wall charger is putting out 20 volts dc like it is supposed to.

My battery died long ago and I've been running the machine for about the last year only off the wall unit. No battery is in the machine.

Is there an on-board fuse or something else fairly simple to replace that is known to cause this problem?

I'll be greatful for any suggestions from anyone who has had this same problem and has actually been able to fix it.

Thanks.

[brchan]

Are your T61s equipped with NVIDIA gpus? NVIDIA based T61s made before 08/08 are prone to gpu failure, while the integrated intel based ones are not.

[audioresearch]

It does have the Nvidia gpu. I don't recall if it was made before the date you mentioned.

The T61 is certainly not a new machine anymore and I wonder if I ought to consider getting a used laptop of some other brand/model that is newer rather than trying to fix the T61 for what would be the 3rd time in 5 years?

I don't follow all that much about what is newer in laptops than my current laptop, but I do know that machines now have usb 3 which by itself would be nice to have.

[Medessec]

I would normally assume the issue to be related to the Nvidia GPU, but you mentioning that none of the LEDs on the inverter board are lighting up suggests a power failure of some sort to the board. Either way, it does sound like the board is no good. Which does mean you have to replace it.

Sorry about that man... if your T61 is a 4:3 and you appreciate the good 'ol tall screens, then I'd assume you'd want to try and get your T61 working again, we can help you with that.

If your T61 was a widescreen, or if you don't mind using a widescreen laptop, I would highly recommend a T400/T500/W500. Visually and functionally, they are nearly indistinguishable from the T61, and they're newer and better. For what you get- they're going for pretty cheap now too. I've seen cruddy T500s go for $100-$150, and the top-of-the-line W500s pass off for $250.

As for the NVIDIA GPU issue that brchan mentions- some T61s with NVIDIA graphics were built with a defect, which wasn't corrected until after August of 2008. If you have a widescreen T61, you can check the date stamp- if yours shows a date later than "08/08", your T61 has a "safe" Nvidia GPU. Anything before has a possibility of being a faulty GPU.

[brchan]

If you don't mind widescreen ratio, I would probably go for a T410/T510/W510 or newer. The T400/T500/W500 laptops aren't really much faster than a high spec T61, and you will have to deal the breaking usb tabs as well as the breaking magnesium roll cage on the T500/W500 units.

[audioresearch]

Well let me tell you, if someone here doesn't censor this post, that after 3 failures in 5 years, I'm not inclined to use another Thinkpad again.

The one thing about it that I will try to preserve even if I have to go to great lengths to do it is to keep the dvd reader drive from it because by vast margins, it is better than any other drive I have ever used for reading "bad" (scratches, unseen defects, etc) dvd discs.

Is there an adapter sold that would let me use my T61 dvd reader drive in a tower pc?

[rumbero]

Is there an adapter sold that would let me use my T61 dvd reader drive in a tower pc?

Check out this: ebay.com/itm/220960107589 - External USB enclosure case for 9.5mm IBM THINKPAD T4X T6X optical DVD drive. Disclaimer: Didn't try it myself yet.

[rkawakami]

Well, I for one won't censor your post just because you have stated an honest opinion. Sorry that your T61 has not been as reliable as some other systems. Lack of any LEDs being lit when connected to a working AC adapter is most likely a general power problem on the motherboard. It could be something as simple as a blown fuse, or it might be another component on the board that's much harder to isolate. If you do open it up, check fuse F2 near the DC input jack. I believe that's the one which protects the 20V input. It should be a Littelfuse 429007 (7A 24V). While you're at it, visually inspect all of the parts on the motherboard. Look for anything that might indicate scorching or burning like this:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ibm_t2x/let.jpg

A couple of other things you can check that don't require spending any money if the F2 fuse checks out okay and no visible damage is seen on any component:

- Remove all hardware from the system that's attached using some sort of connector. Pull out the hard drive, optical drive, MiniPCI/PCI Express card(s), daughter card (modem), LCD ribbon cable and yes, even memory. Leave the CPU, keyboard and speakers attached since you'll need some way of turning on the system and hearing an error code. Power it on. If the system powers up, it should beep 1-3-3-1. That at least indicates that the main power systems on the board are functional. It also tends to say that whatever you have removed is part of the problem. Figure out which one it is by putting back one item at a time and seeing if the laptop still powers up.
- If the system is still dead, double-check the input voltage. With the AC adapter still connected, measure the voltage on either side of the F2 fuse (black lead of voltmeter connected to any ground point). Be careful not to short out the + lead of the voltmeter to any other point on the laptop when you are touching it to the fuse. You should see ~20VDC on either side of the fuse. If you don't, then something on the motherboard is shorting out the AC adapter when you have plugged it OR the DC jack is defective.

As to the use of your Ultrabay optical drive with a tower PC (or any other computer for that matter), the link supplied by rumbero works as advertised. I have one that I use for emergencies.

[RealBlackStuff]

An alternative to external CD/DVD units is this: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 62#p746962

[rkawakami]

An alternative, maybe. But the OP wants to use his existing Ultrabay Slim optical drive on another computer. I don't believe that any adapter exists to convert a laptop optical drive into one that can be mounted inside a standard 5.25" drive bay of a tower PC.... <Ray goes off to search... comes back astonished >

Well, there does appear to be such a beast. Google '5.25" drive bay adapter laptop optical' and you will find some equipment that seems to do exactly what was asked for. The only thing to watch out for is that the IDE or SATA connector inside the adapter matches what's on the Ultrabay drive.