Thinkpads Forum

Hey everyone,

Today I was working most of the morning on my T60 and about 1 hour ago I noticed that it was unusually hot on the left side. I thought, "this is supposed to be a ThinkPad, not a cheapo Dell". It hadn't gotten that warm before, and I even began to wonder if computers would get warmer and warmer over time.

In any event, I tried to restart it (Vista Business, 2 GB RAM) thinking maybe it was warm because I hadn't done so in a few days. It started to go off and then a black screen came up that said "Fan error" and it went completely off. I let it rest for about an hour (on top of a couch, so that the couch would absorve the remaining heat more quickly). I went back one hour later, and it was pretty cool, only lukewarm to the touch. I turned it on, and it acted like it was going to start, it asked me for my fingerprint for the hd password, and then the same message again, "Fan erreor", and it went off. In other words, it does not start.
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas before I call Lenovo? Thanks.

If you are looking for a long term solution then make use of your warranty.

UPDATE:

Ok, I looked up some other posts in this forum about the fan error, and most of them refer to older TP models, mostly computers that have been in use for 3 or 4 years.

So, I think I am going to call Lenovo, since my TP is only 8 months old. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, they will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I agree, I am on the phone with Lenovo support right now. They said right off the bat that they were going to send me a box and replace the fan.

Should I remove the HDD before I send it? I don't really have any sensitive information there, but... you never know (I just hung up with "Ray", and I am definitely removing my HDD, just in case).

One more question. They guy said that I needed to provide my power-on password. WTH!? Is this normal?
I told him I did not know it, so that I had time to ask you guys about this. He said that in the box they would ask about it, and to make sure that I wrote it down, otherwise they would send me back the machine untouched.

I have never sent the TP to Lenovo. Is there ANYTHING that I should know before I send it?

Again, thanks for your input.

Try not to send anything in to Solectron, if you can. Try to see if you can find someone independent computer company that covers warranty repairs instead.

Err....

They already sent me the box (from Atlanta).
How would I find out if there is a support technician in my area?

By the way, the guy [censored] me off because when he read me the case #, he went super fast, and used the name thing ("charly, victor, etc), so when I asked him to slow down an repeat it, he sighed and then almost yelled the numbers at me. I didn't say anything because I am a patient guy, but... Oh well, I suppose all companies have bad employees. All other Lenovo employees (except one other one) have treated me professionally and have been very diligent (this guy was pretty quick though).

Thanks for the quick input, and I look forward to your responses.

You don't need to send anything that is not part of the problem. Safely remove the HDD, ultrabay (CD/DVD drives), memory, battery and AC adapter before sending out your machine.

You will be provided a piece of paper by IBM EasyServ to write down the problem you're experiencing including all the necessary information they require to test your machine after it's repaired like your power on Bios password and Windows password if there's any (not required in your case). So if you have a power on Bios password, they would need it from you in order to fix your machine.

[censored]!

I don't remember whether I have a power-on password! I think I do, along with the HDD password, but since I normally use my fingerprint...
I will look it up. Is there anything else I should know before I send my beloved T60?

Again I thank all of you for all your help (ryengineer of course).

UPDATE:

The TP came back on!
Everything seems to be working normally. If I put my ear close to the side, the fan sounds like it's working.

Should I still send it? I suppose the answer is yes, but I would like to get your thought on this. thanks.

Yes, still send it in. Could just be an intermittent fault but whatever it is it sounds like it's hardware related. Even if they can't replicate the issue chances are they'll just replace the fan anyway (especially if they open it up and find evidence of oerheating) and you'll have peace of mind.

did you try blowing the fan with compressed air. this trick worked for me and i have no problems with cooling whatsoever.