Thinkpads Forum

My August 2007 T61/p is dead. Power LED lights, Caps Lock and Num Lock LEDs flash and then nothing. No Lenovo Screen, no screen at all, no HD activity. Nothing. Tried the power button press routine, tried the hold the two mouse buttons routine. Pulled the memory (1x2GB and 1x1GB. Tried each memory alone. Nothing. Fortunately still in warranty. Waiting for Lenovo in Mexico to open this morning to call. Grrr!

Meaanwhile, I'm typing this on my original TP 600, which lit right up with all 294K of memory. They don't build them like they used to.

mixz1 wrote:Meanwhile, I'm typing this on my original TP 600, which lit right up with all 294K of memory. They don't build them like they used to.

Ain't that the truth! Having said that, your 600E would have cost about $3000 US or more back in the day - my maxed out T61p was $1200! I guess its true what they say - you get what you pay for..............

^^^

If there only was a time machine

Just to fill in some details, the telephone number for support in Mexico connects to Lenovo support in Argentina, who after taking the details and being assured that you've done all the button pushing, memory swapping diagnostics, gives you a number in Monterrey, Mexico, where the depot is and asks that you wait a half hour before you call. Then the Argentine support desk calls Monterrey, gives them the details so that when you call, they double check the info and then ship the return box via UPS. It used to be DHL which was very well represented here in Quintana Roo State. Now it's UPS, which is based in Merida rather than Cancun, so the whole exchange deal will probably have two additional days of ground travel added in. I assume that there's some cost saving for Lenovo doing it this way, but I can't figure it out.

As far as my TP600, it's not an E, it's the basic, first edition 600:
Product: ThinkPad 600 2645-41U
Operating system: Windows 2000
Original description: PII 233MHz

I wish it was a 600E.

I'd like to know the config of the maxed out T61p that cost $1200. When did you buy it. I purchased mine in August 2007 and it cost $1680 including the IBM employee discount.

And yes. the 600 was really expensive, but at the time, worth every penny.

mixz1 wrote:I'd like to know the config of the maxed out T61p that cost $1200. When did you buy it. I purchased mine in August 2007 and it cost $1680 including the IBM employee discount.

February 2008. T61p - Vista business, T9300, 2Gb RAM (1 stick), 160Gb HDD (7200RPM), DVD/RW, AGN, Fingerprint. The $1200 included a ~5% employee discount. I paid an extra $250 after I bought it to upgrade the warranty from 1 year depot service to 5 year depot service.

My 600E was $3500 in 2000!

Further Update. The call was made at 9 AM Monday morning. The box will be delivered sometime on Thursday. I'll be lucky if I get the machine back by the end of next week.

The price difference between August 2007 and February 2998 is notable. Annoiying, but notable .

New system board for the NVIDIA problem in February. Eight, I repeat eight notes back and forth between the depot manager concerning the elevated temperatures on the new system board (GPU running 10 degrees C hotter than failed board) and his reassurance that "they all do that".

Since I have his personal email address I emailed him with the entire string of our notes and asked if he could expedite the repair rather than going through the whole call Argentina to get a repair in Mexico business. It's Friday, so nothing's going to happen before Monday anyhow. I am beyond annoyed.

Can you post your temps on the T61, specifically for the GPU using GPU-Z?

Bánh mì wrote:Can you post your temps on the T61, specifically for the GPU using GPU-Z?

Obviously, I can't post anuthing until the machine is repaired, but the old GPU idle temp was 48 degrees C and the repaired board that just failed idled at around 60 degrees C.

On a positive note, I have just received a call from Lenovo in Mexico and they have jumped onto this with both feet. I will report when the event is concluded, but so far I am amazed. It's after 5 PM and they are on the case.

The machine was returned today with a new motherboard. When I reinstalled my hard drive and booted Win 7 the OS installed new drivers for the HD Controller, so I know it's a different motherboard. Nevertheless, the GPU is idling at 56 degrees C, goes up to 64 degrees during normal browsing and ran to 82 degrees when I ran the ThinkVantage Toolbox video stress test. I aborted the test at that point because I disn't want to get any hotter. Note the following:

Original Motherboard Graphics processor at idle 48 degrees C. Machine lasted from August 2007 to February 2010.
Replace Motherboard Graphics processor at idle 60 degrees C. Machine lasted from February 2010 to August 2010
Replace Motherboard Graphics processor at idle 56 degrees C. Machine returned to service September 6, 2010

I don't have a lot of confidence but at least I still have an extended warranty for the next 12 months.

That sounds too hot. When I replace or change the fan, I always spend a couple of minutes with a flat tool to squeese the pad from all 4 sides to make it thicker (better contact). That makes up for the fact that the pad has already been compressed from prior use. I haver no idea whether the guy who replaced your MB did anything like that.