Thinkpads Forum

My 2007 T60p motherboard has died. I had all the symptoms I've seen discussed with just the bezel lights illuminating but the startup stalls immediately. Tried all the remedies suggested to bring it back and none worked. Got it diagnosed to the motherboard. Tech say's it's not worth replacing after part cost and his cost to install.

I bought the unit new, model is 8743CTO. The hard drive was replaced 5 months ago because of capacity and the looming failure of the drive based on symptoms I thought were attributable to the hard drive. The new SATA drive is a Hitachi Travelstar 500GB. The data transfer went perfect and the new hard drive seemed to function perfectly. However it seemed to run quite a bit hotter than the OE drive.

So I'm seeking advice about my T60p. It seems a motherboard should last more than 3 years but in reading about my problem I see I'm not alone. I have a number of questions and I'll just start asking.

What is most likely the cause of failure of the motherboard? I know heat is the number one enemy of electrical components and I wonder if the new hard drive contributed to the motherboard failure.

I've been looking and it seems that the motherboards available all seem to be refurbished. Normally I don't have a problem with certain refurb'd items but I'm not sure about a motherboard. Is this a legitimate concern of mine or are refurbished as good as new?

My knowledge of computers is limited in contrast to many people I see on this forum. However I'm not completely incapable. Is changing a motherboard simply a "piece in and piece out" hardware change? If that's all it is I think I can manage it. However I'm concerned that there is data on the motherboard that I will lose and need to be reconfigured with a new motherboard. This could be a real problem as I just don't really know my way around the "inside" of computers too well. I know enough to really mess things up or occasionally get lucky.

Basically I'm wondering if it's worth saving this laptop. Is it likely that I'll spend the $250 to $350 for the motherboard and in a half year it dies again because of some contributory problem that was not resolved or is the T60 just prone to this kind of failure? Or maybe I get it in but can't really ever get everything working right again?

I'll appreciate any input you folks have. thanks

Often, I have one of those boards in stock. I do not right now. They are not that common. I have found that the T60 was not prone to failure, but the T60p boards generate a little more heat because of the graphics chip. The cooler the chips run, the lower the failure rate. I doubt the disk had anything to do with the failure. That is a big case and the disk is away from most of the heat-sensitive things, like power transistors (mosfets). You are unlikely to find a new T60 board. Everything will be used or refurbished, which are really 2 words that mean the same thing. The information in the board is just the model and serial stuff so that system update works correctly and the info in the board matches the sticker. Only a dealer will normally have access to the tools to change it. I always change it when I install the board or if I sell the board separately, I offer to change it in the bare board. (I am a dealer) The price you list seems high, unless you are including installation. The last one I sold was near the low end of your range including installation. Shipping was extra. I can check for availabilibility with my suppliers if you wish. Send me a pm.

Used/refurbished mothertboards are a crap-shoot. Buy one from a reputable seller with as long a warranty as possible. The price of the older T60 boards more reflects supply than value - when supply is low and demand is high, the price is high, regardless of the value. If you can pick up a motherboard with a 3-6 month warranty for for under $150 and install it yourself, then it's worth doing. For $350, you really need to consider if its worth it. Motherboard replacement is basically a complete disassembly and reassembly of the bottom half of the computer. The first time will take you quite a while; after that, it's much quicker.

Richk and skinn77, thank you both for your responses. It helps me along with deciding where to go next. The best warranty I see out there is 30 days. It's always the decision of dumping that money into and wondering if a new board will get toasted or last long enough to make it worth while. SO I'm still on the fence. The $150 would be a no brainer and $250 or more is in the territory of good percentage of the cost of a new comp. But I hate to waste the machine I have and just see it end up in a landfill polluting some community or 3rd world country.