Thinkpads Forum

Well, I was taking apart my T60 to replace the LCD Back bezel when stupid me left the AC adapter in. I could smell smoke so I yanked out the plug. Now, the problem. When I hit the power button, it acts like its booting, then shuts down in about 3 seconds. I don't even get to the 'Thinkpad' logo. The mobo isn't dead, it works on external VGA and boots happily with the LCD ribbon disconnected. As soon as the ribbon's in, it cuts off in 3 seconds. It's something like this - http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=48776 .
Any suggestions?

G/day....
power cords in ...DOH !

might wana try this:

richk wrote:Before deciding it is cooked, at least try to reset it. Unplug, pull main battery, pull CMOS battery. Then press the power button a few times, holding it a full 10 seconds the last time. Put the memory chip in, replace the batteries and try again to start it.

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

Smoke is never a good sign (or smell) when it comes to electronics. From your description, it sounds like you either shorted something out on the ribbon cable, the inverter, the LCD panel or something in the video circuits on the motherboard. I would try re-connecting the ribbon cable but remove the inverter. That's one item that I can think of which tends to draw a significant amount of power. If that doesn't change things, then unplug the ribbon cable from the back of the LCD panel. If the system continues to shutdown, then replace the ribbon cable.

Thanks for the replies, just did a quick check, Mobo is okay, no blown fuses. At a closer inspection of the cable, Pin 1 was missing and Pin 2 was bent. I also might have fried a power transistor if not the cable. I'll buy a new cable later, but could the missing pins have started the problem?

Alright, this continues from my previous post where my laptop didn't boot up. For those who didn't read my previous post, My T60 2007-BH6 fails to boot with the LCD ribbon cable plugged in. With it out, and the external VGA plugged in, it boots flawlessly. I didn't realise though, that Pin 1 & 2 on the cable were missing. The last time it worked, it booted up, but it smelt like smoke, so I yanked the AC adapter out. The LCD, inverter and the bluetooth chip work perfectly. Would it either be the ribbon cable, a fuse or the LCD Circuit Controller that shorted/fried?

Admin edit: Combined this post into existing thread in order to keep all information about the problem in one place.

I'm having the same problem, could someone please help