X31 - no power, dead system board?

[zcacogp]

Chaps,

I have an X31, which I have had for about 5 years. Maybe 6. It has been by far and away the best computer I have ever owned; almost every day for the last 5 years it has booted up and run like clockwork.

It is, quite simply, that good!

More accurately, was that good. Last night I ran it to flat. This morning I plugged it in, and it wouldn't charge ... it also wouldn't turn on with the mains adaptor plugged in - behaving as if the adaptor wasn't working. However, a voltmeter confirms that the adaptor is working, with a hearty 16.6v being delivered.

I downloaded the manual from the IBM site (great resource!) and it suggests that the system board should be replaced. I have dismantled the machine, and it seems that the input socket on the system board is still fine (no immediately obvious broken solder joints, as can sometimes happen.)

A quick search of the internet suggests that getting a new (refurbished) system board will cost me around £720 (I'm in the UK), and the machine isn't worth anywhere near that much.

However, this is more of an old friend than a computer. Everything else about it is (was) fine. I would very much like to make this machine work again, if at all possible ...

So, the point of my post.

1. Has anyone else had these symptoms with their X31? If so, is there any known cure? Could it be something else which is wrong, and which is more easily fixed? (Failing that, I have seem elsewhere on this forum suggestions about heating system boards up to repair iffy solder ... would that apply in this case?)

2. I don't have a docking station ('slice'). My X31 won't work with the power supply plugged into the back of it ... if I was to buy a docking station, would it charge (or accept power) through this instead? Could this be a solution?

3. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I may be able to get hold of a new system board. A bit of research tells me that I need a 26P8526 board, as the machine is a 2672-C8G. Does anyone have one of these spare? Cash (or paypal, or anything else which suits you) is waiting ...

This is being written from an X61s - a machine I bought to 'replace' the X31 at Christmas, but which is still just about brand new. It simply isn't a patch on the X31, which I have continued to use for preference ....

Thanks, in advance, for any help you can offer.


Oli. [/b]

[fasterbybike]

A search of this forum on "X3* won't boot" reveals several problems.

Another dead X31

X31 mobo cold/broken solder

HTH

[snv]

I am sorry to hear that this happened to you. I do not have any first-hand experience with such problems, but remember seeing something similar in the forum. You may find the following thread helpful:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=49902

Especially look at the trick of discharging residual charge that is suggested in the last post in that thread.

Does anything happen at all when you plug the laptop in and press the power button (a fan starting, an LED blinking, any beeps, etc.)?

[zcacogp]

Chaps,

Thanks for your replies. Your help is appreciated.

Fasterbybike - I am thinking that the cold solder problem may be relevant, and it could be a good way to go in terms of fixing it. People talk about using a heat gun to fix this problem - is this literally just heating the system board up with a hot-air blower? It sounds a bit primative ... and drastic. How hot do you need to get it? Hot enough to melt solder, I assume ... in which case, how do you ensure that the heat solves bad-joint problems, as opposed to heating up existing joints to the point that they fail?

snv - thanks. I'd like to try the residual charge trick, but I think it won't be the answer. (The machine is also in pieces on my desk as well, so I'd need to reassemble it to do so!) The reason I am skeptical is because it does nothing when you plug in the power supply - no LED flicker, nothing. It is as if the power supply wasn't plugged into the mains (my first suspect was the power supply itself, but that is working OK.) Would the residual charge trick work in this situation? I guess there is one way to find out, eh? >ReachesForScrewdriverToReassembleLappie<


Oli.