X31 Sudden Death

[duggers]

My 1.4G X31 recently failed to boot, having been running successfully minutes earlier. I get a cursor in the top left, but it doesn't appear to clear the POST. Disk drive doesn't seem to spin up and it just sits there in that state. I removed it from the docking station in case that was causing a problem and tried a different HDD both without success. Can anyone point me in a direction, I'm really not sure where to start on this?

Ian

T42p 2.0GHz/2.0GB/128MB FireGL 15"
X31 1.4GHz/512MB

edit:
Actually I stand corrected, I just switched it on and it starts the fan and lights but nothing from the display at all. Sorry for the confusion but it's been a little while since I last started it.

edit2:
More info: I see that the fan spins up but then stops and now it seems that indeed the display is active with the cursor in the top left. Actually it booted once so it's an intermittent issue also, but certainly the fact that the fan is stopping will make sure that the processor is halted anyway I think. Can anyone help?

Admin edit: Combined consecutive posts into one.

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

Removing the hard drive and trying another was a good thought. Continue that experiment and remove everything that is installed in sockets; memory (both modules), MiniPCI wireless card, bluetooth/modem card and any PCMCIA card, even the battery. Try to boot the system using an AC adapter alone. If the motherboard is mostly okay, you should at least get the 1-3-3-1 beep sequence. If so, then shut down the system, install one memory module and try booting again. If the no-boot problem returns, then try another module if you have one. If the system appears to function normally, then replace one item at a time and see where the system starts hanging again.

The fan only spins up for a few seconds when the system is turned on. It will normally stop during the POST process unless the CPU is really hot.

You can download a copy of the Hardware Maintenance Manual if you need any guidance on disassembling your system:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 44018.html

[duggers]

Ray,

Thanks for your response, I've got the machine up and running again with a combination of swapping for an older HDD and reseating the DIMMS, reinstalling XP. The existing 60GB 7200 RPM Seagate was in partial fail and wouldn't stand having the OS reloaded. Not sure why initially it wouldn't boot with the alternative drive tho, maybe it wasn't seated properly.

Next is to source a new HDD so I can lose the old 30GB Fujitsu. I'm considering the WD 250GB as a fast unit with reasonable capacity. From what I read on this forum the X31 (and T42p) will be ok with non-FRU drives.

Regards
Ian

[rkawakami]

Ian,

Good to hear that the system is up and running again. You can run some diagnostics on it by using the program supplied by IBM: PC Doctor for DOS. I'd recommend the CD image (if you have a burner) but you can also download the diskette version:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-56222 (CD .ISO image)
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-44202 (three diskettes)

PC Doctor for DOS does not require any OS to be installed on the hard drive. Along with diagnostics to check the major subsystems in the laptop, there are several Fixed Disk tests that you can run. You can also download a copy of SeaTools, the disk drive diagnostic provided by Seagate. You need to give them your email address but otherwise it's free:

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/suppor ... s/seatools (Click on the SeaTools for DOS download icon)

[duggers]

Fantastic, I'll try those. Thanks for all your assistance, you've made me feel very welcome here.

I ordered the WD 250GB drive and 1GB of PC2700 so when that arrives I'll be ghosting the newlsy installed OS on the X31 over to the drive from my T42p and using the new 250GB drive in that. I'm hoping that a more modern 60GB drive from the T42 and some RAM will give the X31 a boost too. I'm very attached to this X31, I was quite lost without it.

Since I swapped drives I've formatted and installed XP, and all the patches for that and Office 2003 with no complaints, though I notice that the drive does seem to be recalibrating often when idle, not a good sign for longevity.

Ian

[duggers]

Hello Again,

My X31 has finally gone down the tube. It was running perfectly fine and would even soft reboot no problem but I mistakenly closed the lid and it wouldn't resume. Once that happened it was all over and nothing could bring it back. I removed all the removables including memory, cards, battery but no display. Everything spins up as it should just no video, and no 1-3-3-1 which leads me to conclude the MB is bad.

If anyone has anything else to suggest re this machine please let me know. If there is no alternative I'll see if I can find a used unit or MB for it.

Thanks
Ian

[rkawakami]

Yes, from that description I would also suspect that the motherboard has died. A sticky lid switch might cause a "dead" (non-lighting) display but it shouldn't prevent the system from throwing a 1-3-3-1 beep sequence if all of the memory has been removed.

[duggers]

Thanks Ray, that's as I thought, I'll search for a new MB, maybe go for the upgrade and get a 1.7GHz.

Regards
Ian