Thinkpads Forum

Hello,
I just finished the SXGA+ mod on my X61 and I'm now struggling with the next problem: The machine just turns off during normal use, without any warning. And I have to disconnect battery and AC power first before I can boot it up again.

I already heard that this can be related to overheating, but I don't want to draw any conclusions yet.
What are the known reasons for this problem? How can I identify them and solve my problem?

See my signature for the laptop specifications.

Thank you in advance and best regards,

Colin Finck

Overheating: old (or lack of) thermal paste between CPU and cooler.
Clean old gunk off with e.g. Isopropyl Alcohol (also called Isopropanol in German pharmacies).
Then apply "Arctic Silver 5".
While you have the machine open, blow out the fan and fan-area with compressed air. Hold the fanblades itself (with e.g. a toothpick) to stop it from over-revving.

RealBlackStuff wrote:Clean old gunk off with e.g. Isopropyl Alcohol (also called Isopropanol in German pharmacies).
Then apply "Arctic Silver 5".

Exactly the stuff I wanted to use in case there was no different suggestion.
Thanks for confirming, will try as soon as possible!

Cheers,

Colin

Okay, I have applied the new thermal compound now and the temperatures have indeed been lowered a bit.
But unfortunately, my problem is not solved.

I have found out that it only happens when the battery is used. I can use the laptop for hours when no battery is installed and I'm just on the AC adapter. But when I boot up on battery and plug in the AC adapter afterwards, the X61 turns off instantly. This also happens when the battery and AC adapter are already plugged in before booting, though the system works for some minutes then.
I've tried this out with two 8-cell batteries, one of them is working well in a X60s for several months.

Is there any known reason for this problem?

I recall that there was some shielding around the RJ-11 and DC-in connectors, which got partly broken during the disassembly, but I have no clue how this could lead to such a problem.

Best regards,

Colin

You must have damaged the power circuit during your SXGA+ mod.

Colin Finck wrote:I recall that there was some shielding around the RJ-11 and DC-in connectors, which got partly broken during the disassembly

During SXGA+ mod or during CPU-refreshing?
What exactly broke?

Just to check, do you have the problem if you run on AC with NO battery?

I have a similar issue where my laptop would go off on standby without warning although the AC is plugged and battery is full.

In my case I suspect the battery to be a bad knock-off.

I although notice that the absence of battery allow the laptop to be noticeably cooler.

Keep me posted.

carrausse wrote:Just to check, do you have the problem if you run on AC with NO battery?

Nope, only with battery.

carrausse wrote:In my case I suspect the battery to be a bad knock-off.

Nope, tried different ones, see my first post.

RealBlackStuff wrote:During SXGA+ mod or during CPU-refreshing?
What exactly broke?

Well, the problem already existed before refreshing the CPU, otherwise I wouldn't have tried this out
The shielding was just some metallic tape, and looking on the photo of an opened X60, it isn't even present there, so I don't think this is the reason.

Any other things I could try?
Don't want to swap the board now that I've swapped almost everything else of the laptop...

Cheers,

Colin