HELP - x60t was running on AC, then stopped
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:02 pm
It acted as if somebody had unplugged the AC, but the outlet was still hot. In fact when I unplugged the DC power plug from the laptop, it heard that little arcing sound very briefly. So now it will run fine, but only on battery, and that battery has about an hour left on it.
More detail:
I've had problems with the DC power connection on the PC for quite a while; the wire in the male connector breaks, and I buy a new charger. This is because of a stupid Lenovo design where using it in tablet mode (portrait) results in the power plug sticking out of the bottom of the PC and jabbing you in the chest - as time went on, I found a 90 degree adapter in the internet. Anyway, after 3 or 4 new power supplies, the female connector in the pc succumbed to the stress. I didn't want to take the PC apart, so I bought a docking station and used the PC with the docking station attached - almost all of my use is plugged into AC.
I developed heat related problems over the years, and the compressed air can only did so much. I finally opened up the PC to blow out all dust, and that reduced my operating temperatures by about 10 deg C so that was good. I also decided to replace that DC power/modem wire assembly - only $5 on eBay. Removing the little board that goes over the wire assembly (and on towards the fan) was very difficult and I ended up stripping some of the screw heads, so I ended up using a miniature extractor tool to get them all out - had to really press hard and at angles, but I finally got them out. I tried powering up before putting it all together, and the fan started, stopped, got the FAN ERROR message, and then just before the PC shutdown, the fan came on for fraction of a second, and the PC shut down. I found that using the esc key during the POST would prevent display of the error message, and let you boot up normally.
Frustrated, I just put it all together, and plugged it in, and somehow it worked, and I got no FAN ERROR. Everything seemed great. I disconnected from the docking station, and connected to the DC connector I had replaced, and that worked fine too! Then, after a few minutes, the PC switches to battery power, and acts like somebody pulled the power plug. I tried putting it in the docking station to charge it that way, and still no power. I confirmed the power outlet was hot, and that the power adapter was OK, since I heard that brief arcing on connect.
One possibility is that when I reinstalled that board held down by the screws, some of which I had stripped the heads, I screwed down the 5 whose heads were OK, but the 3 three that weren't I screwed in only until I got some resistance - but certainly not all the way. However, the screws didn't fall out - I don't think - since I don't hear anything rattling. Pressing down on the center of the keyboard doesn't do anything.
I've already ordered a new tablet PC (x230t), but it sure would be nice to get this one going at least long enough to transfer files, without having to remove the HD and put it into a USB enclosure...etc.
Any ideas? BTW, I learned the hard way that there is such a thing as a Phillips 000.....most miniature tool kits I've seen only go to Ph 00.
More detail:
I've had problems with the DC power connection on the PC for quite a while; the wire in the male connector breaks, and I buy a new charger. This is because of a stupid Lenovo design where using it in tablet mode (portrait) results in the power plug sticking out of the bottom of the PC and jabbing you in the chest - as time went on, I found a 90 degree adapter in the internet. Anyway, after 3 or 4 new power supplies, the female connector in the pc succumbed to the stress. I didn't want to take the PC apart, so I bought a docking station and used the PC with the docking station attached - almost all of my use is plugged into AC.
I developed heat related problems over the years, and the compressed air can only did so much. I finally opened up the PC to blow out all dust, and that reduced my operating temperatures by about 10 deg C so that was good. I also decided to replace that DC power/modem wire assembly - only $5 on eBay. Removing the little board that goes over the wire assembly (and on towards the fan) was very difficult and I ended up stripping some of the screw heads, so I ended up using a miniature extractor tool to get them all out - had to really press hard and at angles, but I finally got them out. I tried powering up before putting it all together, and the fan started, stopped, got the FAN ERROR message, and then just before the PC shutdown, the fan came on for fraction of a second, and the PC shut down. I found that using the esc key during the POST would prevent display of the error message, and let you boot up normally.
Frustrated, I just put it all together, and plugged it in, and somehow it worked, and I got no FAN ERROR. Everything seemed great. I disconnected from the docking station, and connected to the DC connector I had replaced, and that worked fine too! Then, after a few minutes, the PC switches to battery power, and acts like somebody pulled the power plug. I tried putting it in the docking station to charge it that way, and still no power. I confirmed the power outlet was hot, and that the power adapter was OK, since I heard that brief arcing on connect.
One possibility is that when I reinstalled that board held down by the screws, some of which I had stripped the heads, I screwed down the 5 whose heads were OK, but the 3 three that weren't I screwed in only until I got some resistance - but certainly not all the way. However, the screws didn't fall out - I don't think - since I don't hear anything rattling. Pressing down on the center of the keyboard doesn't do anything.
I've already ordered a new tablet PC (x230t), but it sure would be nice to get this one going at least long enough to transfer files, without having to remove the HD and put it into a USB enclosure...etc.
Any ideas? BTW, I learned the hard way that there is such a thing as a Phillips 000.....most miniature tool kits I've seen only go to Ph 00.