Thinkpads Forum

Hi ,
my friends x61s (1.4Ghz) doesn't start.
When the power button is pressed some leds blink couple of times as normally, but the screen doesn't show anything. After couple of seconds the leds stop to blink and only one led stays constantly on (besides the power) see the picture below:



details:
There are no beep codes.
The screen remains off all the time.
The fan seems to work (not loud but working)
There are no signs that the OS is being loaded (in case of faulty screen).
Replaced RAM and HDD to test, no difference.
When I were trying with different RAMs there were beep codes for some of them.
I have tried both with and without battery.

I suspect that some thing was fried inside.

Your comments and tips are highly appreciated.

First thing to confirm:

- Remove hard drive, battery, all memory modules, undock from Ultrabase and power only with AC adapter
- Power up the system
- Does it beep 1-3-3-1? (one short beep, pause, 3 short beeps, pause, 3 more short beeps, pause, single short beep)
- If it does, then most likely the motherboard logic and power is okay
- If it doesn't, then most likely the motherboard is non-functional and needs to be replaced
- There will not be any visible activity on the LCD for this test so don't worry about it not showing anything

Assuming the motherboard beeps the 1-3-3-1 code, then put one memory module back in the system and boot it

- If the memory is correct for the system and functional, there should be no beeps
- If you still get the 1-3-3-1 beep code, that module is not working so try another
- Once you identify a working memory module, you should see the Thinkpad "splash" screen at power-on, followed in a few seconds by the "no operating system found" error message
- If there is nothing on the X61s screen, turn the system off and attach an external monitor on the VGA port
- Power up the system again and see if there's anything on the external monitor
- While the laptop is still powered up, press the Fn+F7 key combination (hold the Fn key down, then press the F7 function key then release both)
- Do this at least three times as this alternately activates the internal LCD, the external monitor and then both
- If there's a proper display on the external monitor but nothing on the X61s LCD, then there could be a problem with the LCD, a board called an inverter, the lid switch or a problem with the motherboard

Thanks, I will try this today.

I had the same issue to this on an X61 two weeks ago. Turns out it was faulty RAM in the DIMM2 slot, placing it to the MAIN DIMM slot gave me beep codes.

If you have switched out DIMMs, my next best guess would be the DIMM slots itself - but that should give you the 1-3-3-1 beep code.