X60/X61 fan Compatibility

[Dongers]

Just swapping mobo in my X60 for an X61 mobo (purchased on fleabay) and I'm getting a fan error

Have tested with a second fan and still see the error. Also, when I swap my old (X60) mobo back into the chassis the error disappears. Sounds to me like a faulty X61 mobo

Can anyone that has swapped an X60/X61 mobo advise if they saw any fan issues or even if there are any caveats to the swap (like requiring a different FRU Fan for the swap)?

Got a feeling the seller might get difficult, so just want to confirm before I go in all guns blazing, so a quick reply would be appreciated!

Cheers

Dongers

[ajkula66]

You've pretty much eliminated the fan as the culprit by swapping the original board back and forth. The "new" one is defective, IMO.

Good luck.

[Dongers]

Thanks George, my thoughts entirely...

Anyone else got any thoughts/suggestions (specifically is you have swapped an x60/x61 mobo) or is the general consensus that my first thought is correct?

Cheers

Dongers

[Dongers]

OK, just occurred to me that the fan error is probably coming from the palmrest fan rather than the system board fan...the X60 dosent have the plamrest fan so i dont have one of those to add.

I am going to put it all back into the chassis (its currently back in the box, to return to the fleabay seller), install the (A.N Other) spare fan i have to the plamrest header and see if this clears the error. If it does then i will just live with until i can source a palmrest fan.

So, two additional questions for anyone that has conducted this swap before (or who has an X61, including the palmrest fan) :
1. Is my thinking correct and i NEED the additional fan to get past the error? (I'm assuming yes)
2. anyone got the FRU for the Palmrest Fan?

Cheers
Dongers

[Dongers]

Answered my second question....

42X3806 Second Fan
42X4678 Second Fan (low profile)

Cheers
Dongers

[axur-delmeria]

If the Fan Error message doesn't end with the X61 board automatically shutting down, then it's referring to the second fan. IIRC the error can be bypassed by pressing Esc, but it sure makes for annoying startups.

[Dongers]

Thanks, that makes it even more interesting then...kind of...

I can bypass the fan error (esc key) which would suggest it IS the second fan. However, have just tried it with a second fan (not an exact match for the IBM FRU, but a working one nevertheless, taken from T61) and still got the error (and absolutely NO LIFE from the second fan, not even a little spin up at power on). Should also add that if I don't esc the error, it DOES shutdown, if that adds anything to the equation?

So this throws up another question, will the second fan header ONLY work with the correct FRU..?

The seller DOES appear to be being awkward, at current time, as insisting that the board was fine when it left them (and no mention of return/refund/exchange across 5-6 messages, as yet). However, the fact that it wasn't wrapped in anti-static bag on arrival, and have since seen feedback from other buyers that the seller has sold HDDs still with data on them, suggests that the seller's testing/re-cycling regime may not be THAT stringent. As a result of this, I'm a little dubious about the claim it 'was working perfectly' when it left them, now

Cheers
Dongers

[axur-delmeria]

However, have just tried it with a second fan (not an exact match for the IBM FRU, but a working one nevertheless, taken from T61)

I see 3 possibilities:
1. defective fan
2. RPM sense wire broken
3. connector pinout is different.

will the second fan header ONLY work with the correct FRU..?

The second fan is very small (maybe a little over an inch across), and sits close to the speaker.
I don't know if it's possible to fool the 2nd fan sensor by routing the main fan's RPM sense wire to it-- I don't have an X61 with a second fan to test with.

[Dongers]

OK, so latest update.....

Fleabay Seller, out of the blue, refunded my money without requesting the mobo back. The fact that he accepted an original offer of just £7.50 for it and now doesnt want it back possibly suggests that there was an error all along and that there was some collusion....Either that or I'm being really cynical....?

Anyhoo, now have a X601 with 2Gb RAM and 120Gb SATAIII SSD. I can live with the fan error on temp basis and source a keyboard fan and X61 Palmrest/FP reader later, along with some additional RAM. Will repost about the error when i actually find a fan (None listed on fleabay currently) but i suspect i will have to live with it indefinitely (or source new mobo too).

So, next...Middleton's BIOS for X61...anyone got a working copy they can throw up somewhere and provide me a link..? All current links I have found point to mediafire, and this appears to be corrupt (at least I cant get it extracted on the X601 under Mint 18.3)....just about to try again on this T61 I'm currently using (X601 is re-calibrating battery currently with TLP) but not convinced I'm going to get a working copy here either.

Cheers
Dongers

[Dongers]

Ignore the BIOS request...got it now!

Cheers
Dongers

[kf_tam]

At start up, the BIOS spins the fan and checks its RPM. If it is not at the right RPM the BIOS will report the fan error.
I have a 2nd hand X61 (with wireless WAN card) with a genuine secondary fan, and it sometimes reported fan error. I tried to lubriate the fan but it was only good for a short period of time.
I have another broken X61 that has no secondary fan, so I moved its EEPROM to this X61 and did away with this fan.