Thinkpads Forum

Basically, I purchased the machine off craigslist to use and wanted to format. I used the lenovo windows bios updater and it crashed. When i power on, there is no lenovo splash screen or ANY beeps. I've searched high and low but seems like I can't repair unless I resolder the BIOS right?

a) did the removal of battery for a long period of time with power button press
b) unpacked latest bios from lenovo website using winphlash and tried to boot w/ FAT usb using fn/win + b/r and no key (referenced here for an older model)

neither of those options work. since its pretty much a lost cause any other ideas? I only posted bc everyone else seemed to have beep errors, but i had none. Thanks again! yall are the best.

If worse comes to worse ill have to just sell it as it is for parts? i.e. screen, memory and hard drive.

John

It certainly sounds like the system is bricked (no beeps). Sorry to say that doing a BIOS update from within Windows is not entirely foolproof. There's been many mentions here in the forums about BIOS updates going bad when done that way. While it's possible that the same thing could happen if you used the floppy or bootable CD method, I think that the chances are much, much less.

To fully test the "brickness", I would also pull out all memory and then power up and see what happens. A normal motherboard would beep to indicate bad/missing memory. If you again get no beeps, then I'd say 99.9% your system is a parts machine (well, minus the motherboard that is). You could try locating another T410 motherboard and drop it in. BTW, what was the reason for doing the BIOS update anyway? I'm of the persuasion that says "if it 'aint broken, don't fix it". I rarely do any BIOS updates and when I do, it's either to install something like a Middleton version or to correct some documented problem that has a known fix in a later version of BIOS. And again, it's done with a floppy or CD.

I should also say that I believe it is technically possible to either remove the defective BIOS chip and replace it with a known working one, or attempt to re-program it while it's still connected to the motherboard. Either procedure requires both some technical knowledge and the proper tools to do the job.

It was totally my fault actually. I swapped in one of my leftover DIMMS from a recent m73 thinkcentre. I realized now that the 4gig DIMM is way faster than the 2 gig DIMM that was already in there. The existing windows build had a wifi issues + when i purchase a new computer, I blitz the hard drive and reinstall Windows. I swapped out the 160 gig for a 500 gig also from that thinkcentre. The Win 7 64 bit install hanged. I put the old hard drive back in, and ran the BIOS update. I didnt realize that his install had one of those apps that allows win 7 to run w/o a real serial, UGH. (MORESO BC THERE WAS A VALID SERIAL UNDER THE BATTERY DOUBLE UGH).

So in essence IMO:
1) the BIOS update in windows crashed bc of the app
2) the win64 not installing was either due to the ram being too new or the hard drive being too new.

t410 is SATA II right, so I'm leaning toward the ram.

Ill give the ram pull a try. Btw is the slot under the keyboard slot 0. Does that matter?

Should I yank the hard drive too?

This machine was supposed to be for a friend on a really tight budget, I ended up buying a T510 the next day.... I currently use a x220 that I love to death so i was trying to convert him!

Did the ram pull whoa it makes noise!

Beep, pause, BeepBeepBeep, pause, BeepBeepBeep, pause Beep

which is 1. DIMM and 2. System board

OK now insert one stick of RAM back and try to power on.

No HDD, media drive, battery. Just plug in the AC adapter and see what happens.

Good luck.

Last Oddity: Of the three indicators, Wifi, BT and HD...only the BT stays on..(the one with the triangle and square around it)

removed hard drive, dvd, and left in 1 stick of ram

no beeps

power light and BT light on.

I'm going to presume that you'll need a replacement board.

Good luck...

If you can get solder happy you may be able to just replace the EEPROM/FLASH ROM that contains the BIOS, though these days it's probably some tiny surface mount deal.

If the board is well and truly bricked, I see three options

1. Replace board (quickest)
2. Laptop repair shop (slight amount of risk depending on how good they are)
3. Do it yourself.

If you can get solder happy you may be able to just replace the EEPROM/FLASH ROM that contains the BIOS, though these days it's probably some tiny surface mount deal.

Unless the OP has very good soldering skills, this is not doable.

OTOH, wouldn't in-place flashing work?
Something like: solder wires to EEPROM pins, connect to standalone flasher, copy BIOS ROM image from another T410?
That's what they do when flashing Coreboot on Thinkpads.

Yes, it should work.

So you say there is no way to recover BIOS? I read a topic in this forum about BIOS recovery.
Even if there is no option to recover, it's not up to soldering skills. There is a way to safely remove the chip, that contains the BIOS - with hot air soldering station. No one will ever try to repair something like 40pins SMD with plain simple soldering iron.

Check this thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=100330

It's for T400, but who knows - may also work for T410.