Thinkpads Forum

I was charging a LIPO battery off the USB port while my 410 was plugged in. I charged it several time successfully so I'm not sure if its just a coincidence. But yesterday my 410 wouldn't boot. I have a W7/Mint 19.3 dual boot, but it ain't booting. I was out of town at the time and thought I just just brought a bad charger along (it was one I very rarely use) but I'm back home and have tried several batteries and another charger and none will boot it. When I plug it in I get a single blink from the battery indicator on the rear side of the lid, then nothing. Zip. Nada.

HELP?

It does not appear to be a DC jack issue, wiggling it does nothing. Also I have to remove the battery and replace it in order to duplicate the 1 blink when I plug the charger in.

Until someone has a better idea I'm going to assume its the moboand see if I can get my even older T410 running to retrieve some files from this ss drive. But I've stolen enough parts from it that it may not be easy, and I know that one has mb issues.

Have you tried powering it up with no battery installed? What about holding the power button down with no battery or AC adapter for at least 10 seconds, then trying to power it up without the battery again?

theterminator93 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:29 pm

Have you tried powering it up with no battery installed? What about holding the power button down with no battery or AC adapter for at least 10 seconds, then trying to power it up without the battery again?

Oops I was editing my first post while you posted. yes on the first question and I just did the second now.

No go.

Got the SSD out and it works fine in my old 410. Guess its time to look for a new laptop. Every 410 I have has mobo issues and they are starting to show their age...sigh. Best laptops ever...

T410 motherboards are readily available in numbers on eBay.
Swapping them out is easy.

RealBlackStuff wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 10, 2021 1:25 am

T410 motherboards are readily available in numbers on eBay.
Swapping them out is easy.

I haven't looked in a couple years but there weren't a number of new motherboards available at that time, and used is a crapshoot.

Plus newer versions of Mint unfortunately don't seem to play as nice with these old machines as older versions did.

Hello,

Sorry to hear you have problems with your T410.
If you have 2 RAM sticks, you can try each one apart from the other on each slot. You can also unplug the optical drive (or whatever there is in the bay). And if you have only one stick, then you can test it on the other slot.
You could also try to boot without the CPU (and without the battery, with your finger on the power button during 30 seconds) like you did in the beginning. I tend to do it for 30 seconds or more, not only 10. You can also remove the round battery.

The idea is to strip the machine down to the strict minimal.

Aaaaah, I was forgetting : you said you tried to charge something on the USB : have you looked at the USB ports ? They are not broken ? If it's the case, you must verify the connectors are not in contact with each others.

Not much you can do, tough.

Fingers crossed !



W.

PS : and I agree with RBS , swapping the motherboard is not particularly hard. You could find one for 50 to 100 $ on the bay, if you take your time and if you're methodical, it will be a breeze. Say it takes approximatively 45 minutes to 1 h 15 if you haven't already done that. If before the fail, you didn't want to change the laptop because it was becoming too slow for you everyday tasks, this can save money.

I suppose I'll try one more time to keep one of these alive with a new mobo. But only if I can find a new one. I'm not going to waste my time with used. I'm not even sure which one I need...

T410 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 12, 2021 7:02 pm

I suppose I'll try one more time to keep one of these alive with a new mobo. But only if I can find a new one. I'm not going to waste my time with used. I'm not even sure which one I need...

I need one for a 2522-WT4 and am not finding one.

T410 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 13, 2021 8:04 am

I need one for a 2522-WT4 and am not finding one.

Hi, I think pretty much any T410 motherboard should fit into your T410 body.

Looking at http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:T410 it seems that the only difference between motherboards is which graphics card they have

Intel HD Graphics 5700MHD (Ironlake)
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 3100M with 256MB
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 3100M with 512MB

I think graphics card is soldered onto the motherboard along with video memory.

Do you care about that? Did you previously have integrated (Intel) graphics of nVidia? Which operating system would you like it to run under?

I would think choosing a board with the right graphics card and amount of video memory is your only concern.

If you can find a "new" - meaning previously unused - motherboard it is certainly an option to fit it in. Otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about buying a used one. Used can be pretty cheap too I guess.

Hello,

You don't have to buy a motherboard perfectly identical. But two things to know if you choose one which is different :
– depending on the graphics card, you might have to change the cooling system (there are different cooling systems with different number of pipes) ;
– if the motherboard isn't exactly the same, you OS can possibly become unstable if you don't install it again. And if you install it again, you might not be able to activate it (which means you could have to buy a new licence – that applies for W7, as Mint is a free distribution). You could go for the complete bottom of the laptop instead of the motherboard alone. The COA is in the battery compartiment, it won't be a lot more expensive. And the assembly will even be more simple.



W.

WarMachine wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:56 am

– if the motherboard isn't exactly the same, you OS can possibly become unstable if you don't install it again

Hmm.. but is there really that much reason to fear the OS would become unstable? True, you may need to install additional drivers if your video card has changed, but beyond that a T410 is a T410. I'd bet the OS will not experience any new difficulties.

WarMachine wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:56 am

And if you install it again, you might not be able to activate it (which means you could have to buy a new licence – that applies for W7, as Mint is a free distribution)

I'm not an expert but somehow I think there's a good chance to use the old license number if it's Win 7. I don't think there is that much reason to only use the license number from the sticker with that motherboard it was earlier used with.

I stand by the earlier advice to get a working motherboard from ebay, used or new wouldn't matter to me. I don't know if it matters to OP which graphics card it'll be and with how much video RAM will be installed if it's nVidia.

atagunov wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 13, 2021 4:47 pm

WarMachine wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:56 am

– if the motherboard isn't exactly the same, you OS can possibly become unstable if you don't install it again

Hmm.. but is there really that much reason to fear the OS would become unstable? True, you may need to install additional drivers if your video card has changed, but beyond that a T410 is a T410. I'd bet the OS will not experience any new difficulties.

WarMachine wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:56 am

And if you install it again, you might not be able to activate it (which means you could have to buy a new licence – that applies for W7, as Mint is a free distribution)

I'm not an expert but somehow I think there's a good chance to use the old license number if it's Win 7. I don't think there is that much reason to only use the license number from the sticker with that motherboard it was earlier used with.

I stand by the earlier advice to get a working motherboard from ebay, used or new wouldn't matter to me. I don't know if it matters to OP which graphics card it'll be and with how much video RAM will be installed if it's nVidia.

Hello,

It's always difficult to say in advance what could go wrong (so much machines, so much tweaks on the OSes). I've seen a lot of machines become unstable because the OS wasn't reinstalled. And een more that weren't able to boot the OS anymore. I don't say it will happen, but I prefer to give the warning.
Example today : I installed the 2860QM I received to replace the 2640M on the W520. Not a big deal would you think. I have been able to reboot the laptop without problem. Windows detects the new processor and its eight cores (real and virtual ones). Everything is OK in System properties, in MSInfo32, in the Device manager, HWInfo64 sees the CPU fine.

Well, if I go in the task manager, the CPU is detected as a 2860QM, but with the same amount of cores that were on the 2640M before.
Why ? Because I tweaked System Configuration (msconfig), I changed the number of processors in the advanced options (so that the loading of Windows can take advantage of all the cores. That's not much, but that's one little thing which is not correct, and you can have dozens of those little things that can make the OS unstable, not running correctly.

W.

I'm not that savvy and I will do whatever it takes to avoid problems. I don't recall any problems moving my hard drive from the old 410 to the newer one when I bought it 2 years ago. I may have had to register w7 again but Mint didn't blink. It just didn't like the new 410 as much. Neither did I, because it ran hot. It may have had a mismatched fan but I'm not going to worry about it for now. i'm going to worry about this one I'm on, that works.

I've been using the old 410 for several days now with no signs of its former mobo problems. Maybe a 2 year rest was all it needed, haha. But I still think I should buy a backup board for it. And I'd like to get the identical board, whatever that is.

Now this mobo is acting up again, like I knew it would.

So against my better judgement I bought another 410 sans drive for as cheap or cheaper than a used mbo. Within the first half hour it shut itself off or the screen froze several times. I thought maybe it was the 10 GB Ram it came with, since it's only supposed to support 8. I changed that out and it ran for a good 1/2 hour then shut itself off again.

The one difference this time is that I can turn it right back on without removing the battery first. Not sure if that suggests a different cause or not though. Sure seems like another mbo situation...

If it's exactly 30 minutes every time for the shutdown, then it is an Intel ME issue.
Short of an external programmer, this can be a royal pain to deal with.
One workaround is just to make sure the Intel ME applet is installed and working, but I don't know if you are comfortable with the potential security concerns.
Last time I dealt with this I end up using an external programmer (thankfully I have one) and then just flashed the BIOS+EC dump of another perfectly working laptop of the same model AND same in terms of graphics options

I don't think its exactly 30 minutes. That was just a guesstimate. Its been running for several hours now. But clearly this kind of problem won't vanish on its own.

kfzhu1229 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:58 pm

One workaround is just to make sure the Intel ME applet is installed and working, but I don't know if you are comfortable with the potential security concerns.

If you install the ME applet, and then uninstall it, is there a chance it will resolve the issue?

T410 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:03 pm

I don't think its exactly 30 minutes. That was just a guesstimate. Its been running for several hours now. But clearly this kind of problem won't vanish on its own.

Its been running smoothly and has stayed on 24/7 for 2 days now. Maybe changing the RAM did the trick, although its odd that it shut down once even after changing it.

T410 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 09, 2021 7:59 am

Its been running smoothly and has stayed on 24/7 for 2 days now. Maybe changing the RAM did the trick, although its odd that it shut down once even after changing it.

Did you also check for problems such as maybe some grounding clips are bent in the chassis and is shorting something out when you bend it? If you aren't sure about that, maybe try to strip the motherboard out of the casing and then try running it like that and see if it shuts down or freezes still.
Speaking of that I do have a ThinkPad T61 widescreen that can lock up if I stress the chassis and lift the chassis by one corner or something

kfzhu1229 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:23 pm

T410 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 09, 2021 7:59 am

Its been running smoothly and has stayed on 24/7 for 2 days now. Maybe changing the RAM did the trick, although its odd that it shut down once even after changing it.

Did you also check for problems such as maybe some grounding clips are bent in the chassis and is shorting something out when you bend it? If you aren't sure about that, maybe try to strip the motherboard out of the casing and then try running it like that and see if it shuts down or freezes still.
Speaking of that I do have a ThinkPad T61 widescreen that can lock up if I stress the chassis and lift the chassis by one corner or something

The reason I bought a nw laptop instead of a new mothrboard was so I wouldn't have to tear it apart down to the motherboard. But the problem was happening on a desk so that there was no squeezing going on. Changing the memory seems to have solves it, it just didn't like that 10 gb stick. The fact it shut down once after changing the stick is puzzling but it hasn't happened again now in 4 days and the laptop has been on the whole time

Given how cheap old thinkpads have become I don't judge you. I've acquired two T420s recently for less than $100. It's hard to justify tearing them down when you can replace them for so cheap.

But to be honest, I don't run old hardware because it's cheap, but because it's ecological. Not everyone has the tech savvy to keep old stuff running smoothly (and manufacturers are making it even harder each day). It's easier to throw it into the dumpster and buy something new.

Of course, until we catch the last fish in the ocean and cut down the last tree...

mikemex wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 13, 2021 11:32 am

Given how cheap old thinkpads have become I don't judge you. I've acquired two T420s recently for less than $100. It's hard to justify tearing them down when you can replace them for so cheap.

But to be honest, I don't run old hardware because it's cheap, but because it's ecological. Not everyone has the tech savvy to keep old stuff running smoothly (and manufacturers are making it even harder each day). It's easier to throw it into the dumpster and buy something new.

Of course, until we catch the last fish in the ocean and cut down the last tree...

Well I can definitely relate with that... I mean someone told me she has an old ThinkPad that she's having no use to it and told me it's basically trash and I can tinker with it all I want. Well that laptop turned out to be a ThinkPad E420... I was like by no means is something like the E420 totally useless in 2021! I had to demonstrate that it is not useless with SSD and 8GB of RAM and a cleaning (which unfortunately for the E420 means motherboard removal), and now it's resurrected from almost being thrown out

mikemex wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 13, 2021 11:32 am

Given how cheap old thinkpads have become I don't judge you. I've acquired two T420s recently for less than $100. It's hard to justify tearing them down when you can replace them for so cheap.

But to be honest, I don't run old hardware because it's cheap, but because it's ecological. Not everyone has the tech savvy to keep old stuff running smoothly (and manufacturers are making it even harder each day). It's easier to throw it into the dumpster and buy something new.

Of course, until we catch the last fish in the ocean and cut down the last tree...

Mine won't hit the ocean until I'm dead because I never throw anything out. As long as it works, I'm fine using old hardware.

But after 4 straight days of working, it shut down again. For the price I paid I probably should just be happy it works at all. I'm starting to think its a Linux problem because the Mint logo usually shows up just before it dies. Mint has not worked as well with my 410's since several versions ago.

T410 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 09, 2021 7:40 pm

I was charging a LIPO battery off the USB port while my 410 was plugged in. I charged it several time successfully so I'm not sure if its just a coincidence. But yesterday my 410 wouldn't boot. I have a W7/Mint 19.3 dual boot, but it ain't booting. I was out of town at the time and thought I just just brought a bad charger along (it was one I very rarely use) but I'm back home and have tried several batteries and another charger and none will boot it. When I plug it in I get a single blink from the battery indicator on the rear side of the lid, then nothing. Zip. Nada.

HELP?

It does not appear to be a DC jack issue, wiggling it does nothing. Also I have to remove the battery and replace it in order to duplicate the 1 blink when I plug the charger in.

Until someone has a better idea I'm going to assume its the moboand see if I can get my even older T410 running to retrieve some files from this ss drive. But I've stolen enough parts from it that it may not be easy, and I know that one has mb issues.

This was from August, but my T410 wouldn't power on (in Aug also). Turned out the CMOS battery was dead. A $5 fix. Maybe this will help someone else.

I see you bought a used T410 and it's shutting down randomly. This is an issue I've had with both my T410s, but only when they are under heavy load. Worse when running Win 7 Pro as time went on. One has Intel graphics, the other NVIDIA. Both 2.0GHz. Win 10 Pro on both. I replaced the thermal paste and they both run much cooler now. They will shut down if I'm on certain websites with tons of ads, and videos running. Like Dailymail.co.uk. I just avoid the few sites that cause shutdown now.
Going to Win 10, and renewing the thermal paste, has made a big difference with my two.

davidblackshoes wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 28, 2021 5:07 pm

They will shut down if I'm on certain websites with tons of ads, and videos running. Like Dailymail.co.uk. I just avoid the few sites that cause shutdown now. Going to Win 10, and renewing the thermal paste, has made a big difference with my two.

Ever heard of NoScript?

mikemex wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:08 pm

davidblackshoes wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 28, 2021 5:07 pm

They will shut down if I'm on certain websites with tons of ads, and videos running. Like Dailymail.co.uk. I just avoid the few sites that cause shutdown now. Going to Win 10, and renewing the thermal paste, has made a big difference with my two.

Ever heard of NoScript?

I have heard of it but have never used it. My newer Thinkpad and Ideapad don't have a problem handling those resource-intensive websites, just my older Ts do. When I use a T410, I don't bother with those sites. Do I really need DailyMail anyway? No, not really...
Thanks for replying. Appreciate it.

Can you help me out with one T410 which suddenly goes through 2 sometimes 3 Lenovo Press the Blue Thinkvantage Button screens before loading Windows from the HDD? Only on cold boot; restart is fine. Boot menu is HHD0, then optical drive, etc down the line - but it acts as if it's trying the optical drive for an OS first anyway. Maybe I'm wrong and that's not what it's doing?

davidblackshoes wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 29, 2021 9:07 pm

I have heard of it but have never used it. My newer Thinkpad and Ideapad don't have a problem handling those resource-intensive websites, just my older Ts do. When I use a T410, I don't bother with those sites. Do I really need DailyMail anyway? No, not really...
Thanks for replying. Appreciate it.

I just visited a friend and he coudln't belive my X301 uses a very old and slow SU9600 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo. My machine is snappy and opens everything quickly with no lag and his machine, which is a several generations newer Core i5, is dog slow to open anything.

I'd say, don't underestimate the importance of good system optimization. Newer is not neccesarily faster if it doesn't do useful work for you (and over 90% of all scripts web pages load do work for other people and not you).

davidblackshoes wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 29, 2021 9:07 pm

Can you help me out with one T410 which suddenly goes through 2 sometimes 3 Lenovo Press the Blue Thinkvantage Button screens before loading Windows from the HDD? Only on cold boot; restart is fine. Boot menu is HHD0, then optical drive, etc down the line - but it acts as if it's trying the optical drive for an OS first anyway. Maybe I'm wrong and that's not what it's doing?

Keep in mind that T410 doesn't have UEFI, you have to boot in legacy mode.
It may be trying to load from UEFI, give up and attempt normal boot.
Try updating your BIOS.
Disable all boot devices, turn it off and then enable the hard drive as the only boot option.
Try removing passwords.

mikemex wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 29, 2021 11:19 pm

davidblackshoes wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 29, 2021 9:07 pm

I have heard of it but have never used it. My newer Thinkpad and Ideapad don't have a problem handling those resource-intensive websites, just my older Ts do. When I use a T410, I don't bother with those sites. Do I really need DailyMail anyway? No, not really...
Thanks for replying. Appreciate it.

I just visited a friend and he coudln't belive my X301 uses a very old and slow SU9600 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo. My machine is snappy and opens everything quickly with no lag and his machine, which is a several generations newer Core i5, is dog slow to open anything.

I'd say, don't underestimate the importance of good system optimization. Newer is not neccesarily faster if it doesn't do useful work for you (and over 90% of all scripts web pages load do work for other people and not you).

davidblackshoes wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 29, 2021 9:07 pm

Can you help me out with one T410 which suddenly goes through 2 sometimes 3 Lenovo Press the Blue Thinkvantage Button screens before loading Windows from the HDD? Only on cold boot; restart is fine. Boot menu is HHD0, then optical drive, etc down the line - but it acts as if it's trying the optical drive for an OS first anyway. Maybe I'm wrong and that's not what it's doing?

Keep in mind that T410 doesn't have UEFI, you have to boot in legacy mode.
It may be trying to load from UEFI, give up and attempt normal boot.
Try updating your BIOS.
Disable all boot devices, turn it off and then enable the hard drive as the only boot option.
Try removing passwords.

Thank you. Yes, Legacy, so no options in BIOS. BIOS is the latest version/last Lenovo issued. No passwords.
Have run CHKDSK /f, /r, and /b. Finds nothing wrong, not even one bad sector.
I'm going to post up a video in a separate thread. Maybe someone will have some advice. Maybe this is "normal", but it's a new issue so I can't see that.
Thanks again
Here's the video btw - will post elsewhere too. https://youtu.be/i9YIVSaAcVY