A31 Lockup

[euol]

I'm a little bit at wit's end here with my A31. It's about two years old, running Windows 2000. I'm experiencing fairly frequent lockups--complete freezes of the system. It's not just mouse and keyboard, because my iTunes cuts out whenever it happens.

Sometimes I can go a day or so between lockups, sometimes they happen within an hour of each other. My first worry was software problems, so I tried the computer in safe mode. Still locked up. My next thought was HDD problems, so I purchased a new one (needed one anyway) and reformatted it with a brand new instal of Windows 2000. Lockups still happened. My next thought was RAM (not likely, I know, but easy to change) so I borrowed a new RAM chip and replaced mine. Still locked up.

Now I'm thinking it might be overheating. I've tried using the BIOS utility and power settings to underclock the CPU, but I haven't had much luck. My hacker skills just aren't l33t enough, I guess. Anyway, the fan does come on, and the computer feels warm underneath, but not TOO warm--and I don't think I've noticed a change lately to cause the problems to begin.

Am I right in thinking this must be hardware issues? I had the computer for two years without any problems, and I reformatted and installed a new HDD, so I can't see that it would be software problems. I tried a search on the forums and read the FAQ, and it doesn't appear that this is a common problem, but I might have missed something.

Anyone have a suggestion as to what to try next?

[a31pguy]

Short, sweet, and to the point. I believe you have a malfunctioning motherboard. Time for a replacement.

[euol]

That would be my fear, a31pguy! Any chance it's just the CPU or heating problems?

Replacing a motherboard on one of these guys isn't really something I want to try. Would it even be worth it, in your opinion?

[a31pguy]

It would be worth it if you can bring it up to 2.0 Ghz or better and you can get the motherboard at a decent price. Replacing the motherboard is not a impossible task - just download the field maint. manual before you do it. It details the step by step.

I would say that sudden resets *could* be a sign of the CPU shutting down due to heat - so check to see that your CPU fan is functional first. If your system locks up under HEAVY load this might be the cause.

But my experience is that if you system freezes and locks up randomly - it's likely the motherboard.

[mosta]

it's quite a coincidence I find this thread here on the first page right when I'm going through the same problem. I have an a31p 2653-n3u, manufactured july 2002, bought on ebay as an ibm re-certified "as new" (ie sold but unopened, I presume) around april 2004. the machine worked fine for over a year. I got two 512 mb ram modules from crucial 2 or 3 months ago to max that out and they worked fine.

aboiut 2 weeks ago the machine sarted locking up, randomly. I haven't been able to figure out a pattern to it. at first I thought it was associated with when I was typing and so maybe was caused by something loose being ahaken. but now I don't think so. right now I'm try9ing to observe temperature on mobile meter until it freezes again. it sits a little over 50c when doing little to nothing and gets up a little over 60c with more activity--which is where it just froze again, 63c. that's nowhere near the temp to cause a freeze up, is it?

I tried booting off a clone of my hard drive in the ultra bay. that freezes. i tried reinstalling windows from the recovery partition on my primary hard drive. it froze while installing. (I powered off and on and it picked up and finished.) it froze under the new install of windows xp pro, with no other software installed beyond the ibm stuff. I tried taking out each ram module and switching them around. still froze.

my ibm warranty lapsed in july. I failed to extend. I have the mack 3 year warranty and I guess I'll see if that's worth anything. I took it to an ibm service center, prepared to pay a few hundred myself. they said it's the system board and that that is $900 plus labor. (is system board same as mother board??) not worth it. I searched for the part and I think I can get a system board for $300-$400. I guess I should let Mack camera have a go at it rather than spending the money to see if I can fix it myself. (if I did go that route, would it matter where I got a system board from, or what "brand" it was?)

one other thing. within a week of getting the machine last year, it somehow burnt out. it wouldn't boot. nothing. I took it in underwarranty and they replaced the system board. so this would be my third system board in about a year if I had to replace it again. let's hear it for IBM!

any suggestions??

[slagmi]

Not what I wanna hear, since I'm typing on an A31. Knock, knock. But yea, mainboard. In your case Euol, you've pretty much proven it.
I do that sort of work all the time if you don't mind shipping but it's best for you if do it yourself or find someone local if you can.

[a31pguy]

You know you can still buy a Maintance Agreement with IBM for less than the cost of the motherboard. Mine was fried a few months ago and it was replaced onsite for free.

[chuckl]

I have an A31 running Windows XP that I bought new a little over two years ago, and it just starting doing the same thing about three weeks ago. The display freezes up, can't type or move the mouse. It does not seem to be temperature related for me, because it sometimes happens almost immediately after booting.

I replaced the memory cards, and reloaded the O/S using the hidden partition and IBM restore utility. That did not help at all.

It seems to happen with much greater frequency when I am hooked up to the port replicator, so I stopped using that. It also seems to happen almost any time that I connect/disconnect a peripheral (USB device, PC card, etc.).

It seems like quite a coincidence that so many of us are experiencing what sounds like the same problem at almost exactly the same time. I'm wondering if it's software related, perhaps a software/driver update from IBM/Lenovo or Microsoft?

[chuckl]

I'm just curious if any of the others on this thread with the same problem got theirs resolved? I've been limping along with the occasional reboot so far.

[peggymac]

I've also got a 2-year-old A31p, and it freezes 9 times out of 10 shortly after boot-up. I'd say within 5 minutes of booting up. Once I turn computer off (only way to turn off is depressing power button) and turn it back on, I am able to go all day without another freeze-up.

I would LOVE to solve this problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Peggy