r40e can't boot.

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maina · #1 Post by **maina** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:05 pm

hi every one.

well for a month or so i have been having a problem with my thinkpad r40e......at first i did travel with it to africa on a holiday, then i did try to copy a music cd to my computer but suddenly in the middle of the process it hanged up and it could'nt finish the process, so i did power it off and i did not use it again until after my holidays......after i came back to london, i had to put it on and all looked ok except i could'nt view the cd drive icon and i could'nt use it as well.
i did try to recover the cd drive by restoring the system and even setting it to the factory settings but still i could'nt view or use the cd drive,so then i did decide to reinstall the whole system afresh but still it could'nt solve the problem....so i had to decide to use the laptop like that for some time before i get the solution, after a week, i then started to get an error message before the system shut down that "there was a floopy disk in the floopy drive"....i did'nt know what to do coz thinkpad r40e dont have floopy drive, so i used to ignore the error message and went on shuttin down the system.

some days later, i did try to power it on and i got another error message saying" the hardware settings have changed, and i should turn off the system and reinstall or remove the hardware , and if i don't suceed, after a couple of tries will abandon the saved system status.....then i had to shut down the system but from that time i cant boot it on again.....when i try to boot, it starts normaly giving the blue lights on the status bar, gives the beeps but after that the lights goes off leaving one light that is next to the battery signal which i have no idea what it stands for.....after some time i can hear the fun running but the screen its blank.

the cd drive can eject and when i put the cd, i can hear it running for some time then it goes off.

i have tried all i know and searched through the forum but stil i can't solve it.....can any one with an idea help me out pliz.

thnx.

#2 Post by **JaneL** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:41 pm

I moved and locked your other messages about this problem. Don't multipost, and always post in the proper conference.

vlyne · #3 Post by **vlyne** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 8:38 am

Your machine is floopy in more ways than one!

Assuming this isn't a virus case, it's most likely a hardware problem. For a start, I'd reseat all removable devices and cards. Clear the CMOS as well. Who knows what happened on that trip to Africa??
Good Luck!

maina · #4 Post by **maina** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 10:19 am

the laptop cant start, so how can i reset the CMOS

vlyne · #5 Post by **vlyne** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 6:01 pm

maina wrote:the laptop cant start, so how can i reset the CMOS

Take off the CMOS/backup battery for a while. I usually take off all power as well and press the power-on button for a number of times.
Cheers

PS: I opened up an R40 yesterday for the first time. The CMOS battery is located under the keyboard so you'll have to take that off first. Just be careful of the keyboard ribbon cable.

maina · #6 Post by **maina** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:08 pm

thenx...

i will give it a try and i will let u know how it goes.

maina · #7 Post by **maina** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 4:56 pm

hi...

i have tried several times to remove the CMOS battery, but still the problem is not solved.....i did remove all the diveces including the processor then returned them but still i could'nt change the settings.

could the green light next to the battery signal mean that the laptop is in hibernation or something of that kind.....the light has a sign that looks like a slanted "z"....i realy don'nt the meaning of this light....could anyone help please.

vlyne · #8 Post by **vlyne** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 9:57 pm

OK, so it looks like this is not a simple case of bad contacts on the devices.

What I would try next is to remove all devices, including harddisk, CD, all RAM, battery, network/wi-fi card. Boot up with just A/C (the "z" LED is for A/C status). Do you get any beeps (most likely 1-3-3-1). If so, there is hope. If not it's a problem with the system board but try booting up with just battery (no A/C). If you got the beeps then replace the RAM first. The system should try to boot and give an "OS not found" error. If not suspect the RAM/RAM slots. If you can boot, gradually add back the devices (harddisk next) till the system starts misbehaving again. The last device added is most likely the culprit.

Good Luck!

maina · #9 Post by **maina** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 6:58 am

after lots of troubleshooting i have finaly found out that the i have to change the mother board.......so know i'm busy searching for a mother board, i will let you know how it goes once i replace it.

can you recomend me somewhere i can buy an R40e mother board.

r40e can't boot.

r40e can't boot.

hardware

Re: hardware

The CMOS battery

cmos

Re: cmos

boot

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