I 1400 2621 Overheating & Freezes.Help!

[abishek]

my thinkpad is repeatedly overheating& just locks up.raising the rear by two inches to improve airflow doesn't help.anything I can do it keep it cool instead of buying a laptop cooler pad??.

will the thinkpad fan utility help?



this particular laptop has got major problems made by acer.the body plastic is breaking up into bits I've to super glue back...

[agarza]

Change the thermal compound with Arctic Silver 5

[abishek]

I can't open the laptop body as its been patched up with superglue as bits and pieces have broken off,if I do try to disassemble it it'll definitely break into smaller pieces.....

this particular model has overheating problems. including a recall due to the overheating issue in 2002

[abishek]

I found the following on a site called computer gripes dot com here's the text below


I find I have the same problems on same model of I series





ThinkPad I1400
The IBM ThinkPad I Series was for cheapskates
These gripes pertain to an IBM ThinkPad model I1400. IBM has multiple forms of identification for their products. Another number for this laptop is a part number of 2621-483. They have also called this machine a model 2621 of type 483. The system bios is version V3.0 R01-A4f. The hard disk is an  IBM DARA-212000. The machine was purchased refurbished from Egghead in January 2001. It has a Pentium III running at 500 Mhz and came with 64 meg of ram and Windows 98. 
January 2001. My first gripe with the machine came shortly after purchasing it. IBM would not extend the warranty. Apparently extended warranties have to be purchased at the time the computer is purchased. For any laptop computer this is a big deal as replacing the screen is impossible except by the vendor. Likewise, replacing the hard disk may also be possible only by the vendor. My personal experience with owning three IBM ThinkPads also shows this to be critical, as each one has needed repair.
The machine is advertised as having a 12 gig hard disk. When you get the properties of the C disk in Windows 98, it shows as having a capacity of only 11.2 gig.  
There is a bad pixel in the middle of the screen. In fairness, this is par for the course with laptop screens and just something unlucky users have to suffer with.
February 2001.  The machine came with 64 meg of ram. I purchased an additional 128 meg DIMM but had a problem installing it. There is a removable plate on the bottom of the computer that allows access to the ram. In theory all you do is unscrew it to get full access to the memory banks. In practice, one of the screws would not open. It is a very small screw and it must have been screwed on overly tight. In unscrewing it, my screwdriver mangled the top of the screw such that there was nothing left for the screwdriver to grab on to. I struggled with this screw for over an hour. Eventually, I had to bend back the hard plastic plate and install the ram with the opening only half open. A surgeon would have been handy. Luckily the screw that did open was over the empty memory bank.
July 2002. I wanted to buy another Lithium Ion battery for the machine. It was acting up and the original battery was dated November 1999. Looking at the battery it has two identifying numbers, an FRU number of 02K6647 and an ASM number of 02K6648. I tried the IBM web site, looking both the the computer and for the battery and struck out both times. For a company that runs TV ads about helping others with their web sites, they should spend more time on their own. Buying an additional battery for a laptop computer is a fairly common thing. 
The web page for my ThinkPad I1400 lists the accessories IBM sells for it. But no batteries.  
The web page for batteries for IBM ThinkPads does not list the I1400 model. 
I call IBM at 1-888-SHOP-IBM. The person who answered the phone turns out not to be in the correct IBM division to sell a battery for my ThinkPad. Still, she is helpful and looks up in their database the FRU number and ASM number. Neither is found. Turns out an FRU is a Field Replaceable Unit. She does not know the meaning of ASM. In querying the database for my ThinkPad model, she finds that the id number for the battery has changed. It is now FRU 02K6601. Then she did some further digging with consulting help from another IBM employee and found out that this new FRU number is old. The new new FRU number for my battery is 02K6632. They have it in stock for $156.  I don't buy it. 
FYI: Should you need to buy an IBM ThinkPad battery, call the FRU Parts Division at 800-388-7080. 
AC Adapter 
July 2002. The connection between the AC adapter and the computer has become loose. The design stinks. Other laptops connect the AC cord to the computer using a connector that can swivel. Not IBM. Their connector juts out strait from the computer. If you actually use the laptop machine on your lap, its only natural that it gets banged and pushed. Eventually the connection deteriorates. Think of an arrow in a target. The way you remove the arrow is to jiggle it left and right and up and down. This is exactly what happens over time to the AC connection to the computer. Now it often disengages and the machine runs on battery power. Since the battery is old (see above), this is something I prefer to avoid. Miserable design. An accident just waiting to happen. My ThinkPad dates to 2000. I recently saw a new one and the design has not changed. 
Update1: A reader of this web site has the same problem. Their battery won't recharge because of a faulty A/C connector. They write:  "The problem is where the AC plugs in ... the tiny dart like connecter is loose and is not allowing the battery to recharge. It is not making the connection. Ultimately, I won't be able to use it at all." September 26, 2002
Update2: Another reader of this page reported that his ThinkPad stopped working off  the a/c plug. He can't charge the battery without a/c power so the machine is dead. And out of warranty. However, with an electrician friend, he stripped the ThinkPad down to pieces,  found that the a/c plug had broken its connection (the center pin in the plug is a pressed in unit at the back, not soldered to the main housing that runs down into the board itself). They re-soldered and built it up, put it all back together, and the computer now works. The dis-assembly and re-assembly was scary though, lots of little pieces to keep track of. October 26, 2002.
Update3: Another reader says the problem seems to be that the power supply connector runs hot. It runs so hot that the solder connections on the plug receptacle eventually become what is referred to as a cold solder joint and a bad connection. He had to completely disassemble the notebook and re-solder the connector three times. The problem has also trashed two batteries. He warns that disassembly of the ThinkPad is not for somebody that is faint of heart! February 25, 2004.
Update4: Another reader has a ThinkPad 2621 that started beeping every time he accidentally bumped the power connector. Apparently the beep meant that the AC power was no longer charging the machine. This went on for about a month and finally the brand new battery would no longer charge. He assumed that a wire was probably loose and tried take a part the machine for two days but gave up when he couldn't figure how to do it without breaking the case. He then took it to a computer repair shop that fixed it for $100 dollars. August 14, 2004.
Update5: Another reader (Troy) had the same problem as 'Update 3' above. After the battery becoming little more than a doorstop, he always runs the machine plugged into the wall. However the battery (which lasts about 15 seconds) is useful to get him past the moments when the power cable decides to wiggle to a 'non-charge' spot. His AC connector got so hot it has melted loose the connector inside. August 14, 2004.
He then tried surgery on the computer and had this to say about it (edited):  
Taking apart the ThinkPad, although involved, is not too difficult with the service manual (see link below) - the hardest part is when it comes to unclipping the cover. After removing the DC charger unit, I tried to remove the loose connector, but this was pretty much impossible since the solder was so oxidized from the heat produced, I couldn't melt it with my Radio Shack soldering iron. So I scraped the joints a bit cleaner, and pasted on a healthy amount of solder. Out of interest, the DC charge unit (http://store.luluusa.com/10l1729.html) can be bought for 170-200 US$ depending on where you look... ouch, I'll try fix it myself, thanks! 
The solder is to a fair degree holding the connector in place, so you definitely want to be gentle with the connector. A little 'key' nodule fits into a hole on the PCB, but it's not secured and not really enough to bare the load of jamming a connector in and ripping it out all the time. It really needed to be secured by the case, or have the case protect it from being pushed too far.

Additionally I noticed a screw missing, another loose screw floating about, and a bent connector inside. I don't know if this is from the factory, I suspect someone in my household may have poked about inside at some point! I think the loose screw may have caused my intermittent crashes (if not the power/heating). Additionally, this has fixed the 'screen flicker' which was obviously related to power fluctuations. August 16, 2004.
July 2002. The computer turns itself off. After having been on a while, it dies and immediate, brutal death. It is as if you turned off a TV set. The screen goes instantly black and the hard disk powers down. After shutting down, the computer won't go on again. I have to unplug it and remove the battery to reset whatever got tripped. It has even turned itself off while in standby mode. A couple times, instead of turning off, it rebooted itself.  For reasons I won't bore you with, I'm fairly certain this is not a software issue. 
I don't yet know what the problem is. It might, of course, be a problem with the power supply. It might be overheating. I think the machine has a fan (I haven't opened the case) which I used to hear kick in occasionally, and I never hear it any more. Then again, it could be the no longer tight connection between the AC power cord and the computer. It is not an electrical problem as the machine is hooked up to a line interactive UPS. 

[schen]

I ran into the EXACT same A/C plug prolem with my i1400 and had to take it apart to fix it. The iSeries were a good concept to get people in the ThinkPad door without costing an arm and a leg, but the execution by their contractor (in this case Acer) was poor and damaged the reputation of IBM.

[abishek]

oh god I regret the moment I decided to buy this laptop primarily based on the thinkpad name

now the darned lcd backlight has failed uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I need a torch to see what's on screen

I hope this thing catches fire