760 ED won't power up

[jimk]

I have a 760 ED which up until last week worked fine. Now it won't power up. I bought this machine used in 1997 and have never had a problem with it until now.

Maybe this is my fault, since I have always left it plugged in but rarely turn it on (maybe only once a month at most).

Bad battery? Bad power supply? Any ideas as to the nature of the problem and/or how to start the machine would be appreciated.

[phool@round]

Welcome jimk!

I would assume the power brick is bad. If you have a voltage meter you can test the top two "pin connectors" in the four pin brick to laptop plug. Here is a link to download the HMM which should help with the specifics on voltage and some trouble shooting techniques:

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... ol4hmm.pdf


Have you removed the battery and tried to power on with just the brick? Has anything displayed in the small LCD for power on or battery charge when you try to power on? Have you recieved any voltage spikes or loss of electricity due to storms when the laptop was plugged in?

Have you attempted any type of troubleshooting since posting?

[jimk]

Thanks for the reply! I did put a volt meter on the pin connectors and don't get any reading. I bet you're right about the brick. There have been a number of power outages here over the years (and maybe spikes) although the machine is plugged into a surge protector.

I guess my next move is to get ahold of a new power brick. Any thoughts on that?

I have a new HP laptop which I use on a daily basis, but there are a number of docs on the 760 which I like to have access to. Besides, I kind of like the old machine.

Thanks again for your response... I appreciate it!

Jim

[phool@round]

My experience with power bricks so far has been; Two aftermarket bricks made in China and sold on Ebay gave up the ghost quickly and IBM OEM bricks that where included with a laptop purchase have worked flawlessly. I would suggest Ebay and IBM OEM only. There are a several excellent sellers on Ebay that deal in a broad range of only IBM OEM equipment. They would be the ones I'd buy from.

I really enjoy my 760's all of which have been rock solid performers over the years. Here is a link to a great site; http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:760ED

You should find everything you'll need here on this list and there at ThinkWiki to keep your 760 in tip top shape.

I'm a bit of a collector when it comes to anything "old". If it still works, even better. Old furnature, vehicles, appliances, audio equipment and so on..... the 760's have a legacy that is very noteworthy being the first laptops used in space, on the shuttle!

Again, welcome and enjoy!

[jimk]

Thanks again for your help and suggestions...

I haven't looked at all the sources for a power brick, but did come across this one. Maybe it's one of the cheap aftermarket products you warned me about.

http://www.shoplaptop.net/repacpowadfo39.html

Anyway, I'll keep looking and thanks again.[/url]

[Harryc]

That does not look like an OEM brick and it is WAY to expensive. Try EBay or asking on the 'Marketplace' forum here. Look for something like this;

760ED AC Adapter on EBay

[rmplayer]

Try reinserting the RAM chip.

[jimk]

Thanks for the suggestion... I did try removing and replacing the RAM, but no luck. I ordered a used power brick off of Ebay... hopefully that will do the trick.

[jimk]

Thanks for all the comments/suggestions. The new AC adapter arrived yesterday and now the 760 powers up fine. The new adapter seems to run a lot hotter than the old one, but maybe that's because it's charging the battery from 0%.