Thinkpads Forum

Has anyone here ever had a 600X that would not boot due to the Cmos battery being bad?
I am working on one for a friend and the original problem was the LCD...after fixing that...it was a sub card....now I keep getting the 163 error and even after I reset it...it will not go far enough to boot windows.
Any ideas?

No, but you can go to walgreens or radio shack and buy the battery and replace it. You just need to remove the cables form the dead battery and use some tape to put it back together.

Yeah...I have been doing that for a while on these thinkpads, but I am just puzzled by the no boot....everything was working fine before and now since I replaced the video sub-board....new headaches.

OK...so now I have replaced the Cmos battery and it still wont boot....plus, after a hard reset it wants to go to the set time and date but it is already correct...then it reboots and just gives a short beep...then nothing...stays that way for a minute or so and goes through the same the cycle all over agin.

So I am assuming this is shot.....does anyone have a 600E or X base lying around that they would like to sell?
just the basics...no drives or ram...dont even need the LCD....just the working base and keyboard.

Tony,

Do you see a blinking cursor on the top left side of the screen when it hangs?

Yes I do...and then the screen goes blank... and then after a about 20 seconds...it starts all over again.

tony6264 wrote:Yes I do...and then the screen goes blank... and then after a about 20 seconds...it starts all over again.

Boot without the main battery and see what happens.

tried that already...same problem.

tony6264 wrote:tried that already...same problem.

Ok, then try to boot using the ultimate boot cd and run memtest if this doesn't work yes you have an issue with the mobo.

I had the same symptoms on my 600X, but the cause might not be the same.

I had a supervisor password on the machine when the CMOS battery died. I replaced the battery, and attempted to clear the password (and yes I do know what it was). I could not get around the problem until I replaced the security chip. I think it's a BIOS bug.

Fortunately, motherboards for these machines are getting downright cheap.

No my problem is not a password....I cant even get into the bios other to set time and date.

tony6264 wrote:No my problem is not a password....I cant even get into the bios other to set time and date.

Did you try my suggestion?

I have tried all the suggestions...and still nothing.
Now there is an added problem....error 192..no fan.
I really am starting to think this thing is dead.
Maybe, I don't know how, the keyboard is causing all these issues?

I just picked up a couple 600X's.
Let me do some testing, and I may part with a base. Preliminary shows bad CMOS as well, but I know one works... I'm using it now.

Joe

That would be great Joe.
Please let me know.

600X #2 shows 8611 (besides the CMOS) error. PCI removed as well as RAM and optical drive, same thing.

Joe

@tony6264: To recap, your friend's 600X originally had an LCD issue which was fixed by replacing the Sub Card. And now, you have new problems? From memory, I believe that the keyboard ribbon cable also plugs into the Sub Card. How do you know that the Sub Card is completely functional?

One thing to try would be to put the original Sub Card back in, connect an external monitor and see if you can boot and access BIOS.

I will try that Ray, but that still does not account for the laptop going to 163 and 161 error everytime I turn it on and the time and date already being correct.

Most likely you are correct, but you need to solve the keyboard problem before proceeding with the CMOS issue.

I also believe that there is an Initialize function in BIOS. Make sure that's "pressed".

Well everyone....Joester is a freakin genuis.....it was the stupid stinken #%^$!##U....mini PCI card the whole time....his post reminded me that I had removed it when I first took it apart for the screen...even though I did not need to, its just the way I am, and I must not have seated it properly....i removed it and the laptop booted right up....I still need a new keyboard because of the 8611 error, but tonepaq has offered me one for a good price.
so I thank you all again....you guy have saved my bacon.

Awww shucks... gosh....

I can't take credit for the education I acquired on this website.

Sometimes it's those little things that get you.

Joe

Yeah, well this "little thing" almost got this laptop bounced off a couple walls.
No kidding!!!
If it was gonna act broke....I was gonna make it REAL broke!!

And you are correct...this website has been a wealth information to me for a few years....Thank you Bill for doing this.

And also to Ray. He made mention of the PCI several times in a row!

Joe

Of course a big thanks to Ray also.

Hmm... don't think I deserve the praise for this one... The "Sub Card" I was talking about earlier is the card that sits atop the motherboard and part of the LCD plugs into it, along with the keyboard. Since there appeared to be a keyboard issue AND the Sub Card was changed, I thought there might be a problem with it.

Yes, the MiniPCI card can cause power-up issues. But in this case I didn't suspect it from the descriptions of what was done to the system to troubleshoot the problem. Glad to hear it WAS solved!

tony6264 wrote:And you are correct...this website has been a wealth information to me for a few years....Thank you Bill for doing this.

you're welcome but it would be more appropriate to thank the mods and admins..

all i do now is "paperwork"..

most of my expertise melted when the 760 series faded into history..

"new" video sub card... I think you've to check the lid switch.

172 fan error... at power on the fan will be checked with cmos-battery-power - try another battery (new: >3,0volts)