Thinkpads Forum

Hey everyone.

I picked up my first 600E in January (for $50 with 366/64/6.4 and great battery) and have been very impressed. So impressed in fact, I just bought another today (600 2645-45U) for $10. But where the other one was perfect, this one... not so much. It won't boot.

I'm not sure if the screen is good or not and have tried it hooked up to an external monitor but that doesn't work, so I can get no error codes. It starts. The power comes on and the fan runs, but nothing. I swapped the CMOS battery from my good one, as my first step, but that didn't work. So I've taken off the keyboard and now have it cracked open and don't know what to do.

What could be the issue? I'm assuming its a hardware issue, and what would be the cheapest way to fix it? (get another mobo off ebay, CPU...etc)

Thanks.

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

The basic rule of trying to troubleshoot suspected hardware problems is to first remove ALL hardware from the system which can easily be accessed. In the case of a 600/600E that would be:

- memory module(s); 600s have built-in memory of 32MB or 64MB
- Ultrabay device
- hard drive
- any USB device
- any PCMCIA (PC Card) device

then try powering up the system and see what it does. Since the 600 systems have built-in memory they should be able to boot without all of the components I've listed above. If it does boot normally, then install one of them at a time and re-boot until you come across the part which causes the laptop to fail booting. If it does NOT boot with all of those pieces removed, then that usually points to a motherboard issue. By all means, attach an external monitor and see if there's anything active there. If there is a problem with the LCD and/or backlight, the system will appear to be dead.

It's also possible that one of the internal pieces that's plugged into the motherboard is causing your problem. Since it only costs you some time, I would suggest a disassembly and removal of the modem card and a try at booting before you go out and spend $$$$ for another motherboard. I've seen problems with the MiniPCI modem cards in other systems which appear as "power" or "boot" issues.

If the system appears to complain about bad or missing memory when all of the memory modules have been removed, then that usually indicates that the on-board memory is defective. There's a way around that if that's the problem.

You can grab a copy of the Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) from here:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... WIK-3SYPX2

I haven't noticed this before but I think the Parts List diagram/numbering for the 600E is incorrect on page 108 of the HMM. The 600 version on page 102 appears to be correct. For example, the 600 has the modem card listed as #24 in the parts list and diagram. The 600E says the modem is #26, yet the diagram indicates #26 pointing to the fan assembly. I think the numbering starts getting off by one number from the descriptions of the CD/DVD/diskette drives (#14 to #16). From that point on the list number is one more than the diagram number.

First of all thanks for the quick reply! I've been reading through these forums to get some ideas and info on my (good) 600E (think I'm going to upgrade the CPU to a 600-650MHz)

Anyway, I pulled the modem, and it still won't post. I'm going to try the external monitor again, although, like I said it wasn't responding before... could it be a bad keyboard... which would make it so I can't Fn-F7 to switch to external? I pulled the power and CPU and see that the CPU is an MMC1... bummer because I think the one in my 600E is an MMC2 (2645-4AU), that way I could have tested that.

Alright, I'll double check to see if it'll post an error code on an external. But I don't even get BEEPs so I'm not holding out much hope.

But any other insight is DEFINITELY welcome. I'd love to get this guy up and running.

Thanks.

Aren't those symptoms the same as a failed BIOS flash?

I have a good 2645-45U motherboard I might part with if you cannot get anywhere. We can discuss price via PM. I'm not looking to get rich off it.

Joe

I've pulled all the removable parts and it still won't boot and I'm thinking joesters suggestion of a BIOS issue might be right. What are my options? Or am I just stuck with getting a new board?

I'm pricing some parts for this 600 and am curious whether a 600X mobo will fit on this chasis or not?

thanks.

I'd recommend an entire bottom assembly with motherboard if you go 600X. The 600X has a removable cover for the MiniPCI slot that is not on the 600 or 600E. I'm not sure if the 600X board would fit in the 600 case or not (holes might be different), and access to that slot is not commonly needed.

The 600X has two different motherboards: One with SpeedStep (for 650MHz PIII's and faster) and one without (for 450 and 500MHz machines). If you want to go 650 or faster, I would recommend the motherboard made for that.