Thinkpads Forum

I can't help myself; I bought another Thinkpad 600E on eBay. I'm addicted.

It won't boot into BIOS. I turn it on, but it immediately shuts down.

Is this unit toast, or is there a way to somewhat troubleshoot it?

Troubleshooting...

- if there's any boot error messages or beeps, note them and look up the code in the Hardware Maintenance Manual

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

- pull ALL removable hardware components out of the system; memory (there's some on-board with the 600E), Ultrabay, hard drive, PCMCIA card (if any), etc.
- see if it then powers up
- if it doesn't, then the problem is probably with the motherboard and can be hard to further isolate; could be a fan problem, general power system malfunction, etc.
- if it DOES turn on normally, then replace one item at a time (start with memory module(s), then hard drive, Ultrabay)
- keep adding hardware back until the laptop fails to boot; the last item added is then the source of the problem

Also, assuming you get to the point where the system boots and remains on, access the BIOS (Easy Setup) and run some of the diagnostics behind the Test icon.

P.S. Welcome to the addiction club .

Thanks for the tips.

Removed everything - hard drive, extra RAM, battery and it still shuts down immediately. All the LEDs light briefly then turn off.

If I tear it apart, is there anything I could look for?

I have a working 600 base that has a broken CMOS connector and this 600E has a good CMOS connector. But it looks like the CMOS connector is part of the system board.

Can you hear the fan spinning up at all?

While your are taking apart the system, you might want to try disconnecting the LCD ribbon cable from the Sub Card and see if that "fixes" the turn on issue. That would be the last major piece of hardware that you could separate from the motherboard.

If you can get to where you have the motherboard out in your hands, take a close look on both sides to see if there's any obvious damage to the components; scorched surfaces, loose parts, etc. Also look for any corrosion on the surface of the board. Typically it will look like white or brown stains; this could be an indication of a liquid spill.

Yes, the CMOS battery connector should be soldered down onto the motherboard. If you are thinking about moving the 600E's battery connector to the 600 base, that's possible but the tiny pins on the connector are hard to unsolder/solder without melting the plastic connector.

It's basically one second that the LED lights up and then the laptop shuts down again. So hard to tell about the fan.

No, I wasn't thinking about moving the CMOS battery connector. I'm just a tad frustrated that I have 2 parts that could almost make one good whole but no way to do it.

Thank you for your advice.

I think I'll take it apart just for the heck of it.

I guess I could always sell the screws on eBay.

If they work, don't know yet, there was 128MB of RAM, 6GB hard drive, and the CD-ROM drive in the unit which should cover what I paid for it.

ieee488 wrote:It's basically one second that the LED lights up and then the laptop shuts down again.

Remove the PCMCIA-slot from mainboard (take a look to the pins) and use your other processor-unit and the other vent.

Uwe.

u.mac wrote:

ieee488 wrote:It's basically one second that the LED lights up and then the laptop shuts down again.

Remove the PCMCIA-slot from mainboard (take a look to the pins) and use your other processor-unit and the other vent.

Uwe.

So, you are saying to take the CPU and Fan board from my TP600 and use it on this TP600E?

But from the HW manual, removing the CPU card and Fan assembly doesn't require removing the PCMCIA?

I am not sure what you mean by "the other vent"?

ieee488 wrote: So, you are saying to take the CPU and Fan board from my TP600 and use it on this TP600E?

But from the HW manual, removing the CPU card and Fan assembly doesn't require removing the PCMCIA?

I am not sure what you mean by "the other vent"?

Only if you remove the PCMCIA-Slot you can take a look to the pins, maybe they are demaged.

Sorry- I thought your secound TP was also an 600e. If your secound TP is a TP 600 (not 600e or 600x) the processor will not match to 600e - TP600 takes MMC-1, TP600e/x takes MMC-2-processors with other sockets.

Vent.. puh - sorry for my terrible english - I mean the fan-assambly.

Ah, I see. I understand.

Unfortunately one is a 600 and the other is a 600E.

Thank you for your help.

I would definately try removing the CPU and blowing out underneath. I had a machine like this, and it turned out that there was a cat or dog hair that slid underneath. How it got there, I am not sure, but then again, it wasn't working when I got it, so someone might have tried upgrading the processor, and thought that it died.

If nothing else, it doesn't hurt to reseat the CPU.

Wish me luck on this. The last time I did something like this, I broke the connection between the flexcable for the speakers and the connector at the end of that flexcable. Now I have now sound on my TP 600E. Sigh.