Have a "new to me T42" and need some advice...

[Mofo Jones]

Hi all,

Infrequent poster, but I lurk quite a bit. I've posted before about my T42 (2373-3UU, purchased from Bill in Oct 2004) that suffered the dreaded GPU failure and is basically non-functional now. Because I could use my present T42 for a parts machine, I was keeping my eye out for a cheap replacement T42. Found one yesterday (super cheap) on Craigslist and bought it, knowing that I'd have to put a bit of work into it but the entry price was low enough. It's a 2373-R93. It's obviously been through a couple of owners before me, but considering the price I paid, that's not a big deal. I'm only intending on using this until my finances improve to the extent that I can buy a much newer TP.

So, now on to a few questions:

1. New TP is running what appears to be a pirate copy of Vista Ultimate on a 60 GB Toshiba drive. It also has zero IBM/Lenovo/TP functionality, no IBM drivers, etc. Thus it's functional but I'm really thinking about reformatting the drive with a set of T42 recovery discs in order to restore this as closely as possible to factory specs. My problem is this: I never made recovery discs from my first T42 and I'm not sure I can now with the GPU issues. Does anybody know a way to do this using just my old and new TPs? Otherwise, does anybody sell these discs anymore? I'm aware that I might be treading on a forum grey area by even asking this question and I apologize for any hassle. I found the machine type and serial number through the BIOS but so far I haven't located the build date. The sticker is missing from the bottom of the new TP.

2. New TP has a 32 MB Radeon, and the screen has a tiny bit of red in the corners on boot up, then it goes away. I'm aware that means the LCD is starting to go but it could be a while until it's really a problem. New screen is 1024 x 768 and the old one is 1400 x 1050. I'm aware that the screens are physically the same size and the connections would be the same, but in the event that the LCD goes, would the 32 MB Radeon successfully drive the higher resolution screen? Right now the LCD isn't a problem, but I just want to know my options.

Thanks in advance!

John

[ajkula66]

Your best bet is to swap the entire lid from your old machine onto the new one. Radeon 7500 will drive that screen just fine.

As for the recovery disks, no gray area there as long as you're interested in the OS that's on the COA. Post a WTB (want to buy) ad in the forum's marketplace and someone will come to the rescue...

Good luck.

[Mofo Jones]

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably leave the screen as-is for now, but if I need to swap, it's good to know it's possible.

I can deal just fine with XP. I think I'd rather have the IBM functionality on an older OS, considering I'm accustomed to having a T42 that works in that way.

[RealBlackStuff]

Just put your old hard disk in the new machine.
If the recovery partition is still there, you can now make recovery CDs.

[Mofo Jones]

Just put your old hard disk in the new machine.
If the recovery partition is still there, you can now make recovery CDs.

That's such a simple fix that I didn't even think of that. Silly me. That's fantastic advice! Unless something's wrong with my HD from my first TP, the partition should be intact!

[Neil]

And, once you swap hard drive, go ahead and burn a copy of the recovery disks, if you still have that option. Just in case....

[Mofo Jones]

OK, new TP lacks the HD cover and screw. Should I remove the KB and palmrest (I have the T42 service manual PDF) in order to get down to the HD? I'm not sure I have any tools that are going to allow me to get any type of hold on the drive to pull it out. My old TP has the cover and screw, so that's easy to transfer.

[ajkula66]

OK, new TP lacks the HD cover and screw. Should I remove the KB and palmrest (I have the T42 service manual PDF) in order to get down to the HD? I'm not sure I have any tools that are going to allow me to get any type of hold on the drive to pull it out. My old TP has the cover and screw, so that's easy to transfer.

That's really not going to get you anywhere IMO.

Thin pliers. Thin screwdriver. Strong small tweezers.

One of those three will solve your problem, and it should be easy on a 14" unit.

Good luck.

[RealBlackStuff]

Before you insert the HD, just use some wide masking tape (attached to top and bottom of the HD/caddy) and make a long 'tag' that you can use to pull the HD out again.
Eventually buy a HD cover, or use the one from your old machine.

[Mofo Jones]

Thank you. It's been a while since I've had a TP apart beyond removing a keyboard.

RBS, the tape is a good suggestion. I was already going to use the cover from my old machine.

[Mofo Jones]

Drive transferred from old to new TP. Works, too. Looks like I'll have to move my wireless over to the new one, as this one seems to only have an ethernet connection. Going to make some recovery CDs now! Thanks for the advice!

[Mofo Jones]

OK, I think my new machine has a problem. I'm really hoping the GPU isn't the culprit here:

Fire it up, reddish pinkish tinge on LCD, fades quickly (might be LCD, if so I can replace it with the lid from my old T42).
It's running and suddenly goes black, which seems more like a GPU issue. I was under the (possibly mistaken) impression that the boards with Radeon 7500s were much less prone to this issue than those with Radeon 9600s.

And, it suddenly restarted on me I pressed the left mouse button below the touchpad, black screen, restart. Now that is weird. Came back to windows, generated an error report, it's saying there is a problem with the ATI driver, not sure if that's an actual issue or not. Le sigh, trying to reanimate an old TP when you lack the funds for a new one...

More on the LCD issue - typing away, goes to black, I can still see some dark parts of the screen. I grab a flashlight and shine it on the LCD - I can see the color fading off and going to white. Weird.

Should I try to plug in an external monitor to see if the problem is the LCD? (probably going to do this first. )
Possible that the HDD is going?
I've noticed the fan is running more on this one than my old one. Possible thermal shutdown?

Any and all help is appreciated!

[ajkula66]

Fire it up, reddish pinkish tinge on LCD, fades quickly (might be LCD, if so I can replace it with the lid from my old T42).

That's the LCD. Nothing else will give the reddish tint apart from a weak CCFL.

It's running and suddenly goes black, which seems more like a GPU issue. I was under the (possibly mistaken) impression that the boards with Radeon 7500s were much less prone to this issue than those with Radeon 9600s.

Maybe, maybe not - but Radeon 7500 is by far the most affected GPU of them all in my experience.

Came back to windows, generated an error report, it's saying there is a problem with the ATI driver, not sure if that's an actual issue or not.

That sounds like a red flag for a failing GPU in 4 out of 5 cases.

Should I try to plug in an external monitor to see if the problem is the LCD?

That's really not going to show much, unless the GPU is half a step from dying altogether. The outputs - digital for the LCD and analog for the VGA - are entirely separate, and one can work while the other is gone...

Possible that the HDD is going?
I've noticed the fan is running more on this one than my old one. Possible thermal shutdown?

I highly doubt any of the above is the problem.

Swap the LCD for a known good one, and take it from there. If the machine keeps on losing the LCD, your GPU is likely on its way out...

[Mofo Jones]

Thanks for the fast reply. As for the GPU, that's both the problem I wanted to avoid when I bought the cheap T42, and what I was afraid of - this didn't show up at all when I was looking at this machine last week.

I'll report back with the results, but I'm afraid it won't be good.

[DaKKS]

Thanks for the fast reply. As for the GPU, that's both the problem I wanted to avoid when I bought the cheap T42, and what I was afraid of - this didn't show up at all when I was looking at this machine last week.

I'll report back with the results, but I'm afraid it won't be good.

Wouldn't be surprised if the seller did the heat gun trick. That makes it run fine a for a few days, maybe even a week. But after that, you're back to square one.

[Mofo Jones]

Seller still has listings on Craigslist. I actually got my original T42 to work for a few months following the use of the heat gun trick, but yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. I'll probably swap LCDs tonight and see if that confirms the bad news. I'm extremely irritated at this development. I was really hoping that I could piece together a working TP from both of these T42s. I might ask the seller if I can exchange it for something else, but I suspect he'll give me the brush off as well. :/

[Mofo Jones]

Update: I finally found the time to swap the LCDs and yup - GPU failure on the "new to me" TP. Fired up for a second, went black, restarted while pressing the usual spot, and it ran just fine until I bumped it a bit. Black screen. Same thing on an additional 3 restarts. Ugh - I am finding myself in square one again. :/

[house kitten]

Mofo are you in need of a T-42 with an excellent screen? I have one I have been trying to sell and finally gave up and stored it in the closet. Mine is in great shape, no heat guns used, however the battery appears deal but runs fine on AC. If you are interested I will sell for 75.00.

[RealBlackStuff]

Just in case if the laptop sizes should be different:
you could swap house kitten's motherboard into your machine.
ALL motherboards from ALL T4x and R5x models will fit in any other T4x/R5x.
15" machines have an extra extender-board to make up for the size-difference.
(T43/R52 use different PCMCIA cage, CPUs and DDR2 RAM, not compatible with the other T4x/R5x models, but the mobos will fit).

[mpcook]

J
ALL motherboards from ALL T4x and R5x models will fit in any other T4x/R5x.
15" machines have an extra extender-board to make up for the size-difference.
(T43/R52 use different PCMCIA cage, CPUs and DDR2 RAM, not compatible with the other T4x/R5x models, but the mobos will fit).

Interesting, I had thought the fit to a T43 was not quite the same. So if I need to replace the MB in my T43 1871, any T4x and R5x MB will fit? That is good to know.

[house kitten]

Want photos?