T60p shuts down going into BIOS

[Medessec]

I recently picked up this T60p... and it looks pretty good, but I've encountered some worrying issues with it:

When I first got it and I first plugged it in and started it up, the lights would light up, as usual. But pressing the power button; the fan would spin up for a split second and the "Power On" indicator would be on, and then the whole computer will power down, and the lights would go off. The computer wouldn't power on again unless I unplugged the computer and plugged it back in.

After swapping the RAM around, reseating the CPU, and making sure there's nothing shorting or obstructing the board, it's wound up at these conditions:

-Powering on the machine will allow it to flash to the Thinkpad screen as normal, but pressing the ThinkVantage button to get to the selection screen will cause the computer to instantly power off and not power back on until unplugging the computer and plugging it back in. Not doing this for awhile, the computer may actually make it to the selection screen for a few seconds(pressing ThinkVantage), but then it will similarly power off anyways.

-NOT pressing ThinkVantage, the computer was able to boot my Windows 7 DVD and normally make it to the setup screen, with no issues. I clicked through a few Windows, but didn't actually initiate setup, as I wanted to fix this issue first.

This machine was advertised to NOT come with a CPU, so I bought it a T7200, but... after peeking inside to see just how much of a hash job the people removing the processor did, it looked like the thing had never been taken apart. And sure enough, inside was a T2600. So initially, I was kinda happy, but this BIOS/random shutdown issue is worrying me slightly. To see if it was the processor, I swapped the T7200, and the computer then refused to post at all. The fan is also rubbing or something, because it's super-noisy.

So-I gotta ask, what's going on with this T60p? I've tried different AC adapters as well, and different RAM, and I did try the T7200 as I mentioned. Powering on the machine, or while it suddenly powers off, nothing appears to be going wrong, I don't smell any funky smells, or see anything out of line on the motherboard. Just the high frequency noise associated with the laptop plugged in, but powered off.

[emtee3511]

Just my guess, but could it be the cmos battery needing replacing?

[Medessec]

I'm checking the CMOS battery now... I kinda figured it'd show errors or sound off beeps, rather than conking out the system like that. This is a newer Thinkpad than what I usually work with though... so I'm not sure.

[ajkula66]

You likely have an old BIOS, that's why the machine won't post with a T7200 installed. Don't update it just yet...so you don't brick the poor thing rightaway...

Remove the hard drive and battery, boot from a "live" Linux CD and let the machine run for a few hours, if it makes it that far.

Let us know what happens.

[Medessec]

Alright, I got back on the thing after your last post ajkula- It managed to boot Puppy Live to the desktop, and everything seemed fine. Actually, I tried the traditional CMOS thing after that, where all power sources are pulled and the CMOS battery is pulled, and I leave the laptop for 15 min to forget who it was. It fixed the BIOS booting issue, except that pressing ThinkVantage just makes it go to priority boot, however F1 and F12 goes to the BIOS and boot selection, unlike before.

I'll have to look into flashing the BIOS, because this looks like the BIOS is indeed outdated, or maybe even a bit goofed up for some reason. However since most of the previous issues are gone, it's not a priority much. If I have any other issues, i'll have to post them, but I'll also post to see how the BIOS flash goes, if I go through with it.

[emtee3511]

Congrats

[Medessec]

Recently flashed BIOS, that took care of all remaining BIOS issues and the thing is now running healthier than ever, I'm now doing some burn testing with it as I've also cleaned and lubed up the fan a bit, to make sure it isn't too noisy. Fan still needs some work, but it does keep the laptop appropriately cool, I've also put some AS5 on the Core Duo, and dusted out the insides. I'm leaving the T2600 in for originality, since it doesn't seem the laptop has been otherwise modified.

The laptop's in very good condition too, I'll probably have to sell it on here. Thanks guys for your tidbits and hints!