Help! T400s won't boot an OS

[Tasurinchi]

Hi T'padders

I got a "defective" T400s that won't boot any OS. It has the following symptoms

- Machine boot to BIOS without any problems. I can change all settings and save them
- After the Thinkpad logo screen I tried to boot with two Linux Distros on USB stick (Mint 13 and Lubuntu 12.04)
- I get to select the boot options as usual
- After hitting ENTER, the TP gets stuck. Screens remains blank with a blinking cursor on the top left corner

What I already tried with no success so far

- Set BIOS to default
- Removed WWAN and WLAN cards
- Removed CMOS Battery
- Removed RAM. I get the 1-3-3-1 beeps
- Tried both USB ports (look like new, no bent pins or any imperfection visible)
- Switching between compatibility mode and AHCI mode in BIOS

All these boot tests were done with no hard drive (was sold like that), no battery and also with no optical drive. It has the newest BIOS

Seems the TP was dropped (or similar accident) and took a hit on the lower right corner. Palmrest got a little bit broken there plus there is a crack near the touchpad.

Any hint what I can try? Or can I kiss the planar goodbye?

Thanks a lot in advance!!

[emeraldgirl08]

Do you have a hard drive present? The non-linux booting and blinking cursor reminds me of how my T61 behaved when attempting a Live CD boot. My T61 would not boot until I inserted a formatted HDD and then ran the Live Linux Disc.

Edit:

Just read through your initial post more carefully. If you put a hard drive in you may be able to boot to a Live Linux OS. Mine was formatted as I had been planning to use it as a storage drive. Perhaps as long as any HDD is present in the HDD bay then a Live Booting may work. Good luck

[Tasurinchi]

I'll try with a drive, but (so far) I could always start Linux without hard drives. Just did it to an old X32 some minutes ago. Also most of the times I get my TP "naked", but this is my first T400s

Thanks for the hint!

[Tasurinchi]

So, put a working disk from one of my X301's inside. Same results...

I started this time Linux Mint in compatibility mode, it gets stuck at the following step:



Any ideas?

[ajkula66]

I'd pull out the wireless card and throw in a *known good* stick of RAM to see whether any of that does anything.

Have you tried booting from an external drive?

[Tasurinchi]

I'd pull out the wireless card and throw in a *known good* stick of RAM to see whether any of that does anything.

Done already, the USB sticks, RAM and hard drives I tried are all 100% working components from other TPs

Unfortunately I have no external drive. I'd need to organize one...

[EasyMac308]

Look at all your USB ports and make sure none of them are broken. I've run into similar issues with a few T400s at my site. If it's broken, straighten out the pins and after you verify it's working and pot the bad connector with hot glue.

[Tasurinchi]

As stated in the OP USB ports are in perfect (optical) state! Look like they never been used. Also the sticks boot from both ports

[ajkula66]

Hmm...I'd try a lightweight, minimalistic distro such as crunchbang...

I presume there's a particular component that gets the system "stuck" but no clue on which one it would be.

Try booting (not installing) a W7 disk as well with the HDD in place, see if it at least starts the install...

Good luck.

[Tasurinchi]

Try booting (not installing) a W7 disk as well with the HDD in place, see if it at least starts the install...

I was thinking the same after my posting this morning It will be my first try tonight as soon as I get home.

I forgot to mention I put a hard drive with a working W7 installation from one of my X301's and got the windows boot for one second. Then a blue screen and a immediate reboot. I didn't keep trying more than twice since I was afraid this will somehow screw my drive, (these 1,8" ones are rare and expensive).

I also have a couple of mSata SSDs with 1.8" adapters as another option (provided they work, not tried them yet)

[EasyMac308]

As stated in the OP USB ports are in perfect (optical) state! Look like they never been used. Also the sticks boot from both ports

My bad, I missed that part. Sorry! Although you say "both" USB ports. There are three on the T400 I have here...

Back to the original question, after everything you've already done, I would tear down the bottom half of the laptop and do a careful visual inspection of the mobo. Unplug all cables and devices and look for cracks, missing / damaged components, etc.

[Tasurinchi]

My bad, I missed that part. Sorry! Although you say "both" USB ports. There are three on the T400 I have here...

Yeap! But mine is the T400s, it has only two, one on the left side and one on the back.

I would tear down the bottom half of the laptop and do a careful visual inspection of the mobo

I agree, I think that will be inevitable

[Tasurinchi]

So, I disassembled the whole T400s and took a closer look at the planar. Nothing seems burned or visible broken. I only noticed that this T400s was in service before:



I tried then to reboot again... Same behavior as in OP... Seems something small broke somewhere. So I will start looking for a new planar, any offer anyone?

Cheers and thanks for the hints and tips!

[Brad]

I was thinking the same after my posting this morning It will be my first try tonight as soon as I get home.

I forgot to mention I put a hard drive with a working W7 installation from one of my X301's and got the windows boot for one second. Then a blue screen and a immediate reboot. I didn't keep trying more than twice since I was afraid this will somehow screw my drive, (these 1,8" ones are rare and expensive).

I also have a couple of mSata SSDs with 1.8" adapters as another option (provided they work, not tried them yet)

Sounds like in the BIOS the SATA setting needs to be changed. Change to the other setting and try booting again.

Brad

[Tasurinchi]

Tried that already (I need to mention it in the OP) still no boot

[emeraldgirl08]

Send it to sit in the corner. Sounds like it needs a time out!

[Tasurinchi]

Ha haaa... unfortunately it was sitting in a corner for a week (I was on holidays), no changes after I came back. This one is a stubborn one...