T43 has no display and unknown beep code

[bonjonno]

My wife reports her laptop died and is angry with me because "what good are computers if they die?" It is a T43. When turned on, there is no display and a beep code which has settled on these short beeps: 3-1-4-3

If anyone has a clue it'd me much appreciated.

[RealBlackStuff]

You need to remove both RAM modules, clean the gold contacts with an eraser, so they shine again, and blow off the eraser leftovers.
If possible also blow out all the dust in and around the RAM sockets, then reseat the RAM.

While you're at it, this would also be a good time to clean out the dust from the CPU fan, and if you are good enough, replace the thermal paste between CPU and fan.

[bonjonno]

Thanks. Tried cleaning and reseating the ram (only takes one stick). No go. This unit has seen so little use that it looks new. It's REALLY clean, so I don't want to disassemble unnecessarily. It's a 1871FU1 btw. I read elsewhere that it may be a video chip coming loose from the board problem. Oy.

[RealBlackStuff]

No, it has two RAM slots.
The other one is under the keyboard.
Your machine has integrated Intel graphics, which do not have that problem.

[bonjonno]

aaaaaaah. under the keyboard. I vaguely remember going under there once. So what I checked was likely the 1GB module I added at some point. I'll try that...

[bonjonno]

Man I love working on this thing; the maintenance manual is so complete. If only it worked! I cleaned the RAM under the keyboard, tho it was shiny gold already. Blew out the fan, a few specks of dust. Same beeps. Switched out the main memory, same. Meanwhile I took out the hard drive and saved all the data on my desktop, so nothing's lost. But it'd be nice to get the laptop working again...

Thanks for ur help and guidance.

[RealBlackStuff]

Have you tried it with just one module in one slot, then tried it in the other slot?
The same with the second module?

[bonjonno]

Thanks RealBlackStuff. That did it! Both sticks of RAM work in the optional socket. Neither works on the inside socket. But I booted up fine with just the optional socket filled. Should I leave it like that?

[RealBlackStuff]

Without any RAM, it should beep 1-3-3-1.
I've never heard of T43 bad RAM slots, unless...
Remove the palmrest and the wifi card.
I assume you have 2x1GB RAM.
Fill both RAM slots, put some pressure (not too much) on the big Intel chip (Southbridge) found under the wifi card, and try to boot into BIOS.
Press F1 for that. If it now boots, do you see 2GB RAM?
If so, you have a bad Southbridge chip.

[bonjonno]

Yes I did the test previously with no RAM and got 1-3-3-1 beep. Ihave the RAM that came with the unit which is 512MB and I later added a stick of 1GB. I currently have the 1GB stick in the optional slot, and the internal slot empty and it's working great. Everything's screwed back together and I don't really want to futz with it anymore. Especially to find out there's a problem with the Southbridge So is there any risk running it like this? She does such light stuff (occasional internet, mostly word processing) that 1GB RAM and XP Pro seems fine.

[Neil]

So is there any risk running it like this?

No...none. If the Southbridge is indeed failing, other symptoms may develop, but no harm in using it as is until that happens.

[bonjonno]

great. thanks all for ur help.