Boot/Hang/Crash/HELP!

[lgchristianson]

Hi All,
Have a T30 (2366 51U) W2000 giving me all sorts of grief. Sometimes it'll boot OK but appears to need Audio/Video/Other Drivers then hangs after which it does nothing at boot (won't POST or show any activity). Other times it gives 4-4-4 beeps, system board/security chip (disabled in BIOS). I'm guessing it has to do with either heat, loose connection or something foreign floating around inside. Tested the HDD by attaching it as a slave on my PC. I've tried reseating the RAM, removed excess hardware from the ultra bay, and disconnected the internal modem. Thought I'd check here for more ideas before I disassemble it.
Suggestions Anyone?
LC

OK, I made disassemble....
Didn't find anything questionable, reseated the CPU, cleaned the heat paste and added Artic Silver II in its place. Turned on and booted to BIOS screen. I re-configured the BIOS and the system booted normally (still needs drivers). I feel the CPU fan come on & off.... Is this normal or should it stay on?
Let it set there in the Win Desktop and it hung after about 5 min...
Sure acting like a heat problem....

I dunno, booted to the BIOS where I've let it set for the past 1/2 hr and it hung...

[smugiri]

Don't see the beep code you describe here which IBM says means a system board error... tough luck .... Maybe you can try for a T22 board for about $60 on eBay or some site / seller of the sort.

[lgchristianson]

Don't see the beep code you describe here which IBM says means a system board error... tough luck .... Maybe you can try for a T22 board for about $60 on eBay or some site / seller of the sort.

Only had that code once, might have been 4-4-4-4, I was doing other things when it happened.

It appears to be heat related.....

[LtTPfan]

What you describe sounds a lot like the system board failures being reported in the T4x forum. It sounds at least heat aggravated to me and I strongly suspect a somewhat loose connection or cold solder joint in a plate-thru hole on the mobo brought about or exacerbated by case/mobo flex.

I'll bet if you disconnect the AC adapter and let the thing cool down completely then boot up on battery power alone it will stay on longer.

@smugiri,
Are you saying a T22 mobo can replace a T30 mobo? Don't they use different processors (P3-M vs. P4-M?) and different graphics controllers, etc?

[lgchristianson]

What you describe sounds a lot like the system board failures being reported in the T4x forum. It sounds at least heat aggravated to me and I strongly suspect a somewhat loose connection or cold solder joint in a plate-thru hole on the mobo brought about or exacerbated by case/mobo flex.

I'll bet if you disconnect the AC adapter and let the thing cool down completely then boot up on battery power alone it will stay on longer.

@smugiri,
Are you saying a T22 mobo can replace a T30 mobo? Don't they use different processors (P3-M vs. P4-M?) and different graphics controllers, etc?

Thanks for the reply...
I actually did something similiar, It being rather cold here (35F?) I took it outside and booted it while it sat on the picnic table. It appeared to run quite normally for about 20 min before hanging. I too suspect a cold solder joint but really have no idea nor desire of where to look for it.
Can you recommend a shop who does good work for a reasonable price? Or do you think I'd be better off just replacing the system board?
I dunno, would love to have it working but money's tight.

[LtTPfan]

Probably your best bet is finding a used mobo on eBay. On the other hand, if there is a common problem among this model like there appears to be with the T42, a look at "refurbished" mobos might provide a clue to IBM's repair, i.e. like a jumper wire soldered in place.

[smugiri]

@LtTPfan

Are you saying a T22 mobo can replace a T30 mobo? Don't they use different processors (P3-M vs. P4-M?) and different graphics controllers, etc?

My mistake, I was involved in two threads at once and got this one and the othermixed up while posting ( In other words, I blame [censored] Firefox with tabbed browsing, don't you miss the days when you could only do one thing with one window in DOS ? multi-tasking sucks ... )

It might be that the boards are interchangable but I have no idea about this whatsoever...

[lgchristianson]

@LtTPfan

Are you saying a T22 mobo can replace a T30 mobo? Don't they use different processors (P3-M vs. P4-M?) and different graphics controllers, etc?

My mistake, I was involved in two threads at once and got this one and the othermixed up while posting ( In other words, I blame [censored] Firefox with tabbed browsing, don't you miss the days when you could only do one thing with one window in DOS ? multi-tasking sucks ... )

It might be that the boards are interchangable but I have no idea about this whatsoever...

Well, the ex bought her daughter a new Compaq for Christmas...
2.8GB, 15"LCD, 80G HDD, Internal wi-fi, printer & wireless router $500....
Screw the used old crap, just buy new when they puke.

[smugiri]

Did some research out of pure curiosity more than anything else on this subject:

I almost bought a T22 and a T30 to test this but my wife would'nt let me which means that we have to do with the exploded views from the hardware manuals. All in the interest of science, right?

I have links to the T22 exploded view hereand the T30 exploded view here. Like you can see, the boards have holes / connectors / cables / stuff in the wrong places when considered to each other. Then there is that huge GPU cooler on the T30 ....

Anyway, all this art work means though is that I can now definitively state that there NO WAY a T30 motherboard will go in a T23 body or vice versa with the use of a dremel tool, power saw or silly putty.

Or dynamite: but in that case, it seems to me that you can make almost anything fit into anything else.

[lgchristianson]

Probably your best bet is finding a used mobo on eBay. On the other hand, if there is a common problem among this model like there appears to be with the T42, a look at "refurbished" mobos might provide a clue to IBM's repair, i.e. like a jumper wire soldered in place.

I actually think you're onto something there...
I've been watching eBay for something I might use and low and behold, here's the exact T30 with the exact symptoms up for auction.

Anyone out there experience this?

[LtTPfan]

I had an R40 for a short period of time, which I exchanged for a T30, both of which are far more flexible than my 770s. I also had to send the T30 back due to problems and am awaiting a replacement but while I was using it I was far more careful in my handling. Most of the time I grab my 770s with one hand on the right front corner and set it on its side on the floor, then pick it back up with one hand. I didn't feel comfortable doing that with the R40 or T30, just too flimsy, so I moved them with two hands because I suspect the flex a possible cause for mainboard failures--just my opinion, however. Someone mentioned in another thread that their company had received new stiffer hard drive covers from IBM as upgrades to their machines (which might have been T30s).