Ports Dead on Advanced Mini Dock

Message

brian-ky · #1 Post by **brian-ky** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:11 am

I appreciate if anyone else can chime in whether they have experienced a problem similar to below:

- T60 + Advanced Mini Dock

- All ports on Advanced Mini Dock had been working for ~ 1 week. Then, the parallel, serial, and USB ports on mini dock stopped working.

- I am certain the laptop is making a full connection to the docking pins (clicks when docked and no difference if I wiggle the laptop when docked)

- T60 has 1.06 BIOS update already.

- I deleted the 'DOCKED' profile in Hardware Manager thinking WinXP might rediscover my dock and correct the problem.

It did create a new profile for 'DOCKED' when I rebooted and was connected to the dock. But, still no parallel, serial, or USB ports on the mini dock were active.

- 'Find New Hardware' does not find any of the attached USB devices connected to the mini dock.

- Reattaching USB plugs to the mini dock does nothing

- Serial port shows as "Device cannot start (error 10)" in Device Manager.

- All of the pass-thru ports on the mini dock are working -- Ethernet, sound, keyboard.

I find it hard to believe that a mini dock can suddenly go bad. It should either work or not. Makes me believe the problem is with the T60.

Lenovo is sending me a new mini dock to try.

In the mean time, has anyone else experienced similar and have any works of advice?

romka · #2 Post by **romka** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:18 am

its not your machine - but the dock

i just bought mine last week - and none of the USB ports work on it.

i am also having lenovo picking mine up in a week or so.

brian-ky · #3 Post by **brian-ky** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 12:06 pm

New mini dock received from Lenovo. Fixed the problem.

We'll have to wait and see how long this one works.

schaffeb · #4 Post by **schaffeb** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:19 pm

My supervisor just got an advanced mini dock and the USB ports are dead as well. Looks like I'll need to call Lenovo to get this replaced.

red_fox · #5 Post by **red_fox** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:25 am

We have been having the same issue with eight of our new T60's. I have a service call in with IBM right now and they claim that the 1.06 BIOS does not fix the issue with some T60's and that they are working on a newer BIOS that should resolve the issue. I currently have two notebooks that have been sent in to their repair depot to see if they can fix the issue and they have sent me three seperate docking stations with no success. I will keep you posted on what I find out.

dem107 · #6 Post by **dem107** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:48 pm

My first advanced mini dock lasted for one day before the USB ports on the back died. I didn't try the serial or parallel ports.

The replacement works as long as only a single USB port is used. Otherwise, the ports are usually inactive.

I'm requesting another replacement.

ITjosh · #7 Post by **ITjosh** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 7:09 am

Hello All,

I am new to the forums, but felt it necessary to post my problem here. I am an IT guy at a large university, and some of our faculty/staff have this same configuration with the T60 (2007-CU2/CU3) with the advanced mini dock. I have tried multiple T60's with 2 different docks sent by IBM/Lenovo to no avail. USB, Parallel, and Serial ports fail after about 2 hours if not immediately. I have also been told that there is a BIOS fix in the works...? I'll keep you updated as I discuss this with our IBM Rep.

Thanks-
Josh

jagged · #8 Post by **jagged** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:34 am

Oh, I was planning to buy an advanced mini dock for my new T60 but I guess I better wait for now.

I have a T60 port replicator bought last April and recently, one of the USB ports (where my HP Laserjet 1010 is attached) becomes "unrecognized" and I have to plug unplug the printer to get rid of the error message. It doesn't happen everyday but I've gotten this error message at least three times since last week.

Also, I notice that when there's a slight movement on the dock (like a small push), a message about how to remove the computer from the dock comes out. I wonder why the dock is so sensitive.

Anyone have the same issues as me on the port replicator? I know the advanced mini dock is a much better value but I wasn't available at the dealer I bought my first T60 from at the time.

brian-ky · #9 Post by **brian-ky** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 11:17 am

I spoke too soon. My replacement advanced mini dock died today (USB, parallel, serial ports). It lasted all of about 3 weeks.

Thankfully, my IT guys had a spare on the shelf. Swapped out the dock and problem went away.

Has anyone been able to get a straight story from Lenovo regarding why they are having such troubles?

jagged · #10 Post by **jagged** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:55 pm

So is there anyone who has an advanced mini dock who has been using it for several months with zero issues on it?

ITjosh · #11 Post by **ITjosh** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 2:58 pm

Brian,

I am still having the same issue as you. I have our IBM rep on it, but they are still searching for a solution. Would you be willing to share what devices you have plugged into the dock at the time of the dock failure and the specific model number of your T60?

Maybe if I can show him that there is another user having the exact same problem they may be able to reach a solution faster.

Thanks,

Josh

brian-ky · #12 Post by **brian-ky** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:30 pm

Darn it ... my 3rd Advanced Mini Dock died today. Same failure mode as above.

I'm running BIOS 1.07.

When are they going to fix this problem?

One of my co-workers is on his 3rd one as well -- in a month.

ITjosh · #13 Post by **ITjosh** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:17 am

All,

So far in my research and talking with others, the issue only happens with T60's running an image that is made from scratch, rather than running Lenovo's preloaded image or one based off of it. If you're having issues, let us know if your machine is running the standard Lenovo image or one your IT group has made from scratch.

Thanks
Josh

dem107 · #14 Post by **dem107** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 11:02 am

I have the Lenovo-provided system load that came pre-installed. I'm on my second mini dock and the USB ports are all dead today. It was intermitten for awhile, but now is consistently dead.

Lenovo's only response is to send me another.

brian-ky · #15 Post by **brian-ky** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:17 pm

I gave up on the Advanced Mini Dock. 3 dead docks in 1.5 months was too much. I swapped up to the Advanced Dock.

My Advanced Mini Docks were going dead w/ Lenovo configuration.

bro_tayo · #16 Post by **bro_tayo** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:44 pm

I have been having some of the same issues with our new T60's that everyone else is having. I've been working to find a solution and I think that I may have one. The thinkpad must be on bios version 1.06, and the parallel cable must be 1284-1994 compliant. If you use any other cable besides the 1284, the printer may print once or twice but it WILL stop. The usb ports will continue to work with this version, but I have noticed that if you put more than three in the dock the 4th on will not work. I don't know if that is a software or hardware issue. I have one T60 with a custom image that has been working for over a month with no problems and it has these specifications. If this works for anyone else let us all know.

bro_tayo · #17 Post by **bro_tayo** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:44 pm

I have been having some of the same issues with our new T60's that everyone else is having. I've been working to find a solution and I think that I may have one. The thinkpad must be on bios version 1.06, and the parallel cable must be 1284-1994 compliant. If you use any other cable besides the 1284, the printer may print once or twice but it WILL stop. The usb ports will continue to work with this version, but I have noticed that if you put more than three in the dock the 4th one will not work. I don't know if that is a software or hardware issue. I have one T60 with a custom image that has been working for over a month with no problems and it has these specifications. If this works for anyone else let us all know.

dem107 · #18 Post by **dem107** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:15 am

I talked to Lenovo support again. My Advanced Mini Dock has FRU 26R9063. Support says there is a new FRU (41W6561) that fixes some problems. They are swapping mine out for the new FRU.

dem107 · #19 Post by **dem107** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:54 pm

I was having problems with the USB ports cutting out on another Advanced Mini Dock that I have (P/N 41W6560, FRU 41W6561) and Lenovo just replaced it with a new one (P/N 42W4631, FRU 42W4630).

There seem to be a many versions of the
ThinkPad Advanced Mini Dock with US/Canada/LA Line Cord (2504-10U)!