T42 USB Issues

[invictus]

I've got a user at work that's having problems with his USB ports on his T42 laptop (2378-FZU). He went to plug in an external hard drive and when he did the laptop suddenly powered down. He went to power it back up and now when he plugs in any USB device in the USB ports the laptop doesn't acknowledge anything being plugged in.

I ran the diagnostic tool in the R&R hidden partition for USB ports and it passed.

Does anyone have any suggestions? The laptop is out of warranty and we're considering get an extension, but as a last resort.

Jon

[cmarti]

Sorry to inform you that he will need to replace the motherboard, that is issue most T4x users encounter at some point.

[bri]

If the USB port is deformed/broken such that you can put the plug in upside down, and a plug is put in upside down, it will short out the interface and power down the computer.

If that happened, maybe the interface got fried so it doesn't work anymore.

[invictus]

I figured that we'd need to purchase the warranty extension. From what I can tell the device that he plugged in to cause all of this looked good.

Thanks for your replies...


Jon

[bill bolton]

that is issue most T4x users encounter at some point.

Most!

Some users have USB problems. From the cases I've been able to personally investigate across the fleet of T4x ThinkPads in our consulting group, its almost always because of something the user has done... often related to using a "dumb" USB device that does not negotiate power arrangements.

I have only found one instance which I would class as a truly "spontaneous" failure.

Speaking with industry colleagues who use other brands of laptops, it seems that ThinkPads are no more or less prone to USB issues than other brands, and the issues all seem to be largely cause by the same sorts of things... basically trying to use the USB port as a charger for another device, or shorting out the port when inserting a plug.

Cheers,

Bill