R31 Occasionally Powers On

[matthewfong]

I have an old R31 laptop that has increasingly had intermittent problems powering on. It’s gotten worse, and now fails more often than not. When I press the power on button, nothing happens. The same behavior occurs connected directly to an electricity outlet with and without a battery. I’ve also verified it isn’t my power block, because it won’t work with my new T40 power block ether.

When I am lucky, and the computer does power on/boot, everything operates normally, without any problems. (Although, about 1-in-10 times I receive a RDIF BIOS error, and the clock seems to reset itself).

It also appears to recharge the battery correctly because with a battery installed, the LEDs will indicate it is charging.

My best guess/hope is this is a problem with the CMOS battery. Would this behavior be consistent with this type of problem?

I’m not sure if this is true, but it appears to work more often in an A/C or cold environment. I put it in the refrigerator for 2 minutes and it usually worked immediately after.

--matt

[RoxyRose]

Check there is no dust in your fan...there is a small possibility your system is overheating. You should try a laptop fan cooler and see if that makes a difference. Even if it wasn't the problem they are always useful.

[matthewfong]

If it was a fan problem tho, it wouldn't explain why once my computer powers-on, it operates without any other problems. Thanks for your advice.

--matt

[RoxyRose]

Ok, then most likely putting it in a cold environment would have no effect. The power button may be bad. When powering on, press very hard every time and hold it and see if that makes a difference. Also, check to make sure your ram is seated properly and firmly in place.

[storage_man]

Matthew

It does sound like a CMOS Battery problem especially if the clock is lossing time. Why don't you donload the Hardware Maintenance Manual from here: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-39673

It has a complete list of error numbers and messages that you may want to check against when the problem occurs.

Storage_man

[dsigma6]

:deleted:

[RoxyRose]

It is either the cmos battery, a bad fan, bad ram, or a faulty power button. Storage_man has excellent advice about the error codes. I hope the author takes it. Good luck.