T40 faulty mainboards

[tsukiyomi]

Hi

I have a T40 which had 3 Years IWS. Recently I send
it to service in Germiany ( place of purchase). Today
I got the unit back after 28 days and it worked only
for 10 minutes - laptop`s screen freezed and image
became extremely unsharp. After reboot the LCD stayed
black the fans were on. The unit is now off waaranty -
warranty ended 15 days ago, but I conctacted IBM Germany
and the ask me to send the unit back to them.
I would like to ask If you had similar issues with T40 and
what should I do if the third mainboard goes bad.

[cmarti]

Suggestion,

Accept the repair and after that inquire for the extended warranty cost.

Just to be covered.

[gauthier]

I went into similar issue by having one of my t40p go forth-back to servicing for problems ranging from GPU fault and USB port defect (unit turned off when pluging usb devices).

All theses repairs (except the last one) occurred before warranty expiration, during the second repair, left touchpad button went stuck and the issue simply wasn't solved, I complained and they serviced it again however it was out of warranty.

Now the motherboard only accept some kind of ram module (have another unit of same kind that work with any of them) or (worse) only have a single functionning ram connector (issue not sorted right now, BSOD occurs with the "wrong" ram module) but IBM refuse to service it.

Hopefully, the issue is not a showstopper one, but I'm annoyed that I'm stuck with the laptop having mainboard defect.

My other system also have the USB speed issue...

I know I can buy extended warranty service (at least here in France for about 150€), but I don't know if it worth the expense since I can work with theses units without much annoyance right now, I will certainly do if one of theses unit turn down hard.

[AbsoluteRaleigh]

I would like to ask If you had similar issues with T40 and what should I do if the third mainboard goes bad.

Yes- T40s are a great machine- the problem is showing up now though. Must've been a used board w/ the video problem- doubt you'll get another bad one, if it is sent back they'll give it some extra testing before sending it back to you...

[GomJabbar]

Sounds like K. Eng's experience here (read under + Repair history: in his initial post). http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=26016

FWIW, it has been recognized through hard experience that it is not a good idea to pick up a T4x ThinkPad by the corner with one hand. This can cause flexing of the motherboard, leading to failure.

[gearguy]

You should do what I will do and buy a military issue toughbook, like a small suitcase with a keyboard inside.

[smc]

Hi

I have a T40 which had 3 Years IWS. Recently I send
it to service in Germiany ( place of purchase). Today
I got the unit back after 28 days and it worked only
for 10 minutes - laptop`s screen freezed and image
became extremely unsharp. After reboot the LCD stayed
black the fans were on. The unit is now off waaranty -
warranty ended 15 days ago, but I conctacted IBM Germany
and the ask me to send the unit back to them.
I would like to ask If you had similar issues with T40 and
what should I do if the third mainboard goes bad.

You should send it back until you are satisifed with the working condition of your laptop, especially since you are out of warranty now. IBM/Lenovo should warranty all repairs for 90 days even if it puts you out of warranty and it should apply to any country in which Lenovo provides warranty service.