A 31 graphic problems after mb replacement

Message

michalr · #1 Post by **michalr** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:29 am

Dear All,

I have A31 2652BG4. While replacing fan I have destructed motherboard. (I have used too long screw and I scratched MB).

I have bought mainboard 93P3533 on eBay. Yesterday it arrived and I have built it up. Bios showed up it comes from A31 model, which has same graphic card (also 16MB) and same screen type (I have checked on lenovo site).

First power on: everything ok besides of graphics (please have a look on a picture 1)
http://images6.theimagehosting.com/albums/19064/1.jpg

Restart:
Huge problem with graphics. Please have a look on picture 2).

http://images6.theimagehosting.com/albums/19064/2.jpg

I have restarted it again and powered on with connected external monitor (CRC and LCD). No effect. Please have a look on picture 3.
http://images6.theimagehosting.com/albums/19064/3.jpg

My eBay seller claims it was ok when he shipped it and he just showed me a finger.
I went through forum and I didn’t find any answer.

Do you have any suggestions? Can I check or correct sth? Or motherboard is DOA and I should ask Pay Pal to push him (on auction conditions it is written that all sales are final and that what he says).

Please help me. Iam studying abroad and I cant afford to buy new notebook (even the cheapest one). Feel free to give me any suggestions how to solve this problem.

Milos · #2 Post by **Milos** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:49 am

Michal, I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Actually, the graphics chip going bad is a well known problem with A31s and is normally a hardware failure on the motherboard (not something drivers or the monitor can fix). See other threads on this forum -- search for my name for example, but there are others too.

I have had this happen *twice*, first time under warranty, and just recently again. Just like you I got a motherboard on ebay for $200 and was about to install it when the graphics cleared up. It still goes funny every once in a while, and will eventually die. I'm not an expert but it seems to me that either the ATI graphics chip is overheating and a part of it dies, or even more likely the Samsung video RAM chips that give it the 16MB (or in my case 32MB) of video memory die -- they are always cooking and have no heatsink. Whatever the reason, the graphics chip likes to die.

So, in my opinion unfortunately your MB either arrived faulty, or died after first bootup. You should try it several more times and see if it changes anything -- at least in my case it didn't do any damage to run it with the junk on the screen, I used it like that for a few months until it got really annoying.

When you list your 3 steps below, do you mean the graphics was ok the first boot, or screwed up even on first boot but just not as bad as #2 and #3? Even if it was fine on boot #1 it does not mean it was not broken -- if you try a few times to boot you might get a time when the graphics chip is ok and gives a clear screen. If that is true, most likely it was dead on arrival. I think ebayers have to provide such a guarantee (DOA) if they claim that the product is in working condition in the listing. But sometimes they say specifically that they are selling a motherboard for which they have no idea whether it works - in this case read carefully or you may be out of luck.

If you have to get another motherboard, there are several models around that will fit an A31, so you could find the cheapest that says it works and people here (not me) could help you decide if it will work with your model.

I got my replacement for $200, but you could do better.

Good luck,

Milos

michalr · #3 Post by **michalr** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:39 am

Hi,

Thank you for your interest.
1. After first boot screen was full of thin (small) lines (picture quality is not so good I need to admit).
2. Second boot - totally wrong.

I have tried few times more and it is still wrong.

I am now in the middle of discussion with eBay seller. I will try to get part of my cash back (shipment CA-Europe-CA is already 75 $ and board was 100$)

At this moment I am using Mac at my University what is highly annoying.

I have built up laptop with my destructed mb and graphic is perfect (nice IBM logo and than fan error communicate).

I hope I will manage to buy working mb. I need my data back.

Thanks again for your time.

best regards,

Milos · #4 Post by **Milos** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:52 am

michalr wrote:Hi,

Thank you for your interest.
1. After first boot screen was full of thin (small) lines (picture quality is not so good I need to admit).
2. Second boot - totally wrong.

I have tried few times more and it is still wrong.

I am now in the middle of discussion with eBay seller. I will try to get part of my cash back (shipment CA-Europe-CA is already 75 $ and board was 100$)

Ok, I'm not an expert, but since the video has been wrong all along, in my small experience with these, the MB was almost certainly bad all along.

I have built up laptop with my destructed mb and graphic is perfect (nice IBM logo and than fan error communicate).

By the way, the "fan error" is something that happens when the fan goes bad (search this forum for "fan error" - it's been reported many times), or the fan cannot be properly turned on. Did you make a really serious scratch on your old MB? Perhaps you just killed one of the traces to the fan connection, or knocked a 3-terminal transistor near the fan connector off the MB? See what a similar MB to yours should look like, near the fan connector, here, under A31. If you want, I have higher resolution zoom photos I could put online so you can compare.

I.e. maybe you could fix it if it's not too bad. Good luck,

Milos

michalr · #5 Post by **michalr** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 8:30 am

Hi

Thanks for a help

The screw has destructed some part of mb and that is non repairable. I have already shortcut it (cut path) and it doesn’t help. Transistor is also smashed so I do not dare to dream about repairing it. (I have microscope and I have seen it really close - it looks really awful).
Tonight I will try to make some pictures and maybe U could have a look how I did it.

cheers,
michal

Milos · #6 Post by **Milos** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 8:34 am

michalr wrote:Hi

Thanks for a help The screw has destructed some part of mb and that is non repairable. I have already shortcut it (cut path) and it doesn’t help. Transistor is also smashed so I do not dare to dream about repairing it. (I have microscope and I have seen it really close - it looks really awful).
Tonight I will try to make some pictures and maybe U could have a look how I did it.

Oooh.. don't worry about the pictures, except if you don't mind - for the entertainment value

. I don't think I can be of any help.. sounds pretty bad.

Milos

michalr · #7 Post by **michalr** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 3:29 am

Hi Milos,

I have tried to do some pictures but with macro you cant see really lot. I also can’t connect camera to the microscope.

But I have great news

While I was looking at it again I have noticed second cut path and I corrected it. I have also shortcut transistor (near symbol Q80).

My A31 works again

That is nearly perfect.

But now the stress starts:

Fan is on only 1 min. on a beginning and then off. It is on when CPU is 40 deg (I have checked with mobmeter). It would be perfect but bottom of A31 if really hot. I am afraid to melt my CPU).

In addition mobmeter shows my CPU works only 1,2 instead of 1,9GHz. Windows and Bios find it 1,9 (BIOS settings are full performance)

eBay guy told me to send mb back to have it tested again. I don’t believe him but I will send it to have a look. On the end I can still give him a negative feedback.
Thank you for inspiring me to have a look at my mb again

Stupid question: is fan blowing in or out because Iam afraid I could have done it wrong

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
A 31 2652BG4, 1,9GHz, 512 RAM, 30 HDD, DVD multi, wireless (handmade)

Milos · #8 Post by **Milos** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:50 am

Michal, great news that it works.

michalr wrote:I have tried to do some pictures but with macro you cant see really lot. I also can’t connect camera to the microscope.

If the camera has many megapixels, even taking a shot of a quarter of the board will give enough detail if you put the camera on a stand so it doesn't move and take the picture without a flash to avoid reflections.

But I have great news While I was looking at it again I have noticed second cut path and I corrected it. I have also shortcut transistor (near symbol Q80).

Oh ok, you mean the big one with 3 small pins and a fat tab? I thought you were talking about the little one to the right of Q81. Probably you need to figure out what that transistor did and replace it somehow.

My A31 works again That is nearly perfect.

But now the stress starts:

Fan is on only 1 min. on a beginning and then off. It is on when CPU is 40 deg (I have checked with mobmeter). It would be perfect but bottom of A31 if really hot. I am afraid to melt my CPU).

In addition mobmeter shows my CPU works only 1,2 instead of 1,9GHz. Windows and Bios find it 1,9 (BIOS settings are full performance)

Well, the fan needs to be on if anything goes over 50C or so. Get the Thinkpad Fan Control utility, or NHC with an A31 fan/temperatures module and look at all temperatures -- maybe something else is overheating. If the fan doesn't come on, perhaps that transistor was doing something useful

, and needs to be fixed.

eBay guy told me to send mb back to have it tested again. I don’t believe him but I will send it to have a look. On the end I can still give him a negative feedback.

Good luck. Just rely on getting money back via Paypal if it doesn't work, to get that to happen. From what I've seen, people may not care too much about you leaving a bad review, from what I can see on ebay they'll just leave you one in retaliation to "even it out".

Thank you for inspiring me to have a look at my mb again

Stupid question: is fan blowing in or out because Iam afraid I could have done it wrong

I'm really glad you were able to fix it - these things rarely work out. Perhaps when you finish, you could document what you learned about which transistor does what for controlling the fan, etc. So we know.

The fan should blow out. I don't think it can run any other way.

Milos

michalr · #9 Post by **michalr** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:38 am

Hi Milos,

Thanks for photos of 3 pin conector

Thanks for help.

I will try to write some doc. about this what I have done with my A 31

cheers

michal

-------------------------------------------------
A 31 2652BG4, 1,9GHz, 512 RAM, 60 HDD, DVD multi+, wireless (handmade)

michalr · #10 Post by **michalr** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 4:04 am

Hi All

I am already working 1 month on my A 31. Everything is fine.
Anoter great news is that eBay seller have sent me cash back - I have only lost 65 CHF for shipping

Thanks

cheers
michal