Minimum To Start

[jrv331]

Im ok working with desktop components so decided to give a laptop a try. I picked up a complete nonworking T22 laptop and two T23 motherboards in unknown condition. Im going to throw the mbs in the 22 to see if I can get one working. Im planning to start out by installing the mb, hd and ram in the lower case and take it from there. Do I need to install anything else at this point just to get it to boot up? Do I need a battery at this point?

Also if I I hook it up to an external monior and it works how do I know if the inverter is bad or if its the lcd? Will the external monitor still work with a bad inverter?
Thanks for any and all help
John

[ErikD]

Minimum to boot a laptop is the same as a desktop, CPU and RAM to get to a POST or BIOS. Be aware that the T22 and T23 use different types of RAM. The T23 uses PC-133 and the T22 PC-100. Make sure you use the appropriate modules or you will not be able to boot, even if everything is working properly.

Using an external monitor will let you know if the problem (no display) is with the video card (or chipset) or LCD. If the LCD doesn't work but you can get an external display working it is something with the LCD. If the LCD or external display won't work it is the video card.

[jrv331]

Thanks
John

[tfflivemb2]

I hate to burst your bubble, but T23 boards don't fit into the T22 systems. There is a different layout...the most obvious is the fact that the T20-22's have only 1 USB port in the back, and the T23s have 2.

Whether or not you can modify the casing to make it fit, has yet to be determined...

[rkawakami]

I picked up a complete nonworking T22 laptop and two T23 motherboards in unknown condition. Im going to throw the mbs in the 22 to see if I can get one working.

I haven't tried it, but I don't believe you can get the T23 motherboard completely into the T22 base. There's quite a bit of difference in the layout near the MiniPCI area. Basically, the T23 has a communications daughter card (CDC) for the ethernet which doesn't exist in the T22. So if you somehow are able to get the T23 m/b in the T22 case, you won't have external access to the CDC.

Depending upon the state of "nonworking" of the T22, it could be a simple problem of a bad hard drive or hosed MiniPCI card. Try removing those first and see if it powers up.

Also if I I hook it up to an external monior and it works how do I know if the inverter is bad or if its the lcd? Will the external monitor still work with a bad inverter?

If only the inverter is bad, you should be able to see a "ghost" image on the LCD if you shine a bright light upon it (usually best at an angle). The external video will work regardless if the inverter OR the LCD panel is bad, all other things on the motherboard still being okay of course.

edit: tfflivemb2 beat me due to my slow typing, but the USB ports are another thing that's different between the two systems.

[jrv331]

I read a few posts in other T20/21 upgrade topics and it was mentioned to drop the T23 mb in. Most said it would be direct swap.
Guess I'll be looking for more parts - gotta love Ebay.
Thanks to all
John

[jrv331]

Sorry, one more follow up. So if I shine a light on the LCD and see a faint/ghost image its most likely the inverter board. If its dark its most likely the LCD. Is this correct? Providing the external display works. How do you know if its not the back light?
Thanks again for all the help]
John

[Robbyrobot]

Sorry, one more follow up. So if I shine a light on the LCD and see a faint/ghost image its most likely the inverter board. If its dark its most likely the LCD. Is this correct?

Not quite. If you see an image on the screen (I find it's easy to see the white Thinkpad letters when the sun is shining on the screen), the backlight is off, but the screen itself is working. That means a) the inverter may be defective, b) the backlight in the LCD screen may be defective, c) the cable to the LCD/interver may be defective or e) there may be a problem on the mainboard. You have to get very unlucky for the last one to be the case.

If the screen is totally dark - no image at all - you have real problems. This can be a failure of the LCD screen, a defect in the LCD cable, or again something on the mainboard.

If an external monitor works, you can at least exclude the possibility that the graphics chip is not providing a signal.

How do you know if it's not the backlight? Basically by observing the screen in a strong light - oblique sunlight isn't bad - and booting. If you can see a faint image on the screen (as I say, the Thinkpad logo with the white lettering is fairly easy to see), you have a backlight problem. If you see no image at all, not even a faint one, the problem isn't the backlicht (or you have multiple problems and the backlight is also defective).

It's all detective work and without some spare parts - for example a definitely working display/inverter/cable assembly - it's going to be difficult to pin down any problems.