Help with Troubleshooting TP600x 2645-4EU

[dbarnwell]

I just picked up a TP600x 2645-4EU. Has no HD, has two sticks of RAM don't know the mb but looks like PC133 and not PC100. Has a CD-ROM don't know if it works. Plugged in AC adapter I get the orange light. When you turn it on nothing happen. No beeps or anything on the LCD. The LCD may be bad don't know.

Does anybody have any recommended troubleshooting procedures? Where to start to effectively troubleshoot this TP? Also I do I get the laptop to show up on and external monitor?

Thanks in Advance

[rkawakami]

I long time ago I was in the process of writing up some troubleshooting chapters but have gotten sidetracked since. Basically, here's the Cliff Notes version for a 600X:

- remove all memory modules, MiniPCI modem card, PCMCIA card(s), USB devices, Ultrabay drive, hard drive; in other words, strip the system completely down
- plug in a known good AC adapter which provides the properly polarized 16V DC; any IBM 54 (3.35A) or 72 (4.5A) watt adapter will suffice
- try to power it up and access the Easy Setup (BIOS) menu (hold down the F1 key while applying power)
- if you get NO activity (fan, beeps, LEDs lighting, LCD backlight, etc), then that usually points to a motherboard problem; blown fuse, bad DC jack, etc. You could try pressing the recessed "reset" button located next to the power switch and attempt to power up again.
- if you get a beep or numeric error code on the screen, consult the 600X Hardware Maintenance Manual for the suspected problem. As your LCD panel may be defective, connect an external monitor and see if video shows up there. You may have the press the Fn+F7 key combination to activate the external monitor. There's three settings: LCD only, external only, both LCD and external active. Each time you press the Fn+F7 combination, you will cycle to the next setting.
- assuming the system powers up, try adding ONE module. The 600X requires (at minimum) "low density" PC100 modules. PC133 modules can also be used. "Low density" are those modules which contain 16 individual memory chips on a 256MB or 8 chips on a 128MB module.
- again, assuming that the system attempts to boot (a "operating system not found" message may be displayed), try the other module by itself. If the still works, try with both modules installed.
- if the system continues to power up, start adding back the "extra" hardware. Start with the MiniPCI modem first as I've seen power problems occur when that card goes bad.
- follow up with the hard drive installed and see if it boot the OS (assuming there's one on there) and the Ultrabay drive
- if you have a bootable CD (such as one containing PC Doctor for DOS try this program and start running some diagnostics

[dbarnwell]

ThinkPad 600X 2645-4EU. Trying to troubleshoot this TP.

Removed all components includes ram as suggested by a previous post.

Trying to have it boot to an external monitor because I don't know if the LCD is good. It started to boot gets a green light signal on monitor but no lettering on screen then shut down.

It seem like it was trying to boot, but shut down just before getting the video to come up. Any suggestion on what may be the problem or where to go next?

[rkawakami]

I'd say the first thing to do is to listen for the fan spinning up when you power the system on. If you get a burst of air at the left side rear vent (jsut above the USB port), then a single beep from the speaker, then the motherboard is working somewhat.

Loss of video on the LCD could be several things:

- bad lid switch
- bad backlight
- bad ribbon cable
- bad motherboard

Connecting an external monitor and turning it on prior to turning on the laptop should force video onto that monitor even if any of the first three issues I noted above is the problem. If the system is completely powering off before you see any video, then that points to a fan error (if the fan is not spinning), a sensor error (if the fan is spinning) or a power system problem on the motherboard.

[dbarnwell]

Opened up the TP last night found that it did not have any CMOS battery. Got one on order. I am sure you won't get any activity on the screen or beep code without one installed. Right?

[SMA]

A ThinkPad 600 without a cmos battery usually displays an error code 192.

[BillD]

You still should be able to get to BIOS, and then the OS without a CMOS battery...So you have something else going on...

It started to boot gets a green light signal on monitor but no lettering on screen then shut down.

It seem like it was trying to boot, but shut down just before getting the video to come up.

1) remove the RAM and try to boot...

2)try to boot without the battery OR try to get your hands on another AC adapter..

[dbarnwell]

Replaced CMOS battery still had problem. Took everything out, found a cracked fan housing and the CPU not seated. Re-seated CPU started the system again. This time it booted to the setup screen. Now my problem not the orginal owner and someone has set the supervisor password. Plans are a buddy and myself are going to try and the information of the security epom. Will update as soon as we get it working.