T61 doesn't turn on after BIOS upgrade?!? PLEASE HELP!

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NIXin · #1 Post by **NIXin** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:47 am

Hi all,

OMG I'm so desperate right now.
I just reinstalled XP on my 4 months old T61 and installed Lenovo's System Update thing. There was an BIOS update option there, so I selected it. It downloaded it and then done the upgrade. It was fine. At least it looked that way. I rebooted it. It hanged on the boot screen. So I tried to turn it off, to restart it later - tried pressing the power button for like a minute, but nothing. It was frozen on the bootscreen. So I removed the power plug and then the battery to cut the power and turn it off.
I inserted the battery and the power plug back... and... IT DOESN'T TURN ON ANYMORE. Not only it will not respond to me clicking the power button, but also the light on the backside of the lid doesn't light up when I plug in the power supply. What the hell happened? What should I do?
I tried removing the RAM and replacing it, cause I had a spare stick, but, as I thought it didn't do anything.
Is it possible that the power circuit inside T61 was somehow damaged when I removed the battery when the computer was running?

Please HELP! I don't know what should I do!

#2 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:52 am

They give you very specific instructions for updating BIOS:
1. Fully charged battery
2. Do the upgrade on AC (NOT Battery)
3. Make sure the version of BIOS is compatible with version of EC.

It may be that you damaged the BIOS chip during the upgrade, in which case it needs a new motherboard, and it appears that would be under warranty.

What I would do is to download the most recent floppy-based BIOS and EC files and create BIOS and EC update diskettes. The borrow a USB Floppy from someone, update the EC, then update the BIOS. Do not restart to Windows in between.

... JDH

NIXin · #3 Post by **NIXin** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:59 am

jdhurst wrote:They give you very specific instructions for updating BIOS:
1. Fully charged battery
2. Do the upgrade on AC (NOT Battery)
3. Make sure the version of BIOS is compatible with version of EC.

It may be that you damaged the BIOS chip during the upgrade, in which case it needs a new motherboard, and it appears that would be under warranty.

What I would do is to download the most recent floppy-based BIOS and EC files and create BIOS and EC update diskettes. The borrow a USB Floppy from someone, update the EC, then update the BIOS. Do not restart to Windows in between.

... JDH

I think you didn't read carefully what I just posted.
Anyway, the battery was fully charged, I was on the AC and the BIOS version was selected automatically via Lenovo System Update.
I know how to flash BIOSes, I did it like a hundred times in my life already.
USB Floppy won't do any good, because I can't get the T61 to start at all. The power button doesn't work.

#4 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:21 am

I don't think you will damage the power circuit by removing the battery (I have done that myself, although never during a BIOS or EC upgrade). I think forcing the machine off during a BIOS upgrade damages the BIOS chip and that may be what is preventing it from turning on (Yes, I forgot that part of your post when I posted).

Warranty time. ... JDH

NIXin · #5 Post by **NIXin** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:26 am

jdhurst wrote:I don't think you will damage the power circuit by removing the battery (I have done that myself, although never during a BIOS or EC upgrade). I think forcing the machine off during a BIOS upgrade damages the BIOS chip and that may be what is preventing it from turning on (Yes, I forgot that part of your post when I posted).

Warranty time. ... JDH

Again, you didn't read carrefully enough. I didn't remove the battery DURING the BIOS upgrade. The bios upgraded successfuly - there were no errors, everything was smooth. I rebooted the system. It hanged at POST (the moment BIOS initiates the devices) and there was no way to reboot it - the keyboard was not responding and the power button too. So I had to unplug the power cable and the battery. Right now it's just dead.

Some info:
This is the BIOS I upgraded to:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-67988
My T61's model is: 6465-CTO

#6 Post by **Harryc** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:34 am

During the BIOS update routine, the actual flash portion takes place once the machine reboots. If you removed the battery after the FIRST reboot then the BIOS is dead. If the machine rebooted after selecting BIOS update in System Update 3, and the BIOS flashed successfully, the machine would power down. Then you restart it normally. So given that scenario, when exactly did you pull the battery?

NIXin · #7 Post by **NIXin** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:42 am

Harryc wrote:During the BIOS update routine, the actual flash portion takes place once the machine reboots. If you removed the battery after the FIRST reboot then the BIOS is dead. If the machine rebooted after selecting BIOS update in System Update 3, and the BIOS flashed successfully, the machine would power down. Then you restart it normally. So given that scenario, when exactly did you pull the battery?

The Windows shut itself down after the BIOS upgrade. I went for a cup of coffie and when I was back, it was stuck on the Lenovo-IBM logo (when booting). I waited for like 2 more minutes and, as it was frozen dead, I removed the power cord and the battery. After replugging and reinserting the battery, it just doesn't work.

#8 Post by **ryengineer** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:50 pm

Reseat the memory, if nothing happens then I'm sure it must be under warranty, getting it repaired seems like your only hope.

EOMtp · #9 Post by **EOMtp** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:28 pm

To NIXin: Read the PM (Private Message) that I sent you.

T61 doesn't turn on after BIOS upgrade?!? PLEASE HELP!

T61 doesn't turn on after BIOS upgrade?!? PLEASE HELP!

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