Beeps, memory problem and no UUID

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poshgeordie · #1 Post by **poshgeordie** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 2:51 pm

Repairing T30 with no HDD, CD Drive, internal battery fitted.
CMOS battery has been previously removed, two pins shorted and good CMOS battery refitted.

With good memory fitted into the inner slot:

On power on with AC Adaptor, I get four lots of four beeps (4-4-4-4). CPU fan runs continuously until power down.

Same memory in outer slot (which had to be resoldered due to previous 1-3-3-1 beep fault), power up via AC Adaptor and no beeps.
Sucessfully F1 into bios, to find that even after F9 to reset to defaults, UUID is a series of Zeros.

I'm familiar with memory slot probs on T30's and have even previously had to resolder a faulty inner slot as well as the more common outer one.
I cannot see any shorts on the inner slots which could explain the 4-4-4-4 beeps.

Questions:
Is there anything else which could be causing the 4x4 beeps when good memory is fitted to the inner slot? (I'll resolder the pins tomorrow to see what happens)

What causes the UUID to be zeroed? I've checked the security chip settings in bios which show as being disabled.

Is it possible to restore the correct UUID?

many thanks in advance.

poshgeordie · #2 Post by **poshgeordie** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:09 pm

Forgot to mention - no POP or SVP passwords present.

#3 Post by **rkawakami** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:15 pm

The UUID is stored in a special system memory (i.e., EEPROM) which normally cannot be easily changed by accident. An all zero UUID is indicative of somebody attempting to, or has already, replaced the memory chip. You would need the Hardware Maintenance Diskette (and a good main battery, I think) to restore a UUID. However, I don't think that it's possible to enter a specific UUID even if you knew what it was. Personally, I keep a record of the BIOS details for every system that I own (including the UUID), but I'm probably the only one here that does that.

Regarding the 4x4 beep code: the HMM says that it's a motherboard problem relating to the security chip. Together with the zero UUID, I'd say that somebody has been tampering with the motherboard....

sarbin · #4 Post by **sarbin** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:19 pm

rkawakami wrote:I keep a record of the BIOS details for every system that I own (including the UUID), but I'm probably the only one here that does that.

nope...

poshgeordie · #5 Post by **poshgeordie** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:27 pm

I decided too that someone had been unsucessfully 'tampering'.

I'll try tomorrow with the battery from my own T30

What are the long term effects of a zero'd UUID - for instance can an OS be loaded when an HDD's fitted?

Are there any limitations?

Incidently I photograph the bios screen for every TP which passes through my hands for exactly this reason. It only takes a few minutes and can save a lot of bother.

#6 Post by **rkawakami** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:33 pm

poshgeordie wrote:What are the long term effects of a zero'd UUID - for instance can an OS be loaded when an HDD's fitted?

As far as I know, there shouldn't be any problem with loading an OS, but then again, I've never tried to do that on a system with a missing UUID.

poshgeordie · #7 Post by **poshgeordie** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:58 pm

Thanks Ray - will report back tomorrow after further investigation.

Beeps, memory problem and no UUID

Beeps, memory problem and no UUID

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