T42 booting problem

[superboy1281]

Hi guys, I'm kind of a noob, so please bear with me...

I have a T42 thinkpad laptop, and it had been working just fine until recently. I installed some new software and tried to reboot, but after my laptop shut down it wouldnt restart, so I did it manually pressing the power button. It booted fine, but later that same day, I couldn't get the laptop to start. I tried removing the battery and starting the laptop from outlet power to no avail. I left it on as I researched online to see if i could find anything helpful online, and after bout an hour or so, it started up by itself, and that was the last time I could get it to work.

When I power it on the battery light comes on, as well as the "Z" looking icon next to it. I've read that it could be the GPU, but well I'm not sure and I'm trying to see if anyone here has a more detailed answer...?? Thanks a lot!

[citizenNB]

Hi,

if you power it on, do you hear running the hard drive or the fan? Did you connect your ThinkPad with to external Display?


citizenNB

[superboy1281]

Hi Citizen, thanks for the reply.

Yes, if I power it on, I can hear and feel the fan, but nothing else happens, no beeps, no strange noises, just the fan running....Also, the battery light and the "Z" light come on, but thats about it.

[killer]

Find another machine and connect to Lenovo's web site. Go to support and downloads. There you will find a link to PC Doctor for DOS. Download the (big) file. Use instructions with the exec to make a bootable CD. Load the CD in your machine and boot from it. Then run PC Doctor and check everything out.
Post the results here.

If you were local and I wasn't going off for 10 days' skiing then I'd sent you a copy of the bootable CD. It is easier to make than it sounds.

[Binh]

Did you check the RAM slots ? My T42p had a similar problem and it was the memory module on the bottom had poor contact.