Problem booting up T20, please help

[ThinkpadT20User]

Hi guys...

I have a T20. It runs XP3, has 512MB Ram and plenty of HDD.

It is set so that when I close the lid, it goes to 'suspend' and then after half an hour in that state, it hibernates.

Last night, I closed the lid and went to sleep.

When I woke up, and opened the lid, and the machine stars up but only get to a state where all I can see is a flashing white text cursor on a black screen (i.e. as if it is loading something).

I left it for a while and waited for it to load, but it still didn't come back from hibernation, so I turned it off and on, and booted it again.

It shows the IBM boot screen, and get past that, but then when it goes to load up XP, before even showing the XP boot screen, it just shows the flashing cursor/caret. It does that every time. It doesn't boot the OS. Straight after the IBM logo, it goes to the black screen with the flashing cursor/caret. There are no error messages.

So, I got my XP cd out. I first managed to delete the file hiberfil.sys from the c drive. But the same problem persists. Then I tried the repair option from the CD. It deleted some files and copied others, but then when it reboots, same problem. XP doesn't even start loading.

I have tried to find some info on this board and I don't think it is the Blink Of Death because the machine actually boots up and displays the IBM screen every time, and none of the LEDs on the machine are blinking.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I would be grateful.

Thanks.

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

Sounds like something in the hardware is preventing Windows from booting up. One of the first things that I would do would be to remove the MiniPCI modem/ethernet combo card. It's located behind a panel on the bottom of the system, to the left of the large IBM label. Pull the connectors off the card, spread the two metal arms away from the board and it should pop up. Then try powering up the system.

[ThinkpadT20User]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply...

I tried what you said. I pulled the card out completely. At the same time, I reset the BIOS to the factory default.

When booting up, I get the same problem. Except that now, when I turn the system off by pressing the power button, it goes BEEP first and then turns off. Before, it would just tun off. And just before it turns off, it lights the HD icon.

The fifth icon is always lit up -- it is the one that looks like a circle with a Z inside it. I don't know why.

Any other suggestions? Thanks for your help.

[RealBlackStuff]

Next step: take out the CD/DVD drive, the hard disk, any PCMCIA card(s), the main battery and the RAM.
When you now try to boot up, it should beep in this sequence: 1-3-3-1.
If so, that's a good sign, which indicates that the motherboard works, and that there is no RAM.
Now put just the battery in and repeat. Should get 1-3-3-1 again.
But in the CD/DVD and repeat: still 1-3-3-1
Put in 1 RAM module, LCD should now come on.
Switch off, put same RAM in the other slot. LCD shows.
Repeat with the other RAM module.
Then put in BOTH, LCD still on.
Put HD back in. Does it boot?

[ThinkpadT20User]

Hi.

Thanks for your reply.

I took out the battery, the HD, both the ram, and the CD.

It gave me a beep of 3-3-1, not 1-3-3-1

Is that a problem? I looked it up in the manual. It said that if it beeps 3-3-1 or 1-3-3-1 then it could be: 1) DIMM 2) System Board

Thanks.

[RealBlackStuff]

Sounds very much like a motherboard problem.
Have you got another PC/laptop and a 2.5" USB enclosure (or other suitable adapter) to check the hard disk?

[ThinkpadT20User]

Well...

I'm actually posting this using my T20 right now.

BUT -- I'm using a live CD!

So it seems like the system works fine. It just cannot boot off the HD.

I found two other threads with the same problem:

http://forums.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=52509
http://forums.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=73143

where they just get a flashing cursor and no loading from the HD.

I can browse my HD just fine using this Live CD. So the machine seems to work, and the HD seems to work. It's just that the machine doesn't boot from the HD for some reason!

I'm wary of reformatting the Master Boot Record or messing with the partitions in case something goes wrong and I lose my data.

[RealBlackStuff]

If you don't have the restore partition on it, buy/borrow an Ultrabay 2000 floppy drive, then use a Windows 98 bootfloppy.
Run that, then type in: FDISK /MBR and hit enter.
That should reconstruct your MBR, and leaves the rest intact.
Alternatively, you could try a Repair via the Windows XP Console (from a Windows XP CD)

[ThinkpadT20User]

Okay, so I used the Windows recovery console and ran FIXMBR and then FIXBOOT as suggested in the other thread.

The problem remains, and I can't boot Windows. All I get is a flashing cursor after the Bios screen.

I think this is an unknown hardware fault on the Thinkpad, because two other people have had the same problem (see the other two threads I linked above). The HD itself is fine and I can access the files on it using a Live CD. Just that -- all of a sudden -- the Thinkpad will not boot from it.

I guess this is the end of the line, with no more solutions, and I have to get a new computer?

[SMA]

Try PC Doctor, it might be able to tell what the problem is.
PC Doctor is available from the Lenovo support site - as diskette images.
Ray (rkawakami) has been so kind to prepare it as an ISO file, ready to burn onto a cd. Much easier.
You can find a link to the ISO file in this topic
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... or#p515297

[RealBlackStuff]

And rather than buying a new computer, replace the motherboard for less than $50.- (from our Market forum or eBay).
It's a DIY job of less than an hour.

[ThinkpadT20User]

Hi guys... Me again! I return a year later!

I managed to buy a T22 from eBay. I put in my RAM, DVD Drive, and Lan card (the RAM was only 128Mb, so I upgraded it to 512MB, and it was missing the other two items) from my T20 and I put in my HD from my T20 too.

The same problem exists! Blinking cursor after the IBM boot screen!

So I put in a smaller HD I had lying around, and installed BeOS onto it (which I also had lying around), and it worked fine! It also boots fine from a live CD.

So I guess the problem is actually with my HD, not with the motherboard, as also seems to have been the problem in this post:

http://forums.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=73143

Now for the solution....

I guess I can just back up my HD onto a spare computer using a cable, and then reinsert it into the T22, and using a Windows XP CD, I can reformat and repartition the HD, and install a fresh working copy of XP that should boot up fine. It should reinitialise the MBR, which I think may be the problem. Then I can take the HD out again, and just copy all the files from the old install that I backed up and overwrite the new files. So the Windows OS and all my files will be as they were before, but the MBR and partition info will be fresh. Do you guys think that would work?

Second problem... The T22 was giving me an error about the date being set incorrectly whenever I started it, so I removed the CMOS battery from my T20 and put it into the T22. It worked then, without giving me an error for a few more reboots, then it started giving me the error again. I have to set the time using the BIOS every time. Any ideas what this problem could be caused by, and how I could fix it?

Thanks for your help guys!

[Ifred]

To make it easier try using GRUB a boot loader it can also fix a damage win xp MBR for you
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/
as a start

[ArtShapiro]

The T22 was giving me an error about the date being set incorrectly whenever I started it, so I removed the CMOS battery from my T20 and put it into the T22. It worked then, without giving me an error for a few more reboots, then it started giving me the error again. I have to set the time using the BIOS every time.

Almost certainly the CMOS battery. Perhaps the T20's was marginal and the T22's demands on the unit differ.

They're so inexpensive on eBay that it's well worth assuming that's the problem. You'll find ones already in the plastic holder, and ones just loose to apply in your existing holder. I prefer to just buy the whole assembly - already in the holder. I've heard that some places like Batteries Direct will tack-solder the little CR2032 (or whatever it is) cells into your holder.

If it doesn't fix the problem, well, you've wasted the cost of a frappuccino at Starbucks.

Art

[ThinkpadT20User]

Hi guys!

Bought a new CMOS battery as recommended. It solved that problem!

I installed Windows afresh, and then copied my old Windows/My Documents/Program files folders over it. It now seems to work okay, and I'm posting using my Thinkpad right now!

I'm really pleased.

So anyone with the same problem I had, just reinstall the OS. I think that might solve the problem.

BTW: anyone know where I can buy a "coin screw" (the big screw that fixes the HD section onto the laptop)? I lost mine...

Thanks for your help guys...