The Starving Student - Thinkpad T43P Resurrection Project

[underclocker]

I've cleaned them in the past with an old, soft bristle toothbrush and alcohol. A toothbrush for toddlers works best - very small and very soft bristles (great for CPU fan cleaning, too).

A Q-tip will leave lint.

[Harryc]

OK, I'll give it a try. Thanks

[Harryc]

I cleaned the mPCI slot with a soft bristle brush and alcohol..for several minutes. Let it dry then ran some more tests. The same issue still exists. Not even sure it''s a slot problem because if I push down on or hold up the card the symptoms do not change. I am going to hook up an Ethernet cable and run some more tests. I also swapped RAM modules...no change.

Edit: Ethernet works fine...this is a systemboard issue.

[Harryc]

This project has ended for my part anyway. The machine goes back to the OP tomorrow. He has decided to use a PCMCIA WiFi card and to get some use out of the T42 before getting a new machine. Thanks to all for suggestions and donations.

[midnight08]

Thank you everyone! it will be nice having a computer again....

[killer]

@midnight08: Good luck with it, matey.

Harryc has shown great tenacity in this project. I think he deserves a round of applause.

[Tasurinchi]

Agreed!

(we may need a clapping hands smiley)

[Pawelek]

From me:

[tysong]

I'll second/third/fourth that...

By the way... I have a ~dead T43p that I'd be happy to part with. I'm pretty sure the machine is fine except for a hard drive crash and a loud fan... I put it on ebay this morning... I don't imagine it'll go for very much money. At the very least, it might serve as a platform for a resurrected machine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0527316578

In any case... Back to my post about T42p ethernet driver issues under Windows 7...

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=84695

[Harryc]

Thanks for the comments everyone, it's appreciated. tysong, if you are willing to donate the machine, I am willing to spend the time to get it working. We'll find a local charity or school for it, another student in need, or any worthy cause you'd prefer. PM me if you're interested.

[RealBlackStuff]

Just checking the description on tysong's eBay ad, gives me the impression that all it needs is a reballing of the Southbridge.
$45.- will fix that!

[ashat]

I'll second/third/fourth that...

By the way... I have a ~dead T43p that I'd be happy to part with. I'm pretty sure the machine is fine except for a hard drive crash and a loud fan... I put it on ebay this morning... I don't imagine it'll go for very much money. At the very least, it might serve as a platform for a resurrected machine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0527316578

Just to notice that Lenovo's support page description of the product number doesn't match with the ebay announce specifications.
Is this a 14 inch or a 15 inch, (as it looks from the picture) machine?

A.

[tysong]

Ruh roh... Thanks for noting this... It's a 15" machine!