T42P HARD shutdown... slight burning smell and now no USB!

[virge]

Background: The T42P is my main work machine. Its docked almost full-time (99.95%) and running with the lid closed, connected to a USB mouse, keyboard, and 22" LCD. I keep an almost dead battery (8Wh or so) installed as a backup in case the power goes out. This laptop is shut down approximately every other weekend, otherwise its always running. Internet is via a network cable and the wifi is disabled.

What happened: I was actively using the computer when it up and died. Repeated attempts to turn it on via the docking station dock did nothing. I unlocked and undocked. Still nothing. Plugged in AC directly to laptop and nothing. Pulled the main battery and it finally booted. There's a slight smell of burnt electronics, but its not coming from the battery.

I'm now typing this on the T42P connected via wifi. Seems to work normally except for the USB ports are now completely dead. They still show up in Device Manager, but they don't detect anything plugged in. Temp seems a bit high at 49C during idle, nothing crazy.

I'm not sure if the battery has anything to do with it... but I don't have a spare here to check and see if the charging circuit is fried.

Any ideas as to whether the battery and USB problems could be related? Or maybe my T42P is just upset that there's a R60 and T60 sitting next to it, both vying to be the replacement?

[ajkula66]

That sounds like a Southbridge chip going haywire.

In the best case scenario, you get an PCMCIA USB card and continue the love affair with that fine ThinkPad.

In all other scenarios, anything related to the aforementioned chip - including IDE controller - starts failing.

Is your LAN port still working?

[RealBlackStuff]

A reballing of the Southbridge could extend the life of your TP.

[virge]

Having the Southbridge reballed is definitely something I'd be willing to have done. This T42P is my favorite Thinkpad so far.

I have two motherboards with GPU failure that I've been thinking of sending in, but I'm not familiar with Southbridge failures. Is this typical of a Southbridge failure? The burning smell worries me. Something definitely got cooked and reballing doesn't include a new chip right?

@ajkula66: LAN port still works. In fact computer works like normal except for the dead USB.

[ajkula66]

Personally, I'd get a PCMCIA card and call it a day...

Having said that, I would also be looking for a replacement board (no, I don't have one to sell you... ) from a reliable source...

[virge]

Well, I've moved my files onto my R60 and have it set up in dock as a replacement for my previously docked T42P. The T42P will be retired as a secondary machine. Its beautiful, with like-new LCD, cover, palmrest, and keyboard. This is going to be part of the permanent collection here along with the 701C!

As a side observation... the 14" R60 with integrated graphics and T2400 CPU is almost silent. I can't hear the fan at all in the office.

[sojourner]

As a precaution you may want to check what your USB devices draw for current; there may be excess current draw on one or more devices which caused USB to go bad, and you wouldn't want to hurt the R60!

Open device manager and check every USB Root Hub (under Universal Serial Bus controllers) POWER TAB and see what the devices draw for current (make sure all your USB devices are plugged-in and operating). I don't know if that TP can handle the typical 500ma (max) draw per port or not. Some manufactures ports only allow 100 or 200ma MAX.

And BTW, if you go with a PCMCIA -> USB adapter it is very unlikely you'll get 500ma per port. In other words, if you try to start a USB HDD from a PCMCIA -> USB adapter it likely will not start. Those adapters typically have only 100-200ma power available. They're good for a mouse or any other low current draw device, not high draw devices like HDD's.

[stevenvh]

What happened: I was actively using the computer when it up and died. Repeated attempts to turn it on via the docking station dock did nothing. I unlocked and undocked. Still nothing. Plugged in AC directly to laptop and nothing. Pulled the main battery and it finally booted. There's a slight smell of burnt electronics, but its not coming from the battery.

arghhhhh...same thing just happened to me and m'lovely T42P. I was using an external hdd and upon unplugging it the laptop shutdown immediately and fried electronic smell came from the fan vent. Now no usb which is critical for my work. Going for the PC card for now and have a desktop I can revive, but am heart broken! Almost as bad as when my favorite old dog died

Do the T60s have the same issue??

I was considering upgrading to a T60P.

woe is me....

[RealBlackStuff]

T60 series don't have that (or hardly any other) problem.
Currently the most coveted and reliable Model-T

[stevenvh]

Thanks for the reply and a Guinness does sound good about now

I wanted to mention that in the days previous to the crash and burn I noticed my system temps were up a few Cs and CPU load was higher than usual when just doing basic stuff. So would conclude keeping your machine clean and watching the temps should be standard practice for T4x users.

hth,
Steven

[stevenvh]

Has anyone tried the motherboard repair services on ebay?? Obviously, I desperate for a solution.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MOTHERBOARD-REPAIR- ... 4cef446c81

[ajkula66]

You can have the board swapped for less than that...

[virge]

You can have the board swapped for less than that...

That's close to the price of a T60! Maybe with a reballing/reflowing of the SB chip, but I'm not sure that would do it because of the burnt smell. I'm also not too sure how reliable the machine will be without any repairs. Since this was my main work machine, I decided to replace it.