T61 nVidia thinkpads being repaired N/C [until March 2011]

[eecon]

@BCHurricane89 .... Welcome to the Forum.

I sent you a Private Message outlining your options.

[BCHurricane89]

Well, I decided to take my T61p apart today, and cleaned a little dust out, and then took the heatsink off, and cleaned off all the thermal paste, and reapplied arctic silver 5 paste. I put it all back together, and I see maybe a little decrease in temps while idling. Currenty 49C for CPU, and 61C for GPU.

[eecon]

Well, I decided to take my T61p apart today, and cleaned a little dust out, and then took the heatsink off, and cleaned off all the thermal paste, and reapplied arctic silver 5 paste. I put it all back together, and I see maybe a little decrease in temps while idling. Currenty 49C for CPU, and 61C for GPU.

59C to 61C idling is normal for the GPU with 85C when really stressed hard during gaming.

Minimize heat cycling as much as possible (power up in the morning and power down in the evening). Avoid going to standby every few hours .... that's what will cause the failure .... lots of cold/hot cycling.

[Insomniac1971]

To benjs (and everyone in a similar situation):

Please open up your Nvidia Control Panel. Go the Help tab and choose System Info and report back here with your Nvidia card's BIOS version.

Would appreciate this data from anyone out there with 2007 through early-2008 built T61 and T61p units which still have the original factory installed motherboard and graphics card (for a database I'm building).

Please report as:

T61 or T61p
Build Date (found under your laptop just right of the S/N ..... listed as YR/MO)
Model (like 6457-XXX)
Graphics card (either NVS140M or FX570M)
Nvidia Card BIOS

Thanks

Here you go:

T61
Build Date 07/08 (this is from next to serial, but take in mind that some coutries writes mo/yr - mine is supposely made in Sweeden but has danish keys so its sold here in Denmark)
Model 7665-12G
Graphics card Quadro NVS 140M
Nvidia Card BIOS 60.86.3E.00.00
Bios date 04/16/07
technology 80 nm

CPU-Z repports:
Name NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M
Revision A2
Codename G86M
Technology 80 nm
Memory size 128 MB
Memory bus width 64 bits
PCI device bus 1 (0x1), device 0 (0x0), function 0 (0x0)
Vendor ID 0x10DE (0x17AA)
Model ID 0x0429 (0x20D8)
Performance Level Default
Core clock 169.0 MHz
Shader clock 338.0 MHz
Memory clock 100.0 MHz
Performance Level 2D Desktop
Core clock 275.0 MHz
Shader clock 550.0 MHz
Memory clock 301.0 MHz
Performance Level 3D Applications
Core clock 400.0 MHz
Shader clock 800.0 MHz
Memory clock 600.0 MHz

Just let me know if you need more info:)

With kind regards

JBJ

[Insomniac1971]

Hi, could someone who got their mainboard replaced with the "fixed" chip, please post the FRU# for the 14.1" model?

Thanx in advance:)

with kind regards

JBJ

[RealBlackStuff]

There are two 14.1" models, Standard 4:3 aspect and Widescreen.

[Insomniac1971]

Thank you for that info:) Then it has to be the 14.1" Widescreen mobo:)

With kind regards

JBJ

[rumbero]

Triggered by a private message by forum member Insomniac1971, i'd like to provide all interested fellow forum members with the relevant information regarding the possible replacement Intel GPU mainboard options for a broken T61 nVIDIA mainboard:

The german thinkpad-wiki.org/T61 has a table with a listing of all possible mainboard FRU at the bottom of the page. The Intel board i once bought was a FRU 42W7875 with Penryn support, but a FRU 42W7651 with Merom support would have been sufficient for my existing T7300 CPU. I found all these parts on eBay, but one needs quite some patience to find it, as they appear to be sought after quite a lot, thus being rather scarce. A much better option than just buying the mainboard alone is to acquire a broken T61 with functioning mainboard, because this way one also gets lots of additional spare parts.

The other option is to buy a refurbished mainboard from some commercial entity. In Germany we have the very appreciated shop www.lapstore.de, which offers such mainboards included with some warranty: www.lapstore.de/f.php/shop/lapstore/f/5 ... T6x_Serie/. The offers differ a lot according to changing availability, so check back often.
Since i lack any knowledge of any international or US american webshop equivalent to lapstore.de, it would be very appreciated if someone else could provide this information to all fellow forum members in a followup reply.

Other than that, check out www.lenovoservicetraining.com for all technical details regarding a mainboard swap. It contains detailed videos explaining parts replacement for all Thinkpad models from the T60 onwards, and also a link to the fabulous Hardware Maintenance Manual pdf file. The nice thing about Thinkads is the availability of well done technical documentation, enabling the gifted end user to repair (and thus actually own) the machine all by herself/himself.

Good luck with your endeavour!

[Insomniac1971]

Hi again, The Intel GMA x3100 mainboards has a resolution of 1024x768 in the original machine with the 14.1" original screen - my question is this, will it have possibility for higher resolution when used in a laptop with a 14.1" widescreen that can handle 1440x900. Will I get the full resolution?

Or do I need to look for a "Fixed" nVidia mobo?

Guys, I still need the FRU# on the new mob, from those that got it replaced:)

with kind regards

JBJ

[rumbero]

Hi again, The Intel GMA x3100 mainboards has a resolution of 1024x768 in the original machine with the 14.1" original screen - my question is this, will it have possibility for higher resolution when used in a laptop with a 14.1" widescreen that can handle 1440x900. Will I get the full resolution?

Yes you will.

Like quite a lot of other T61's also, my 8895-WFJ was build by Lenovo with a Intel GMA X3100 and a SXGA+ display, and this runs perfectly. Even my T61+ Frankenpad featuring an IPS/Flexview UXGA (1600x1200) display resolution has no issues being run by the Intel GMA X3100. Other members of this forum went even so far as to equip their Frankenpads with a QXGA (2048×1536) display, and this also appears to work sufficiently fine.

Don't underestimate the capabilities of the Intel GMA X3100. In comparison, the good old Intel GMA 950 of the T60 generation are a far cry from the T61's builtin Intel GPU capabilities. Unless you don't need any explicit GPU power provided by one of the dedicated graphic chips, like for gaming or CAD, there really is no need at all to worry regarding the Intel GMA X3100's performance.

[rumbero]

Guys, I still need the FRU# on the new mob, from those that got it replaced:)

Is it not easy enough to check the table at the bottom of the thinkpad-wiki.org/T61 website? There is only a reduced number of options, depending on the form factor of your machine.

[Insomniac1971]

Is it not easy enough to check the table at the bottom of the thinkpad-wiki.org/T61 website? There is only a reduced number of options, depending on the form factor of your machine.

Hi rumbero, unfortunately not:( I like to see if there is a difference in the FRU# and see if we can pinpointwhich ones that are good when someone go shopping for a new board, the FRU# in the wiki don't differenciate from good or bad board. The above is only regarding the nVidia mainboard, mind you:)

With kind regards

JBJ

[Insomniac1971]

Yes you will.

Like quite a lot of other T61's also, my 8895-WFJ was build by Lenovo with a Intel GMA X3100 and a SXGA+ display, and this runs perfectly. Even my T61+ Frankenpad featuring an IPS/Flexview UXGA (1600x1200) display resolution has no issues being run by the Intel GMA X3100. Other members of this forum went even so far as to equip their Frankenpads with a QXGA (2048×1536) display, and this also appears to work sufficiently fine.

Don't underestimate the capabilities of the Intel GMA X3100. In comparison, the good old Intel GMA 950 of the T60 generation are a far cry from the T61's builtin Intel GPU capabilities. Unless you don't need any explicit GPU power provided by one of the dedicated graphic chips, like for gaming or CAD, there really is no need at all to worry regarding the Intel GMA X3100's performance.

Hi rumbero:) Thank you, that is nice to know. I asked because I could not find the resolution for the X3100 in the wiki about it(I couldn't even find the X3100 on Intels page).

Is your 8895-WFJ with firewire in the front, to the left side?

Btw do you have the FRU# for your 8895-WFJ?

With kind regards

JBJ

[rumbero]

Hi rumbero, unfortunately not:( I like to see if there is a difference in the FRU# and see if we can pinpointwhich ones that are good when someone go shopping for a new board, the FRU# in the wiki don't differenciate from good or bad board.

OK, now i get it, sorry for my misunderstanding!

I once had a broken nVIDIA mainboard replaced by Lenovo, and guess what? The FRU of the replacement board was equal to the broken one.
The only difference was the nVIDIA GPU chip soldered to the board, which was produced "1041A2" (=41st calendar week of 2010). There were
reports from people who had their faulty boards replaced just with yet another board equipped with a broken GPU that eventually failed again,
and thus had to be replaced yet again, even multiple times. For this reason i checked the nVIDIA GPU manufacturing date on the replacement
board once it was back from the Lenovo shop, and i noted that the mainboard FRU had not changed in the process.

As far as i have understood, Lenovo never produced any newer mainboard revisions to fix that dreaded nVIDIA bug issue. They just use
refurbished mainboards, which are most probably returned broken mainboards which have been retrofitted with known good nVIDIA GPU chips.
This supposedly must have been much cheaper than producing new batches of replacement mainboards for an old Thinkpad model which is not
in production anymore.

Bottom line is: there is no known good mainboard FRU, but only refurbished older mainboards. So check your nVIDIA GPU chip manufacturing
date in order to see if it was produced starting August 2008 or later.

[rumbero]

I asked because I could not find the resolution for the X3100 in the wiki about it(I couldn't even find the X3100 on Intels page).

You might like to try here, maybe there is some information in this regard (haven't checked any further):

intellinuxgraphics.org/documentation.html
www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/datasheet/313053.pdf

Is your 8895-WFJ with firewire in the front, to the left side?

The 8895-WFJ is one of the rather rare T61 with 4:3 form factor, which all lack the firewire and the SD card slot in the front. Only the widescreen models offer both features.

The lack of an SD card slot could be successfully circumvented using a very nice Cardbus SDHC card reader adapter which constantly remains inserted into the Cardbus slot.
Additionally, it can be retrofitted with a AKE USB 3.0 ExpressCard with 2xUSB3 ports which also doesn't stick out and thus can stay permanently inserted in the ExpressCard slot.

Should i ever come into the position to have to connect a firewire device, i still have an older IBM Cardbus Firewire adapter hidden in the back of some obscure drawer.

Btw do you have the FRU# for your 8895-WFJ?

I am not aware of any FRU for a complete machine. They are composed of FRU's (FRU=Field Replacement Unit), but have none of their own.
See the Lenovo FAQ about "What is a service part FRU? for explanation.

You can check the details of the 8895-WFJ (or any other product ID) via www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/quickPath.do?quickPathEntry=8895WFJ. If you are only redirected
to www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/pc instead, just click on the "Lenovo Support & Downloads" link and enter the product ID "8895-WFJ" into the Quick Path entry box on the
left column, and press enter.

To get an idea about the multitude of different T61 configurations, click on the "Browse product" link below the Quick Path entry box and let yourself be surprised.

[Insomniac1971]

Hi rumbero, I asked about the firewire because its in mine, and I'm not likely to use it ever but I dont like to have a small hole in the front either:)

Which one of these would you chose for my 7665-12G:

http://www.lapstore.de/f.php/shop/lapst ... T6x_Serie/

Should I stick to the nVidia if the chip is newer, or go with the intel? I don't do games, but I do convert movies once in a while. And use my laptop as my TV, DVD player:)

I went for this model because of the smaller screen and the more horse power than my Toshiba L40-139.

And it also had a oportunity for a better battery. The Toshiba's battery last 1 hour and 13 min..

With kind regards

JBJ

[rumbero]

Which one of these would you chose for my 7665-12G:

According to www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/quickPath.do?quickPathEntry=766512G your machine is a 14,1" widescreen model with a Merom T7300 CPU. So your mainboard choices are limited to either 41W1487 (Merom) or 42W7866 (Penryn), if you prefer an Intel GPU. If you still dare using a possibly broken nVDIA GPU, the mainboard should be either a 41W1489 (Merom) or one of 44C3933/42W7867 (Penryn). While Penryn boards have no issue running Merom CPU's, the other way round requires a hacked BIOS. So, in your case, i would rather stay with a Merom board, especially since Penryn boards are very hard to find.

Bottom line: You need mainboard FRU 41W1487 (Merom/Intel)or 41W1489 (Merom/nVIDIA). I wouldn't want to take any risk with nVIDIA graphics, especially if it can't be verified if the GPU was definitely manufactured after 08/08. So i'd rather suggest http://www.lapstore.de/a.php/shop/lapst ... RU_41W1487. I'd assume that the Intel graphics are sufficient for your needs, but you will have to find that out by yourself.

[Insomniac1971]

Hi Rumbero, thank you for your insight:) I think the Intel will be suficient, as long as I won't have any trouble, changing the mobo:)

I have the HW maitainance manual, and it looks simple enough, just like the TP 600 and 570, I have taken apart before:) That why I love IBM laptops, they are so easy to upgrade(well, some things not) and repair.

Should you ever be in Denmark or in the Philippines, them PM me and I will buy you a beer(or more):)

With kind regards

JBJ
Moderators, please leave this thread open, I will return with info on how the "upgrade" went, for the benefits of other people:)

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

My T61's Quadro seems to have given up as well last Tuesday around 2 am in the morning
I see most of the image replicated vertically with the left half being mostly gray/purple and the right being green.

Anyway, I gave Lenovo Netherlands a call and after giving name, address and serial number he told me my warranty expired around June 2010 (I had only 1 year warranty when I bought it, lol)

So I asked him about MIGR-75087 and after putting me on hold for a few moments he told me that because of that they would repair machines that were up to six months past warranty. So basically: tough luck for me. He was very polite though and gave me a case# and an email address and told me he could escalate the issue if I send them an email.

Machine is a T61 7664-16U dated 07/05, 14.1" widescreen

IBM Part center told me a 43Y9044 board would cost € 367,90 excluding VAT (19%) and shipping (€11 (I guess also excl. VAT)). That would take it to €450, which is of course a no-go since used T61's including that board go for less.

I don't do any gaming on it anyway, so I will consider the Intel board...

EDIT: It seems you also need a different heatsink/fan for the Intel Integrated graphics motherboard vs. the nVidia timebomb-board.

[Insomniac1971]

Thanx for the info:)

Rumbero can you confirm that different heatsink fan is needed for the Intel mainboard, since you did the convertion?

JBJ

[rumbero]

Rumbero can you confirm that different heatsink fan is needed for the Intel mainboard, since you did the convertion?

You can just reuse the nVIDIA heatsink/fan for the Intel graphics, but not the other way round. The cooling unit for the Intel graphics machines lacks the required parts to cover the area of the dedicated GPU.

[goraman]

My Think pad is a T61 08 07 is it to late to get the video chip or mother board replaced?

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Oh btw, the heat-trick works with my T61 too.

I let it sit with the fan shut down untill it reached 88 degress Celsius for the GPU. Then I shut it down. I rebooted after that and the image is perfect now.

I'm actually posting this from the machine itself.

Temperature as reported by TPFanControl

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Untill now...

Will try again later, copy valuable data over GBit LAN to my desktop

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Cold boot, no problem

[Insomniac1971]

Can someone please answer this: will an notebook cooler be an advantage with this systeme or make the situation worse?

EDIT: I'm refering to the problem with the soldering, that might crack.

with kind regards

JBJ

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Keeping it at a constant temperature would be beneficial for all I know. So keeping it hot all the time is no problem. Don't cool it down rapidly after heavy use. That causes a lot of stress on all the parts.

[crashnburn]

CPU-Z shows me:
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M
Code Name: G86M
Revision: A2

Is this card vulnerable or safe?

[eecon]

Impossible to tell unless you remove the fan/heatshink assembly and report back the actual date code printed on the Nvidia chip itself (the Rev 2 was used on both the good and bad chips) ..... Please read back through a few pages of this thread first before asking a question already asked and answered many times (or use the search function).

[BootSectorVirus]

Anyone know if Lenovo is doing this for the T42 with the same issue?