A30 Will not power on

[bretski]

Hi all,

Have an old A30 that the kids use for their machine. It will not power on currently. From what the kiddos have told me, it just shut down on them and wouldn't turn on again. Did manage to get a battery light for a few seconds the other day, but that's it.

Power brick is good (tested on another machine). Have removed battery, RAM, HDD, Bay devices, replaced CMOS battery, no help. So, now suspecting a motherboard issue; maybe the female power port is loose? Can this be tightened up easily? Any other suggestions for things to investigate before I throw in the towel? I'd hate to get rid of this machine, it has such a nice screen!

Help appreciated!
-Bret

[hunterman223]

If you wiggle the power cord the power cord does the light come on, even briefly? Does the battery hold a charge? I suspect the DC power jack as I have experienced this with multiple systems, mainly Gateway. Try wiggling the connector, propping it up with something under it, pressing down on it, and changing how tightly it is plugged in.

If you get lights coming on, than it is must likely the jack. How good are you at soldering? You can get a replacement power jack for about $2 on eBay. If you aren't familiar with the process, you will need to follow the HMM right down to the bare systemboard, heat up the pins on the jack, remove it, and pop the new one in. Before you buy have a look at the current power jack to make sure it matches the replacement.

If it doesn't turn out to be the above, (hope that it is) you will most likely need a replacement mainboard. Good luck and keep us posted.

[ozzymud]

Read this from a reply to someone with same symptoms...

Remove the battery and ultrabay drives, unplug the AC adapter. Press the "power" button 10 times in a row holding it down for 10 seconds each time and 30 seconds the last time around. Plug the AC adapter back in and try to power on.

Apparently worked for the poster on Lenovo forums,,, worth a shot

[hunterman223]

Good call, that would be a hard reset. I can't believe I forgot to mention it, that's one of the first things to do with something like this, and it has helped me and many others in the past.

[bretski]

I did try the hard reset sequence (no luck)...sorry, forgot to mention that. I've done the "wire-jiggle" with no success. Thanks for the ebay suggestion regarding a replacement jack, I'll start looking.

[ozzymud]

Seeings how this is a teardown situation reguardless... before you waste $2 and time on a jack... go ahead and tear it down, then with the motherboard laying on a good workplace... plug in the ac adaptor... then measure the voltage on the pins on the underside of the motherboard... this will tell you if the jack is flaked out or not.

If you get proper voltage, time for a motherboard most likely... if not, $2 jack and some solder

[ajkula66]

First and foremost...

Pull out all the RAM and try to power it on - battery, adapter, whatever...

Does it beep?

If it doesn't, chances are that the mobo is gone.

Good luck.

[ozzymud]

Already covered all that and then some... choice now is bad AC jack or probable MB

[bretski]

Pulling everything (including RAM) was tried first. Nothing. I'm going to tear it down today if I have time, and see if there's any voltage across the power jack. Are A30 mobos still available for cheap? I'll mosey over to the classified to do a search...

[ajkula66]

A complete stripped A30 can be had for less than $50 nowadays...if you want to re-use the parts, that would be the way to go...IMHO that is...