T42 Freezes on IBM logo screen at boot

[ichhabegedroppen]

Hi there, I have a problem with a T42, When i boot the system, it does power up, but freezes at the IBM Logo screen, it won't get any further than that.

I gives you the option to press Access IBM but that doesn't do anything either, it just removes the text telling you to do that.

when i hold the power button to shut it down, it makes a seemingly random array of beeps which are short, long high and low pitched. but the sequence seems to change randomly each time i force it to shut down. sometimes it doesn't make any beeps at all.

I'm guessing its a motherboard issue but i would like to know if anyone has experienced anything similar.

Sorry its not much to go on, but any help will be greatly appreciated.

[RealBlackStuff]

Remove keyboard, palmrest and wifi card.
Under the wifi card is a big Intel chip (the Southbridge, or SB).
Reconnect the keyboard, put and keep pressure on a corner of that SB, then try to boot. Try different corners.
If it now works, contact Nick at www.reflowrepairs.co.uk (or .com) in Newcastle for a reball.

[ichhabegedroppen]

Remove keyboard, palmrest and wifi card.
Under the wifi card is a big Intel chip (the Southbridge, or SB).
Reconnect the keyboard, put and keep pressure on a corner of that SB, then try to boot. Try different corners.
If it now works, contact Nick at http://www.reflowrepairs.co.uk (or .com) in Newcastle for a reball.

Thanks for the reply, i will try your suggestion. Is the South bridge a common fault like the ATI GPU?

[Neil]

Yes, IMHO even more common than the GPU issue, because it can affect boards with the Intel graphics as well.

[rkawakami]

Based on what I just tested on a T41, you might have a stuck key on the keyboard. Up to now, I knew that some of the older Thinkpads refused to proceed past the splash screen if certain keys were stuck:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ibm_t2x/0210_errors/

I held down the Delete key and powered on the T41. It remained at the IBM splash screen and did not boot any further. I pressed the Access IBM key, still keeping the Delete key down, and the message disappeared (but nothing else happened). I pressed the F1 key and BIOS access was granted. About the only thing that did not happen with the system is that no beeps were issued when the system was powered off. I'd try the following:

- power up the system and press F1 to see if you can get into the BIOS menu
- if possible, replace the keyboard with another one that you know works
- if you have a docking station or port replicator, remove the keyboard and hard drive and use the dock/port replicator to power up the system see if the system gets past the boot screen (taking out the HD is just to prevent the scenario of having to force a power off after the OS is loaded)

[ichhabegedroppen]

- power up the system and press F1 to see if you can get into the BIOS menu
- if possible, replace the keyboard with another one that you know works
- if you have a docking station or port replicator, remove the keyboard and hard drive and use the dock/port replicator to power up the system see if the system gets past the boot screen (taking out the HD is just to prevent the scenario of having to force a power off after the OS is loaded)

I checked the keyboard from the T42 with PC doctor in my T41 and every key works fine and was not stuck.

I booted the T42 and pressed F1 and i get at the bottom right of the splash screen "Entering IBM BIOS setup utility" and then it freezes at that screen, it never enters BIOS.

I don't have a dock so i can't test it with that unfortunately.

i have tried using another working keyboard and i get the same results.

As i am typing this i have just had the fan error message come up now, the fan isn't starting up when i press the power button and after freezing at the splash screen for about 10 seconds. i get a blank screen with "Fan Error".

I had a fan error in the T41 about a year ago, i ordered a new fan then the old one started working again fine, so i have a spare. Do you think the fan was on the blink may have caused this failure to pass the splash screen?

Thanks very much for your time.

[ichhabegedroppen]

Yes, IMHO even more common than the GPU issue, because it can affect boards with the Intel graphics as well.

My knowledge of T series Thinkpads is really limited to T40/T41 and i have 3 that all have ATI graphic which have all failed. 2 of which can be used about 70% of the time, one of which never posts. do you think its likely a T40 would suffer faulty GPU and Southbridge?

[Neil]

It's entirely possible. It's the same kind of ball grid array that attaches both to the board. I also have a couple of T4x machines with GPU failure, and a couple with Southbridge failure. Not sure about any that have both problems though, because about half a dozen of the boards I have here won't power up at all, so I don't know if that's GPU SB, or something else entirely.

I remember a few years ago people were starting to have trouble with T4x USB ports not working, before very many started complaining about graphics issues. I believe those folks were experiencing southbridge problems and just didn't know it.

[RealBlackStuff]

Your GPU seems to be working fine so far.
Have you tried putting pressure on the SB as I described above?

Hoping that a stuck key might be the cause is wishful thinking at this stage.

[ichhabegedroppen]

Have you tried putting pressure on the SB as I described above?

I will try that today and see what the results are. I will post back the answer.

[ichhabegedroppen]

I will try that today and see what the results are. I will post back the answer.

ok i pressed the southbridge chip down and the computer booted to BIOS, i restarted it and booted a Linux live CD and it ran fine.

so it looks like the GPU is fully working as you said, and that the connection to the South-bridge is faulty. So i will have to have it reballed or a new motherboard.

Thanks for the help with this, i will have to test the southbridge on my T40 but that appears to suffer from both GPU and southbridge.

[lophiomys]

I just experienced something similar with my main T42p:
First as WinXP BSODed with Bad_Pool_Header, then a a "Stuck Key" message,
and finally it froze at the IBM Logo on boot, would not enter BIOS nor show the Boot List via F12.
(During the months before I experienced occasionally a PFN_LIST_CORRUPT BSOD,
and strange single bit corruptions with one of the programs I work with.)

Completely puzzled I left it alone at the frozen boot screen and after 5 mins it has
continued to boot into the the boot menu (GRUB) and then into WinXP all by its own.
Anyone, who could explain me that behaviour?
Could that be self-resoldering by loose-contact sparks??


Seems, I that I need to bake this one in the oven too :>)))

So long..

[joester]

Dredging up an old post...I know, but I do have an answer as I contemplate the future of my T42....

Letting the system sit under power will cause some heat to build up within the motherboard. Included would be heat within the SB chip and that heat would cause thermal flexing which in turn can restore a lost connection on the BGA if there is a micro crack in one of the required connections.
Reballing may not be required in this case, just flux and reflow..... but reballing it would certainly provide the most reliable fix.

[lophiomys]

Thank you, joester.

[kfzhu1229]

Dredging up an old post...I know, but I do have an answer as I contemplate the future of my T42....

Letting the system sit under power will cause some heat to build up within the motherboard. Included would be heat within the SB chip and that heat would cause thermal flexing which in turn can restore a lost connection on the BGA if there is a micro crack in one of the required connections.
Reballing may not be required in this case, just flux and reflow..... but reballing it would certainly provide the most reliable fix.

I have a T43 that boots up but doesn't recognise the primary hard drive, I think that's a SB issue as well. Do you think that leaving the machine at post for a long time would help? And in what way can I heat the SB up because the post doesn't stay for more than a minute? Unplugging the RAM?