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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
Paul wrote:
wrote: On Tue, 16 Aug 2016 07:24:54 -0400, Paul wrote: I've never seen an explanation for the "why" of it. It just seems that certain models of SuperI/O chips have a VBAT input, and the terminal does not seem to be connected to the hardware monitor. So it's connected for some other reason. And I don't think I was able to find a line of text in the datasheet, that said "computer won't start if VBAT=0 volts". But those are the symptoms. The symptoms go "one day the clock loses setting or the other BIOS settings are corrupted". Then "four weeks later, the computer will not start - a check of the CMOS coin cell CR2032 reveals the terminal voltage is then very close to zero volts". So the voltage drops from 2.4V to 0V on a CR2032, under a 10uA load, and it takes 4 weeks. Removing the main battery pack, causes the CR2032 to run the CMOS clock. Which accelerates the demise of the CR2032. It has a slightly less than 3 year rating, if you keep pulling the main battery pack out of the laptop after using it. In some cases, it is absolutely worth while taking care of your CR2032, because the battery is on the solder side of the mainboard, and almost impossible to reach. One clever poster here, used a hole cut saw and made a 1" hole in the bottom of an old laptop, just to have quick access :-) Which is certainly better than removing 30 screws and having to take the thing entirely apart. You would think they would arrange one of those access doors, to expose the coin cell, but that isn't always the case. In some cases, it's a complete teardown. It's like the car design, where you have to pull the engine up out of the engine bay, just to change the fourth spark plug. And as a result, platinum spark plugs are used. Because the labor cost is so high to change the plugs, it's worth it to take care of them and stretch the service life. Paul Everything you said makes sense, however in my case, I think the computer is toast. I replaced the CMOS battery with a new one. Nothing changed. I did the hold the power button for 30 seconds after pushing it 10 times, and I even tried to power up without the RAM. NOTHING.... I still get that fraction of a second flash on the battery light, but only after the main battery was removed. With or without the AC adaptor plugged in, and it dont indicate any charging of the battery lights or anything else. I dont see anything that appears burned, cracked, or broken, but the parts are so damn small and my eyes not the best anymore, so what is there to see. I've done all I can do with limited test equipment and cant find anything else to try. I guess this computer is junk. Maybe I can use someone elses computer and find another T43 on Ebay, and then all I have to do is put in my present harddrive and will be back in business. This is the reason I prefer desktop machines. I can always fix them, but they are too big to haul around to places that have WIFI. Laptops are not made to be user repaired. I guess they are just disposible once they fail. I cant afford a new laptop, and I dont want any OS newer than XP anyhow, so I may as well just find another identical computer. These T43's are about 10 years old, so I'm sure I can get one pretty cheap. Apparently, this is referred to as the "Blink of Death" by the participants in this thread. It's not necessarily dead, just... resting. http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67141 Paul Threads like this make more sense, if the OP explains how he jumped to a particular conclusion. For some reason, he has selected a 1.8V at 6A switching converter as the culprit. You could always check the 220uF cap for fluid leakage on the top of the cap. http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewt...102275&start=0 http://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds...92-MAX1993.pdf http://s53.photobucket.com/user/adas.../t43p.png.html In case the fault detection in that circuit is latching, you have to remove all main power to allow it to reset. They used to make converters operate in "put-put" mode years ago. If a converter liked to trip on overcurrent, the "put-put" mode would continue trying to restart the circuit. Modern circuits seem to favor "latch off" as a response. You have to remove all voltage from the circuit, to get the converter to try again. Paul |
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
On Wed, 17 Aug 2016 06:19:34 -0400, Paul wrote:
Apparently, this is referred to as the "Blink of Death" by the participants in this thread. It's not necessarily dead, just... resting. http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67141 Paul Since I tried everything suggested in that thread, many times, (holding the power button), it appears this "resting state" is for eternity. (I'd call that DEAD). This is one of about 5 forums I read about this problem. (They are all over the internet). None have any real solution, except fiddling with that power button with the battery and mains disconnected. A link from the above thread sugests a bad capacitor, but the poster can barely speak proper english and dont specify where. I should also note that since I have the keyboard and palm rest panel removed, I do not see any electrolytic caps anywhere on the board, just those ceramic types. (Unless they are on the bottom). I particularly looked near the power connector and battery terminals. No (can type) caps present. Either way, I dont see any further thing I can do. Replacing the motherboard is NOT an option considering the cost and I doubt I'd even be able to get everything back where it belongs with those tiny screws and connectors, etc. It's easier and probably cheaper to just find an identical computer on ebay, and re-use my harddrive. The only problem is that I cant shop ebay on dialup anymore, because they have bloated ebay so badly that it no longer loads properly...... All my ebay shopping has been done on this (now dead) laptop, at wifi spots. This leaves me having to rely on other people to help me make a purchase, and that wont be easy since most of the people in this farming community have no internet, or are also stuck with dialup, or can only access the internet from a smartphone (which means they will have to do the work for me, because I have no idea how to use a smartphone). I also thought about using a desktop computer at a WIFI spot (from my vehicle), but then I realized that desktop computers dont have any built in WIFI capabilities..... I think the "Blink of Death" is REAL DEATH !!! |
#19
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
In message ,
writes: [] computer is toast. I replaced the CMOS battery with a new one. Nothing changed. I did the hold the power button for 30 seconds after pushing it 10 times, and I even tried to power up without the RAM. NOTHING.... I still get that fraction of a second flash on the battery light, but only after the main battery was removed. With or without the AC adaptor plugged in, and it dont indicate any charging of the battery lights or anything else. I still suspect the power socket solder joints. I dont see anything that appears burned, cracked, or broken, but the parts are so damn small and my eyes not the best anymore, so what is there to see. I've done all I can do with limited test equipment and cant find anything else to try. I guess this computer is junk. Solder joints can crack in most unexpected ways. (I was once trying to fix someone's telly - it was only when I gave up, and turned the room lights off to go home, that I saw a little spark: a pin through a circuit board still had a cone of solder around it, but had cracked in a cylindrical manner around the pin!) Is the (normal) computer battery charging? It may measure 12V or whatever it's nominal voltage is, but that's with a high-impedance meter and under no load; do you have access to any other machine you can charge it in? (I suspect not.) Is the power supply putting out its nominal voltage? Again, measuring it under no load might not answer that question; do you have anything else you can plug it into to see if it's putting out power? If it is, get your ear very close to the dead computer's power in socket, and waggle it, listening for any sparking - though if the contacts have fully failed, you won't hear anything. I've just had a quick look, and in some ways you're in luck: it looks as if the power socket isn't directly soldered to the motherboard, but is connected via a short length of cable to a plug: http://ebay.eu/2bnMeGg http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fr...ke t&_sacat=0 (That's UK ebay, but the pictures are useful.) If you can get that assembly out, bell-test it - or just replace it anyway, they're cheap enough (but bell-testing it would confirm that's the source of the problem). If it's anything like the one I repaired a few months ago, it'll take you many hours to get it out - and back in again; when it finally came out/went in, it felt simple and didn't require much force, but it was very fiddly working out what you had to remove/loosen to get at it. Maybe I can use someone elses computer and find another T43 on Ebay, and then all I have to do is put in my present harddrive and will be back in business. This is the reason I prefer desktop machines. I can always fix them, but they are too big to haul around to places that have WIFI. And you need to be able to plug them in - and the monitor (-: Laptops are not made to be user repaired. I guess they are just disposible once they fail. They certainly make them difficult! But I have repaired bits: a hard drive (that was easy), the above power-in cable, a screen (on the particular model, that wasn't difficult, just tedious; YouTube video helped). I cant afford a new laptop, and I dont want any OS newer than XP anyhow, so I may as well just find another identical computer. These T43's are about 10 years old, so I'm sure I can get one pretty cheap. Unless there are lots like you who think similarly (-:! [I've been looking for a spare for this one - Samsung NC-20 - for a while, in case it ever dies beyond redemption, but they're rare ...] Though a quick look tells me T43s are about 30 to 40 pounds, so you seem to be right. (There's even one with Windows 10, though I'd be dubious! [And like you I wouldn't want to run later than XP on it anyway.]) But if you can get at that power socket/lead assembly, check it; IMO, worth a look first. -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf * SLMR 2.1a #113 * Tits like watermelons, sparrows like bacon rind. - 03-22-97 Dave Beecham (quoted by Gene Wirchenko, in alt.windows7.general, 2012-10-16.) |
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
wrote:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2016 06:19:34 -0400, Paul wrote: Apparently, this is referred to as the "Blink of Death" by the participants in this thread. It's not necessarily dead, just... resting. http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67141 Paul Since I tried everything suggested in that thread, many times, (holding the power button), it appears this "resting state" is for eternity. (I'd call that DEAD). This is one of about 5 forums I read about this problem. (They are all over the internet). None have any real solution, except fiddling with that power button with the battery and mains disconnected. A link from the above thread sugests a bad capacitor, but the poster can barely speak proper english and dont specify where. I should also note that since I have the keyboard and palm rest panel removed, I do not see any electrolytic caps anywhere on the board, just those ceramic types. (Unless they are on the bottom). I particularly looked near the power connector and battery terminals. No (can type) caps present. Either way, I dont see any further thing I can do. Replacing the motherboard is NOT an option considering the cost and I doubt I'd even be able to get everything back where it belongs with those tiny screws and connectors, etc. It's easier and probably cheaper to just find an identical computer on ebay, and re-use my harddrive. The only problem is that I cant shop ebay on dialup anymore, because they have bloated ebay so badly that it no longer loads properly...... All my ebay shopping has been done on this (now dead) laptop, at wifi spots. This leaves me having to rely on other people to help me make a purchase, and that wont be easy since most of the people in this farming community have no internet, or are also stuck with dialup, or can only access the internet from a smartphone (which means they will have to do the work for me, because I have no idea how to use a smartphone). I also thought about using a desktop computer at a WIFI spot (from my vehicle), but then I realized that desktop computers dont have any built in WIFI capabilities..... I think the "Blink of Death" is REAL DEATH !!! The motherboards seem to run around $20 to $30 http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Genuine-IBM-L...-/251997921399 In the picture there, I can see some "black bricks" that look like they might be SMT tantalums. Maybe those are used instead of electrolytics ? I see a couple of bricks near the USB sockets, and a typical value for USB bypass is 100uF. ******* As for using a desktop in the car: 1) Use a USB Wifi. For example, the Edimax the Raspberry PI people use is cheap, but not very fast. It would help if you bought a flavor of Wifi with actual antennas on it. So you can wave the antennas about, or adjust them. You can even get PCI cards with Wifi on it, and reverse-SMA connectors on the faceplate. 2) The desktop should have an ATX power supply *without* power factor correction. I do not recommend using a PC power supply of the "80+", "Bronze", "Gold" variety. You want an older power supply with a 0.7 power factor. For example, I bought a Sparkle 400W supply some time ago as a replacement for my first PC, as that ATX is an older design and has no power factor correction. These will be getting harder and harder to find. I needed that, because my UPS output waveform isn't a pure sinewave. 3) Now that we have a power supply without power factor correction, now we can get a 200W inverter for car usage, and convert car power to 110VAC. The waveform used is a square wave. While I'm sure somewhere, someone makes a decent inverter for car usage (with real sinewave output), the reality is that you're going to use some 20 year old design. And so the ATX supply in the desktop, has to tolerate the expected square wave output. They make PICOs for cars (DC to DC converter). But you need a good deal of "talent" to get something like this going. These have severely limited power rails, and the hardware you drive with one of these, must be carefully selected. Of all the materials I have in the house, I'd only try this with my Asrock 4CoreDuo, as it has low power consumption. It's the closest thing I have to a desktop that might work. One in ten odds of working. I would be just as likely to overheat one of these and cause it to shutdown. I would also select an SSD (or an M.2) as a hard drive. Or even boot a Linux USB key or something. Anything to shave off a few watts. http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=10#int One reason I could even contemplate doing a project like that, is I have a clamp-on DC ammeter. So I can check the PC power consumption on each wire, before deciding to use a PICO. And what you do, is pull the ATX PSU, leaving a hole in the computer case. Then run a 20 pin or 24 pin cable from the PICO to the motherboard. That's the basic idea. When you select a PICO, it has to be designed for car usage, so that it will cut off on low battery. With the amount of power that draws, it probably wouldn't be that safe to run it off battery alone. You might want to leave the engine running. HTH, Paul |
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
wrote:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2016 06:19:34 -0400, Paul wrote: Apparently, this is referred to as the "Blink of Death" by the participants in this thread. It's not necessarily dead, just... resting. http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67141 Paul Since I tried everything suggested in that thread, many times, (holding the power button), it appears this "resting state" is for eternity. Did you test for power at the mother board where the power wires connect via the little white plug? I agree with JP Gilliver, power jack may be bad. I had to replace the one on the Lenovo T400. I know it is not easy for you to get to Ebay, but a new jack with wires and plug is only $6. It would be worth a try. BTW, those micro screws... I ordered 300 assorted from China last week for $1.29 including shipping. Don't know what I will get but worth $1.29 for the entertainment value. The display cables break on Lenovos. Just got a new one for the T410. It works great. IMO, my T420 was one of the last Lenovos with buttons on the touch pad. I intend to keep this one. Got a BT module for it for $6 off of Ebay. |
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
On Wed, 17 Aug 2016 22:44:25 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote: Unless there are lots like you who think similarly (-:! [I've been looking for a spare for this one - Samsung NC-20 - for a while, in case it ever dies beyond redemption, but they're rare ...] Though a quick look tells me T43s are about 30 to 40 pounds, so you seem to be right. (There's even one with Windows 10, though I'd be dubious! [And like you I wouldn't want to run later than XP on it anyway.]) But if you can get at that power socket/lead assembly, check it; IMO, worth a look first. I managed to find someone who let me use their business computer last evening. I wert on ebay and found a "buy it now" almost identical T43 for $33. Says it's working, but no OS installed. It comes with an 80g harddrive and 1g RAM. Mine only had 512m RAM and a 40g Harddrive. So, I'm already ahead, since I was planning to add more RAM and a bigger HD. It does NOT come with the battery or power supply adaptor. I have my power supply, so I dont need that. But I also bought a NEW battery for $18. Mine was still good, but apparently weakening since it only lasted about 20min. So, for $51 I got another computer with a new battery, double the RAM and the HD space. I cant complain about that.... Yea, I did see the one with Windows 10 on it. But it said in the fine print that it has sound problems. I actually did not think that an older computer like that could run Win10. I'll look at that power socket on my old one. If I can fix it, I'll have a spare computer, but I'm not willing to stick much more time in it. I will eventually want to clone my old HD to the new BIGGER HD in the new laptop. but I'm still puzzled how to do it. On a desktop I can plug in a second HD to clone to, but that cant be done on a laptop. All I can think is to clone the old 40g drive to a 32g flash drive (the drive is not filled), then boot from a CD and clone the flash drive to the 80g HD. I'm not sure if that will work???? |
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
On Thu, 18 Aug 2016 18:16:57 -0500, Paul in Houston TX
wrote: wrote: I will eventually want to clone my old HD to the new BIGGER HD in the new laptop. but I'm still puzzled how to do it. On a desktop I can plug in a second HD to clone to, but that cant be done on a laptop. All I can think is to clone the old 40g drive to a 32g flash drive (the drive is not filled), then boot from a CD and clone the flash drive to the 80g HD. I'm not sure if that will work???? Can you plug both laptop hdd's into the desktop and then use something like Macrium to clone one to the other? Dont I need some special connectors to plug them small drives into a desktop computer? I know the power plugs are different, but I'm not sure about the data plugs? If I have to, I suppose I'll have to buy some adaptors or something. I'd imagine ebay has some sort of adaptors? I have never been able to figure out Macrium, which seems very complicated and bloated, but I have Partition Magic, which works fine for cloning, Windows 95 thru XP. (I dont know if it works on Vista thru Windows 10, since I have no intention to use those operating systems). I have cloned several desktop drives for Win98, Win2000, and XP, using Partition Magic. After I find some way to plug them in to a desktop comp, I suppose I'd have to boot up using drive C:, then plug one laptop drive into the second IDE plug, and unplug the CD/DVD drive for my 3rd plug... Right? |
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
wrote:
On Thu, 18 Aug 2016 18:16:57 -0500, Paul in Houston TX wrote: wrote: I will eventually want to clone my old HD to the new BIGGER HD in the new laptop. but I'm still puzzled how to do it. On a desktop I can plug in a second HD to clone to, but that cant be done on a laptop. All I can think is to clone the old 40g drive to a 32g flash drive (the drive is not filled), then boot from a CD and clone the flash drive to the 80g HD. I'm not sure if that will work???? Can you plug both laptop hdd's into the desktop and then use something like Macrium to clone one to the other? Dont I need some special connectors to plug them small drives into a desktop computer? I know the power plugs are different, but I'm not sure about the data plugs? If I have to, I suppose I'll have to buy some adaptors or something. I'd imagine ebay has some sort of adaptors? I have never been able to figure out Macrium, which seems very complicated and bloated, but I have Partition Magic, which works fine for cloning, Windows 95 thru XP. (I dont know if it works on Vista thru Windows 10, since I have no intention to use those operating systems). I have cloned several desktop drives for Win98, Win2000, and XP, using Partition Magic. After I find some way to plug them in to a desktop comp, I suppose I'd have to boot up using drive C:, then plug one laptop drive into the second IDE plug, and unplug the CD/DVD drive for my 3rd plug... Right? IIRC, the T43 hdd is 2.5" IDE. Does your desktop have any IDE connectors? If so, then you will need a mini IDE to regular IDE connector, or two. Ebay: 2.5" Laptop to 3.5" Desktop IDE Hard Drive Adapter HD Computer YP *** $1.31, Buy It Now, Free shipping, 158 sold, From China I am not familiar with clone software except WD. I have the WD proprietary cloner since all my good hdd's are wd black. The 8 others are small and only used for ms dos, w98, xp, Linux, etc. Don't care about cloning them. |
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
On Thu, 18 Aug 2016 23:44:47 -0500, Paul in Houston TX
wrote: IIRC, the T43 hdd is 2.5" IDE. Does your desktop have any IDE connectors? If so, then you will need a mini IDE to regular IDE connector, or two. Ebay: 2.5" Laptop to 3.5" Desktop IDE Hard Drive Adapter HD Computer YP *** $1.31, Buy It Now, Free shipping, 158 sold, From China I am not familiar with clone software except WD. I have the WD proprietary cloner since all my good hdd's are wd black. The 8 others are small and only used for ms dos, w98, xp, Linux, etc. Don't care about cloning them. I have several desktop machines. They are all older and all are IDE. I do have one somewhat newer one, which has SATA drives. I'm not sure if that one also has IDE connectors, but I dont need to use that one anyhow. I can probably use any of my other XP machines to make the clone. Although Partition Magic works fine in Win98, I am puzzled whether I could make the clones using Win98, since the drives to be cloned are NTFS formatted, and 98 dont support NTFS.... ??? (Just a thought, because I have other XP machines that I can use, so I dont need to use my Win98 computer). Thanks for the connector info. At least I now know what to look for on Ebay. I am wondering if those mini IDE connectors also have the POWER connectors included? Those mini 4pin Power connectors are also unique to the laptop drives. (I cant really access ebay now, being on dialup)! |
#29
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
wrote:
On Thu, 18 Aug 2016 23:44:47 -0500, Paul in Houston TX wrote: IIRC, the T43 hdd is 2.5" IDE. Does your desktop have any IDE connectors? If so, then you will need a mini IDE to regular IDE connector, or two. Ebay: 2.5" Laptop to 3.5" Desktop IDE Hard Drive Adapter HD Computer YP *** $1.31, Buy It Now, Free shipping, 158 sold, From China I am not familiar with clone software except WD. I have the WD proprietary cloner since all my good hdd's are wd black. The 8 others are small and only used for ms dos, w98, xp, Linux, etc. Don't care about cloning them. I have several desktop machines. They are all older and all are IDE. I do have one somewhat newer one, which has SATA drives. I'm not sure if that one also has IDE connectors, but I dont need to use that one anyhow. I can probably use any of my other XP machines to make the clone. Although Partition Magic works fine in Win98, I am puzzled whether I could make the clones using Win98, since the drives to be cloned are NTFS formatted, and 98 dont support NTFS.... ??? (Just a thought, because I have other XP machines that I can use, so I dont need to use my Win98 computer). Thanks for the connector info. At least I now know what to look for on Ebay. I am wondering if those mini IDE connectors also have the POWER connectors included? Those mini 4pin Power connectors are also unique to the laptop drives. (I cant really access ebay now, being on dialup)! In terms of general adapters, you can get items like this. This has a 40 pin IDE for 3.5" drives, a 44 pin IDE for 2.5" drives, and a SATA 7 pin for SATA drives. Only one drive can be connected at a time. The weakest part of products like this in the past, was the power adapters weren't very good. So you check the reviews and make sure no one reports an adapter problem. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812400416 https://www.startech.com/HDD/Adapter...r~USB3SSATAIDE One of those allows connecting any of three drive types, via USB, to one of your computers. ******* Now, if you want to connect a 44 pin 2.5" drive to a desktop, the 44 pin to 40 pin IDE adapter does the job. The 40 pin connector is the one used on the 3.5" drives, and only a passive converter is needed for 2.5" drives. The pin spacing on the two connectors is different, which is why they aren't even close to being the same. The 40 pin is 0.1" spacing, the 44 pin is 2mm spacing. The separate power connector provides +5V for the 2.5" hard drive. Otherwise, there is no power on the 40 pin connector for the drive to use, so a separate power connector is required to run it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA6UM2EM2500 On SATA, 2.5" and 3.5" have the same connectors. It's only the 1.8" SATA drives that have microSATA. So SATA isn't quite as much of a nuisance. Paul |
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Lenovo T43 (with XP) Wont Power On
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