Dead Laptop? Need Help, Please
My wife's laptop, which she got from work, recently gave up the ghost, and her work figured it would be easier to just get her a new machine rather than to try fixing the old one. Since they had no use for the old machine, I've now got it here right in front of me 
It is an "IBM Thinkpad" with Pentium 4 Processor - as heavy as a sack of potatoes, and not the latest and greatest, but still a pretty decent machine, I reckon. It runs Windows XP, and I don't know much about other specs, but it has as well a floppy as a CD RW / DVD in there. I am probably delusional, but since I recently managed to put together my first PC from parts - thanks to the help from everybody around here! - I figured I might as well have a stab at fixing that laptop. I guess the worst that can happen is that is stays trash, which means nothing much has changed to the situation we have right now
At this point, when I plug the laptop into the power supply and press the on button, the battery light comes on for a split second, but immediately turns off again. If I press the on button again, it will not come on again, unless I have plugged out the power supply before. That's all the thing ever does, ie there is no noise and nothing ever shows up on the screen. I have taken out the removable floppy and CD RW / DVD, but that didn't change things at all.
My wife used to plug in and out her flash drive about 50 times per day, plus she used a USB mouse and other USB devices. The first problems she encountered were with the two USB ports being worn out and not making proper contact. Apparently the laptop failed for good right after she unplugged some remote control USB gizmo that somebody used to give a Power Point presentation with the laptop - admittedly without using the "Safely Remove Hardware" routine.
If you were trying to resurrect this beast, would you look into the USB port situation first? What do you reckon is the chance that this could be causing the problem? What else could it be. Grateful for any advice I can get before I open this thing!
Many thanks
Frank
It is an "IBM Thinkpad" with Pentium 4 Processor - as heavy as a sack of potatoes, and not the latest and greatest, but still a pretty decent machine, I reckon. It runs Windows XP, and I don't know much about other specs, but it has as well a floppy as a CD RW / DVD in there. I am probably delusional, but since I recently managed to put together my first PC from parts - thanks to the help from everybody around here! - I figured I might as well have a stab at fixing that laptop. I guess the worst that can happen is that is stays trash, which means nothing much has changed to the situation we have right now
At this point, when I plug the laptop into the power supply and press the on button, the battery light comes on for a split second, but immediately turns off again. If I press the on button again, it will not come on again, unless I have plugged out the power supply before. That's all the thing ever does, ie there is no noise and nothing ever shows up on the screen. I have taken out the removable floppy and CD RW / DVD, but that didn't change things at all.
My wife used to plug in and out her flash drive about 50 times per day, plus she used a USB mouse and other USB devices. The first problems she encountered were with the two USB ports being worn out and not making proper contact. Apparently the laptop failed for good right after she unplugged some remote control USB gizmo that somebody used to give a Power Point presentation with the laptop - admittedly without using the "Safely Remove Hardware" routine.
If you were trying to resurrect this beast, would you look into the USB port situation first? What do you reckon is the chance that this could be causing the problem? What else could it be. Grateful for any advice I can get before I open this thing!
Many thanks
Frank
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Comments
There can many issues that are causing this and the fact you only get power for 1 sec either means bad PSU "Power Supply" or possibly a bad motherboard. Now replacing a PSU in a laptop is not an easy task but will be the cheaper of the 2. I also think a short from the USB hub could be the issue here. But before I go on making assumptions, I want to ask a few basic questions that I am already assuming you have tried.
- Have you tried running on A/C power from the wall, with the battery removed from the system.
- Have you tried just booting on the battery?
- When was the last time the laptop was running on batteries?
- Do you know more info about the laptop? Model Number, Series, etc.?
Also to note the "Safely Remove Hardware routine" is more for the not so smart user who tries to unplug content while still transferring files... I have personally never used that feature ever in my life and have never had issues with the devices that were used…
Many thanks for your quick response! I already feel like I am in safe hands - or rather the laptop is
I hadn't tried any of those things until you suggested them, but I just did the tests and here are the results:
- Battery in, A/C connected - power for 1s only once after power had been disconnected.
- Battery out, A/C connected - power for 1s only once after power had been disconnected.
- Battery in, A/C disconnected - power for 1s every time I try to boot.
- Battery out, A/C disconnected - no power
My wife carried this laptop around quite a lot, and it was frequently used on batteries. She was obsessed though with not running the batteries too low. Don't think she ever let it go under 70%. So I would assume the batteries were close to fully charged when the thing was last used (that is when it failed), but I'd have to ask her when she last used it. I'd be guessing that would have been at least 2-3 months ago.
On the bottom plate it says:
ThinkPad A31
Type 2652 - Q5U
S/N 99-39ZXW
03/05
Hope that's the info you are after.
Really? Is that all it does, make sure you are not still transferring data? I always assumed it would turn off the power supplied to that USB port and all kinds of other smart things.
Many thanks
Frank
You need to find pictures that tell you how to dismantle this beast.
It is possible that there is a short in the USB connector and the fault is preventing boot.
Or the USB connector shorted and fried the power supply.
Either of those you can fix.
If the electrical fault cooked the motherboard, then you haunt eBay for the same model with a damaged screen and play Dr. Frankenstein.
I just found a free online repair manual for the thing at: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-39796
As far as I can see, the USB hub is part of the mobo. So do I really need to start hunting for a new mobo and swap it out, or is there anything easier I can try first. Parts machines with a broken screen seem to set you back around $100 on eBay. I'd hate to throw good money after bad, so I'd like to know that I have a pretty good chance of actually fixing that sucker before I shell this out.
Frank
If your wife has a co-worker with the same old laptop have her try to barrow the external A/C adapter to see if that is the issue. Sometime those cables go bad and the battery to the system could be dead causing the issue of it not turning on.
I would call IBM and find out what the cost of a NEW PSU was along with the cost of a new MOBO. As we still have no idea what the true issue is. I like to know what the price tag of the items that could be the source of trouble.
After we eliminate the A/C external power adapter you can take the system apart per the manual, and check things out. Knowing that is has had some travel time a good cleaning will probably be in order also "Dust, etc.."
Once we have the system apart I can help you a bit better. If you have a Digital Camera Images of the Laptop will come in handy during this online troubleshooting.
I throw more than that away on..., well let's not talk about that.
It sounds like a good bet. Make sure that the machine that you buy runs. It should boot with an external monitor attached. Then you will have PSU and mobo.
Well, I am a cheap bastard - never said I wasn't!
Honestly though, the whole laptop can be had for around $300 on eBay, so if a couple hundreds wouldn't make a difference to me, why would I post here in the first place?
My wife does chemistry research and teaches at a university. The laptop came from a special grant for her to use in teaching. Since I happen to have written the grant proposal at the time, it only feels just that the thing should now finally end up with me, but that is a different story
Anyhow, it's not like there are a lot of these laptops at her work, but I'll see if she can come up with one other one of which I could borrow the A/C adapter. I don't think that's the issue though, because I am pretty sure my wife would have noticed the battery going flat slowly.
I'll also give IBM a call to be able to compare the new prices of these items to what's available on fleabay. Digital images of the laptop once it's open should be no problem. I am a lot better at photography than at fixing laptops - see www.photo.net/photos/fmueller
Might be a couple of days before I've done my homework, but I'll make sure to report back here!
Many thanks
Frank
So now where we have identified a short in the USB port as the culprit, how can I swap out the USB port in a ThinkPad A31? Trust me, these ports can not be repaired! Of course I could simply use the laptop without USB ports, but it limits the functionality severely. For example I really like to use the thing with a mouse, and at present that's a no go.
I am afraid that the USB ports are integrated in the mobo - right? Swapping out the whole mobo seems like a waste, seeing that there is nothing wrong with it other than those wretched ports. There is a guy on eBay who seems to be fixing ThinkPad parts like mobos. Standard cost is $100 plus the cost of any parts that are needed. Maybe I should email him and check if he is cheaper if I take out the mobo and send just that to have the ports replaced. Or is there a better way to do this myself? I am no good with a solder iron, that's for sure!
Many thanks
Frank
PS: The more I think about it, the mouse is the only USB device I really need to use with this laptop. I can set it up for my wireless home network, and it also has a CD burner in there, so file transfer from and to the thing can be arranged in other ways. Is there another way to hook up a mouse to this thing than the USB port?
Another option is to convert the (if you have one) PS2 port to an USB port w/ a converter. Then connect an USB hub to that.
I had a shop do the opposite for one of my clients who wanted to use a wireless keyboard & mouse set on his laptop computer. The transciever required a PS2 connection for the keyboard side and there wasn't one (PS2 port) on his laptop.
NOTE-1://
If you want the name and contact info. for the co. that will do this, let me know.
NOTE-2://
I think the cost of the connector was less than $10 US
NOTE-3://
I haven't tried converting USB to PS2 b4 but I'm sure the co. that builds the connectors will know if this will work. It's worth a shot.
What's a PCMCIA USB card? Excuse my ignorance.
Unfortunately there is no PS2 port on the laptop - otherwise the mouse issue would be trivial, because I could just use a PS2 mouse, no?
Regarding the wireless mouse/desktop set, I just bought one from Logitech for my desktop, and it can be connected via one USB port (for both, mouse and keyboard) or two PS2 connections (separate ones for mouse and keyboard). It doesn't matter which ones you use. I paid $20 for the whole set, and I am very happy with it. I have the transmitter lying on the floor behind the desktop case, and connectivity is just perfect. I see no difference to my previous wired setup - other than that there are no cables! :-)
BTW, Pterocarpous - now that I have resurrected my wife's old laptop, of course I'll have to connect it to the home network as well, but I guess I can just follow your instructions from last night
You may have heard people refer to PC cards w/ respect to laptop computers. That's the same animal. I suppose folks got tired of saying 6 letters when describing the device and shortened it to two letters. Basically, it's just a little card you slip into a slot on the side of your computer. Just like "expansion cards" that you can plug into your desktop computer to add functionality (sound card, video card, etc.), PCMCIA cards add functionality to laptop computer. There are many different types of PCMCIA cards. (modems & NICs are the most common ones) Absolutely. I wasn't sure how old your wife's laptop is. I know on my old critter, it has PS2 ports and only one lonely USB port. (that's flakey at that.) They aren't including PS2 ports on new laptops anymore. You got a good deal on that one! He bought the set himself. A fancy schmancy one (that, in the end, he wanted nothing to do w/ the fancy part) and the transciever had one USB port for the mouse and an PS2 port for the keyboard. The PS2 to USB connector fixed that problem nicely. I think you'll be fine. Just follow the instructions there. If you have any difficulty, just post in that thread. I'm still subscribed to it (others will see the post, too of course) We'll get it cooking.
No problem. I am willing to learn - that's why I am here!
And that was an excellent suggestion! My laptop - not my wife's, it's now mine, MINE!!!
In fact, I might just pick up two of those hubs, and put one in my wife's new laptop as well. Chances are she isn't using the new one any differently from the old one, and A. this gives her 4 USB ports to wreck where she previously had only 2, and B. if the USB ports short out we just have to spend $15 to get a new hub, where she previously had a dead laptop.
Gosh, I love this site! There can't be a better place anywhere to get computer advice.
Many thanks
Frank
THIS is an example of a PCMCIA USB card. It expands the functionality of your laptop computer by adding USB ports.
Now, what I will caution you about is, most laptop computers have (2) PCMCIA slots stacked one atop the other. If you use a card like the one in the previous link, it will plug into the bottom of the two slots but it will obstruct access to the top slot. Ergo, you will not be able to use a 2nd PCMCIA card (e.g. a NIC) w/ this particular USB PCMCIA card installed. This is the case w/ a no. of different types of PCMCIA cards. So, if you intend to use both PCMCIA slots simultaneously, you'll need to make sure that any PCMCIA card you use occupies access to only one of the slots.
PS://
I'm delighted you've been happy w/ the help we've provided you with here on Short Media. Please, stick around - and bring your friends. We're happy to have you!
I am aware of the difference, and I shouldn't have used the term 'hub'. Yet the PCMCIA USB cards I saw on eBay offers 4 USB ports, and as far as I know a lot of hubs don't have more than 4 ports either - just that the card instead of a single USB port expands a PCMCIA slot into 4 USB ports. So it's kinda like a hub, don't you think?
In the case of my laptop that's not an issue, since I have only once PCMCIA slot available in the first place.
Again, many thanks for your help!
Frank
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You are always welcome.Good Luck!
It has hepas of ports...
Everybody who use Thinkpad should have it.
Docking station is one of the things that makes IBM what it is
and rest of the other notebooks just usuall trash.
I got it repaired! The success story is buried somewhere in this long thread
I am using it now with non-functioning USB ports, but got a USB PCMCIA card, which solves that problem nicely, since I don't need the PCMCIA slot for any other purposes.
I like the laptop quite a bit. My wife always found it too heavy, but that's less of an issue for me. My only quibble is that the thing drains batteries faster than an alcoholic a shot of tequila. By the time it's finished booting it's already at 94%. In half an hour it's around 50%, so unless you can plug it in, you don't have much time to work with it.
Also, I had it folding for a few days, and it got kinda hot underneath. Is that normal?
Frank
I've got my IBM T60, 60gb 5400, 1gb RAM for 1300$
with new battery it can work 6hours!!!
and the weight is 2.2kg