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Help!!!! Thinkpad only starts when it wants to!!!!!

post #1 of 9
7/2/04 at 8:44pm
Thread Starter 
Here's the scenario.........I push the power button and the HD led will flash for a second & the laptop will make a power-sound, but none of the other dash lights will come on & that's all she wrote!

Try again & again & again & again, same thing. Holding the button down does nothing. Removed battery, replaced battery, AC, noAC, removed RAM, replaced RAM, etc. etc. Nothing keeps it from doing it. Leave it alone for a while & it'll start right up. (could be 5 minutes or 5 hours) I'm losing my patience.

It's an A22M P3/850 320mb RAM etc. etc. I'm desperate for help! TIA
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post #2 of 9
7/2/04 at 9:23pm
Take it to a shop, or tear it apart yourself. You can't really debug a computer based on somebody's description of the problem unless it is obviously. Usually it can be a bunch of things. I don't know if laptop has error codes via beeping or what, but desktops usually do which helps out a little. Your problem could be power supply, mobo, cpu, etc. Or it could just be a lose cable inside. There is really noway of knowing unless you take it apart.
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post #3 of 9
7/2/04 at 9:49pm
Thread Starter 
Well, the reason I don't just take it apart......(and since it does start as much as it doesn't, I wouldn't be surprised if everything wouldn't look normal inside anyway)..........is because I'd googled this problem & noticed a few people mentioning it, so wondered if others hadn't come to a common solution! Only problem is on Google, nobody ever responded to this common problem!

Can you recommend a good laptop doctor just in case it comes to that?
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post #4 of 9
7/2/04 at 10:09pm
The reason a lot of people have that problem is because it can be caused by a lot of things. Your cpu could be toast. Your gfx card could be shot. Your motherboard could have failed. A component in the power supply could have finally gone out. A trace could have shorted out. Your laptop could have got some moisture inside of it. The list goes on and on. The chances are if you take it to a shop your repair bill will be more than your laptop is worth.
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post #5 of 9
7/3/04 at 2:22am
Thread Starter 
Well, current suspect is the CMOS battery for the moment. Apparently upon powering an A series Thinkpad, there is a power cycle run to a solenoid from the CMOS battery and while it may have enough juice to protect time/date settings, it may fail at starting this solid state cycle.

Regardless, I took this sucker apart down to the nitty gritty tonite &, as expected, didn't find anything obvious so put it back together before I got myself in real trouble. (Although I may do it again just for fun later if necessary!) Doh!!!

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post #6 of 9
7/3/04 at 5:47pm
Thread Starter 
Well, shoot!!! I tried replacing the CMOS battery, but it looks like order only. (It's just a CR2032 Lithium battery but it's wrapped in shrinkfilm w/ 2 contact pads conntected to wires then to a plug) I split the shrinkwrap with a razor blade but the tabs are stuck on the battery. (Looks like a touch or 2 with a soldering iron to make 'em stick). I already bought the individual battery from Radio Shack, but..........

Sooooo, I just started playing around & removing the battery, rubbing it, etc. and it acts the same regardless.

What really got me was when I removed the CMOS battery altogether & it STARTED UP!! I don't know if this completely shoots down the theory that the CMOS battery activates part of the startup, but without it even installed if it boots, I'm guessin' it kinda does??? (Totally bummed now!)
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post #7 of 9
7/6/04 at 4:08pm
Thread Starter 
Well.........after doing everything in the book.......(replace CMOS, shake, jiggle, talk nice to, R & R everything, remove & reseat CPU (this one got ugly as I lost the parts to the lid-top closing/shutoff mechanism & had to go fishing for about an hour to try & find the parts & then figure out how they went back together!!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and the situation still exists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've had it!! I'm done!!! No more!!! The next time I buy a laptop, it will be with a 3 of 5 year warranty so that these mfgr's can held accountable for the quality of product they put out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anybody recommend a QUALITY laptop (I know IBM's good, but.....) better than IBM???????? TIA
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post #8 of 9
7/6/04 at 4:48pm
IBM is supposedly the best in terms of build quality so i dunno...try dell completecare and drop the laptop in a pool by accident when it stops working.
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post #9 of 9
7/6/04 at 9:21pm
Thread Starter 
Now that's maybe the best suggestion yet.......LOL!! (Thanks, 'cuz after this today I needed some comedy relief!!) I still haven't figured out what to do. Still scratching head!!!!
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