I hope someone here can help me!

I bought an old IBM Thinkpad T21 off of a friend, and i spent a whole day getting all my apps and documents on it, i was planning on using it just as a spare computer. The only problem is that the battery life was only about 2 minutes, so we usually just used the AC cord for power, but never removed the battery.

The thing is, the very next day, i was just adding the finishing touches to my fresh windows installation when the screen just blanked out, it didnt turn off, i could still see the backlight was still on, but the screen was just black, i was right in the middle of typing something when it happened, and i couldnt get the screen to come back, so i just held the power button down and turned it off, and when i tried to turn it back on, nothing!

I tried removing the battery and left the AC on and it still wont turn on, when its plugged in, the green battery light is on, but the machine just wont power on, if you listen closely, you can hear the speaker make a "pop" when you plug in the AC cord.

From what i have read so far from googling, i may have over charged a capaciter or somthing like that. So i have tried almost all the different suggestions to discharge it (all but one, putting the laptop in the freezer over night. sounds dumb). It has been sitting on my desk for 4 days now, with no batteriers or AC attached to it, not even the CMOS battery, but the damn thing still wont turn on when i attach the AC cord just to try it out. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how i can discharge this thing, or what parts i could replace? (I'm guessing the motherboard. but im not sure if im willing to put any money into this PC, i might just ask for my money back and leave it to them to decide on what to do with it.)

Any and all help is much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
-Anthony

You probably not only over charged a capacitor but burned it out. So a service might be needed. Iv you have any electronic knowledge you might take the laptop apart and look on the mother board for burned marks.

Can't think of anything else for the moment.
Good luck.

I'm not 100% sure it is possible to "overcharge" a capacitor. A capacitor can be charged or discharged (as well as in between those states). If it is "overcharged" it would be, well, blown up.
Is there ANY sign of life? Any of the back board lights on? I have a t23 which had a similar problem. The problem was that a power inductor on the motherboard had come loose and all the computer did was turn on the fan (fast and then slow down and repeat that cycle). I am not familiar with IBM Thinkpad, but due to the fact that t21 and t23 are in the same family, I guess they could have the same problem. IF the power inductor (a small square piece around 1 cm in length) is loose, you could solder it back on the motherboard... That's what I did and that problem was gone. I hope this helps.

Man, if you got a T21 and ain't powering on..time to get a new laptop..hehe. That thing is slow!

Not everybody needs a high end laptop. I use a T23 and it suits my needs perfectly. Of course a T40p or a T43 would be nicer but those cost twice as a T23.

Do you know if the green backlite Z & +, AC power & battery symbols are coming on at all? Matt_Mike