No Boot T41 (No definite cause of problem/solution)

Now myself and 3 other people (whom I respect for computer experience and knowledge) could not find a solution to this problem (we may have narrowed down the problem but it may or may not be definite imho). This is here purely as a 'case study' or an interesting read.

As you may know before purchasing my new T60 I sold my old T41 (in good condition as I pride myself in how well I take care of my rigs). After about a month the person I sold it to came back to me describing a very serious problem. There was no boot (black screen when the power was on with the power LED on and the fan running but with no other signs of activity).

I agreed to take a look at the T41 and began the troubleshooting.

Here was the information given to me:
-Originally the screen only went 'black' a couple of times prior to this major incident
-These problems started to happen after an IBM update (which included a video driver update)
-There has been no rough-housing with the laptop
-No overclocking was performed (Maybe there was one done without his knowledge?)

Troubleshooting steps and results
-Took the 2 sticks of RAM out and booted machine. There was a long beep.

-Switched the HDD between 2 T41 (my friend has another T41). The problem T41 still would not boot up

-Going out in the cold winter day and booting up the machine seems to make it work for a while before going to a black screen (in BIOS or windows)

-Letting the laptop cool down allows it to function properly for about 5 minutes

-The whole time the laptop is cold. The fans spew out only cold air and all parts of the laptop are cold

-Unable to uninstall video driver (It was missing windows/system32 ati dll files)

-In safe mode uninstalled the driver. Problem still persists.

-PC-doctor tests of RAM, mobo, CPU, VRAM pass

-Battery removed and using only AC adapter

-switched AC adapter

Possible issue(s)
-I read somewhere someone had this problem and it ended up being RAM malfunction. It does not seem to apply to this situation but its up there.

-Video card hardware failure

-Video driver issues or corrupted window files (highly unlikely)

-Video card overheating

-Something wrong with the way the laptop handles power (sorry, I can't think of the proper term at the moment)



What are your speculations on this issue?

 

to if it boots better in the cold I would say your video card or proccessor is over heating. if you could open up the computer and clean it out(dust and stuff) it might fix the problem.

or try new thermal paste on the cpu...???

I still would lean towards something wrong with the graphics card

also when the screen goes black is windoes still running???
qg. is hdd light flashing.

to test this you could put a shortcut on a program on your desktop and when the screen shuts off enter it on the keyboard and listen for the hdd noise...

see what other people think. hope you get a solution.

 

There is no HDD noise. When the screen goes black all sounds stop (besides the fan going on 'cruise mode' (stable mid-noise level) ) The only LED that stays on is the power and/or the battery LED (if there is a battery in there).
The laptop was opened up and cleaned out.
Just an added note: Warranty has long expired

reason for edit: spelling mistakes >.>

 

ok not simple....

will it idle in the bios settings. I mean if you press F2 or what ever the key is will it idle in the setting or will it eventually crap out like when windows is loaded.

If it idles for a long time I'd say it could be a windows problem rather a Bios or hardware problem.

if not..

I think that it is a your video card or some component on the motherboard malfunctioning/overheating which the Bios does not know how to hand so it just shuts the whole computer down.

you mentioned ram possibly being the issue just for clarfication you put new ram (or ram from a friends T41
right?

I am just suggest diffrent things that might narrow down the possibilies.

did you google?

 

Perhaps one of the fans have failed altogether; but like Yuio said, clean the machine out to get rid of dust.

 

Yeah I did a somewhat extensive google search but with no promising solution.
When the hard drives were switched the T41 with the problem still had the same issue while the other T41 continued to run properly.
It will idle in the BIOS as well.

EDIT: The laptop was opened up and cleaned of any obvious dust.
The 'idle' lasts indefinitely (as far as I can tell). When it 'idles' the computer is still on - I have to hold the power button for 10 seconds to switch it off
To make it clearer - the RAM was also checked and both RAM sticks are perfectly functional.

 

As you have said this began after updating video card.
possible causes.

When intermittent erros as such occur it most likely will be one of the following.

1. The video card may have died or is dying / over heating it's possible the fan may have died. Also use an external monitior to see if video displays. Remember your video card has built in VRAM so it colud be an issue there. My t60p had a faulty video and I was getting BSOD daily it took me 2 days to figure out why but it took lenovo 3 tries to heed my advice and replace my mobo.
2. Your mobo may be damaged ie. correct voltage not going through test the power supply you may be susrprised as it may be the culprit.

3. again your video card is overheating or something else is that is why the machine is shutting down once it reaches a certain temp other wise it has
120V AC to cook itself.
4. Just to try remove the keyboard and run system if you see a difference it means too much heat.
5. I suggest to you to disassemble entire system clean it and put it back together. And figure out if all the fans are working.

 

Why not image it back to the factory state. That should tell you whether it is a hardware or software issue.

 

An 'open case' run showed no overheating or irregularities with the fans.

The problem with the restoring back to factory state is I am not sure if the laptop will go 'idle' in the middle of the restoring - which might make the situation even worse.

 

Hi- hate to bring up an old thread but did a search and I am having the EXACT same issue with my T41 as well- was there ever any solution/resolution to this problem?????


Thanks so much in advance

 

To quickly follow up on this topic:
A factory restore was attempted but the computer 'idled' in the middle of the restoration process.

 

... That's the typical help-desk answer. He said he swapped out the HDD with another T41 HDD which was running perfect. He also said his HDD ran perfect in the other T41. That effectively eliminated the software issue. Re-imaging is a stupid help-desk jockey answer for "I don't know." Bleh.

 

sorry to bring up an old thread...but I have the same problem...no boot, only black screen and fan noise....Have anybody found out the main problem and what can I do to fix it?

 

My two T41 have suffered the same problem. The computer technician swers this has to do with the fact that the graphics card does not have separate cooling mechanism. I suspect the answer to this is as follows: the graphics card in the T41 was not designed for high powered graphic applications as exist today, for instance google earth. Once you start using these consistently you melt away some of the isolation material. This, then, on ocassion turns the screen black. Try the following: press down **hard** with your fist on the right hand of the keyboard when the black out happens - you''l be surprised. Anyone who finds a solution better that this let me know as I love my T41.

 

But see this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR8L3B3eDr0 "!!!

 

Please do not revive six-month-old threads. If you have an issue, create a separate thread for your inquiry so we can better assist you.

Thank you.