Security Chip in Thinkpad R61i

Help, please...

My husband recently passed away, and I'm trying to get into his laptop (Thinkpad R61i). When I start it, I get 4 beeps 4 times. Research on Lenovo's site tells me this is an issue with the security chip. A call to Lenovo tells me that the motherboard has to be replaced.

This machine was bought in October 2007, and the motherboard was replaced by Lenovo under warranty (for a different issue) in August 2008. Apparently, this second motherboard is not under warranty, or the warranty has expired. Security is on the machine is set up for the fingerprint reader (my husband's fingerprint), but I know the password he used.

Does anyone know of any other way to fix this problem without having to replace the motherboard?

Thanks for your time.
ET

 

Are you looking to use the laptop or are you looking to get data off the laptop?

 

I'm hoping to use it... nothing else is wrong with it.

 

We cannot allow discussion of bypassing security measures on this site. For every legitimate situation like yours there's probably another where the person attempting do so is doing it for less than respectable purposes. We just have no way of knowing which are valid and which are not. For that reason I am closing this thread. The prescribed fix is to replace the motherboard, which Lenovo will charge you an arm and a leg to do. Buying a board on eBay and doing it yourself or having someone do it, is another option. If want information about other remedies, you'll have to get it somewhere that is more permissive of this type of discussion than here.

You can use the warranty lookup in the ThinkPad Sticky to see if your the machine is under warranty. If it is under warranty, the board should be covered regardless of whether it was replaced or not. Good Luck.