X200T questions.

Hi, my brother has a X200T which won't boot, it comes with that 1-3-3-1 code, however we checked with ram that worked in another X200, and it still gave that error, so we not believe it is the mainboard, which is the fault, what can we do? Lenovo won't cover the mainboard repair, even though it still has a year of on-site warranty... Also will the pen from the X200T work on my X220T? Will it fit the hole on the site?

 

If it's the Lenovo Wacom pen yes it will fit.

Have you run the PC Doctor diagnostics on your machine to make sure it isn't hardware related?

 

The X200T won't even start, it just beeps 1-3-3-1 But yes, it is the original pen that came with the X200T, I just wanted to be sure, that they didn't change the design of the pen, so it wouldn't fit in the slot on my X220T

 

What reason did they give for this?

 

Because at first we didn't have any RAM for it, then we took some RAM from a X200, it still didn't work, so we called them, however as it wasn't the exact RAM that came with it, they wouldn't pay for the repair, as it had to be the RAM which shipped with it, before they would believe that it wasn't the RAM, which was the fault...

 

Seems like you should buy lenovo ram from ebay or something then call back... as opposed to trying to handle this on your own.

 

Well, the RAM we got is Lenovo RAM, however, as it wasn't the exact RAM that was fitted in the computer when we got it, they won't repair it

 

I meant buy an exact copy of what was originally in the computer. Search the model and serial on lenovo support to find out what it was... then source it on ebay. The do not track the ram by serial# a exact copy should suffice for warranty service, so this should take away the reason for not supporting the computer.

 

When talking to the support, they mentioned some serialnumber on the RAM, that had to correspond with the machine..

 

That's bogus. RAM is a customer replaceable part. Suggest you call back and try another rep. Otherwise make a thread in the lenovo's official forum with a more specific title eg. 'Lenovo won't replace failed system board under warranty.' There are Lenovo employees that moderate and run that forum, and are very good about resolving matters like these.

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/bd-p/X_Series_Thinkpads

I had the same issue in my T400. One of the ram slots failed, board was replaced without any hassle.

 

That number is not a serial number... That's a part number. What I said will get you out of this mess. Alternatively, you could buy a stick from Lenovo as an upgrade and that would suffice as well.


@vinuneuro OEMs have been know to request the original ram be in the machine to diagnose an issue when the replacement ram was not sourced from said OEM. This happens with a lot and with many manufacturers with respect to laptops actually...

 

Not sure if Lenovo does this, but Dell uses PPID number, basically each part has it's own unique serial number. This includes, AC adapters, RAM, motherboard, HDD, batteries. Dell requires us to send them the PPID whenever we order a warranty FRU part.

You could try talking to Mark@Lenovo or posting on Lenovo support forums, they might be able to get something done.

 

aadadams, it sounds more lke what Tsunade is suggesting. Even if it wasn't the case he said they reproduced the problem with ram taken from an X200 with no problems (X200 uses the same spec). OEM's use different suppliers and p/n's even from same ones. Expecting a user to use the exact part that shipped with the machine is unreasonable on a CRU. It sounds like jacob has done more than enough to warrant a replacement.

Tsunade, I'm sure Lenovo does that as well, but that's something that's usually done when the technician removes the part for replacement. This is standard practice for warranty replacement in most industries.

 

It seems very odd to me. As suggested, the memory is user replaceable and shouldn't void the warranty. I'd try another rep. If that doesn't work, post on the Lenovo forums, where you'll get access to some Lenovo staff and PM Mark over there as well. He's usually pretty good getting to the bottom of things if you've got a legit claim, which I think you do.

 

Well whenever we've shipped in warranty ThinkPads to IBM's repair depot, they never asked us anything, they just checked if it was under warranty and we shipped it to them. Seems like calling up tech support might try to weed out laptops to be potentially shipped out for warranty repair (which unfairly done in this case). Even ordering parts under warranty we've never had to provide any serial numbers, but this may only apply to US where IBM still takes care of Lenovo's Think brand.

 

Well as I'm from Denmark, I do not know whether the support is the same as in the US, however do Mark from the Thinkpad forums also deal with the support department here in Denmark, if so, I will contact him right away!

 

Just a small correction. While there are a few Lenovo employees helping out in the forum, the moderators are not Lenovo employees.

Mark's PM count usually runs in triple digits, so make sure you post in the forum rather than just sending him a PM.

 

I'm in the US and I had 4 yr onsite on my T61p. I upgraded ram using newegg. Motherboard failed due to NVidia card at about three years of ownership. When I called support they asked about the RAM. I told them I had upgraded it, but I still had the old RAM and they mandated that I put it in before continued troubleshooting and subsequently sending out a tech to do the repair. On the other hand, I've never had them give me more than an OK when I call about my laptop that was issued to me from work. Experiences for personnel calling on behalf of companies and individuals calling for support for themselves seems to differ greatly when getting support from IBM domestically, IMO. I've read a number of horror stories about international support on these forums as well. Hopefully the OP finds an amicable solution. Good luck.

 

you should be able to get the laptop fixed even if it is not Lenovo issued ram. Maybe make a post on forum.lenovo.com and see whether someone is willing to help. It would be quite bad to have a warranty that you can't use.