Generic Guide to fix Thinkpad issues.

Question

Hey there. This is a small guide I threw together to help solve some generic issues that are encountered on T series Thinkpads:
No audio/choppy audio: Reinstall audio driver
No video out/improper resolution and no video acceleration: Reinstall graphics driver
No wifi/bad connection: Reinstall wifi driver, mess with channel settings on your card and router for better results.  
Poor battery life: Use a recalibration tool, or charge up completly, then let it die COMPLETLY, meaning disable hibernaiton on low battery and let the computer DIE! This my help. If not, it is likely that you will need a new battery.  
Bluescreen of Death!: Probably caused by a recent installation of a software program or driver. Boot into safe mode, and remove the newly installed driver/program. In rare occasions, it may be a hardware failure such as hard drive or RAM failure. Worst case scenario, you may have to reinstall the operating system.
Long Boot Time: Usually, make sure IBA is set to AFTER your hard drive, unless you need a PXE boot device on your network. 
Missing Operating System/ blinking _: Windows/Linux/Mac OS X86 has been either wiped off the drive. You must reinstall the operating system, or the partition has been deactivated. To reactivate, boot of the windows XP/Vista/Linux cd and fix the MBR, or manually set it active using these commands in command prompt:
diskpart
select disk x (where x= your hard drive number, usually if your laptop has only one drive, the x value is 0)
select partition y (where y = your OS partition number) 
active
exit
exit
reboot the computer, should be fixed 
 Beeping on boot: Thats never good at all..... anything other than 1 3 3 1 usually is a bad motherboard. Its gonna be a costly fix. 1 3 3 1 means no ram/bad ram. All you have to do is replace it. 
Help i don't remember my password! I can't boot into my computer anymore!: Don't ask for help here. If you bought the computer or stole it, you'd better **bleep** have that password, or else you have a VERY expensive paperweight. Thats how IBM/Lenovo design their systems to discourage theft.  
No power to computer AT ALL: Sorry to have to say this, but your computer is dead and gone. The motherboard is fried, and there is no way to fix it on your own. It will be very costly to fix, and better to move on to a new thinkpad. 
Txx Specific issues:
T30: May have defective RAM slot, hence the system will not boot. Repair costs around 50$. If you get a 1 long beep, and 2 short beeps on start up, just throw your machine away, as it has a dead motherboard, and is not worth the amount of money to repair it.
T40/T41/T42/T43: If you get NO VIDEO and NO BEEPS on startup, this is likely due to the fact that the video card contacts have broken off. A temporary fix is pressing down on the keyboard, or putting post it notes between keyboard and video card. Long term solutions:
Reballing: $50+ 
New motherboard: $150+
USB 2.0 ports functioning as USB 1.1, or not working at all!
Motherboard issue. Must be replaced.  
I hope that this guide will help most people with generic issues! Good luck to all! Suggestions welcome!
Message Edited by thinkpadpro on 02-05-2009 08:16 PM
X41T: Dead from a power surge during a BIOS Flash!

Answer 1

what is reballing and who does it for $50?
I've been doing FRU swap-outs for a while, but now have two T40s with the symptoms you mention - no beep, no video, and no disk activity, so I'd like to try these "diy" fixes. I have the T40 HMM, but don't know where the video chip is - is there another resource for that?
lastly, the lcd in one working T40 with a sxga+ display is flashing on an off when I move the pc or the top panel - I can get it positioned where it stays on solidly, but I'd like to get it fixed - I can stimulate a flash by gently squeezing  the bexel jus above and to the right of the left hinge (right where the cable goes thru...
Thanks in advance for any suggestions