Just wondering if you ever figured out what the hell is happening with the T23 ThinkPad, my fan slows and speeds up as well and will not boot. Any suggestions?

Alright. Well i've permanently found the problem. This requires that you disassemble the notebook solder a piece back on, and put it back together.

The motherboard had a magnet-looking piece that got pulled off the mobo. Soldering this back on will solve the problem. When I get home from school I will post pictures and instructions on how to get this solved. (Hopefully the other piece just like it doesn't fall off. Thanks see you in 4-5 hours.

Any updates regarding this problem?

Could you post the pictures?

I'm having the same problem and could not find the "magnet" looking piece you were referring to.

Top of the magnet-looking piece

Bottom of the magnet looking piece

The place on the motherboard where it goes

I'm not sure if these pictures are too big or not but i'll check the rules in a bit here. Here are the pictures for now. If you need more info ask me.

REUPLOADED PICTURES!

Kudos on the fix. That lappy works pretty well with XP now. I wish I could get a free laptop.

I had the same problem with the laptop, and I took the entire thing apart and checked...that piece is on the mother board and is secure...all of its "symptoms" are exactly the same as the topic creator. What could be the problem? I really like the pc and dont want to have to get rid of it.

Thanks

Jon

I heard that if you leave it unplugged and with the battery taken out for about a week then you will get some more life out of it. I would take out the hdd see if it boots. Try running with minimal setup. The system itself, 1 ram stick, and the hard drive. Try that and report back.

Also some specs would be nice. (exp:cpu,ram...)

Ok I found something very interesting...

When I apply pressure to the section with the thinkpad button, and volume controls, the pc boots. Then I read this on another site:

TK wrote:

>I reached a solution regarding the T23 that would usually fail to boot (no Thinkpad screen appeared). (Some new questions are at the bottom.)

>After much experimenting, I narrowed in on a general area under the case that, if I applied pressure during startup, the machine would be more likely to reach the Thinkpad screen (and then continue to boot).

>The Hardware Maintenance Manual said, "1. Reseat DIMM's. 2. Replace system board." I tried reseating and even removing the DIMM's, but this did not change the behavior. Under a similar symptom, the Manual also suggested checking all connections.

>I gave up for a while, and just left the machine running at all times, rather than deal with trying to boot 30 times in a row.

>One day, while the computer was running, I noticed that the wireless adapter was unavailable (I hadn't tried using it in a while, so I hadn't noticed its absence). (Note that the modem was still working fine.) After fiddling with things on the software driver side to no avail, it occurred to me that this might be related to the boot problem. Indeed, an area where pressure often helped get the machine to start was right under the mini PCI cover, where the T23's wireless/modem combo adapter is housed.

>I opened the mini PCI cover and examined the connections. No obvious problems. I removed the wireless/modem combo adapter from the mini PCI slot...eureka, the machine boots perfectly every time! So, I finally found the trouble spot.

>I reconnected the wireless/modem combo adapter, and experimented again with pressure spots, on the adapter itself. One spot in particular gave me better odds of success than others. It's a spot not near the connecting cord nor near the mini PCI slot. Just a random slot near the center of the edge furthest away from the mini PCI slot. It's hard to tell what this might relate to, because the wireless adapter has an opaque plastic covering that prevents visual inspection of the circuits on the card.

>So...what might the actual problem be? A loose contact on the printed circuit board of the wireless/modem combo adapter? OR, a problem with the mini PCI interface on the PC itself? Whatever it was caused intermittent inability of the machine to boot, also rendering the wireless component of the card unavailable - yet the modem component of the card always worked fine.

>Would it be easy to find a cheap or free mini PCI wireless/modem combo adapter to try in the machine to see if it works? Should I be looking for "broken" T23's to salvage parts from? Are some PCI wireless/modem combo adapters going to be compatible with my T23, yet others won't? Would attempting to repair the adapter be an option, or pointless?

>(My T23 model has: "Mini PCI 802.11b wireless, Intersil. Prism 2.5 chipset, diversity antennas in display cover, Wi-Fi-certified / 56K6 V.90 modem combo, Lucent. chipset")

>Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions.

That is what I found...this really seems to be the problem...what is the next step with this solution?

Thanks

Jon

Specs: P3 1 Ghz, 256MB Ram, 30GB HDD, Dvd drive, Battery, Windows XP SP 2

One thing you could do is completely take the notebook apart. Check the solder points on the motherboard and if any are loose solder them back in. Just be careful not to solder points back together that aren't supposed to be together. Basically solder carefully.

I've got the same problem here. It's not minipci, ram or hdd. The magnet looking piece was loose - the moment I touched it I had to solder it back on. Sadly it didn't help at all. If anybody could give me any other idea what to do I'd really apreciate it.

My T23 is having the same issue. I took it completely apart and the piece you have pictured was lying on the bottom of the case. any idea on which side goes to which solder point, or does it even matter?

Also, if you say that your piece is tight I would still remove it and resolder it. Examining the solder points under a jeweler's loope I can see where there was still flux under the joint and this would prevent the solder for connecting even though it would look like it was.

Wonder if we can go after IBM for this? It's obvious there was a manufacturing defect when these boards were made.

Hi all,

I also own a IBM T23 laptop and have a similar problem. My T23 boots fine and works fine, but if you apply a little pressure to the memory's area it chrashes. Sometimes it crashes before BIOS comes up, other times during OS load or during normal operation. It can take 1 hour to crash or 10 seconds.
When it crashes it just have to shake it a bit, or apply pressure to some points and it is back again, till I move the PC or something that makes it crash once more.

I changed HD and memory, and I figured out that must be the motherboard. I suspect that could be broken tracks on the memory BUS, but can't tell for sure. Any suggestions ? Well, I'll try to take it apart and check all soldering points.

If anybody can help, please reply.

Best regards,

Pedro Cardoso

I registered just to thank twmspro for the solution to the no power / fan-pulse problem.

My friend's T23 died just like that and I took it apart (what a chore!) as per the IBM manual and sure enough the little bugger underneath the mainboard (hardest part to get to naturally) was partially severed.

I knew its probably a sensitive multilayered board so I took the mainboard to a tv repair shop and they soldered it back in place soldered another one also and put epoxy glue to hold them in place in the future.

The laptop works like a charm now.

Thank you!

Hi all,

I just recognized the same problem on my T23. Sometimes after a week or so it booted and worked fine - maybe for a week or more but then surely crashes again leaving the fan run up and down and nothing else.

After first observation of the mainboard there was no obvious problem as described above. But before I decided to reassemble all I used slightly more force on the "magnet part" which is an inductor from one of the many converters on that board, violá I had it in my fingers!

Inspection showed a electromigration problem which separates the surface layer from the copper thus loosing the part and/or blocking current occasionally.

After that I smoothly jiggled all three parts of the same kind and found another one on the upper mainboard side which also wasn't as fix as should be.

After bearding off the pins (until I saw pure nice copper) an soldering them back to the board - guess what - everything was fine again 😎

Thanks to twmspro and all other to work out and report that problem here.

If anyone is interested in further details please pm me.

regards, tarabas

Hy to all,
After I read all the posts I realized that I have the same problem with my think pad T23 (fan run up and down and nothing else). I disassembled my laptop and I solder the "magnet part" to the motherbord.
Unfortunatly my laptop has the same problem.

I 'm afraid to not solder the "magnet part" on properly way.(+/-)

Any help will be useful. thank you.!

Alright. Well i've permanently found the problem. This requires that you disassemble the notebook solder a piece back on, and put it back together.

The motherboard had a magnet-looking piece that got pulled off the mobo. Soldering this back on will solve the problem. When I get home from school I will post pictures and instructions on how to get this solved. (Hopefully the other piece just like it doesn't fall off. Thanks see you in 4-5 hours.

Thanks twmspro your solution saved my $$$

I never fix a notebook computer before, but when I found this topic from a search engine with keyword "cannot boot T23 fan", I am delighted at least someone is having the same problem as I encounter and I might have a chance to fix it instead of getting a new one.

I am following instructions available for R40, to disassemble my T23.

It is close enough to guide you through.

The problem component, magnet-like thing (2R5 N24 for my T23), is at the back of the mother board. so you have to disassemble the whole notebook completely.......

After soldering back the "magnet" to the mother board, it works and problem resolved.

Hy to all,
After I read all the posts I realized that I have the same problem with my think pad T23 (fan run up and down and nothing else). I disassembled my laptop and I solder the "magnet part" to the motherbord.
Unfortunatly my laptop has the same problem.

I 'm afraid to not solder the "magnet part" on properly way.(+/-)

Any help will be useful. thank you.!

When I solder my "magnet", the foot of the model number "2R5 N24" is closer to the mother boards edge.

I'm glad I could help you. The T23's are nice little laptops. Very sturdy seems like to me. Glad I could help.

I'm glad I could help you. The T23's are nice little laptops. Very sturdy seems like to me. Glad I could help.

Yeah thanks very much! Managed to fix my mates laptop using this useful info! Now working perfectly.
For those who are asking the part is a coil so it doesn't matter which way it is connected. Also the one that
fell off in my laptop was not the one featured in the picture earlier in this thread. It was very nearby on the
board and the coil looked exactly the same. So they obviously have a problem with poor solder joints on these
machines!

Thanks Again
Kev. 👍

when i start mine up, it goes to this text screen saying "media test failure" and "operating system not found" and doesnt go anywhere after that. once or twice its actually gone to windows, but only lasted about ten minutes before going to a blue screen that says "beginning physical memory dump" and i didnt like the sound of that, so i shut the computer off, and after that it would go back to not finding my operating system. what the hell do i do?

when i start mine up, it goes to this text screen saying "media test failure" and "operating system not found" and doesnt go anywhere after that. once or twice its actually gone to windows, but only lasted about ten minutes before going to a blue screen that says "beginning physical memory dump" and i didnt like the sound of that, so i shut the computer off, and after that it would go back to not finding my operating system. what the hell do i do?

Sounds like the hard drive is knackered! It is located behind panel that covers the jack plugs, held in by large screw underneath. Replace it but you will need to completely reload the operating system!

Thanks twmspro, I had the same problem (fan low/high and no boot) and with your help I have been able to run my old T23 again. 🙂 I was thinking to sell it off ebay as a faulty laptop but now its all working. When I opened my laptop the magnet like part was completely detached and was lying in the casing. This is definitely a manufacturing issue and should be reported to ibm. Now I am thinking about buying similar laptops off ebay to make some money 😁

Cheers!

Thank you very much twmspro my t23 was doing the same boot problem i check the little magnet type and it fix my problem i weld it back.Its perfect............YOUR THE MAN

Hi guys,

My T40 got the same problem, I'm wondering if anyone of you had your T40 fixed, please help me, thanks a lot

Thank you for a cool discussion group, just what I was looking for. There are some good hints about how to fix old T23 IBM's. I have a challenge for you guys, I too have a T23 with 866 Mhz. processor, 13 inches, pc133 so DIMM 256 MB, 144-pins, 40 GB HD 5400 rpm.

Guys, I really hope you can help me with this, it is a very nice laptop, as many other owners already are saying and I'm no different. I have new RAM and hard disk in it and I don't think it is a fan or a magnet problem. I'm hoping it's a soldering matter. Thinking of taking it to a TV-radio repair shop, but I don't know where it should be re-soldered.

Problems and symptoms (history of events):

1. It began freezing after the hot summer we had, and also gave me a blue screen. I tried changing the ram, which stopped the blue screen, but still, it froze. Back then I had given up on the laptop and returned the new ram.
2. But then I found this discussion group and I looked inside the laptop. I took off the heatsink and found that there was a little grease left. I reapplied some grease and it worked for a day.
3. Bought some ram again. But still, it wouldn't work properly. It then became a challenge for me and also I didn't want to return the ram.
4. I changed the hard disk with a new one because PC doctor said it had an excessive shock on it and I thought it might be that, but no.
5. Found some additional sites, which could explain the problem, but no. "IBM Laptop freezes when moved": It seemed to freeze when I put my finger on the cover outside the ram slot. So soldering the ram slot could solve the problem. I haven't done it, because after a while it didn't seem to care where I put my fingers. "Why do I get a blue screen" "physical memory dump". Didn't seem to help.

So after some months of frustration, the problems are still:

1. A boot problem, it gives 4 beeps (have also heard 8 beeps). This indicates ram, ram slot or system board problem according to the manual.
2. When it starts windows (sometimes), it would crash with a freeze or give a blue screen with a reboot (sometimes without). It says "physical memory dump" with different codes every time. And sometimes I'm able to work on it, for a couple of hours.

I'm glad I could help you. The T23's are nice little laptops. Very sturdy seems like to me. Glad I could help.

I had my T23 quit about 3 weeks ago. It happened a minute after inserting a PCMCIA NIC. I figured it was toast and bought what was supposed to be a parts T23 off Ebay. It turned out to be a working laptop 😁 😁 😁 😁 😁 so I still wanted to get mine working.

I found this thread and have been studying it for the last few days. I had downloaded the FRU replacement manual from IBM. That helped a lot when I took the computer apart today. When I finally got the motherboard removed, the magnet looking coil was still it. I pried it lightly with a screwdriver and it popped off.

I then decided to dig out my 35 year old soldering iron and was able to solder the two connections back together.

I then reassembled the laptop and it works fine! But I did have some leftover screws.

Had I not found this thread, I probably would have parted out my T23!

Thanks for all the great help!

Smitty

Hello All,

A google search with intermittent fan behaviour on my 4+ years old T23 pointed me to this wonderful discussion. I was wondering if any body still had the picture of that "magnet looking part" that twmspro posted. It would be very helpful in me not screwing things up. I have taken apart keyboard and stuff, but main board is still there. Do I need to take the main board out, and look at the bottom of it?

Thanks in advance,

Jhaanti

OK, never mind with the pictures. Firefox somehow didn't show me the picture the first couple of times I loaded the first page of this thread. However, on the 4th load, the pictures are there, and now I have a better idea as to what to look for.

Now I'll try to solder it, and see if that solves the problem.

Thanks twmspro again,

Jhaanti

Yes, that part is on the bottom of the motherboard and the motherboard has to be removed.
If you have my luck, you will have some screws left over when you are done!

Smitty

Thanks Smitty,

Those parts don't appear to be lose at all. Some earlier comments indicated that even if they appear to be cemented tight, it helps to remove them anyway, and re-solder them. Will give that a shot, should take a deep breath or two before I try this kind of micro surgery.

Jhaanti

Hmm, 2R5 N18 came right off after a little bit of pressure from a screw-driver. However, the soldering part appears to be beyond my skills, as the head of the soldering iron I have it too thick. I'll try to find a local TV shop who would solder this for me.

Will let you know the results.

Jhaanti

No such luck. After soldering and resoldering that inductor, the behaviour of the fan is still the same. Fan starts up for a little bit while booting, and then goes dead. Is there any way to have the fan just always running, rather than having it run on demand? Perhaps I can wire it up that way? What are the three wires going into the fan?

Jhaanti

Is there some re-calibration of thermal sensors required? What tool do I use to do that?

I don't think that having the fan run all the time would correct the booting problem.

When my laptop was not working, the fan would go fast and slow. Now that it is running, the fan will run for awhile upon booting and then stop when the CPU cools down. When it heats up, the fan will come back on until it cools again.

Good Luck
Smitty

H U G E T H A N K S !

I'm back from 2 hours of hardware surgery,
Soldering the magnet-like piece solved the problem here !

Thanks again ! I registered just to say that 😁

Thanks twmspro
writing this message from my trusty t23 resurrected and operational once again, took me about two hours of disassembly but i finally found the little bugger , no great soldering skills so i just used some super glue under the magnet let it dry and put it all together now just have to find the missing screws left on the table also some screw holders were severed too so i glued them back together at the same time , wish i had some epoxy to make it even more snug, hope i wont have to do it again quite nerve wercking.
its kinda funny like the guys at ibm thought "well 5 years are more then enough for laptop lets design it so it disconnects in 5-6 years.
just kiddin thou this is my only pc for a year and it has seen some serious milage i'm surprised it lasted this long
thanks again twmspro registered to say thank you

greets from israel

I TOO HAVE THIS PROBLEM, I BOUGHT A T23 WITH A 20 GIG HD WIPEDE CLEAN, NO AC ADAPTOR, NO RAM( THOUGHT IT DID) I PLUGGED IN MY DAUGHTERS AC FROM A T20 AND NO LUCK NOTHING HAPPENED. SWAPED OUT BATTERIES, STILL NO LUCK, ADED RAM, SAME PROBLEM. I'M GOING TO TRY TEARING IT APART AND SEE IF THE ROUND MAGNET DISK IS LOOSE.
I'LL LET YOU KNOW
THANKS

Hi guys!

I also have a T23 with a fan problem. The laptop won't boot at all, I get a FAN ERROR on startup, I don't hear the fan running at all... It did that to me 3-4 times before but after a couple of reboot it was OK. But now it'S dead...

I took it apart last night and checked the board and there was nothing loose. I put some pressure on the magnet and it's not loose at all.

What can be the problem? The board or the fan?

Do some of you know how to test the fan, what voltage do I have to send to it to test it and what are the 3 wires going to it? Wich one is positive and negative...

Thanks for your help!

Ive had the same problems as described here by a few people. Ive taken it apart and the solder joints on the little "magnets" seem firm. however ill reattach them and see if that does the trick.

please le me know if anyone found any other weak spots on the MOBO!

cheers guys, great help, i hope to report back with some success.

Now I'm suffering the same problem. People in forum told me it's the problem of the fan. Too much dust has gone inside which stops the fan from running normally.
The solution is to clean the fan, and then reinstall it.

i have a T23 and when i try to start it up nothing happens i mean nothing no lights no fan not a thing i took it a part and don't see any problems i tested it with a multimeter its geting power but it don't do anything and that one magnet is still on the board please help

Lonely,
You try to remove the battery installed and then reboot. Sometimes loose battery may cause boot faliure.
Another cause might be the input current.
If not, the problem must be on the mother board.You'll need to consult the technician.

I Know what is wrong with the Thinkpad.
The problem is the built in thremal sensors.
If thea malfunction the pc wont start.

Thanks twmspro, I had the same problem (fan low/high and no boot) and with your help I have been able to run my old T23 again. 🙂 I was thinking to sell it off ebay as a faulty laptop but now its all working. When I opened my laptop the magnet like part was completely detached and was lying in the casing. This is definitely a manufacturing issue and should be reported to ibm. Now I am thinking about buying similar laptops off ebay to make some money 😁

Cheers!

I had the same problem a few days ago and was already considering selling this off on eBay and getting a new laptop.

Now I have hope. I disassembled the system, and sure enough, one end of the connection was broken, and the other readily broke off when I touched it.

My soldering skills aren't that great, so I will have to wait a few days for a person who is good with this to do this for me.

Hopefully I will be able to put all the many pieces together again.
(By the way, anyone know what this little component actually does?)

I agree, this seems to be a manufacturering problem with IBM and they really ought to do something about this.

Just to update, once the piece was resoldered, the T23 booted up very
nicely (in fact I am using it to post right now).

Thanks again for the original poster of the images/solution to this problem,
it saved me lots of $$ and time/hassle to be able to fix the problem myself.

Esmail

Thanks to twmspro and everyone for this super information. I had similar problems and found after dismantling the tp that the same soldering repair was needed. Got an iron from Radio Shack at 8:45Pm and fixed it. Some what sloppy soldering but I haven't soldered for a long time! Put it back together and worked fine except...The machine now shuts down after 10-30 minutes of operation. I think it's overheating, the air coming from the fan is hot as is the bottom of the computer near the cpu. I did not replace the thermal grease (neither RS nor I had any last night). Could that be the problem? Thanks in advance for the help.

Joe

I have the same exact problem however I have an IBM R50P. Is the magnet placement the same? I checked the component that looks like the one above and it seem intacted.

Hi,

Here is one for you, I have a beep message and no boot up on my daughters T23 model 2648. It is either 1-3-3-1 or 3-3-1 do you include the first beep? and then it drops out leaving the power light on and the fan running?! Have whacked in a boot disk but nothing. It is running xp pro and I have forgotten the spec as we have 3 laptops here and 5 at work!

Any help or advice would greatly appreciated. I have not been inside the machine yet.
Joneeboy.

yes, I'm sure you include the first beep.

1-3-3-1 has something to do with ram on Ibm Thinkpad T23

Also, the error codes for this might be helpful to some.

I had the exact problem with my T23, i spent 5 days and didnt figured. After a google search i found this forum and with twmspros informations i resolved it. My IBM works again.

@twmspro many thanks from over seas!

I have the same problem. Has anyone contacted IBM about this problem? Any responses?

Do you have to take out the motherboard to solder it and do all of the magnet things have 2R5-N23. Thanks

A most excellent thread. I took the plunge and disassembled the T23, and the magnet in question is rock solid. I tried all the suggestions in this thread to no avail, and still I am unable to resolve this issue. I must say as a 50 year old guy, though I am undaunted by the entire process, I simply do not have the steady hand that the younger folks have, and so soldering is something of the past for me. This is only the second time I disassembled a laptop, but I am looking forward to more exploration in this area. I just wish I could find the real problem with this laptop, it is about 2 years since bought it, and has been nothing but a $500 brick since 3 months after I purchased it. I already tested the RAM and replaced the hard drive when if failed.

I certainly welcome any further suggesting in the event I have left some stone unturned.

Thanks to all and kudos the adventurous young folks who braved forward in resolving their issues

Thanks twmspro!

Upon finding and reading this thread this morning, I immediately tore my T23 down and got the mainboard out. With just a little pressure the coil popped off. One side was completely loose already. It looked like there was a layer of grey corrosion or flux at each solder pad. I scraped them clean and resoldered the coil down. It was difficult to fit my iron's tip behind one of the surface mount components on the edge of the board, but I got it. I put it back together with only one screw and a bit of metal left over.
It powers up and I'm using it right now.

Thanks again. I definitely couldn't afford a new laptop.

I would like to post something I learned.
I found this thread searching for my problem.
The freezing and blue screen part sounded like the same issue, except I was not having any issues with fans or fan speeds.

I read another post about someone who also was having an issue with their T23, when the lower section of the computer (The door you can open to access the ram) was depressed the computer froze.

I tested this and sure enough my computer was freezing whenever I moved the computer and or applied pressure to this RAM access door.

Opening the door nothing looked out of the oridanary, although I am not an expert.

I have 1 RAM chip 256mb which was located in the front slot.
I moved the RAM chip to the back empty slot and WA LA fixed.
After this I looked close at everything..

• The door that goed over the RAM is ver flexible and was able the move the RAM stick in the front slot, but was not able to move the RAM stick once placed in the rear close because the RAM access door is supported better back there.

Hope this helps anyone who had this nightmare of an issue.

( I bought this computer as my first laptop, its use was for tuning my car. It was very frustrating having the laptop freeze while trying to correct my cars idle etc.).

Ohmigosh, thank you TMSWPRO. Your solution worked. The magnet thingy was in the bottom of the case, rattling around, just like you said it would be. I took it and the board to a computer shop and had the piece soldered back on. It was some task taking this computer apart. I'm no computer wiz. In fact, I'm an accountant who has never done anything like this. The instructions on the Lenovo site for taking apart the computer are fantastic. If I can do it, anybody can. Here's a refresh to the link for the publication that shows you how to take apart the T20, T21, T22, and T23.

Go to the Lenovo site and type in the name of the file in the Search box: 62p9631.pdf.

Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread. It has saved me.

Thanks twmspro this problem occured on my t23 laptop about 3 weeks ago took it to the local computer shop paid £28 pounds to be told it could not be fixed found your forum took it apart using the hardware manual
and is the PDF 62p9631.pdf called the Hardware Maintenance Manual soldered the piece back in place put it back together and it works fine again.

Thanks again without this forum, I would be buying another laptop this Christmas.

I read the thread and decided to open up my T23. I found the magnet-looking piece lying on the bottom of the case. Wow! Exact same problem. However, it looks like my problem is with a different chip(or whatever this is). Here is a picture.

I'm not familiar with soldering. My question is how do I know how this chip should be placed? When I flip over this chip I see the 2 connections. But how do I know which connection goes with which on the board?

I have a IBM t21 laptop that is experiencing almost an Identical Problem,
it doesn't boot, the fans run, and a few of the LED's run but nothing more.

Interestingly, It will sometimes boot if I apply pressure to random areas of the underside, and work normally except that it doesn't "restart" but just hangs at the "Windows is shutting down screen" indefinitely.

I would very much Like to get this thing fixed, since its technically not mine, and has served me oh so well in the 2 weeks it was in my possession before this started. (I am inline to inherit it).

Any Help would be greatly appreciated.

Specs: 800mhz processor, one chip of 128ram, win98se, 20gb hdd

I hope people are still reading this thread, as my T23s do not have any loose magnet thingys. There are 3 of them on the MOBO, 2 on the bottom side and 1 on top side, and all are securely soldered on.

Yet my units won't boot anymore ... all I get is 2 beeps and then "Fan Error". So if it's not the magnet thingys causing this problem on mine, and ideas what to look for next?

Ok, I looked at the MOBO closely, and in particular those 3 magnet thingys. With a little exacto knife, I gently pryed on each of them, and what'd'ya'know ... they all popped off. Very easily I might add. 90 minutes later, I have cleaned the contacts on them, re-soldered them back on, and then put the whole thing back together.

Crossed my finger and hit the power button. Reset the date and time in the BIOS and voila ... #1 T23 seems to be purrin' like a kitten again. Sweet. Now to let it run overnight and see how it's doing in the morning. If still fine, I'll do the same to #2 T23 tomorrow.

Thanks for this useful thread. And in particular TWMSPRO for getting us started on the right path with the magnet thingys!

I would like to thank you all for you help...it saved me from selling the t23 off as parts on ebay....the info was dead on and it was the MOBO!! Off to the computer shop for some soldering work!

well.....no one at the computer shops would touch it the mother board...they look horrified...or we don't do that or they wanted $$$ up front ....told them all to beat it....do it myself... see spending Over a $100..or more on a this t23 to fix it...I did it my self......carefully and it worked!! Man...it felt good!!!

Again, thanks you all for this post....I know it will help some one else down the road!

Peace!

Hey folks. It's been a while. I've been having some recent t23 problems myself, again. Sometimes when I first pull the computer out of my bag to turn it on, it's had time to cool down, i get one beep, then continous series's of three beeps. I then shake the computer around for a little, cycling through plugging it in taking my wifi card out and the like. After a few minutes it turns on, but sits at post with the screen off. After a few more tries it finally comes on and boots.

I have also been getting random bsod's and freeze's. Everything I've looked at suggests that it would be bad ram. The thing is there's always been one slot that goes dead whenever it likes. I have 2 DIMM's of 128mb. The computer is currently taken apart and I see no appearant problems with anything other than dirty contacts and broken plastic and metal. Thank god the for metal cage.

As for the photos that I put up forever and half ago, I currently don't have a computer capable of accesing my SATA drives. I've been desktop less for about 6-7 months and it's a pain in the ass. If I can find them again, I'll put them back up somewhere.

As long as Ozzu emails me about these thread updates, I should be able to contribute to these issues.

Okay, I came across this site due to a freezing issue, and I originally tried to update the BIOS due to some advice. Unfortunatly, the computer froze during the BIOS update, and now nothing appears. I'm not sure if that's a BIOS problem, or a problem with the 'magnets'. Does anyone know how to restore the BIOS, as I'm pretty sure it was toasted when it froze during the update. Thanks!!!

Hello Everybody,

My T40 Laptop is having the same startup problem and I am considering giving this solution a try. Can anyone post the pics of the "magnet" like things so I have an idea of what they look like. Thanks very much in advance.

Sup folks. Excuse me for being gone a while since my last post. School and switching to OSX86 have been taking a lot of my time tweaking and such. My hard drive intended for my backup oddly lost all my files. out of about 98 gigs of stuff on there i only got back about 7 gigs. i'll look for the pictures. I doubt i have them anywhere.

Hi twmspro
Can you post the pics of the "magnet" like things so I have an idea of what they look like? Thanks very much in advance.

Thanks a ton twmspro!

My T40 is now all dissected and in front of me. The mobo here is quite different from the T23. I can see only 1 magnet-like piece (150 N41) here. It seems though that this part is pretty firmly attached. I tried pushing it around with some gentle force to see if it would pop out but it stays pretty firm. One thing though. I tried pressing down the thing firmly and I think that I heard a click sound. If this was because of a loose contact, I hope this fixes the machine. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Will report back in a couple of hours on success/failure.

OK, it's been a few hours now and this is going to be a long post but I guess it's better to give all possible details to help others like me. First, though, I would like to thank all the people who have posted here. Until I found this thread, I had almost given up hopes of reviving my laptop but now it at least seems possible.

My problem with my t40 (1.5 Ghz Pentium M, 1 Gig RAM, 60 Gig HD 5400 rpm, Windows XP SP2) is 2 pronged - 1st my computer just freezes and hangs and when I shut it down forcefully and try to restart it, it won't boot and the fan problem starts. At first, I thought that both the problems were related, so I formatted my HD and reinstalled Windows. Unfortunately, the problem became worse and my laptop started freezing after abt 30 mins of operation and then wouldn't reboot. So I decided to follow IBM's troubleshooting guide. This is what I did:

1. Ran PC-Doctor - Everything was fine.
2. Reseated hardware (DIMM, HDD, CD/DVD Drive, Mini PCI card) - The problem was still there.
3. Updated BIOS - NO Help.

Then I found this thread and this is what I did:

Took everything apart to check for the magnet thingy. Here I found that the T40 mobo is diff. Found only on the underside and it was firm. There were a few on the top side as well. Checked them too. Everything seems fine. Put everything back together and rebooted. The boot problem seems to have eased up. M/c boots up 1 in every 2-3 attempts but still freezes after 30 mins.

Removed the Mini PCI card and the communications card. Now my system is running much better. Freeze frequency has dropped but the problem is still there.

So now, I really don't know what to do. Will try to update my drivers but I don't know how far that will get me. Can anybody suggest what might be the problem or how to fix the freeze/reboot issue? Any help will be appreciated. I need my PC for work and I can't afford a new one now. Thanks a lot!

Go to the first post of this thread (made by twmspro) and read the list of things that are not the problem. Even though they are suggested as not being the problem, test those things out as the problem doesn't reside in a loose connection.

hi
i'm a germa volunteer in tazania and my t23 has the same boot prolemes as some of you have descried here before: screen stays dark and a 1-3-3-1 bios beep is heard.
after shaking laptop slightly it starts after 1 up to 15 trys. when booted it works perfectly, no freezes or beeps.
i dont know much about laptops but since i'm in tanzania noone can help me here.
any ideas would be appreaciated.
could it also be the magnet like piece at the motheroard or the DIMM.
how could i fix it... do i need a ironyig thing (piston...i dont know the i dont know the english term) . so far i only have a screwdriver 😉
thx in advance,
mwalimu

I had the same errors and looked to see if the magnets were dislodged. This was not the problem as they were both firmly in place. I noticed that the thermal compound between the processor and the fan was dry and brittle and suspected that heat dissipation was the issue. I purchased some thermal compound at radio shack, cleaned the heat sink and the processor with rubbing alcohol, and applied a thin new coat. It's been more than 24 hours and the laptop had not had one issue since!! All you need to do is remove the keyboard and the top plastic frame to remove the fan. Good luck.

I have the impression that my Thinkpad T23 has the same problem. I've checked the BIOS Battery, too (3.0 V).
So I read the manual mentioned above, but as I've never disassembled a laptop before (I've already done it with my PC) Id like to know whether it is really necessary to disconnect all 17 parts? According to the manual:

1180 System Board

For access, remove these replaceable, in order:
1010 Battery pack on page 60
1020 backup battery on page 61
1030 Hard Disk drive on page 63
1040 DIMM on page 65
1050 Mini PCI adapter on page 66
1060 Ethernet daughter card on page 70 (only for T23 series)
1070 Ultrabay 2000 device on page 73
Keyboard 1080 on page 74
1090 Keyboard CRU insulator on page 82
1100 Hinge cover on page 83
1110 keyboard bezel on page 88
1120 Fan assembly on page 94
1130 CPU on page 98
1140 PC Card slot assembly on page 100
1150 Speaker on page 103
1160 Hard Disk bay on page 105
1170 Ultrabay 2000 slot on page 107

Are there some parts that could still be connected, such as the CPU? Which parts are difficult to disassemble or reassemble. Should I buy parts before I start to reassemble it (like thermal conductance paste)? Thank you for everything!

I had the exact same problem as described in the first post. After futzing around trying various things, I removed the motherboard. The two 'magnet' things seemed to be firmly in place. However I applied a bit more force and one of them came right off. I resoldered it back on, reinstalled the motherboard, and voila! it works!

Thanks twmspro!! (and google for finding his post)

Hi, I'm having the same problem. My fan pulses and the screen remains blank. I removed the mobo and found that the 'magnet thingy' was loose and I don't have a soldering iron. Anyone know where I could get something soldered?

Hi,

My problem was a bit different, the t23 would boot, work fine for a few minutes but the second you moved it, it would freeze. I followed the hardware manual as indicated in this post and there was the magnet at the bottom of the case.

It did not come from the location posted on this forum (checked the bottom of the system board as well). I spent a good deal of time trying to find out where it came from with no luck, in the end I just reassembled the t23 without it and it works fine.

I had exactly the same problem on my mom's T23. The computer worked fine for a couple of hours at a time, but after that, it always froze and only the CPU fan continued going on and off. Also, the display had a darker bar at the top edge of the screen. Those were the only life signs at that point.

I might also add that the problem was worse while running on battery. It only worked for about 15 minutes and then froze every time. It always started working again after a few hours, though.

I opened up the computer yesterday in hope of finding a loose magnet thingy. I disappointingly found that all three were attached, but when I applied some force, two of them popped right off. The one on the top of the MB and the one in the pictures above. The contact surface of the legs of the magnets had a worn coppery color. I polished them and soldered the two magnets back on.

(dramatic pause)

...and what do you know, that seems to have solved the problem! I was at least able to run the computer normally with the battery for over two hours, which is something I couldn't even have dreamt of before.

So bottom line, even if the magnet things seem to be attached, I'd still remove them by applying some force after going through the trouble of opening up the computer. It won't do any harm and I suppose they'll fail on every T23 sooner or later.

I'll do some more testing, but it looks very good so far. Many thanks to all of you guys!

Btw, I registered just to post this. 🙂

I have the same problem, symptoms and everything. EXCEPT I had removed the magnet thing and was on my way to solder it back to the mobo when I tripped over in my garage and the magnet thingy was smashed to pieces on the ground. Now what do I do?

I've got a T23 with the same problem. I took the motherboard out via the service manual, and sure enough, that part was half broken off the board. I don't believe it was the same part pictured (see page 5 for a working image of the part - the image posted on page 1 is now defunct), but if you just poke around the board, tipping random large components on the bottom side of the board, you'll find it.

My original problem was the laptop not POSTing but just spinning the fans up and down repeatedly. After resoldering that component, the laptop boots and runs 100% perfectly. Sure, it's an outdated laptop, all but entirely useless in the modern age, but, well? It still works. 😉

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have the same problem. Ud think after all this info Id have it fixed aleady right? Well not so lucky. when I get to the mobo everything seems tight and sturdy but i still poke around and take apart and put back to only limited joy afterwards. But I atleast it seams that I have pinpointed the general area of the problem which is around the harddrive. Actually it seems to be the whole bottom right quarter of the laptop that is sensitive to movement and touch. But when I touch anything particular and then something else particular, I get the same response. which leaves me with no definite answer. I took off and resoldered any magnets in that area already. Can anyone tell me what I should do? Thanks in advance

My issue is with the Thinkpad T42, grrr.

Found this amazing thread. I almost jumped on my IBM T42 yesterday.

My symptom of the problem is that the laptop will not boot, but the fan starts. It starts every 40th time, but only to stall a few minutes later.

After some time this is what I have noticed so far: At first, the computer got a blue screen often. After a while, it started but would stall when I moved it. Then I made a clean installation. After that, all earlier problems went away but now it won't boot as often as I like. Checked memory, HDD, processor, battery, etc.

I saw someone writing about the wireless card on T23 and after disabling it on the T23 seemed to work fine. In the hardware area, everything seems to be fine. But when I try to run the command ipconfig /all via Window's command prompt, it replies something that "status for one or several media". It is actually in Swedish so I don't know the exact translation.

Has anyone seen any magnets on the Thinkpad T42? Is it the same issue as the Thinkpad T23?

As I continue to work on the T42, noticed something strange. I removed all the screws so that the keyboard went loose. I removed the wireless card and put it back in. I still couldn't get the ipconfig command to work, but the computer booted every time.

I put the screws back on and, it won't boot again.

Tonight I've broken the computer into tiny pieces. The problem for me (as it seems) was NOT:

1. Magnetic things.
2. Wireless Card
3. Battery to Bios
4. Memory
5. Harddrive
6. DVD drive
7. PCI card of any kind

Tried all those things and sometimes it booted, sometimes not.

For me, it seemed to be a ground problem of some kind. When I tightened the screws that contain the DVD (they were a bit loose)the computer seemed to boot correctly every time. I've tried EVERY tip I got from this thread but with no success.

Now you know what I did. Hopefully, this information could help someone else.

I got T23 for a repair today, was BSOD with boot problems with winxp, so first thing, I searched, how to get a HDD out, got it, then understood, I have no such cables around, so I inserted it back, to format it, BUT bummer! It does not turn on anymore, I mean, fan, battery lights and power-on lights ar lit, but nothing happens, just blank screen, no post signals, nothing.
I opened it, took all dust away, poked the mobo, everything was firmly attached and clean, nothing!
For now, If I can't solve it, it looks like I am in fault of non-working laptop, that is realy bad. I need some solution, what to do! I have tried deattaching all plug-in cards, every memory, no change... PLEASE HELP!

picked up a T23 at a flea market today for $5.00 USD. Had the fan up and down issue. Found this site and tore it apart just to find the magnetic looking thing ready to fall off. Soldered it back on and it's working great!

Thanks everyone!

Amazing! My T23 was dead in this way yesterday. Today I found this thread and I fixed it!

Thanks a lot.

Thanks very much for this thread, my old t23 which I still use would not start and all I could hear was a wearing sound coming from the fan. I have done what everyone else has done taken out the mother board found that the little magnet thing had come unstuck on 1 side as soon as I touched it, it fell off in my hand, so after reattaching it. Its all fixed and works as good as new.

Thanks all.......

where can I find this part to be soldered back on the mobo? Can you post some photos.

Thanks.

PS.when I press the keyboard on the "Q" key or around - it goes on!!! there must be some part loose. I will try to find it out, but any help will do.thanks.

Hello I am new here and I know it was a long time ago for this tread
but i need help
I have T40 and work fine except one.
When work on charger(adapter) with batery turn off ok but when I disconnet the charger the t40 just start again and when i try to turn off he just reboot and same again.
But when I press the power buton he turn off but when I try to start with batery only he did want only when I plug in the charger then he start normaly.
I try to remove a HDD CD/ROM ...but its the same thing.
Can somebady help me???
Thank you