T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

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RainbowJackal · #1 Post by **RainbowJackal** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:57 am

I bought an untested T43 off eBay a few days ago. It has no battery; so when it's plugged into a power supply the battery light briefly blinks and goes off. Anyways, when I start it the lights come on and it spins up (though the display is blank), for about 2 seconds before shutting off again, and then it won't go on again until I've unplugged the power supply and plugged it back in again. I removed the DIMM and it starts fine (but obviously with a beep code and blank screen), but the fan speeds up to its maximum speed before slowing down again. Regardless, it stays switched on, and starts again after I have switched it off, so IDK. I've tried numerous methods such as system reset with the power button, and removing the CMOS battery for a long period of time before replacing it. But as of yet, it's still not working.......

#2 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:34 am

I assume you use the proper IBM power supply (16V, 4.5A, 72W).
Without any RAM (both on the bottom and under the keyboard) it should beep 1-3-3-1 if the motherboard still has some life in it.
Remove also the main battery, the wifi card (under the palmrest) and any hard disk and/or CD/DVD drive.
Hook up an external monitor.
Then connect the power supply and try to boot, pressing F1 to go into BIOS.
Anything on either LCD or monitor? Press Fn-F7 a few times.

Neil · #3 Post by **Neil** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:38 am

It most likely has a bad system board. With system boards as cheap as they are today, I don't consider it worth the time and trouble of trying to determine exactly what is wrong with the board and trying to repair it. Still worth a shot at trying what RBS suggests above, though.

If that doesn't get you up and running, you can either take it apart and sell the parts, or get another system board, pop it in and have a working T43.

RainbowJackal · #4 Post by **RainbowJackal** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:02 am

Yes, it does beep 1-3-3-1 with no RAM.
And it's an IBM 16V charger.
I tried removing all the drives, and connected it to my monitor, and it did go into the BIOS utility fine, until I pressed Fn-F7 to check if the LCD worked, and it shut off. Now it has the same shutoff problem it did before after 1-2 seconds regardless of drives being present or not. (Again, unless RAM is not present.)
So I guess the system board's pretty much fine, and it's another problem.....

ajkula66 · #5 Post by **ajkula66** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:23 am

RainbowJackal wrote:
So I guess the system board's pretty much fine, and it's another problem.....

Unless you have a bad CPU, the board is the problem.

RainbowJackal · #6 Post by **RainbowJackal** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:27 am

Wouldn't it have to use the CPU to get to the BIOS screen?

ajkula66 · #7 Post by **ajkula66** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:24 am

RainbowJackal wrote:Wouldn't it have to use the CPU to get to the BIOS screen?

Of course, but it's not as black and white as you portray it to be.

A bad CPU might boot on certain occasions, and then shut the machine down within seconds. I saw this type of behaviour on a T43p I was fixing last year, and on a couple of other T4x units previously.

Try another CPU - they are dime a dozen nowadays - and if that doesn't fix it, you're looking at a board swap, presuming that you're using RAM that was properly tested and showed no errors.

RainbowJackal · #8 Post by **RainbowJackal** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:27 am

Bleh, okay, I'll replace the CPU and see if that works.

ajkula66 · #9 Post by **ajkula66** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:29 am

You can use any PM740/750/760/770/780 CPU, you should be able to find 740 or 750 for $5 or so on feebay

RainbowJackal · #10 Post by **RainbowJackal** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:38 am

Pentium Ms are £4 off eBay, so I'll just get one of those and some thermal paste.

ajkula66 · #11 Post by **ajkula66** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:49 am

Just make sure that it's one of the above...

RainbowJackal · #12 Post by **RainbowJackal** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:57 am

Yep, yep. I'm watching a 740, so it should be fine!

poshgeordie · #13 Post by **poshgeordie** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 1:29 pm

Welcome to the Forums - How's sunny Ayr nowadays - lots of very happy memories.

Like ajkula66, I've seen this when either the CPU hasn't been clipped in - you know how it's been put in the holder but the screw not turned - or it's a bad CPU.

RainbowJackal · #14 Post by **RainbowJackal** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 8:05 am

Oh, whoops, sorry, I never realized that. Hmm, I've set that wrong; I actually live in Kinross.

I checked the clip, and it's in fine, so I'll have to replace it. Though the lack of thermal paste on the CPU suggests it's possibly overheating. Thanks anyway!

RainbowJackal · #15 Post by **RainbowJackal** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:26 pm

I finally got round to fitting a new processor, and that's not fixed the problem......

ajkula66 · #16 Post by **ajkula66** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:52 pm

Time for a board swap, I'm sorry to say...

Good luck.

T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

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Re: T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

Re: T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

Re: T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

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Re: T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

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Re: T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

Re: T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

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Re: T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

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Re: T43 shuts off after 2 seconds

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