IBM T41: Bad Screen, Cable, Video Board or Hard Drive?
 

My T41 has been acting very oddly lately. Sometimes the screen just randomly goes blank but is still lit. This also sometimes happens if I turn the laptop laterally a little. Sometimes, after pushing a bunch of buttons randomly, the desktop/workspace reappear but with random colored dots everywhere or a bunch of lines. Also, everything is sometimes frozen and things act wierd..windows don't open/ new links only open in new tabs, etc.

When the random pushing of buttons doesn't work, I'm forced to 'hard' shutdown. When I turn it off after an 'episode' like this, I don't hear the hardrive click off, just the fan turning off, which is why I suspect the hard drive might be a problem. After I turn it off, if i turn it on immediately it won't boot or nothing shows up on the screen. I have to wait a min or so. The harddrive is only a few months old after the original one failed. It's an oem drive (Hitachi?).

This is happening more frequently these days. I've had this thing for more than three years now and it's def not been just sitting on a desk.

Any ideas guys?

sounds like the signs of a damaged ribbon cable between the board and the moniter

Unfortunately that could be a million things...motherboard, ribbon cable, hard drive...tough to say. Is it still under warranty?

The laptop is more than 3 years old. No warranty except for the relatively new hd. This thing has seen it's share of traveling around. Should I start with the ribbon cable then since it's the cheapest?

I don't even know if that laptop uses a ribbon cable, the connector for the HD could be soldered directly to the motherboard. Where's Ron, I bet he knows these things inside and out...Oh Gresch :)

I know the connector for the hd is soldered to the mb. If I am identifying it corrently..I think the ribbon cable is next to the left hinge (btw, the metal hinges ibm/lenovo uses are excellent!)..I can see it. Can ribbon cable come loose, etc?

LOL! I would bet that it's the wiring in the hinge that goes to the panel, or it's the end that connects to the mother board.

Considering that you're out of warranty, download the schematic for it, open it up and check it out.

IBM/Lenovo is great with parts, and they're cheap, once you figure it out just call them

IBM's T4x series is superb-I have owned a T40 until recently-but they do have a few weak points. What you are describing could be one of the major issues that these have. The ATI video graphics chip is a Ball Grid Array setup that uses little 'balls' of solder underneath to attach it to the system board. Over time, and especially if you have picked up the laptop with one hand at the left front corner of the unit, those ball solder joints become weak and break from the system board. Usually the symptoms are a bit more severe than what you are describing, but yours might be at an early stage.

You can go to the new forums at www.thinkpads.com and do a search on the T4x video issue and see how people use a heat gun to try to reflow the solder on this chip. Others have removed the keyboard and put 'Post It' notes over the chip so that when you reinstall the keyboard, the added pressure keeps the chip from losing contact. I would try the Post-It note way first to see if that helps your problem.

In the end, it might be time to go to ebay and pick up a new system board. Then again, the T60 series is a worthy replacement-I recently purchased a T60p in the widescreen version and it is very nice!

Eric and Gresch, thanks a lot for your suggestions! Yes, I am guilty of picking up the laptop with one hand many times, and in that location quite frequently. I'll check out the Thinkpad forums. No T60 for me...I'm a college student and looking for the lowest cost solution. They do seem very nice though.

yes, that issue was very common as there was no steel/allow frame inside it yet. the newer models have a roll cage/skeleton that everything bolts to making it the strongest frame for a "non-toughbook" model...