Does anyone have a recovery cd for the t40? I'm getting mad blue screen errors. Particularly IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error and another blue screen saying:

Beginning dump of physical memory.
Physical memory dump complete.............contact system adminstrator, etc.

It does it randomly. I've tried doing a fresh install of windows xp several times and while doing the installation blue screens appear and i have to try to install until it goes all the way through successfully.

Hardware error or software error?

1/18/2006 6:48:32 PM

hardware

run a memory test - memtest86

1/18/2006 6:49:11 PM

blue button that shit.

1/18/2006 6:49:36 PM

running memtest86 as i type....how long does it take to run the test? Seems like it's gonna take a bit.

1/18/2006 6:51:33 PM

oh yeah and i have a t40 but they don't send a recovery CD - it's on a hard drive partition

Quote :

"blue button that shit."

you can run memtest for years if you want haha

1/18/2006 6:52:32 PM

if you call and give IBM (lenovo) a bunch of shit about it they'll send you the recovery cds to restore it to factory.

1/18/2006 6:57:39 PM

yeah well it's not on my paritition anymore since I erased it. i couldn't find the partition for it so i erased the whole dang thing. i think the other owner erased partition so i couldn't find it.

1/18/2006 6:58:02 PM

yeah they told me $45! not gonna pay that much for it. i'm thinking it's a hardware problem though. haven't told them that yet but will be checking it through the memory test.

1/18/2006 6:58:54 PM

download the pc doctor for dos bootable iso off lenovo's site

i am having trouble finding it

once you do, just run the full system test and make sure to select the "halt on errors" option

i have worked on many a T40/p and i suspect it is the video card

1/18/2006 7:52:32 PM

thanks...i will be doing that once the windows memory diagnostic finishes. so far there isn't any errors in the memory. so if it is the video card...could i get it replaced if i'm under warranty?

1/18/2006 8:06:15 PM

did all diagnostics test and everything passed....wtf? software problem?

1/18/2006 8:59:53 PM

Note to self, never buy an IBM laptop.

1/18/2006 9:08:42 PM

i love my t42p

i haven't had any problems at all...

1/18/2006 9:15:38 PM

grrr...man this is frustrating. i wonder if the recovery cd will fix everything.

1/18/2006 9:22:19 PM

oh does anyone have a windows professional sp2 cd they can burn me? i've got my own serial from the computer...gonna try to use a different version then the one i had from a long time ago.

1/18/2006 10:04:41 PM

Quote :

"Note to self, never buy an IBM laptop."

wtf - yea that's a great strategy.... buy a laptop from a manufacturer that produces failure rates at an order of magnitude greater than Lenovo just because you'll get a recovery disk.

1/19/2006 8:21:36 AM

you could always call IBM support too you know

1-800-IBM-SERV

1/19/2006 9:47:08 AM

Quote :

"ajsimeon said: yeah they told me $45! not gonna pay that much for it."

1/19/2006 9:59:03 AM

dont EE majors have access to MSDNAA?

find someone with it, download it, and just use your own CD-key

1/19/2006 10:04:41 AM

Quote :

"hardware run a memory test - memtest86"

You do not have nearly enough info to say it is a hardware problem.

Any software changes? New software, new drivers, windows updates, etc?
Is it XP? Have you tried restoring it to an earlier recovery point?

[Edited on January 19, 2006 at 11:58 AM. Reason : l]

1/19/2006 11:57:54 AM

still strugglin with this problem. ran memtest86 for the whole night with no errors. i've done pc doctor and that hasn't shown any errors. wtf. maybe a whole new factory restore would do the the trick. just i don't want to pay $45 for that shit.

dfshadow, i was reading on the forums of thinkpad.com and i think i saw where you could make a recovery disk. you think maybe if you had time you could look and make me one? would be appreciated greatly.

1/20/2006 10:08:51 AM

yea the recovery cds can be created from the pre installed software

this is of course assuming you haven't already deleted the pre installed software.

1/20/2006 10:19:54 AM

ajsimeon - check pm

1/20/2006 10:25:49 AM

Thanks TallyHo I pmed you.

I've also got more some new errors when sending the report to microsoft after it has rebooted.

here's one report:

Error caused by problem in random access memory: run Windows tool

Thank you for submitting an error report.

Problem description

The error was caused by a problem in your computer's random access memory (RAM). Microsoft is unable to determine if this problem was caused by a hardware or software issue, although this type of problem is usually caused by hardware.

Recommendation

Microsoft recommends that you download and run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool on your computer to find out if this is a hardware or software problem. On most computers, you can download the diagnostic, read the documentation, run the test, and complete the test in less than 30 minutes.


Here is the next:

C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini011906-03.dmp
C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER4.tmp.dir00\sysdata.xml

BCCode : a BCP1 : 00000000 BCP2 : 000000FF BCP3 : 00000000
BCP4 : 80529B62 OSVer : 5_1_2600 SP : 0_0 Product : 256_1

I've done diagnostics on memory, video card, hard disks. Everything has passed. Crazy stuff eh?

1/20/2006 10:41:34 AM

i didn't keep the recovery partition either - i'd never use it.

1/20/2006 12:25:17 PM

i have t40p recovery disks. its for my 2373-g1u.

1/20/2006 5:01:00 PM

I've had a similar problem happen to me, after I accidentally dropped it.

Power off completely. Turn the thing over and you should see a few access panels - unscrew 'em until you find the one with the ram modules in it. Reseat the RAM (take it out and put it back in). Keep us posted.

1/25/2006 11:10:46 PM

They have the recovery cd's at the bookstore. They can't give them to you since lenovo won't just give them unlimited copies. Also, if you ever have trouble with lenovo support, just ask to escalate. If they refuse to give you the cd's for free, but you're still under warranty, they'll still take it back and as part of the repair process they'll reformat and reinstall.

But yeah, that guy's t40 cd's will work. Doesn't have to be the same model, they're the same for the whole series (well at least they are NOW) and as such are like 7 discs.

Is your system under warranty still? But yeah, if you got it at the bookstore we'll be happy to take a look at it and help you out, even if it's not under warranty. We can't make IBM fix it for you or anything, but we can use our cd's for you while you're in class or something if you drop it off in the morning.

If it IS under warranty though and it's actually hardware issues getting you, lenovo will replace or repair the failing device. If you're having way too much trouble getting lenovo tech support to generate a case number and accept a repair, take it to the bookstore on a saturday and they'll have the time to do it for you (we don't like having to do that, but hell if we need to to get your computer fixed we will.)

If it's a problem that's from accidental damage though, that depends on whether or not you bought the "thinkpad protection" accidental damage coverage.

[Edited on January 25, 2006 at 11:52 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2006 11:49:02 PM

i sent it in to ibm. hopefully i'll receive it asap fixed.

1/26/2006 12:41:30 AM

yeah, for the most part turn around times are something like 3 buisness days. the repair center is either in atlanta or somewhere in TN. the call center is in atlanta

1/26/2006 12:48:22 AM

yeah it was sent to memphis. hopefully they fix it fast so that i get it by friday.

1/26/2006 1:25:39 AM