Hola peeples. So, I've had an IBM T40 that's acting buggy and its not under warranty anymore. Basically, i'll be have it on for 5-15min and it'll suddenly die. Battery is charged, and lights are on, but the screen is black and the little light that says its on will go off. So, I think it's overheating.... but how can I tell and how can I prevent this? I actually have had it on an icepack and it's stayed on, but I dont wanna go around w/ an icepack I've googled and googled and havent come up with anything. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

12/12/2006 7:04:51 PM

oh yeah, and it doesnt even get that hot! I put a temp monitor on it, and it got to maybe 95F

12/12/2006 7:44:19 PM

As in the entire computer just shuts off, or the montior cuts out or what? Could be that the video card is all that is overheating, but I don't know what a T40 has, or whether the video card is integrated or has a separate fan.....

12/12/2006 7:53:04 PM

it definitely thinks its overheating

12/12/2006 8:15:08 PM

I think the computer shuts down....the screan is still lit, but black, and when I plug in my monitor, its still black

12/12/2006 10:54:03 PM

is there a way I can get my fans to run thru a program? they run during start up but stop after....

12/12/2006 11:06:24 PM

Have you tried opening it up and cleaning it out? Dust can cause a lot of fan problems.

12/13/2006 9:30:33 AM

Stick a dust cleaner (with the tube) up in the exhaust and intake grills/ports? and spray the hell outta that sucker. Just dont do it with the can upside down or while the computer is on/plugged in.

12/13/2006 10:44:27 AM

assuming the T40 is similar to the T42 that I have, spraying compressed air into the fan wont help much. Just take the screws marked for the keyboard out of the bottom, remove keyboard (slide backwards, then pull up?) and you'll be able to see the fan. just be careful not to damage the keyboard's ribbon cable. it should have a relatively easy plug on the end that lets you take it off and put it back without too much difficulty (IBM sends replacement keyboards for users to install themselves, they expect people to do this)

if its dusty gently clean with dry cloth and/or compressed air

if the fan spins while the computer is starting there probably isnt anything wrong with it. I had the fan go on my T-42, it gave a 'fan error' and refused to boot

12/13/2006 11:11:33 AM

Did you buy it at the bookstore? Even though that's out of warranty I know they'd (well I know of two people there who'd do it at least) probably be willing to open it up and blow the dust out of it. They wouldn't charge for that as long as you had purchased it there.

^Yeah they'll usually try to overnight replacement parts instead of doing an RMA because it's usually 2-3 days faster for the user. This is great for most of their customers since they usually deal with IT managers and companies, but can be annoying for un-savy home/education users. As long as it's under warranty and not accidental damage, you can always request they send you an overnight box and do the fixing themselves.

[Edited on December 13, 2006 at 6:09 PM. Reason : ]

12/13/2006 6:07:25 PM

She brought it to me to take a look at. It was definitely overheating, but the problem wasn't dust. She bought it off Overstock, so I'm guessing it was refurbished . . . . . the heatsink assembly had shitty thermal paste smeared everywhere, think early Macbook. A little Arctic Silver 5 and it should be good as new.

12/14/2006 4:30:58 AM

Ok, so it seemed like Fregac fixed the problem, but I got it home, plugged it in, and 15 minutes later it died again. So yesterday, I turned it on without plugging it in...I ran it for probably 30 minutes, but when I connected the AC adapter it immediately died. I pulled the plug, tried turning it on again, didnt work. I'll mess w/ it again tonite, but..... WTF?!!?
Is the jack messed up? Or does it go to another power setting or does the battery charging cause it to overheat once I plug it in? Has anyone heard of anything like this happening or know what I can do?

12/21/2006 12:56:09 PM

r3f0rm47

12/21/2006 1:47:24 PM

I really dont think that would help.... i feel its more a hardware problem...

12/21/2006 4:44:40 PM

any other suggestions? Anyone wanna take a look at it? I'll pay someone $50 if they can fix it.....

1/24/2007 5:21:40 PM

If fregac can't fix it, I think we are all SOL (unless you want to pop the case itself).

1/24/2007 8:52:33 PM

he hasnt tried again since the last time.

1/25/2007 10:29:29 AM

So you say it dies after you plug in AC power? Have you tried another power adapter?

1/25/2007 1:03:38 PM

no I havent, but it also dies while just using the battery, it just takes a little longer

1/25/2007 2:11:37 PM

take the battery out and just use the power cord if you have not tried this. my dell did the exact thing once, i just took the battery out and used the power cord, and after a few hours i popped the battery back in and i have never had a problem with it since. this may not be a solution to end your overheating woes, but it might temporarily be a fix so you can play your world of warcraft that you are drooling over

[Edited on January 25, 2007 at 3:03 PM. Reason : asdf]

1/25/2007 3:02:20 PM

I have my regular computer for that...I just want my laptop for when I'm upstairs hanging out... but I'll try it and see

1/25/2007 3:33:03 PM

sounds like something in the power system disconnecting...

1/26/2007 2:10:39 PM

^^^^ disclaimer - the symptoms you described about your laptop are exactly the same symptoms that my laptop displayed, but i don't know if they had the same etiology. so the battery trick might not work for you.

[Edited on January 26, 2007 at 5:30 PM. Reason : asd]

1/26/2007 5:29:48 PM

I'm wondering if it's a problem with the T40s -- my roommate's got that exact same model, and has been experiencing the exact same problem, and none of our tech people can figure out wtf is going on...

1/26/2007 7:26:37 PM

I have one too just like this. Turns on once and last for about 30 mins, goes blank. Won't post after that...check it weeks later, might turn on, and then lasts about 30 mins. Would be nice to figure out what the deal is.

1/27/2007 5:13:49 PM

I've searched alot on google for people with the same problem, but havent found much. The thing that sounds closest is something to do with the video card, which is also apparently a bitch to fix.....

1/29/2007 4:44:52 PM