I have an IBM thinkpad t30 laptop and all of the sudden it just started turning off unexpectedly. It started doing that a few weeks ago. It began doing it only when I'd use a processor intensive application but now it seems to be doing it at other random moments. I used to be sure it was just overheating but now I am not so sure since, like I said, it even turns off when I'm not doing something necessarily demanding for the cpu and it doesn't really feel that hot. When it shuts off it just does so without going through any motions, just in completely abrupt fashion. The only way I have figured out to turn it back on again is to unplug the power supply (from the computer), wait 5 or 10 seconds then switch it back on. It won't respond unless I unplug it first. Once it's back on I just plug the power supply back in. Anyway, I'd like to see of anyone here can help me diagnose the issue so I can see if it's something I can fix myself or if I'd need to get some expert to look at it. Thanks for any info.
A couple of things. Is the battery good and how old is it? I've replaced fans on those, so do you hear a fan going, or go into the BIOS and check the cpu temperature..And check the power supply, they only last so long so make sure it's producing...It does sound like a hardware problem.
Thanks for the response. The machine is pretty old. I bought it used about 2 years ago, and the copyright info on the underside says it's from 2002. It never gave me any trouble til just a few weeks ago. I am pretty sure it's fan(s) are spinning because I can feel air coming out of the vent on the left side. As far as the power supply, the one it originally came with failed me after 2 weeks so I replaced it with another ibm power supply. I made sure not to use a brand X one. So far the power supply doesn't seem to be the problem. I never use the battery, I always plug this laptop in. I got into the BIOS at start up, but all I see are different options for power settings. I don't really see any temperature reading. Do all PC bios give such a reading?
Thanks for the response. The machine is pretty old. I bought it used about 2 years ago, and the copyright info on the underside says it's from 2002. It never gave me any trouble til just a few weeks ago. I am pretty sure it's fan(s) are spinning because I can feel air coming out of the vent on the left side. As far as the power supply, the one it originally came with failed me after 2 weeks so I replaced it with another ibm power supply. I made sure not to use a brand X one. So far the power supply doesn't seem to be the problem. I never use the battery, I always plug this laptop in. I got into the BIOS at start up, but all I see are different options for power settings. I don't really see any temperature reading. Do all PC bios give such a reading?
No, they don't, especially the older ones. Have you pulled the battery out to make sure it's not corroded? (I have seen bad battery connections create problems.) You might turn the machine off and use compressed air to clean out the fan is case there's a build up...Now, if you have time to download this utility, it checks your hardware at boot-up...(Make sure to boot from the CD.) http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html
It checks the cpu, memory, hard drive, etc...That will at least mostly isolate it to hardware rather than software...
Thanks for the info. As for the the state of the battery I have pulled it out and it looks completely normal, at least on the outside. Will corrosion be apparent externally? The few times I've come to acutally unplug the laptop and use it's battery, it's had an extremely short life (like 30 mins tops), but I don't know if that would indicate corrosion. Should I just run it without the battery since it's plugged in all the time? I have actually been blowing compressed air through the vent every few days since this whole issue began. When I dusted it out that first time a few weeks ago, alot of dust came out and the computer stopped giving me trouble for a good while (like 2 weeks), so I naturally assumed that dust was the culprit. However it started shutting off again and I don't know what's up now. As for the bootcd link, I will definitely try that tonight. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
I'm pretty sure a ThinkPad won't work without the battery being physically connected, even if said battery is fully discharged. The way it was explained to me is that it completes some sort of circuit required for operation. My 600x won't hold a charge for more than a few minutes, tops, and apparently a replacement IBM battery runs about $200, so I just use the wall plug.
Something else you may or may not already know: some ThinkPads refuse to wake from Hibernate, so I'd suggest you disable that feature. Google this; I'm no expert.
I actually have no trouble using the thinkpad without the battery, provided of course that the power supply is plugged in. I don't think this particular model of thinkpad is built using that specific type of technology that requires the battery plugged in at all times. As for using the hibernate feature, I have acually always had it disabled and just started recently to enable it and I have had no issues whatsoever with powering my machine up after hibernation. So luckily those issues are non-existant for me. I appreciate all the info though. Either way I think it's about time I start saving for a new computer. Thanx
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