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Laptop Problem
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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Cash Car Star on Sun Jan 6th at 11:54pm 2008

So the fan on my laptop died. It won't boot up... about two seconds in it displays 'FAN ERROR' and shuts itself down. It's a Windows machine, I'm assuming there's some way to bypass this check and force it to boot anyway, right? Anyone know? The machine is an IBM Thinkpad T30.




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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Crono on Mon Jan 7th at 12:04am 2008

That's the only cooling fan for the entire system ... it would be unwise to bypass it.

No, what you have to do is get the fan working again. ThinkPads are sort of notorious for this. It could be any number of reasons, but you can bet, it's a physical one.

Solution: you have to open the laptop and see if anything is blocking the fan (like the power cable, as retarded as that sounds). The worst case scenario is you find another unit. (it'll be a large metal heatsync with a fan, most likely, going over both the GPU and CPU) ...

That's about it.

Oh yeah, try not to break the keyboard cover when opening the laptop. Those things snap easily and it is secured by plastic snap in things and not just screws.

You can look around online for more detailed instructions on how to open and service the system.


Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by rs6 on Mon Jan 7th at 3:29am 2008

I'd think if your getting a fan error and you did manage to bypass it, it would be only a short time before it overheated or something.

A while back I think u mentioned you went to RPI, they give that to you? if so they're still giving out thinkpads, got myself a nice T61. Would recommend it if you end up shopping for a new laptop.



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Crono on Mon Jan 7th at 4:09am 2008

The one good thing about ThinkPads is that it will tell you when something is wrong. They've reported fan errors, for example, since before the 600 series.


Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Cash Car Star on Mon Jan 7th at 7:09pm 2008

I just want to hop onto the machine for like ten, twenty minutes, grab some important files and then throw it in the trash. I'm not concerned about the longterm stability of the system. Four and a half years as my primary computer is definitely my money's worth, as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for advice, right now I'm just gonna focus on finding a new PC and I'll leave it around to get the stuff out when I can.




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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Crono on Mon Jan 7th at 9:46pm 2008

Grab an adapter to hook up the HDD to your desktop computer, then.


Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Cash Car Star on Sat Jan 12th at 10:04pm 2008

Just want to say that my comp came in and I'm up and running (mostly) <img src=" SRC="images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif">



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Le Chief on Sat Jan 12th at 10:54pm 2008

Congratz. You know, I had a very similar problem with my laptop http://www.snarkpit.net/forums.php?forum=1&topic=8087&15. You should try and get all the dust out of the fan like I did. I think the fan still worked (I think) but it wouldn't boot up, just like yours.


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Crono on Sat Jan 12th at 11:45pm 2008

ThinkPads generally have unique issues.


Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by fishy on Sun Jan 13th at 12:09am 2008

? quoting Crono
ThinkPads generally have unique issues.

so does aaron :P




i eat paint



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Le Chief on Sun Jan 13th at 12:59am 2008

<img src=" SRC="images/smiles/icon_cry.gif">


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Cash Car Star on Sun Jan 13th at 2:10am 2008

Heh, don't congratulate me. All I did was order a computer image The laptop's still entirely inert.

Oh, and aaron, your issue sounded like a power supply issue to me. I once needed to replace the power supply adapter on my T20 when I had that.



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Le Chief on Sun Jan 13th at 2:34am 2008

Hehehehehehe

Hmmmmmm I see .Well, the problem was dust, we had to suck it all out with the vacuum cleaner. Quite a lot came out, I was surprised. Give it a go, you don't need to open up the laptop, just make sure you have a decent vacuum and start sucking. First do it while the laptop is off, than turn it on, let the fan spin and start sucking again.

It might just fix your laptop, give it a go, you have nothing to loose.


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Gwil on Sun Jan 13th at 2:43am 2008

I fixed my laptop by selling it to some schmuck for AU$500. (And no, it wasn't Aaron!)



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Le Chief on Sun Jan 13th at 2:46am 2008

<img src=" SRC="images/smiles/icon_lol.gif">

You got a good deal there Gwil, 500 for a broken laptop.


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Crono on Sun Jan 13th at 6:38am 2008

Aaron, be quiet. The T30 doesn't have an intake, meaning, air only goes OUT of the compartment, so there's no way it can be clogged.

Anyway, that error only comes up if the fan wont spin, meaning something is blocking it (very likely the power cable for the fan) or the fan is dead (very unlikely).

I'd like to add that, if you're going to toss the thing, I'd gladly take it <img src=" SRC="images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif">


Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Le Chief on Sun Jan 13th at 7:34am 2008

? quoting Crono
The T30 doesn't have an intake


Never knew that <img src=" SRC="images/smiles/bandit.gif">


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by wil5on on Sun Jan 13th at 8:37am 2008

Air out but nothing in means the laptop internals become a vacuum, which is silly. Crap always goes in, in these cases, same rate as it comes out. So while it may not have a nominal air intake, air comes in through small holes in the case, like speaker holes. Unless youve got a filter over these, dust enters.



&quot;If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?&quot;
- My yr11 Economics teacher



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Le Chief on Sun Jan 13th at 9:21am 2008

I think it has been somewhat established that air, dust, the fan, and the laptop not booting up are all connected. I stand by my idea, I think the laptop isn't booting up because of heat, and the heat is there because of fan malfunction, and that is caused by dust or something else.


Aaron's Stuff



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 Re: Laptop Problem
Posted by Crono on Sun Jan 13th at 11:11am 2008

Wilson, all the "vents" lead to secluded areas, and most everything else is blocked by the keyboard (which you have to remove to get to the motherboard) There is a vent on the other side for memory, but on the sides of the motherboard is foam.

Most of them don't even have vents all around the laptop except for the exhaust.

I've worked on these things so many times it's ridiculous. I've dealt with this specific error 90% of those times.

It's incredibly unlikely that the fan has stopped moving because of dust, or hair.

And, I said this before, but I'll say it again, the ThinkPad fan error means the fan isn't moving ... it has nothing to do with temperature readings. What is the most common case is that the power cable to the fan is blocking the fan.


Blame it on Microsoft, God does.




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