Help! My laptop is a goner

[CountAllVotes]

I'm pretty sure the HD is blown on my old ThinkPad. I've had it for 5 years and replaced the keyboard on her 3X. It won't boot up now and I'm thinking it is a goner given the way it had been and now fails to act at all. :(

Any advice for a new one? Are the new IBM ThinkPads any good at all? Please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

CountAllVotes

[hobbit709]

1. Easiest would be to replace drive and reinstall.

But that depends on whether you want a newer faster one or the old will do. Keep in mind that a new one will have Vista on it. Did you back up your data before it crashed?

[CountAllVotes]

2. it is semi backed up

I got it to boot up into the SAFE mode and was able to open and view a document on the desktop.

However, after many tries pushing the start button it began to boot up into the START mode and went into Windows. The track point was frozen up and you couldn't navigate at all.

I wonder if it is something else?

[Gore1FL]

3. If you want to get a new one

I strongly recommend the Dell outlet. I bought a scratch and den and saved about $500 onmy laptop over whaty a new one with the same specs would have cost. My scratched and dent was an inch long scratch on the case that you can only see under the right lighting conditions...

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/topics/global.aspx/arb/online/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=22&l=en&lob=INSP&s=dfh

I strongly suggest the following search settings:


Processor Type
(depending on what you want to spend) choose:
Intel core 2 duo 2000 or
Intel core 2 duo 2200



(You can try for faster ones, but never seem to see them out there.)

Minimum memory:
2000

Video Card
256

Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium

Min hard drive size
120 or 160 (I prefer the 160...)

Click "Filter results"

then click "Price" to sort low to high.

when you see something you'd like click on the 8 character sting on the left, and look at the specs.

What you want to find is a T7300 or a T7500 processor listed as they have 4MB of L2 cache) --- you can scroll down on this window further to see what else it has)

You might want to verify it has a DVD/RW

Note: this takes patience. They add laptops and people buy laptops from here constantly. You'll want to filter the results often.

I recommend when you find something plausible, add it to your cart and keep looking for a better deal. As long as there is activity every 10-15 minutes (you clicking filter results, for example) it will stay in your cart and no one else will grab it. If you find another, add it as well, compare the two and remove the old one.

Once you find one you like at a good price (or you decide you don;t want to invest any more time, proceed to checkout.

Be sure to look at color! You, for example, may or may not want a Flamingo Pink laptop.

I had good luck doing this.

[CountAllVotes]

4. oh darn ....

Well she died last night. Some how it managed to boot up one last time and allowed me to zip a file up that I was really needing the most. I FTP'd it to my server.

I tried to get it going again and it now won't start up at all. The track point is completely froze up now. My friend that is computer repair guy told me that it would need a new HD minimum and probably something else being the track point is frozen up. He said I could spend a lot trying to get it fixed and it might not ever be fixed he thought (tenuous and time consuming at best to discover what the frozen track point is all about he thought).

Hence, I bought a new IBM ThinkPad last night on sale for ~$650.00 from Lenovo (I saved over $350.00 on it). It is an R61 and is a Intel duo core processor, 2 GB RAM. It won't arrive for a few weeks however but the price was right anyway and I get a one year warranty with it.

There goes the great rebate I might get.

:(

Thanks for the info. It sounds like what you have described is very close to what I will be getting but I opted to pay a few extra $ for Windows XP Professional rather than Vista and had extra RAM added as well.

I'll let you know what I think of it when I get it!

[DavidMS]

5. Got a couple of tricks...

Somthing to do once the new machine comes is to get a hard drive USB adapter and hook it up to your new machine. You may be able to get more data off it.

Either you have a failing drive or one that will be just fine with a format and reinstall.

Good choice on the new Lenovo. I have always liked HP and Lenovo/IBM machines.

Let me know if you want instructions for testing the hard drive for errors to see exactly how bad it is.

David

[CountAllVotes]

6. update ....

:hi:

Well I got the Lenovo R61. It is messed up really bad (the cursor/trackpoint/touchpad) as it is not at all stable and it freezes up. I called up Lenovo and after being transferred around I finally got someone.

I'm going to have to try to get a refund for it as something major is wrong with it.

In the meantime, the HD on the old ThinkPad is AOK but the motherboard, etc. is blown out and it cannot be repaired (too old and too many things are just plain worn out). It is in the shop now and the HD will be saved just as you suggested and I'll be getting an external box that will hold it and hook into a USB port for easy access.

I still have an old laptop and my old IBM Aptiva desktop.

I'm bummed to say the least. Lenovo was trying to blame the problem on the fact the XP Pro is installed on it. :shrug:

Oh what to do ... :(

[Deja Q]

7. IBM sold its laptop division to Lenovo...

I like Sharp and Gateway (now Acer). I almost bought a high end laptop yesterday. Nicely built, but for $1400, the CPU is the same clock speed (Centrino Duo not dual Pentium-M) and has an Nvidia M8800 video chipset instead of a stock Intel video - for $700 price differential, I'm keeping my MX8739 with the added RAM.

Hitachi just came out with a 200GB, 7200RPM SATA 3.0GB bandwidth notebook drive that has a 3 year warranty...

[CountAllVotes]

8. thanks for the info.

I cannot decide what to do. I guess I'll have to wait until I get my money back. :(

Major bummed out here to say the least and I'll never buy another LENOVO product again, that is for sure.

BUYER BEWARE is all I can say. :(

Thanks for your tips (thank you, thank you!!).

[CountAllVotes]

9. update on this mess

Well, I managed to get rid of the piece o'shit. Don't consider one of these particular models (cannot say about other Lenovos). I will be getting a full refund luckily as it was/is deemed "defective" (NOTE THAT WORD - DEFECTIVE ... works like a charm when dealing w/ these people that run this company). They have serious problems (the product & the company).
I managed to find an adequate replacement, a refurbished one that is identical to the one I had/still have. Being I still have the old one, along with all of what is left of it (good screen, good RAM, etc. etc.) these parts can serve as necessary back-ups (yeah!). I got the HD back with a little box and I can access all of the info. that is/was on the old laptop. Have not been able to try this out yet - still waiting for the replacement to arrive.

I am rather relieved quite honestly.

The one that was deemed defective had some sort of "fingerprint" thingy built into it and I didn't want anything to do with it, so I am in fact rather relieved!

So, that is the end of this situation for now I hope. The refurbished one comes with a guarantee luckily btw. *whew*

Will keep you all posted (still working on the old IBM here that needs a lot more of something - like RAM I'm hoping).

Cheers everyone & thanks for all help with this mess! }(

[Gore1FL]

10. You don't have to use the fingerprint thing.

You can just disable the drivers to it. But it sounds like that point is moot now that you have what you want.

[CabalPowered]

11. I've played on a new T

Very nice but I don't like widescreens on laptops. The x300 would be my first choice. I'm using an X40 and love it.

If you think it's just a HD, I'd try replacing it. The old school thinkpads are keepers imo.

edit: didn't see your update. glad to hear it. :hi:

[CountAllVotes]

12. I got my A20m going

I added more RAM to it (up to 196 now). I believe the internal clock is going out on it now. It looks like a real nightmare to replace from what I downloaded on Lenovo's site.

I might take the little A20m (which I am now using) along with my PIII Aptiva back to the server and have him install the extra RAM I have for the Aptiva and a new internal battery (which I have ordered for $11.00) for the $50.00 charge (if he will do both for that price).

I agree with you, it is a wise idea to keep these old ThinkPads going.

This one here is really running well. I just have to remember to keep the battery plugged in until I get the internal clock battery replaced.

It took me a long time and many updates to get it nailed down.

I'd recommend turning off auto updates if running an old system, esp. one with Windows 2000 or earlier if you can manage.

[goddess40]

13. my son's is four days short of a year old and it crapped out

add to it the damn serial code sticker on the back is worn off. I wasn't in on the purchase and hubby and son have no clue where the owners manual is and I'm sure they didn't write the number on it anyway. Acer is balking because without the number they don't know if it's stolen or not.

[Gore1FL]

14. That is pretty lame of them

I'd be inclined to ask why theft has a bearing on the warranty... But instead try this

Open notepad:

copy the code between (but not including the === lines :

=========================
strComputer = "."
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" _
& "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" _
& strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
Set colSMBIOS = objWMIService.ExecQuery _
("Select * from Win32_SystemEnclosure")
For Each objSMBIOS in colSMBIOS
Wscript.Echo "Part Number: " & objSMBIOS.PartNumber
Wscript.Echo "Serial Number: " _
& objSMBIOS.SerialNumber
Wscript.Echo "Asset Tag: " _
& objSMBIOS.SMBIOSAssetTag
Next
==============================


File->Save
change save as type from Text Documents *.txt to All Files

Name the file SystemInfo.VBS and save to your son's desktop


double click it. It may or may not work, depending on the hardware.

[Gore1FL]

15. One other request.

Ask them if if they don't have a record of it why do they car. and if the visual basic script I provided works, please chastise them for not having the tech support available to provide it themselves.

[CountAllVotes]

16. now I have 2 of them and neither works

I'm really bummed as the refurbished one I got is basically a DOA as well. I get a message about a critical registry error and the scrolling is all messed up. The screen is not an IBM ThinkPad screen, but the cheaper Lenovo version. Anyway, it is of no use and I did at least manage to get my money back on this deal - still waiting on Lenovo however.

So, I now have an IBM ThinkPad A20m - an old machine that I bought used years ago and has been used very little. I installed more RAM on it and it is running good.

My ISP has been idiotic. They failed to notice that the RAM installed on the A20m was not in its slot all the way, thus the computer was only picking up 64 RAM. They will not accept any responsibility for this, nor the fact the internal clock needs replacing. I found the instructions on the Lenovo website and I think I can do it myself and to hell with these pompous fools! :mad: Anyone have Suddenlink as an ISP?

I also managed to add more RAM to the old desktop PIII IBM Aptiva. It is running really good now luckily. It was well worth the $50.00 I paid for it.

All for now.

[CountAllVotes]

17. update again .. and help needed too :(

I decided to try to get the new refurbished one going again today. I spent several hours working on it and it is now reading the 512 RAM and I managed to get rid of the registry error. I believe it was a virus of some sort and that it has not been used for a very long time as it still has Windows XP Service Pack I on it and a very old version of Internet Explorer as well. Anyway, it seems to be running now. I still don't like the screen and I think the processor is odd at best. I wonder if I could swap screens, as the old A31's screen is good still and much better than this one is. ?

I then got out the little black box that is supposed to contain my HD from my old A31 ThinkPad in it. No USB cable was in the box so I used the one that came with my digital camera. I plugged it in and nothing happened - no magic screen popped up showing the content of my old HD on it. I noted that the old HD was just laying the the cardboard box along with a half bent screwdriver, part of the casing to my old A31 as well as some screws that I believe were taken from my old A31 along with some technical instructions.

Is this common I ask with an external drive. It says when you plug it in something about a driver. I noted a mini CD in the box as well, about 1/2 the size of a normal one. :wtf: Help!!

Thanks in advance again folks!

:argh: :argh: :argh:

[Old and In the Way]

18. That mini-cd might contain the drives for your new HD reader.

Try plugging in the HD adapter and run the mini-CD...if there's an .exe file, it probably is the software needed to recognize the device.

On your screen issue...did you check the properties screen on the desktop? The screen settings might not be at the resolution you are used to, maybe you can change the settings to see if it looks more like what you are comfortable viewing?

[CountAllVotes]

19. thank you thank you thank you!!!!

I've made some adjustments to the screen - it seems better. I began to wonder if perhaps the old screen is in fact old and thus was beginning to fade out on me perhaps and I didn't notice it (?).

I'm typing on the new refurbished A31 now. The black box is plugged in and it recognized it and it is now copying files from my old A31 to this one.

I really did not feel like talking to that arrogant awhole at the ISP after the other day. He was SO condescending towards me I almost went off on him. He acted as if I was trying to get something for nothing and I have in fact paid them almost $75.00 for their "services" which are unimpressive at best as I've previously mentioned. I have been so frustrated I was near crying over this mess the other day.

It the meantime, it appears that this laptop has not been used much at all as IE 5 was installed on it and it had not been tended to in years it seems to me (why else would I need to be updating it on a DSL connection for 8 hours?)! One of the RAM chips is blown out on it so I took the two chips out of my old A31 and put them in and now it is consistently reading the RAM at 512 (where as before it was 512 and then 256 again (?)).

I finally got service pack II installed and I think it just went in and snagged Service Pack III up on me along with IE 7. I use Firefox/Thunderbird luckily as I've learned not to trust IE.

As for that mini disk with the drivers on it, where does it go? In the CDR?

THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH!! :hug: :hug: :hug: :D

[ConsAreLiars]

20. The mini disk goes in the CD player.

If for some reason it does not run or appear on the "My Computer" list, do a search for "drivers" and whatever label you think best IDs that device.

[CountAllVotes]

21. thanks!

I'll try it on my other old ThinkPad (it did not recognize it but the new/old one does luckily). I'm making some progress now. I'm trying to figure out how to get the mail from Outlook Express & Thunderbird (not successful so far). Oh well, at least I am making some progress!!!

:)