[ltp] Dead R51

[Andrew J. Barr]

A few weeks ago there was a discussion about a dead R50e on this list. I
am now experiencing a similar problem with my R51, only it is
unfortunately out of warranty. The machine powers up--fan runs, power
and battery LEDs light up--but the BIOS doesn't seem to run; LCD doesn't
power on and the CD-rom doesn't eject, keyboard LEDs don't respond. A
few days ago I began experiencing this failure intermittently, but it
went away after a few power cycles. This afternoon it wouldn't come on
at all no matter how much I cycled the power. I was able to power it up
once about an hour ago after removing all the periphrials (DVD drive,
battery, and the extra DIMM) but I haven't reproduced that since. 

I was wondering what the collective experience on this list has been
with getting service on out-of-warranty hardware has been--both in terms
of price (is it worth it?) and experience. The warranty on my machine
expired only about a month and a half ago--so I might try calling and
Asking Real Nice about getting a repair done under warranty anyway. This
machine is only about 14 months old--this is my first ThinkPad and this
experience is certainly contrary to the reputation that IBM machines
have. I don't want to put too much money into a laptop that only was
$1,000 to begin with--not a small sum to be sure but at some point a new
machine makes more sense than repair. If I got a new machine it would be
my third laptop in 3 years--I had a Dell Insprion 300m that lasted about
2 years before the AC adapter malfunctioned and fried the battery. That
machine had other problems anyway--it was a subnotebook and the screen
kept getting damaged because of the flimsy shell. I got a ThinkPad in
after that because I figured it to be the polar opposite of what I
thought was a particuarly shoddy Dell job. But still, 3 laptops in three
years is not good--although I do admit that some of the latest offerings
from Lenovo do look tempting.

Awaiting any advice,
Andrew J. Barr