[ltp] Dead R51

[Hunter Fuller]

On  03 May 2006, at 11:04 PM, Andrew J. Barr wrote:

> 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 learnt this trick from IBM. Yank your battery and AC adaptor, and  
hold down the power button for two minutes. Let go, and plug in the  
battery and AC adapter. Now try.
>
> 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
>
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