[ltp] Dead T22 (probably corrupted BIOS)

[sjd]

Richard Neill wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I just bought a "spares or repair" T22, intending to turn it into a
> digital photo frame for my mother. The seller described it as "Having
> a BIOS security lock" following a failed BIOS update. I assumed it was
> a password needing reset (for which there are published instructions
> involving an EEPROM, solder and a serial port). However, it looks in
> fact like the machine has a corrupt BIOS.
>
> On power-on:
>   The HDD and CD spin up
>   It beeps like this:   *    * * *     * * *     *
>   The LCD doesn't come on (not even the backlight)
>   It doesn't sound like the machine is booting.
>
> So I got as far as this:
> http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-46018
> which tells me it could be either a faulty DIMM or system board.
>
> Already tried removing the installed DIMM and the CMOS battery, with
> no luck. So:
>
>  Do I in fact have a trashed BIOS? [Would that account for a beep code
> normally used for a system-board error?]
>
>  If so, does anyone have any pointers on what next?
>
> Thanks for your help,
>
> Richard
I actually had that on a t21 last year.  a coke got dropped into the
keyboard by a 4 year old.

after it dried out, the sos beeping happened and then it would shut
itself off, or sometimes no beeping at all, just no boot, or sometimes
no beeping and it would power itself back off.
my sister in law has some spare time one evening, and being both geeks,
we got a field manual (from ibm site for the make model we had) and took
the box apart, including lifting the chip off the mother board.  we
assumed the box was dead, so wanted to just see how it was put together.

we then put it all back together. and son of a gun, it booted. sometimes
it would beep at us on boot but NOT shut off, but mainly it booted.  
THEN my sister in law pulled the dimm chips, one had turned out to have
been fried.

our theory is that the box shorted out, and unplugging EVERYTHING, AND
lifting the chip off the motherboard finally discharged everything.

heck, it's dead.  give it a try.