Problem with video related system lockup II
Also Thinkpads with the ATI 9600 video chip used in T42 and T42p can cause lock-ups.
This happens after about two years of use.
Contents
Symptoms
Screen goes blank, requires hard reboot (power off-on) to get screen display. On boot may give one long, two short beeps POST code. Screen goes blank when laptop flexed, eg adjusting lid angle, squeezing around ultranav trackpad area, twisting, pressing on palmrest. POST code or screen blanking more prevalent after warm-up. Problem gets worse over time. Problem repeatable from first boot (bios) screen with tpad partially disassembled - hdd, ultrabay, extra ram, wifi removed, kb, palm rest removed, but connected. See http://www.technotaste.com/blog/thinkpad-t42-ati-radeon-9600-driver-and-the-blue-screen-of-death-bsod and http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=33952 for discussions of many similar symptoms.
Diagnosis
Bad solder joint on graphics chip, which is in a ball grid array (BGA) package mounted to the system board. The problem is likely caused by an intermittent connection to the system board due to one or more bad or broken solder joints connecting the BGA to the system board. Thermal and/or mechanical movement breaks the connection, crashing the chip, yielding a blank screen or the BSOD.
Solutions
- Replace system board.
- Reflow the solder on the graphics chip. (remove the system board, take it to a repair house that can reflow a BGA package, cross fingers, reassemble, test)
