lin821

My old faithful Thinkpad R40 (model 2897) on XP Pro has been acting out for more than a week. I believe I am at the end of the rope with the BSOD error message from my latest attempt using IBM Recovery last nigh (using BIOS IBM Access to perform factory restore):

Now when I power on my Thinkpad, only black screen awaits. Three tries last night with black screen. I am afraid to power it on now. I "think" I have a failing, now failed, hard drive. My preferred goal is to keep my ancient R40 going as usual with a new HD, if humanly possibleon the same OS. I am seeking advice from our FTer Thinkpad gurus as to what my remaining options are.

First things first. I am not any IT person but I am good at following (IT) instructions. I was able to rescue this Thinkpad 4.5 years ago w/ its 1st BSOD due to a (antivirus) driver compatibility issue, using the same bootable CD and IBM Rescue and Recovery. I was able to get my R40 back to normal without using Apricorn nor replacing HD, which I had prepared for the worse. I am hoping I can rescue my Thinkpad on my own with your guys assistance this time as well.

My Thinkpad had been fine for years except for some infrequent slowness in web surfing due to low 768 MB RAM. It served my simple needs for email, web surfing, watching online video & youtube, so I didn't bother to upgrade or install anything new. Everything was manufacturer original except for a new RAM installed when I got this machine ages ago. My Thinkpad was supposed to be healthy according to my last successful run of pre-installed PC Doctor 3 days ago (passing every test except for HD Surface Scan Test: 640 kb in bad sectors as it turned out).

What Happened:
Out of the blue it crashed 2 Saturdays ago when I was replying to a FT thread. In the first couple of days, I've tried to use XP Recovery Console to repair (chkdsk /r). When it's done repairing, I still wasn't able to get the system stable enough to run more than 30 minutes before the next BSTD. I had to try Recovery Console numerous times as days went by. My Thinkpad could hang for hours during the chkdsk repair. I had to literally unplug, reboot and rerun Console Repair. I had tried both XP Console from bootable CD and IBM BIOS repairs. Some tries I only got black screen with power-on. Sometimes I could get into the BIOS, but still ran into problem with Repair Console. Even when it didn't hung, I still couldn't get XP Pro run for more than say 15 minutes.

It got to the point I decided to restore my R40 back to factory installed because all the error messages were not making sense to me no more, thinking it might be the right solution. Luckily I had copied my needed files from the first 2 good reboot. I am not sure if I made the right decision to restore to factory installed because things only got worse. My volume series number is now a different one (why?). I was able to get into the Windows but it now asked me to reactivate my copy of Windows Xp Pro. I don't think that was right nor normal. So I rebooted the system. My system would get stuck at say 17% (chkdsk c: /p /r) forever. After unplug and rerun, it was able to finish checking and got into the window welcome screen, asking to check for consistency AGAIN. Sigh. I went along with it but this time it got stuck at 71%, with no sign of new movement nor any blinking light. After hours of waiting, I decided to unplug and rerun, having IBM BIOS to restore to factory value last night. Maybe I had one too many manual unplug and/or ckddsk /r or whatever, this time I got the Causeway Error 09 during the IBM BIOS reformatting and restore.

In the last few days, I got a wide range of error messages during the Repair/Reboot/BSOD) before the Causeway Error:

I didn't have to reboot that many times 4.5 years ago when I successfully recover my R40. Mostly the reboots were to update drivers and Windows back then. This time around, I don't know if I had irreversibly ruined my hidden partition for IBMtools to restore my Thinkpad to factory-installed at this point.

Currently I have:
1. A XP Pro bootable CD;
2. A brandnew Western Digital 160 HD
3. This Apricorn Drivewire: (linky)
4. no other recovery media nor IBM disks;
5. no access to other computers w/ admin privilege. (a big problem, I know )

Is my R40 beyond saving? Since money is tight, I rather not spending more money having a functional R40. My guess is HD is severely corrupt that I may have lost my pre-installed IBM folder. Would it still make sense to use Apricorn to image my old HD if it's corrupt? Is it the only option to install a fresh Windows Pro in my new 160G HD? Is there a way to do a similar HD upgrade like this one to my Thinkpad?

Our FTer Thinkpad gurus, what are my options? TIA!

OverThereTooMuch

IMO, yes.

Chkdsk isn't a magic fix-all that can repair all sorts of problems. It fixes specific issues only.

The problem you describe - only running for short periods, then crashing - sounds hardware or heat related. Make sure to blow compressed air in any vents you see. Does the system seem to be quieter than it has been in the past? Can you tell if the fan internally is running?

It also wouldn't hurt to disconnect power & pull the battery completely and let it sit for an hour or two.

Heat could be one explanation for the fact that you're crashing in a wide variety of components. Another typical explanation for that could be that there's some sort of memory corruption in one of the drivers. But since you've done a full system restore, I'd say that's pretty unlikely.

If the HD is corrupt, it's already too late.

It's worth a try I suppose, but to successfully complete this is going to be hours upon hours of work. If you find that you can't even get through the OS install without experiencing a number of issues, then that's a clear sign to abandon the effort. No sense in pouring more time into a lost cause.

Some things to keep in mind on the replacement:
There are a wide variety of laptop choices in the sub-$500 range. But sadly, you won't find a reasonably priced machine built as well as that old Thinkpad.
Systems in the stores these days will be running Windows 8. If you don't like change, then you should look at ordering a business system from HP/Dell with Windows 7. That means no hands-on time pre-purchase though. Not a great option if you're picky about the keyboard.

Another thing to consider - Windows XP will no longer get security updates starting in April next year. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windo...ofsupport.aspx Whether you're able to repair this machine or get something new, you should really plan on moving away from XP soon.

Full disclosure: I work for Microsoft, but not in customer support. Or sales

BigLar

I sympathize with you, having done my share of restoring/reviving older hardware.

From your description of your activities with this machine, and
the specs on the R40, it would appear that the machine may be worth saving. IBM had a reputation of building fairly reliable devices, although the hard drives were clearly third-party units. At least the USB is 2.0 and it seems to have built-in wifi.

1. What is your time frame? If you have to have it running tomorrow, you probably can't make that happen. If a week or so is OK, let's continue.

2. Do you have a good COA sticker? You'll have to re-install XP, and you need the code to activate it.

My educated guess is that the hard drive is toast. On laptops, some hard drives are accessable by simply removing a panel. On others, you have to practically dis-assemble the whole unit to get at the drive. Forunately, according to the maintenance manual, the R40 is one of the former.

I didn't study it enough to determine whether it's a PATA or SATA drive but, from the age, I'd guess a PATA drive. That means you may have a little difficulty finding one at your local BestBuy, but tons of them are available on the net. I just got a 40G 1.8" drive on eBay for $7.00, including shipping.

Once you install the drive, you need an XP cd to re-install the OS. If you don't have one, they are also available on eBay and other places. Get one with at least SP2. Do the install (but don't activate it yet) - connect to the internet and let Microsoft download several hundred megabytes of upgrades and fixes to being it up to snuff. Re-install your apps. Check it out - make sure everything is working.

Depending on which processor you have installed, I'd consider upgrading the memory (cheap and easy) - you might be able to get 2Gb installed, which will make things run a lot smoother.

As to the dire warnings about XP we had a discussion about this issue a couple on months ago. The consensus was don't worry too much about it for the immediate future.

redburgundy

Here's one suggestion for a hard drive replacement:
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/R-and-L-...40/td-p/153263

from a few years ago.

glob99

If you can't boot from the CD drive, the HD is not the major problem now.

You may try this,
http://trinityhome.org/Home/index.ph...g=en&locale=en

but if it doesn't boot from the CD you are toast.

Silver Fox

And, as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end, ashes to ashes, dust to dust...

DenverBrian

If you're committed to an R40, perhaps replace with a refurb? $269 here:

http://www.laptopsandparts4less.com/...-29248-23.html

lin821

Thanks to y'all who chime in to help this clueless lady.

I haven't turned my machine on ever since I saw the CauseWay error since Sunday, I don't know if it's still bootable from the CD. I don't want to experiment another power-on-either-crash-or-nothing-happen-power-off cycle until I have IT input from our FTer experts. I'll give it a try when I get home later today (BTW, I am on TPE clock, so no buying from the States no more). If my machine is bootable, game on, right? Meaning I should replace and put in a new HD and proceed, correct?

Thank you!

If true, this may be the best news I hope for so far.

FWIW, this is the specs for my R40:

No spare money at hand, just plenty of free time at my disposal. Time is no issue, at long as I can humanly make it work with easy-to-follow instructions.

What do you mean a good COA sticker? The one attached to my machine when IBM shipped it to me? Then I do. I even have the original sale&shipping slips at hand. OTOH, I also have an activation code for XP Pro at hand.

This Western Digital HD I got a while ago should be compatible, according to my previous research? (am I correct?)

I *think* the old HD is hopeless too. I am trying to figure out if it's possible or feasible to reinstall WP Pro onto a new 160 GB HD, so I may continue using My R40. I am so fond of the Thinkpad keyboard and everything else on this machine. If it's still possible, I really don't want to give it up. Not just yet.

So Windows auto update will work, even without activation? That I can handle.

If I can get this far (fingers crossed), I assume I don't have the privilege of letting the original IBM utilities to do the driver search/updates for me, so I'll have to search it on my own and get the updates, on top of relying on the Add/Remove Hardwares from the Control Panel? Or can still go to IBM website and find/dowload the matching utilites to do the job for me?

I am aware of that thread and not worried too much about continuing with Xp Pro.

lin821

I think the system sounded about the same, if not sometimes louder, when it's up and running. However, the system did tend to tie up more often during my web browsing sessions for no reasons at all. None of my open Firefox windows/tabs would be responsive. Generally it would say Flash crashed or something when it came back to life moments later. I had assume it was a FF and/or known Adobe Flsh plug-in issues.

When it hangs during the repair/recovery (the indicator/light stops blinking), nothing's running. except for the power light stays on. (That's when I had to manually unplug the power)

I use my R40 as desktop on AC power, so no battery installed. I do, however, find the machine's hotter than usual when I could sense the heat to my fingers/palm from the keyboard in the last couple of months.

If overheating was one of the issues, how am I supposed to do about it, since I generally am on my computer for hours?

Now since you mentioned it (), what's the deal I was asked to (re-)activate XP 3 days ago during one of my recovery attempts? I don't recall I had to reactivate my XP Pro in my successful IBM restore 4.5 years ago. Is the HD so corrupt to lose my profile (or whatever it is) that MS can't identify my pre-installed version no more?

OverThereTooMuch

A fan could need replacement. Could be something blocking some of the vents.

Would really need an error message here to understand more.

lin821

There was no error message on this.

It happened after one of my attempt to reinstall to factory value content using IBM BIOS, selecting "reinstall" instead of "repair" from the Recovery Console. When it finished and loaded up the Windows Welcome page, the "your version of Windows need to be activated, do you want to do it now", something like that popped up. It strikes me as I didn't recall I have to reactivate any Windows before. Not this year, not 4.5 years ago.

What was that deal?

BigLar

This happens on occasion - happened to me a couple of months ago. In fact, that was the impetus for the discussion on XP after support for it stops.

The total time to re-activate was less than a minute, so it's no big deal.

IIRC, no one was able to come up with a definitive answer as to why this happens.

BigLar

Pretty much. If you can get to the bios screen (with no drives installed, or by using whatever key they say to use), you're 95% sure that the motherboard hardware is still OK. It seems your CD is still running, so that'll get you to the install software, and then it's Katy bar the door.
The Certificate Of Authenticity (COA) sticker is that almost-impossible-to-remove little sticker the manufacturer/builder is supposed to attach to the machine. It has the type of OS and that 25-character code you have to put in when you activate it. It appears you already have the right stuff, so no worries there.
The only possible fly in the ointment might be that your bios is old enough so that it can't handle anything over 137 Gb. I don't think that's the case but to be sure, attach the (blank) drive and boot. If the bios detects it at its full capacity, you're home free.
Yep!

BTW, the reason I said not to activate it at once, is because if you make a fat-finger mistake when installing your apps, or you get bunged up downloading some other apps or whatever, you could conceivably get in a situation where the machine is hung. If you had activated it at the start, if you have to re-install XP, you'll have to activate it again and Microsoft knows you just did that, so they might think you're trying to pirate it and at least a phone call will be required. PITA.

Best to do all your putting together and then, when you're satisfied it's OK, activate it. They give you 30 days, so should be plenty of time.
Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Outside of upgrading the bios (which I don't recommend unless it's really needed), all the necessary drivers should be available and the installation process nowadays tends to be fairly straightforward. The package comes through as an executable (???.exe) - just run it and watch as InstallShield or whatever does all the work. Re-boot as required and carry on.

Finish up.

Power down.

Have a drink.

Take a nap.

PropWasher

This could be caused by any of a number of things. First thing to do is check that memory stick(s) are properly seated.
If you have 2x128mb sticks swap them out to see if one of them is bad.

http://support.lenovo.com/en_CA/prod...cID=MIGR-45964

Or

http://www.memtest86.com/

Silver Fox

Lost and cause are two words that are springing to mind.