IBM Docking Station problem - please help
 

I have an IBM Dock II for my ThinkPad T30... been using it for a good 3-4 years with no issues. Yesterday, I docked my laptop and for the first time Im not getting juice (electric power) onto my laptop battery. Also, the external peripherals like mouse and keyboard are also not operating... Im guessing that perhaps the dock has a fuse and it has blown...? Ive been looking around the dock and cant locate the fuse.

Can somebody perhaps shed some light onto this...?

Many thanks,
Alex (Gaucho100K)

I'm assuming you plugged the power supply directly into the undocked T30 to make sure it's still working?

You could ask the people over at http://forum.thinkpads.com. There's a specific T20/T30 board.

Yes... done that.

bump..............

There won't be an external fuse, any fuses will be inside on the circuitboard.

If you've tried all the obvious then I think it's safe to say the dock died :(

Sometimes, I have had the problem with dust on the dock portion of the connector. If, after a longish period of no use dust gets in there. You might try blowing it out, off. a little moisture is not bad, if you have a can of compressed air to blow it off with quickly.

As well, the female side on the bottom of the lappy can get dirty and sometimes a bit corroded. Clean that off too.

The dock connector, IMHO is a weak link, especially with frequent connecting. I have often had the problem of connecting, and having it not properly seat, or connecting but not communication CONNECTED to the I/O on the dock or connector.

If you're looking for a dock of that type, try thinkpads.com forums, for great marketplace, or pm me, I've got a couple sitting around.

Ouch, ouch, ouch.....

Scott, please tell me I at least have an outside chance that my Dock is not dead.... :eek: :(

I have been using it with a nice & big surge protector.... how could it have died...????

Hi, thanks for the feedback. I will try to do a heavy duty cleaning with compressed air and try again... weird thing is that aside from the non flow of power, the keyboard and mouse is also not working.

Im in Argentina so the shipping of the Dock could be an issue... but if my dock is dead then I will be in touch with you as I will be in the market for a used Dock... thanks again.

dock connector flows everything, video KVM, enthernet, usb ports, all.

nmenaker-- your advice was perfect !!!! I cleaned the connectors and my Dock is back in gear !!!! ^ ^ ^

Many thanks,
Alex (Gaucho100K)

cool
 

yeaah!!

another old faithful thinkpad life extended!

nmenaker-- Im having the same symptoms again.... tried the same recipe as last time... but this time its refusing to come back to life...? Got any other ideas..???

maybe
 

maybe try the bottom of the computer this time See if things look corroded at all? This can happen. I cannot remember what I used the last time an A20 had this problem, but I think it was rubbing alcohol.

Well... I cant see any corrosion on the bottom of my T30... but I will still try with some alcohol. I guess its time to buy a new Dock.... I will cross my fingers and hope its not the computer thats slowing dieing on me.... :eek:

At this point I'd suggest getting a new T61, rather than replacing the dock on a 5+ year old T30.

Even if everything in your notebook is still working fine right now, the components are definitely getting closer to end of life. I'm also sure your display is quite a bit dimmer than when it was new, as I know my T41 at home is much less bright than my new T60 at work, and the T41 is about 5 years old at this point. Plus your battery probably doesn't hold nearly as much charge as it used to, your hard disk is tiny, etc, etc.

A new dock for your current computer would almost certainly cost more than the entire T30 is worth.

Bob