IBM THINKPAD A30 - FAN ERROR
in [Laptops]
|
Prev: Thinkpad (Intel(R) 82801CAM LPC Interface Controller - 248C)
Next: DLL errors, can anyone explain and give me a solution?
From: gts² blue on 25 Apr 2005 11:32 I booted up last night and got a Fan Error. (Not sure what Error # it was.) I did a little research online and am not sure if it's a problem w/ the fan or the CMOS battery. I assume the CMOS battery is a lithium batery? Stupid Question: Is this some lithium battery I can pick up @ radio shack or something - or is this something I have to order directly from IBM ? [provided it's the battery and not the fan.] I only got the error message once and it wouldn't let me hit F1. (It said hit F1 for more info but the machine froze/hung up/whatever. After I rebooted, I didn't get the fan error again.) I have the machine shut down. Obviously I shouldn't run it til I get the problem fixed, since w/o the fan working, there's no heatsink, so the machine could overheat, correct? I had done nothing (to my knowledge ) prior to that, that could have messed up the fan. It was working fine before. Also when I looked up "fan" on the IBM Help file (locally, not online), next to Fan Error, it said "Fan has failed. Get computer serviced." A bit too vague. Anyway - I hope that's enough info. -Geraldine
From: BillW50 on 25 Apr 2005 12:12 "gts2 blue" <gts2blue(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114443177.212595.286200(a)o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com... Date: 25 Apr 2005 08:32:57 -0700 I booted up last night and got a Fan Error. (Not sure what Error # it was.) Hi Geraldine... I did a little research online and am not sure if it's a problem w/ the fan or the CMOS battery. I assume the CMOS battery is a lithium batery? Most desktops uses a non-rechargeable lithium watch battery. Not true of laptops though. As they generally use rechargeable Ni-Cad or Ni-MH battery. I don't know why you believe the CMOS battery has anything to do with this. But I would love to see the same information you did to draw this same conclusion. I'm not saying it is impossible, but I wouldn't believe they would work it this way. Stupid Question: The only stupid question is the one you don't ask. <grin> Is this some lithium battery I can pick up @ radio shack or something - or is this something I have to order directly from IBM ? [provided it's the battery and not the fan.] Yes and no! Radio Shack won't have an exact replacement, but they might have something similar that will work. Although there are other sources of batteries out there that would probably be better. You want the same chemistry type, same volts, but the amp hour rating could be different. And of course size, so you can fit it in the restrictive space of a laptop. And it probably has a plug soldered on the battery as well. So if you can solder, that's easy. If you can't, well that could be a bit of a problem. I only got the error message once and it wouldn't let me hit F1. (It said hit F1 for more info but the machine froze/hung up/whatever. After I rebooted, I didn't get the fan error again.) You know, being a retired EE, the average person would be totally amazed everything happening in a computer. There are zillions of things happening and everything has to be timed just perfectly. And most of the time, it works well. Although for many reasons, radar radio waves from an aircraft, surge on the power line, an internal logic chip hiccuped, or whatever. This perfection messes up. Not much to worry about if it doesn't happen all of the time. Like just once doesn't mean anything to worry about. I have the machine shut down. Obviously I shouldn't run it til I get the problem fixed, since w/o the fan working, there's no heatsink, so the machine could overheat, correct? Well yes indeed. But if the error isn't popping up anymore, my professional opinion it was one of those fubars (technical term) I just talked about. I had done nothing (to my knowledge ) prior to that, that could have messed up the fan. It was working fine before. Also when I looked up "fan" on the IBM Help file (locally, not online), next to Fan Error, it said "Fan has failed. Get computer serviced." A bit too vague. Anyway - I hope that's enough info. I don't know about your laptop. But mine has to on for about 20 minutes before it will start up. Then run for about 10 minutes and then kick in 20 minutes again. You recall what yours ran like? Besides a fan, virtually all laptop manufactures also install temperature sensors on the stuff that gets the hottest. Thus what trips the fan on. Although they also monitor the temperature still. And if the temperature keeps going higher, safety circuits shuts down the whole laptop. So if all of the safety circuits are working correctly (and my guess since you haven't seen that error again, that your fan still works too). That you should try it and see if the fan actually comes on. Hopefully you will have some idea when it should do so. But if it doesn't it should just shutdown. Even if you did it like 6 times and the laptop power down won't generally hurt anything. But doing this dozens of times is taking a chance of actually harming something. Cheers! __________________________________________________ Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD under Windows 2000) -- written and edited within WordStar 5.0
From: gts² blue on 25 Apr 2005 14:17 1. http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hardware/Desktops/Q_20676872.html 2.. http://www-3.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=LWIK-3SR4PW&selectarea=SUPPORT&tempselected=5 3. http://www.fix-it.org/archive/index.php/t-936.html 4. http://www.techsupportforum.com/archive/index.php/t-26044.html I don't *HEAR* or *FEEL* the fan running - tho I have been shutting down farly quickly in fear of the laptop overheating or something. My search query on Google if you're interested was: "ibm fan error" =Gerri=
From: BillW50 on 25 Apr 2005 15:02 "gts2 blue" <gts2blue(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114453064.401538.94420(a)l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com... Date: 25 Apr 2005 11:17:44 -0700 1. http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hardware/Desktops/Q_20676872.html 2.. http://www-3.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=LWIK-3SR4PW&selectarea=SUPPORT&tempselected=5 3. http://www.fix-it.org/archive/index.php/t-936.html 4. http://www.techsupportforum.com/archive/index.php/t-26044.html I don't *HEAR* or *FEEL* the fan running - tho I have been shutting down farly quickly in fear of the laptop overheating or something. My search query on Google if you're interested was: "ibm fan error" Hi Gerri... I'll be darn! I guess it can be the CMOS battery after all. Which would be a very unusually design. And one mentioned that it is a CR2025. Which is a lithium button cell. Just like you'll fine in watches and desktops. So you should be able to purchase this almost anywhere. And this battery isn't rechartable either, so that's a surprise for a laptop. I wouldn't play anymore with the laptop without the fan. Oh it should be safe and all if the safety circuits are still working. But who knows? But if the safety circuits doesn't shut it down, the first thing you'll see is lockups and instabilities. If you ever see this happening, shut it down! It still should be okay if you don't turn it back on. But don't leave it alone if you try this. Cheers! __________________________________________________ Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD under Windows 2000) -- written and edited within WordStar 5.0
From: Marc Auslander on 25 Apr 2005 18:08
My T40 has had a fan error once and a while at startup. It seems related to starting the machine on battery when its cold, such as when its been in a car trunk in winter. I've found that fiddling with the battery (remove, reinstall) and/or starting it on AC (maybe with battery pulled) eventually clears the error. I don't think there's a danger of damage here. If the machine starts the fan is OK. You may not hear it - AFAIK once the startup test is passed it may very well turn the fan off until its needed. -- |