this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
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[T400] Not booting, lights flickering (sopuli.xyz)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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We had some heavy rain yesterday and my bag (containing my T400) got soaked. I tried to turn it on just now, and it appeared to boot at first.

I entered my geli(8) password and FreeBSD began to load, then the screen and status LEDs began to flicker rapidly. I tried holding the power button, but for the first time it didn't do anything, so I removed the battery.

When I turned it back on again, it didn't even show the ThinkPad boot screen; it just sat there flickering.

I have opened the case up and looked inside. I hve checked the RAM, the CPU, the SSD: even the DVD drive; and everything seems fine, yet the problem still persists.

Does anyone have any idea what's wrong and how I can fix it? Or is my laptop now borked? Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

I would take it apart and dry/wash all the components ASAP. If you're sure you won't damage it, you can even clean the board with special chemicals or water. You might've shorted something. Hope you get it fixed :)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

let it dry and have a look at the motherboard for damage i guess

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like some serious hardware damage, man... Maybe it's time...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yeah, I've talked it over with a friend and (of all people) the school librarian. Here's my plan:

  1. Wait a week and see if the T400 (hostname Amethyst) fixes itself, which is how I managed to resurrect my Acer (hostname LapisLazuli) last year.
  2. Transplant the RAM and SSD into LapisLazuli, which should be compatible and will receive a massive performance boost from it.
  3. Once I have enough saved up, buy an old ThinkPad to replace it. This will become Amethyst-II, and could be obtained second-hand from my institution.