My notebook just died :(

Alexander Turcic · 07-06-2009, 03:12 AM

My Lenovo notebook, by beloved companion through life, just died. I still cannot believe it. No warning signs - suddenly I just couldn't resume from standby. A reboot (pressing the on/off switch for a few seconds) didn't work. Took out the battery, the RAM even, but to no avail - the notebook is dead. One long beep, two short beeps. No picture.

According to this thread it's either the system board or the GPU (one of those NVIDIA admitted to be defective, no less).

The good news is my notebook is still very much within its 3-years warranty period. The bad news is, I won't be as mobile until they send it back to me with a replaced system board.

YGG- · 07-06-2009, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

My Lenovo notebook, by beloved companion through life, just died. I still cannot believe it. No warning signs - suddenly I just couldn't resume from standby. A reboot (pressing the on/off switch for a few seconds) didn't work. Took out the battery, the RAM even, but to no avail - the notebook is dead. One long beep, two short beeps. No picture.

According to this thread it's either the system board or the GPU (one of those NVIDIA admitted to be defective, no less).

The good news is my notebook is still very much within its 3-years warranty period. The bad news is, I won't be as mobile until they send it back to me with a replaced system board.

All my sympathy... several days w/o a laptop sounds

Peverel · 07-06-2009, 03:21 AM

Ouch, that has to sting. Deepest sympathies

zelda_pinwheel · 07-06-2009, 03:27 AM

ooh, i'm so sorry alex ! that must be so frustrating.

i hope that the replacement arrives as quickly as possible. did you / will you manage to save all your data ?

Alexander Turcic · 07-06-2009, 03:44 AM

No data got lost (as far as I can tell). I also kept the hard disk before sending off the broken unit.

pdurrant · 07-06-2009, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

The good news is my notebook is still very much within its 3-years warranty period. The bad news is, I won't be as mobile until they send it back to me with a replaced system board.

I hope you've ensured you have a current back-up of the hard disk, or have removed it before returning the rest of the machine for repair.

Repair services never guarantee that they'll retain data, even if the hard drive isn't the problem.

netseeker · 07-06-2009, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

My Lenovo notebook, by beloved companion through life, just died.
[..]
The good news is my notebook is still very much within its 3-years warranty period. The bad news is, I won't be as mobile until they send it back to me with a replaced system board.

Sorry to hear this. Hopefully you will get it back very soon.

Alexander Turcic · 07-06-2009, 05:56 AM

Thanks guys. Yeah, I removed the hard disk before sending it in. Not only would I fear repair services of accidentally deleting my data, but I wouldn't want them to browse through my holiday photos.

I am glad this notebook is still under warranty. My previous notebook, also a Lenovo Thinkpad, died of a similar symptom (the GPU failed due to a crack in the solder joint, a common problem with notebooks I heard). Last time it was beyond warranty, and a system board replacement would have cost more than the used notebook was worth.

Verencat · 07-06-2009, 07:24 AM

I'm so sorry! At least no data was lost!
I hope the new one comes soon.

MickeyC · 07-06-2009, 07:51 AM

Aw bummer!

My laptop fell off a table about a year and a half ago. We had it on life support for a while but eventually it went off to PC Heaven. Fortunately I didn't lose any data either.

Good luck

Wetdogeared · 07-06-2009, 08:09 AM

My "manufacturer's warranty" states that that the unit must be returned "intact".

Is withholding your hard drive common practice for saving your data and do you get no hassle for repairs?

WDE.

Bob Russell · 07-06-2009, 12:39 PM

Wow, so sorry to hear this. It's like loosing an arm for a week! As others have said... at least the data is still there.

I'm interested to hear if they complain that you didn't include the hard drive with the return. My ThinkPad is likely to go back for warranty service in the next year because of a problem with the sd card reader. (It damages cards when they are inserted.)

dreams · 07-06-2009, 12:50 PM

So sorry..

I just lost my beloved little laptop 6 months ago. No way to repair (well, there was, but I could buy the better, faster, more junk new one for less than it would have cost for the repair

).

I still miss it. I hope you get yours back soon. It's like losing a body part to be without the laptop.

Who are you? · 07-06-2009, 05:42 PM

I once sent a notebook back and replaced the harddisk with an old broken one. When I got it back only the harddisk was fixed

Alexander Turcic · 07-07-2009, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

I'm interested to hear if they complain that you didn't include the hard drive with the return.

I just got back from the phone with the Lenovo Repair Center. They *specifically* asked me to remove the hard disk along with the battery and all other 3rd party modules (like extra ram) before mailing in the unit.

They also asked me to include the BIOS password otherwise it will delay the progress.

I did some more research on the symptoms and I am 99% confident that it's related to the faulty Nvidia chips: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvi...ting,5815.html

07-06-2009, 03:12 AM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,171 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	My notebook just died :( My Lenovo notebook, by beloved companion through life, just died. I still cannot believe it. No warning signs - suddenly I just couldn't resume from standby. A reboot (pressing the on/off switch for a few seconds) didn't work. Took out the battery, the RAM even, but to no avail - the notebook is dead. One long beep, two short beeps. No picture. According to this thread it's either the system board or the GPU (one of those NVIDIA admitted to be defective, no less). The good news is my notebook is still very much within its 3-years warranty period. The bad news is, I won't be as mobile until they send it back to me with a replaced system board.

07-06-2009, 12:50 PM	#13
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,110 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	So sorry.. I just lost my beloved little laptop 6 months ago. No way to repair (well, there was, but I could buy the better, faster, more junk new one for less than it would have cost for the repair). I still miss it. I hope you get yours back soon. It's like losing a body part to be without the laptop.

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07-06-2009, 03:21 AM	#3
Peverel Still Easily Confused Posts: 889 Karma: 505319 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Hampshire/Berkshire/Surrey - yes I am that big Device: Kindle	Ouch, that has to sting. Deepest sympathies

07-06-2009, 03:27 AM	#4
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	ooh, i'm so sorry alex ! that must be so frustrating. i hope that the replacement arrives as quickly as possible. did you / will you manage to save all your data ?

07-06-2009, 03:44 AM	#5
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,171 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	No data got lost (as far as I can tell). I also kept the hard disk before sending off the broken unit.

07-06-2009, 05:56 AM	#8
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,171 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Thanks guys. Yeah, I removed the hard disk before sending it in. Not only would I fear repair services of accidentally deleting my data, but I wouldn't want them to browse through my holiday photos. I am glad this notebook is still under warranty. My previous notebook, also a Lenovo Thinkpad, died of a similar symptom (the GPU failed due to a crack in the solder joint, a common problem with notebooks I heard). Last time it was beyond warranty, and a system board replacement would have cost more than the used notebook was worth.

07-06-2009, 07:24 AM	#9
Verencat Wizard Posts: 2,615 Karma: 96491 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Montreal, Qc Device: xxx	I'm so sorry! At least no data was lost! I hope the new one comes soon.

07-06-2009, 07:51 AM	#10
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Aw bummer! My laptop fell off a table about a year and a half ago. We had it on life support for a while but eventually it went off to PC Heaven. Fortunately I didn't lose any data either. Good luck

07-06-2009, 08:09 AM	#11
Wetdogeared Storm Surge'n Posts: 5,779 Karma: 8213195 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Lobster Capital Device: S0ny PRS-300/350/505/700/T1	My "manufacturer's warranty" states that that the unit must be returned "intact". Is withholding your hard drive common practice for saving your data and do you get no hassle for repairs? WDE.

07-06-2009, 12:39 PM	#12
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Wow, so sorry to hear this. It's like loosing an arm for a week! As others have said... at least the data is still there. I'm interested to hear if they complain that you didn't include the hard drive with the return. My ThinkPad is likely to go back for warranty service in the next year because of a problem with the sd card reader. (It damages cards when they are inserted.)

07-06-2009, 05:42 PM	#14
Who are you? Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 300001 Join Date: May 2009 Device: 505	I once sent a notebook back and replaced the harddisk with an old broken one. When I got it back only the harddisk was fixed

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