I've got a weird situation that I've never seen before in a laptop.

 

Until last night, I've been running on this box for years without any
issues.  Opened the lid and the box didn't come back to life from sleeping,
so I powered it down and rebooted; I was greeted with the "Start normally or
safe mode" option - took Start normally.  Box rebooted on its own.

 

Now when I boot the box, I'm given "Launch recovery" or "Start windows":

-          Starting Windows simply reboots the box again

-          Launching recovery gets me the white thermometer on the black
screen:

o   Sometimes it fills completely before the box simply stops

o   Sometimes it doesn't even fill before the box simply stops

 

Here's the weird part:

-          The machine is not hung - I can toggle Num Lock

-          The HDD is not spinning because there's no indicator light
blinking - it's thinking deep thoughts

 

Here's the weirder part:

-          Thinking it was a bad HDD, I put in a fresh one but I can't get
the box to boot into Windows 7

-          The machine is now running wicked hot, because there's no power
management installed at this point.

 

Here's the weirdest part:

-          If I try to boot off a USB drive, I get part way through the
"Windows is Loading Files" before it stops work (and just sits there)

-          If I try to boot off a DVD disc, I get part way through the
"Windows is Loading Files" before it stops work (and just sits there)

-          If I try to boot off from the LAN, I get part way through the
"Windows is Loading Files" before it stops work (and just sits there)

 

Just for S&G, I booted off the LAN and let it sit for about 90 minutes.
Progress bar continues to move but it's moving at about 2 pixels per 15
minutes. it's almost like the "old days" when the Turbo button got pressed
accidentally.

 

Stats:

4GB RAM

160GB 7200rpm

x64 version of Windows 7

 

I have no issues with getting a new HDD in place on the box and I'd like to
save it - it's got the monster resolution display - but I'm at a loss as to
what's wrong.

 

Thanks,

Randy

_______________________________________________
Thinkpad mailing list
[email protected]
http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad

Reply via email to