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

"gts2 blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114443177.212595.286200@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.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

1.

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hard..._20676872.html


2..

http://www-3.ibm.com/pc/support/site...tempselected=5

3.

http://www.fix-it.org/archive/index.php/t-936.html

4.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/arch...p/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=

"gts2 blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114453064.401538.94420@l41g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...
Date: 25 Apr 2005 11:17:44 -0700

1.

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hard..._20676872.html


2..

http://www-3.ibm.com/pc/support/site...tempselected=5

3.

http://www.fix-it.org/archive/index.php/t-936.html

4.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/arch...p/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

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.
--

[Dunno how important this is, but....]

I am using an "IBM COMPATIBLE" replacement battery (Li-Ion) which ran
out of power (Stopped Charging/Discharging) back in Sept 2004. i was
told by a few people that I wouldn't need to buy another replacement
for it and it's been fine {And I've been using it, still, w/ the
battery and plugged in on AC power. Works fine - I was leery of doing
that myself - some other people had said doing that could mess with
the power settings. Anyway.....). Tho suddenly - yesterday I noticed
the battery was charging again. [I noticed this as I shut down, which
prompted me to restart to make sure I wasn't seeing thngs, and also to
chek out the battery info on the machine itself thru the ThinkPad
Utilitty or whatever it 's called. I was kinda glad that the battery
started holding a charge but if that has something to do with the fan
error, then that kinda sucks. lol

-Geraldine

"gts2 blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114481936.444219.327260@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...
Date: 25 Apr 2005 19:18:56 -0700

[Dunno how important this is, but....]

Hi Gerri...

I am using an "IBM COMPATIBLE" replacement battery (Li-Ion)
which ran out of power (Stopped Charging/Discharging) back in
Sept 2004. i was told by a few people that I wouldn't need to
buy another replacement for it and it's been fine {And I've
been using it, still, w/ the battery and plugged in on AC
power. Works fine - I was leery of doing that myself - some
other people had said doing that could mess with the power
settings.

Power setting? No I don't see that at all. I think they know
something of what they are talking about, but not enough. Although
the one thing I am very good about are rechargeable batteries. I
still have some that are 30 years old (I orginally typed 30 days
old, that's funny). Which is unheard of even on the Internet.
Rechargeable lithiums have lasted me 10 years now (almost all
experts gives them two years). Although none are from laptops and
I'm always learning. And I think I figured out how to get laptop
lithiums to last at least 10 years too. Well if you use battery
power a lot, kiss that 10 year idea goodbye! As under heavy battery
use, 6 months is doing really well.

First of all, laptops with lithiums are differnet than other devices
like PDAs, cell phones, etc. As these other devices don't create
lots of heat unlike laptops do. So I had to adjust for laptops
because the heat factor changes everything.

In short, keep your laptop battery out of your laptop as much as
possible. As the heat alone will kill it in 2 years or less. You
have to charge it at least once per year if you don't use it.
Although charging it say monthy I don't see it harming anything.
It's best if the computer is off while charging (less heat).

Sometimes when you think the power is going to fail (like a bad
storm is coming), you should insert the battery (unless you are
plugged into a UPS).

Leaving an almost dead battery in the laptop is a bad idea in my
opinion (or even a good battery on AC power). As not only do you get
the heat from the laptop itself, but the current charging a battery
that is weak also adds lots more more heat and it is self defeating.

Anyway.....). Tho suddenly - yesterday I noticed the battery
was charging again. [I noticed this as I shut down, which
prompted me to restart to make sure I wasn't seeing thngs, and
also to chek out the battery info on the machine itself thru
the ThinkPad Utilitty or whatever it 's called. I was kinda
glad that the battery started holding a charge but if that has
something to do with the fan error, then that kinda sucks. lol

Oh gosh Gerri... since September it was dead and now it is taking a
charge? In everything I have read and all of my experience this is
unheard of for a lithium battery. You may become famous! The only
thing I can explain it is that this is the first time the battery is
actually cooled? Do you think this is so?

How this ties into the fan error... well I don't see the connection.
But of course I don't know everything and I have been fooled before.
I don't see you as an engineer type and forgive me if I'm wrong. But
if you or your spouse or whomever can work a multimeter, I'd like to
hear about some voltage checks. As what you have found is something
new and really exciting to me at least. <grin>




Cheers!


__________________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD under Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0

I'm not the engineer type.



So - what's a multimeter? (never heard of one before. lol)
Like a 'Battery Tester"?


I wasn't sure if my battery had anything to do w/ it, but I figured I'd
throw the idea out here in case it did.

Oh yeah - and - I posted the problem here after i had it once, coz I
wasn't sure if that meant you got the error once and that was it or
something.

But considering how computers work.

=P I unplugged my machine when the battery hit 100%.


It ran for 5 mins before I got a critical battery error.





See - I've gotten conflicting advice from people. Some people have
said it's OK to leave the battery in, others have said the IBM is made
to run w/o a battery pack. Some have wondered why you'd run a laptop
plugged in w/o a battery in fear of getting dirt/etc on the connectors
and whatnot.

Confusing........lol

.....And in fact, it's charging up again - the Li-Ion battery.

-GERRI-

"gts2 blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114517689.083395.187180@g14g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
Date: 26 Apr 2005 05:14:49 -0700

I'm not the engineer type.



So - what's a multimeter? (never heard of one before. lol) Like
a 'Battery Tester"?

Hi Gerri... Yes, it is like a battery tester. <grin>

I wasn't sure if my battery had anything to do w/ it, but I
figured I'd throw the idea out here in case it did.

Always a good idea because sometimes it makes a big difference.

Oh yeah - and - I posted the problem here after i had it once,
coz I wasn't sure if that meant you got the error once and that
was it or something.

Normally if you only get the error only once and that's it. Then it
means everything is back to normal once again. But oddly enough,
since your fan no longer runs. That is indeed a strange one!

But considering how computers work.

You don't have little gremlins or ghosts hanging around your place,
do you? If not, just checking. <grin>


"gts2 blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114520004.935720.314770@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...
Date: 26 Apr 2005 05:14:49 -0700


=P I unplugged my machine when the battery hit 100%.

It ran for 5 mins before I got a critical battery error.

Ah typical for a very weak battery. And after a good nights sleep I
believe I know why that battery started to charging once again. As
most lithium batteries have a series of safety circuits to prevent
something going wrong and the battery from bursting into flames. And
one of the things is a fuse or a circuit breaker built into the
battery. So it sounds like yours got reset.

See - I've gotten conflicting advice from people. Some people
have said it's OK to leave the battery in, others have said the
IBM is made to run w/o a battery pack.

You can leave the battery in for sure, but the battery won't last as
long as leaving it out. Also many laptops will still use some power
even when the laptop is off. So without AC always applied, it may
drain the battery down. Oddly enough many laptops will charge the
battery up on AC only once and never check or recharge it again as
long as AC is still applied. So in this case, it still is a good
idea to remove the battery too.

Some have wondered why you'd run a laptop plugged in w/o a
battery in fear of getting dirt/etc on the connectors and
whatnot.

Confusing........lol

Well that is something to be a little concern about. Mine has a
battery cover which can be removed from the battery and can be
placed back in the laptop again. So dust and dirt isn't an issue.
Plus mine even without the cover, is still sealed pretty well
anyway. Just some pins sticking out a bit which isn't a problem for
me either. Well not on a table or desk anyway. In my lap, it's
better with the cover on. <grin>

Although what others may be able to do on their laptops is only pull
out the battery just enough that it is no longer connected to the
laptop anymore. I don't know, does that work on yours fairly well? On
one old laptop, I could plug the battery in backwards. Meaning the
connections were facing the wrong direction (at the other end). And
this stopped dust and dirt pretty well too. <grin>



"gts2 blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114520113.439316.15210@g14g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
Date: 26 Apr 2005 05:55:13 -0700

....And in fact, it's charging up again - the Li-Ion battery.

Virtually always when a battery gets as bad as yours, it usually
only gets worse instead of better. And they take longer than a new
battery to charge up (and don't last long when being discharged).
And while it is okay to play around with for now, but long term it
isn't a good idea. And I leave it out if you aren't playing with it.
As it creates a lot of heat and is harder on the charging circuit
than a fresh battery is. <grin>






Cheers!


__________________________________________________ ______
Bill (using a HP Pavilion AMD 1.2GHZ under Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0

The house gets dusty easily ( There are moving vans across the street
which seem to make more dust and stuff in the house.)
But this afternoon, I plugged in the computer w/o a battery. And
nothing seems to be off or weird or anything - nothing's exploding like
I'm always afraid of. lol

Oh yes - and my fan's working. =)



Now onto the replies:



Care to elaborate?


I always think of that. So I usually try to mention even the smallest
thing
in case it has to do with...*whatever*


Good to know. Sometimes I think : ONE ERROR and something may be
messed up. lol



####But considering how computers work.




I just meant I understand how everything has to be in order and all
that.

And nope: no gremlins



most lithium batteries have a series of safety circuits to prevent
something going wrong and the battery from bursting into flames. And
one of the things is a fuse or a circuit breaker built into the
I'm also a bit worried because the battery I'm using is one I got off
eBay (in 2003 )
So I always wondered if the battery was just shitty or something.





Too Bad I didn't a battery cover - or the equivilant OF.

I'm not sure if pulling it out slightly would work. It had a 'lock' on
it.

I've been running the machine w/o the battery in.

It's on my desk , but still -- I wish there was some way to cover it .


I happened to be reading another thread here on a docking station.

Would that somehow keep the battery slot contacts frm getting dusty /
dirty ?

What's a docking station for, exactly, anyway?

"gts2 blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114865159.414156.57550@g14g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
Date: 30 Apr 2005 05:45:59 -0700

I've been running the machine w/o the battery in.

It's on my desk , but still -- I wish there was some way to
cover it .

Hi Gerri... I tried to find photos in how the battery gets connected
to the laptop, but I can't find some good ones to see it clearly. So
I can't really suggest anything yet.

I happened to be reading another thread here on a docking
station.

Would that somehow keep the battery slot contacts frm getting
dusty / dirty ?

What's a docking station for, exactly, anyway?

Well some laptops you can purchase a docking station for and some
you can't. Here is one on eBay you can get a look at one for your
laptop.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...3505 565&rd=1

This one doesn't look much like the ones I've seen. As this one
looks like just a small panel that plugs in the back on the laptop.

The ones I am used to seeing are much like a desktop computer. But
it has a slot that your laptop just slides right in. And this
docking station can have an external monitor, mouse, printer,
keyboard, etc. all connected to it. As well as more hard drives and
CD/DVD drives. Although pull the laptop out of the docking station
and the docking station is totally useless. As it is using the
brains of the laptop to operate as a computer.

I'll try to get to your earlier post on the 28th sometime today.
Talk to you later.




Cheers!


__________________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD under Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0

"gts2 blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1114732740.353900.160750@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
Date: 28 Apr 2005 16:59:00 -0700

The house gets dusty easily (There are moving vans across the
street which seem to make more dust and stuff in the house.)
But this afternoon, I plugged in the computer w/o a battery.
And nothing seems to be off or weird or anything - nothing's
exploding like I'm always afraid of. lol

Hi Gerri... Well sticking a dry lintless cloth in there is one safe
idea (it can't be damp).

Oh yes - and my fan's working. =)

Oh! And how did you find that out? Ran it a bit longer than before?
Or since the battery has been removed?

Now onto the replies:

Care to elaborate?

Well a multimeter is a meter with multiple functions. Typically they
can check voltage, current, and resistance.

I always think of that. So I usually try to mention even the
smallest thing in case it has to do with...*whatever*

Very nice! <grin>

[snip]

most lithium batteries have a series of safety circuits to prevent
something going wrong and the battery from bursting into flames. And
one of the things is a fuse or a circuit breaker built into the
I'm also a bit worried because the battery I'm using is one I
got off eBay (in 2003 ) So I always wondered if the battery was
just shitty or something.

A battery left in a laptop for two years is pretty typical of this
lifespan. So it sounds like it did its job pretty well. Although
leaving a battery out (as long as it has been charged up), will last
much longer.

Too Bad I didn't a battery cover - or the equivilant OF.

I'm not sure if pulling it out slightly would work. It had a
'lock' on it.

Well if I had one of those batteries (a bad one), I could modify it
so it would not electrically connect to the laptop itself. But it
could be used as a cover, if you are really worried about it.




Cheers!


__________________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD under Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0

Can you do me a favor?

Remove all the messages you posted here. I don;t want my email address
public and Im already getting spam.

Or is there a way to have this entire thread deleted?

Well - thanks for your help.

BTW - would it be possible for you to remove your replies, as I do not
want my e-mail address made public ?

I didn't realize if someone archived the posts on the web, my e-mail
address would be visible.

-Gerri-

"gts² blue" <gts2blue@gmail.com> writes:
Too late, your address is in your posts. Welcome to spam city.

They weren't my posts.
Whoever` replied to my posts could have removed my e-mail address from
the reply.

It isn't that hard. :P

I realize my address is in my posts, but I can also remove my own
posts. I can't remove other people's posts. And that's what seemed to
pop up when i googled my e-mail address - not my e-mail address in the
From: line of my own posts, but my e-mail address posted in the
replies.

Well I thought maybe if I tried to get rid of the posts here, maybe I'd
stop getting the phishing attacks. Or less. How annoying - I get
enough spam already. lol....
I'm figuring maybe the longer it's on the web, the more
spammers/phishers/malicious bastards can harvest it and the more spam
I'd get - so maybe if I got it off usenet/google I wouldn't attract
MORE spam/phish etc... Maybe I'm wrong.

It's really pathetic, the phishers.

Every day I get stupid eBay phishing emails @ this address - and I had
never gotten any spam/phishing thru that address til those addresses
got posted to the web.