iFixit - Answers With Device "IBM ThinkPad T42"

IBM ThinkPad T42: Can I retrieve default bios password

Fri, 14 Mar 2014 02:33:11 -0700

i removed back up battery to get rid of passwords now computor wont start get error message saying security tampered with, is there any thing i can do ?

⟐ Answer deleted March 14, 2014 at 2:33 MST

IBM ThinkPad T42: SSD upgrade (performance? / companys? )

Fri, 08 Jul 2016 13:32:46 -0700

I would like to upgrade my Thinkpad T42 to a SSD.

I read this is possible.

How much will the performance increase or doesnt it really matter, because the processor will then slow it down?

Which companys should I buy the SSD's from?

Do I have to look out for something in particular?

⟐ Commented July 08, 2016 at 13:32 MST

IBM ThinkPad T42: Why won't it start?

Sat, 11 Mar 2017 14:41:09 -0700

My TP42 won't start either. The fan starts and two LEDs, Power and Battery are on. ThinkLight is working but the screen won't work and neither Caps Lock. The DVD drive is working, but it is useless without the screen working.

Any ideas?

⟐ Commented March 11, 2017 at 14:41 MST

IBM ThinkPad T42: Why is a new hard drive not recognized?

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 20:51:53 -0700

The 60 GB hard drive died, so I purchased the exact same thing, but the new drive was used and reformatted. It was recognized immediately after installation, so I just shut it down. After obtaining restoring disks, ( a week later), I restarted the laptop, but this time the hard drive was not detected in Bios, which was the same problem I had with the original. I don't know of any way to test this second hard drive, so it might be faulty or corrupt. I do not want to invest anymore money if the problem is with the laptop and not the hard drive. What other problem could keep a hard drive from being recognized?

Thank you, so very much, for your response. I tried resetting both the new and the old drives and the results were exactly the same with both. The IBM recovery disk fails to initialize, but it did start without changing the boot order in Bios. So maybe I can rule out a power supply or mother board problem. I doubt if the new disk was tested before it was sold and it may have bad sectors. I don't know if it was properly reformatted because for the brief time, that it ran, names of the former owner's appeared on a log in screen, along with the windows XP operating sytem logo. I'm not sure if this indicates a complete erase. IBM warns that the frequent removing and installing of hard drives can cause damage. So I hope that I haven't jumped from the frying pan into the fire with my attempt to repair.

Thanks again

⟐ Commented February 10, 2016 at 20:51 MST

IBM ThinkPad T42: The screen on my t42 is blank

Wed, 12 Aug 2015 08:11:00 -0700

Why is the screen of my think pad t42 blank. It is fully charged and turned on. But the screen is totally blank.

⟐ Commented August 12, 2015 at 8:11 MST

IBM ThinkPad T42: My laptop won't start up

Fri, 11 May 2018 09:15:36 -0700

So my laptop IBM thinkpad I think T42, will not start. I pres the power button and the home screen that says "IMB and under "thinkpad", but then a message saying

"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt :

System33\DRIVERS\pci.sys

You can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using the original setup CD-ROm.

Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair."

I have no idea what to do!

⟐ Answer accepted May 11, 2018 at 9:15 MST

IBM ThinkPad T42: What hard drives do I need for my model t-42?

Sun, 23 Sep 2018 08:57:49 -0700

How do i know which hard drives are for my laptop T-42

⟐ Answer accepted September 23, 2018 at 8:57 MST

IBM ThinkPad T42: How to restore the factory settings to the harddrive?

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 23:17:00 -0700

Ok so i have this fossil of a laptop. Its not this exact laptop but i figured I'd try to ask anyway. I have a IBM Thinkpad Type 2647.

I got it from a friend, and he claims that he has never restored factory settings to the hard drive. I've done this to a handful of my old computers in the past. But for some reason i can't figure it out on this?

I heard that i needed to hold the blue Fn key at the bottom but its not working. Can anyone help me?

⟐ Commented October 03, 2017 at 23:17 MST

IBM ThinkPad T42: Why is my laptop not switching on?

Sun, 06 Nov 2016 08:22:46 -0700

My thinkpad t42 will not switch on. What shoul I do?

⟐ Answer accepted November 06, 2016 at 8:22 MST