I have recieved the BIOS beeps of death...

Everytime I start up my thinkpad I am greeted with a blank screen, one long beep and two short beeps. I am aware this means either a system board or a screen assembly failure. I assume this means I will have to send it in for a replacement (I am still under warranty), so is there any advice you can give me to make this as pleasant as possible? My past experiences with Lenovo have been... annoying... so any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

Just do as they ask, you'll end up spending more time arguing. If you're waiting on hold an absurd amount of time, you're probably better off calling back tomorrow morning. I've had bad luck getting through nights and weekends.

I think being without your laptop gets you put on the highest priority, but maybe a hardluck story regarding needing your laptop for finals will get you a bit more urgency.

But generally, it's a matter of luck, them having stock of whatever parts they need.

 

I recommend calling mon-fri during the day/evening. Reason being is you are most likily to be connected to the Atlanta tech support versus someone in India. Remember when you ship your system to remove your HDD to save data.

 

If there's anything on your hard drive you want to save, pull it before sending it in. Assume they'd format it.

 

I would imagine that I also need to remove the disc drive as well, right?

 

I do not think there's any need to remove the optical drive, but it does not do any harm if you do.

I would definitely remove the hard drive, though, if you want to keep your own data. Follow the tech support representative's instructions, but you will likely not need to send in your battery or AC adapter either.

 

I just sent in my Thinkpad a few days ago. The process was really simple and you don't need to remove anything or send anything other than the main unit itself without battery.

Whether or not you want to remove the hard drive is up to you, but your hard drive data is only wiped if you give them permission to reformat it as needed per the repair.

Here's a copy of the repair sheet that you have to send in which outlines the details of the hard drive:

I sent them an email asking whether or not I need to send the battery + ac Adapter and they've replied saying neither one is necessary unless you somehow suspect that they're involved in causing your current problem. Mine was a BIOS issue as well, so I left them out.

I sent mine in and they emailed me the next day letting me know that they've received it and that the work should be done in 5-6 business days.

So far so good, it's been 4 days, so here's hoping that I get it back in the next 2 days.

 

There are many, many stories where people did not give them permission to wipe the drive and it happened anyway. Their intentions may be good by including the checkbox on the sheet to refuse reformatting, but NEVER send your HDD to repair without making a backup. People are human and make mistakes, and the only one who cares about your data is you.

And then there's the guy whose TP was its way back to him when the FedEx plane caught fire on the tarmac and burned to the tires.

 

Just called at 10am PST (Tuesday) and got India...

 

lol, I called at 12am EST Sat. morning and got Atlanta.

 

"There are many, many stories where people did not give them permission to wipe the drive and it happened anyway. Their intentions may be good by including the checkbox on the sheet to refuse reformatting, but NEVER send your HDD to repair without making a backup. People are human and make mistakes, and the only one who cares about your data is you."

Well, a backup could done. This is what they are for.

 

And that's why I said:

but NEVER send your HDD to repair without making a backup.

 

I'm sorry, Janet. Mine was a generic response. Obviously you know what a backup is, but most of the people don't.
Renee

 

Thanks for the warning. This time around I didn't have anything special on my hd but I guess next time I'll definitely be making a backup first.

 

Hypothetical example, or anecdotal episode?

If I remember correctly, you sent in your W500 after a failed BIOS flash? Keep us updated on how the repair process goes - I'm still too scared to flash my BIOS, and would like to hear at least one story of a successful recovery from a BIOS flash gone wrong...

 

Really happened. That was back in the early years of ThinkPads when IBM had a CompuServe support forum. The guy that it happened to reported it there and had not backed up his data before sending his TP in for service. I think that's when the rule about never sending anything to EZ Serv that isn't part of the problem was born.

 

Yup, that's right. I'm still waiting to get it back, but I haven't had any trouble with the warranty service so far. They took it back really easily, no questions asked, and said they would replace the system board for me in just a few days.

It'll be a long time before I try another update (and hopefully they'll send it back to me with the latest bios loaded).

 

If you want them to load the latest BIOS, I would call and ask that they do so. They're very receptive to customer requests like that, but I don't think they'd do it otherwise unless necessary.

 

I called Lenovo yesterday and a tech is coming out tomorrow to replace the system board in person.

How long will this take and what does the process usually entail?

 

No advice?

Well then at least wish me luck.

 

Good luck!

I'd guess a couple hours, it's not a simple swap. Though simpler than in most laptops.

 

The system board took about a half hour to replace, and it is like nothing went wrong.