Thinkpads Forum

Hi,

Today I got my new to me T60p.
It has a T7200 2.0gHz CPU and a ATI GPU.

Nothing happens when I try turning it on.

Step 1;
Power reset. no battery, no adapter, hold start button for 30 sek.
Then, nothing.

Step 2;
Removed RAM-sticks, no battery, no adapter, hold start button for 30 sek.
Now the green small adapter LED is lit. But when I try to start, it goes dark and nothing else happens.

Step 3;
Removed WIFI-cards and HDD, and above.
No differense.

Any ideas?
To my knowledge, the problematic GPU's are Intel, not ATI.

Thanks in advance
//Mattias

TP_ wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 09, 2026 1:00 pm

To my knowledge, the problematic GPU's are Intel, not ATI.

Discrete GPUs in laptops are an additional point of failure, making them more likely to die compared to laptops whose graphics are part of the chipset or the processor itself.

In other words, you're mistaken in thinking that a T60p with ATI graphics is less problematic than one with Intel graphics.

Your T60p has a board-level issue. Reinstall just the RAM, and see if the green LED still lights up. If it doesn't, then it's possible that the RAM stick shorted out and damaged the system board in the process.

If absolutely nothing whatsoever is happening, then it could be dead, or it could have a broken part. From what you say, "dead" is the most likely diagnosis, but there are some things you can try.

1. take the system apart and verify that the keyboard is plugged in to the motherboard. Verify that the CPU is installed properly and the mounting screw is tightened. I've handled multiple "dead" systems where something inside was not installed properly or not plugged in.

2. If you have another laptop of the same vintage, test the power supply and verify that it works. Or test the dead system with a known-working power supply.

3. Plug in a known working stick of RAM. You can also try a known working CPU if you have a spare, but dead RAM is a far more common issue than a dead CPU, and sometimes it doesn't deliver any warning beep, it just refuses to start.

4. swap the keyboard. - I've run into keyboards where the power button flat out doesn't work, and also keyboards where the power button works, but has a short or something, so the lights flicker but the system doesn't turn on, but with a different keyboard the system starts up just fine.

If none of that works, you have a dead motherboard. Either keep the system and scrounge a replacement board, or sell the parts. Palm rests and screen assemblies in particular have gotten very hard to find and will fetch good prices.

Ok, I'll try out those steps.
I have a few CPU's laying around (T7200, T7600) and a few T60's.

I will return with my results.