600X 0B 301 Error

[Lexx_DMC]

Hi all,

My recently purchased 600X is not playing nice. I got the usual dead battery errors, which I quickly sorted, but I cannot get rid of error 0B 301. I know this is a keyboard error, stuck key potentially. I can't even get into the BIOS.

I can't find an accurate scancode list for this keyboard. Can anyone help? I saw a similar post for the 600X, from nearly 20 years ago, but unfortunately the link provided has long since disappeared.
I get conflicting information, one place said code 0B was the 0 (Zero) key, another said it was my F6 key. I have tried to clean both of them to no avail.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[solidpro]

I would suggest the first thing you do is replace the CMOS battery. Whilst there is still likely to be a fault with the keyboard or trackpoint, the dead battery can play havoc with getting this era of thinkpad to get to the BIOS configuration.

It's vaguely possible, although I would be interested to know, if you unplugged the keyboard (the whole keyboard and bezel will lift up with a couple of screws and there is a tight ribbon clip top-left as I recall) and tried booting with a PS/2 keyboard plugged in. Or does the error change. You could also try giving the whole keyboard a good firm pushing of keys all over to try and de-crud anything that might have siezed over time.

Last but not least, 600 keyboard are universal between all 600 machines and aren't that hard to come by. Get another.

cheers

[Lexx_DMC]

Hi solidpro,

Thanks for the reply (again).

Yes, CMOS battery was the first thing I changed. I've tried giving all the keys a press and they seem to act normally.

I will try your suggestion of unplugging the keyboard, and trying one of my PS/2 keyboards. If this works, I can also try one of my other 600 keyboards on this machine, I just wanted to see if anyone had the correct scan codes for this first, as I'd much rather try cleaning the single key causing the issue initially, then consider taking it apart.

Thanks

[solidpro]

301 is definitely the keyboard or trackpoint and i think you've already figured out more than I would know as far as the key!

[Lexx_DMC]

Ok, all sorted. For anyone who is interested, or has similar issues, some information below.

- Disconnected original keyboard, tried external keyboard, worked fine
- Re-connected keyboard, got the same 0B 301 error.
- Rebooted, and did some key mashing, as you get beeps for each time you hit a key during POST. All keys beeped, apart from F6
- Removed the F6 key, cleaned the area, re-seated it
- Rebooted, and no more error

There is some conflicting information out there, but it does seem that "IBM scancode set 2" is the correct one for the ThinkPad 600 at least.

[solidpro]

Good work! Sounds like you did some practical sequenced troubleshooting which I've found many people just aren't capable of. These machines get left without keyboard use for decades and sometimes some corrosion or oxidisation builds up and it just needs a squit or hardened re-use.

[unlawfulsoup]

- Rebooted, and did some key mashing, as you get beeps for each time you hit a key during POST. All keys beeped, apart from F6

Okay, this is the clever kind of solution I come here for, making a mental note.

[Lexx_DMC]

Thanks both.

Yes, to your point, solidpro, it does seem that this machine was probably left for a long period, and might need some use, as I booted it today to start a recovery on it and got 0A 301 this time, which luckily just involved hitting the F8 key a few times to wake it up. Will have to give the whole keyboard a clean I think.

And yes, unlawfulsoup, I feel the same, lots of very knowledgeable people on this group to learn from. I'm very grateful to the founder / owner for maintaining this all these years, and will be donating a small amount to its upkeep I think!

[dabhidhuaghd]

Well done! Good old key smash.

I've had a crunchy keyboard after a sugary tea was spilled on it. Dried out, smashed the keys and all was well with the world.