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Need (urgent): system board for PS/Note 425 (or ThinkPad 350)
I am in need of a replacement system board for an IBM PS/Note 425.
This unit is more or less identical to the ThinkPad 350. I believe
that the "PS/Note" was what IBM was calling their laptop line before
they decided on the "ThinkPad" name. Anyway, my system board is at
least partially dead. During the boot sequence, I get a message
about "Error 117 -- System Board Failure". I can continue to
boot normally, but my floppy drive is not accessable, and I've
had some random lockup problems.
I've called my local IBM service rep, and they said that it's
definetly not the floppy, but the system board. Aparently the
error code would be different if the floppy drive itself were
broken. They quoted me around $400 for the system board and
$150 labor to install it. For one, I can install it myself, and
for another I've seen these units selling for around $400 whole
and working.
I called IBM's customer service people and (after about half a
day of telephone-hold-hell and cross-references) I now have the
IBM part number for the system board and another part number that
should be a drop in replacement. The prices were in the $250-$350
range, but they are on backorder and won't be avaliable for some
time. I simply can't wait that long.
So now I've joined this list in the hope that perhaps someone
would have an old PS/Note 425 or ThinkPad 350 or other similar
system sitting around unused, or maybe it has a dead HD or cracked
screen and I can put them together to make one good system. I'll
gladly pay fair market value for a working system (with accessories
even) to get the system board that I need. The way I see it, I'd
have to pay about that much anyway, and this way I get some extra
parts in the deal. Of course if someone just happens to deal in
Thinkpad system boards, I'd be happy to buy only what I need.
That's my story. Also, if any of you want info on the
PS/Note 425 (or TP 350), I've got LOTS of it stored up from my
research. I've got IBM part numbers for all of the sub-componets
(screen, kbd, hd, fd, etc), phone numbers to call if you want to
by-pass the telephone-maze and get to someone useful, and other
stuff I've learned on my way.
--
Travis McWaters Transmission Products Division
tmcwater@imtn.tpd.dsccc.com DSC Communications Corporation