IBM Thinkpad T60 - No Sound

I have been working on this piece of crap ALL DAY to no avail, and even though we're under warranty, IBM still won't talk to me without paying $99 since "the software isn't under warranty" and they're "99.9% sure it's not a hardware problem". Nice. So I'm gonna hit you guys up instead.

Laptop has no sound whatsoever. Ok, it breaks down thusly:

1) I'm on a DEADLINE. I have to find the magic fix within the next 15 hours or so.
2) Laptop is an IBM Thinkpad T60.
3) Fresh install of Windows XP Pro SP2.
4) Have Googled the crap out of this to discover lots of people have the same problem.
5) Installed this: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...cid=MIGR-62855
6) Installed this: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...cid=MIGR-64133 (note 888111).
7) Enabled System Sound in BIOS.
8) Enabled modem in BIOS (believe it or not this has supposedly fixed the problem for some folks).
9) Uninstalled and reinstalled driver again.

Nothing. Nada. Zilch. No sound. However, if I press the volume hot keys, it does show the volume bar adjusting accordingly on screen, though nothing audibly actually happens. Woohoo.

Sorry, I'm grumpy. :eek:

Any ideas guys?

AngelicKnight - I work for IBM supporting thinkpads. I might be able to pry some info out of one of the LEL agents [lenovo experts live] ... I cannot make any promises though... I am extremely new... [I can assure you that I was not the person you talked to :) though if you give me their name, I will kick them in the ass for you...] I will see what I can do... my trainer is extremely cool, and he is always willing to help with any tech issue, work related or not... sorry for your trouble... thank you for calling lenovo is there anything else I can do to make sure that you are Extremely satisfied with your support or overall service request? :D ... please don't kill me.


edit:

few more questions.

did the agent give you a reason why they thought this was not hardware related?

has the sound ever worked? if so, when did it stop.

what kind of warranty is it? on site or the mail in depot warranty?

there hasn't been any physical damage to the machine has there? liquid, drop etc?

you might try booting from a live cd such as ubuntu or whatever... if there is sound in there, it probably is software... if there is no sound, it is more than likely hardware.

also, if you call back, this conversation never happened, unless you talk to me... :D

westin, I LOVE YOU. :)

If you can get some input from him that would be incredibly helpful.

I'm going to be sitting here refreshing the page while working through the night here. :eek:

well... don't sit refreshing the page... I don't go back in until 7:30am eastern... :D ... I have no way of contacting him but by email... and he doesn't check his work email except at work... I edited my original post... didn't know if you noticed...

westin

OK AK,

Quick answers to save me looking, and I can't remember what models are for IBM.

1. Are the speakers external or on the lappy?
2. If they are on the box, are they inside the body or on the screen (front or back, doesn't matter).
3. Does it have connections for external speakers? (typically, three little jack plug holes).
4.Does it make any noise........... like one BIOS beep on bootup?

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"the software isn't under warranty"

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What software?

99.9 % certain................not good enough for a court............ that's reasonable doubt :cool:

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did the agent give you a reason why they thought this was not hardware related?

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Based upon what I described to the previous tech, that's all...

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has the sound ever worked? if so, when did it stop.

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Dunno, I'm wondering that myself. New job, so laptop's been here longer than I have. Given these laptops rotate, I at least think we would know by now if there was an audio problem prior. But in short -- dunno. :(

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there hasn't been any physical damage to the machine has there? liquid, drop etc?

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Nope.

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1. Are the speakers external or on the lappy?

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No external speakers...

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2. If they are on the box, are they inside the body or on the screen (front or back, doesn't matter).

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Actually these are underneath the front of the laptop.

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3. Does it have connections for external speakers? (typically, three little jack plug holes).
4.Does it make any noise........... like one BIOS beep on bootup?

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One jack marked mic, one marked headphones.

Let me reboot again to see if it beeps, I can't recall...

/edit -- No beep.

Right,

It sounds as if your speakers are underneath the front body of the laptop......... like you can't remove them? They will be using an onboard audio chipset that may well have blown.

Please connect some headphones and see if you "hear the voices" :D......... try an old fashioned audio CD and then edit system sounds and hit the "test" button on a few.

And this would be the one time I can't find headphones anywhere... :eek:

Them little ear plug things for a walkman or portable CD/DVD?

If you have some small PC speakers, just try the jack in the earphones socket.

Ok, swiped some speakers from a lady's desktop -- Those work. So external speakers yes, internal no.

Sadly, I don't have spare external speakers I can send with the guy. :(

Errr Hang on there AK old chap,

Your external speakers (even though you stuck them in the headphones socket, but that is OK, you can buy those to get a better output from the headphones socket of a Walkman or CD/DVD) work? so that tells us that:

1. The audio chipset works.
2. The signal out works.
3. The internal speakers don't work.

You have a 200% hardware problem there...... and it is inside their sealed, under warranty box. Muhahahahahahahaha:lildevil:

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Sadly, I don't have spare external speakers I can send with the guy.

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That should not be a problem........... a strongly worded letter should do............ they will have external speakers. Oh, and I am sure that they will reward me for my totally brilliant hardware fault finding from a range of 5,000 miles, with one of their devices that actually works :jack:

I would hazard a guess that it is either a blown transistor or a "dry joint" problem.........I am told that you guys call that a "cold joint"????? It is certainly at your internal speaker end, and beyond the audio chipset. But very much inside the case.

Also, you posted:

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1) I'm on a DEADLINE. I have to find the magic fix within the next 15 hours or so.

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I think it took 68 minutes?

You are awesome as always Nihil. Thanks for saving me the rest of the night!

Ok, so since my user has to be out the door tomorrow morning (he's actually leaving for your side of the pond), I'm going to image another T60 and put this one on the back burner, then hark at IBM hardware support tomorrow for trying to shaft me $99 talking to software support. ;)

Halfway through imaging the new laptop, so at least I get to go home SOMEtime tonight. :)

And as I write this I just heard ITS speakers come to life. Phew!

Hey AK,

Do you realise that I am now having to go find out about a T60 just to see what the hell it was we fixed :D

I would guess it is a soldered joint problem............ take about 10 minutes to fix if you can get easy access.

:)

If this were an HP machine, my area of expertise, (I practically just gave away my employer, lol) I would say update the Bios, and then try a reseating of the RAM.

Don't ask why BIOS and Ram reseat works, but it does. HP Bios updates apply fixes that are never documented.

hey AK ... if the person that answers says my name is 'westin' be gentle... :D ... I am with nihil on the issue being hardware related though...

Hi guys,

It's getting real cosy round here :D we had a Dell person join us the other day.

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hey AK ... if the person that answers says my name is 'westin' be gentle...

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Heh heh...Nah, my last job was customer service, so I know firsthand how much I don't want to be THAT customer. I'm always nice to the poor unfortunate soul on the other end of the line as long as they're not BSing me. ;)

Seriously, I had so many days I'd come home just absolutely wound up in a knot because of all the rude a-holes I had to endure throughout the day. I'm unbelievably happier working internal IT now.

good to hear AK ... I try not to take the calls too personally... but they can be frustrating... I had to stay about 30-45 minutes late today on a call that came in right as I was about to log off of our queue... I hate it when that happens :fpissed:

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I had to stay about 30-45 minutes late today on a call that came in right as I was about to log off of our queue... I hate it when that happens

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Oh I have had that happen more times than I can count. I've sometimes wondered if people actually consciously realized they were calling at 5:59pm, and more times than not those calls were by company owners that we considered "VIPs". I've spent many an overtime hour on them, which is one of the many reasons I got the hell out of customer service after two years of that crap.

Finally got an update!

The manufacturer didn't connect the speaker cable to the board. :eek:

you have got to be kidding me. :rolleyes:

I kid you not!

After calling for warranty repair, they sent a tech out with replacement speakers. He cracked open the case...discovered speakers weren't connected.

:eek:

you know, those techs cost lenovo around $180 per hour with a 2 hour minimum... I have heard some horror stories about them as well... one cracked an lcd while replacing something totally unrelated, and then tried to report it as user induced damage... luckily the user called before the tech and reported that the tech damaged the screen... if I remember correctly, the tech tried to close the laptop with a screwdriver sitting on the keyboard... some are great... others are primates with tools... :) glad it is resolved at least...

Can someone help me please, I have a T60 and there is no sound, there used to be sound and now there is none, I had a computer guy look at it and still nothing. The only thing I can say is that sometimes it beeps. But I can;t get any sound out of it other than that, can someone help me please, I've downloaded stuff from ibm.com the guy that had this problem already I downloaded both things he did, I need help..:fpissed:

Dude, I already replied to you on your first thread. Try what I suggested and answer my questions. Asking the same question on two threads is not going to get you anywhere. Also try the steps we went through here. ONE of these steps WILL answer your question, so DO them before asking again. To recap:

1. Speakers connected to mobo (will require opening case)?
2. Thinkvantage update downloaded?
3. Drivers installed?
4. Hotfix installed (if XP)?
5. Sound buttons doing anything?
6. Did the speakers ever work?
7. When did the speakers stop working?
8. Do headphones provide sound when plugged in?

Hi there AK,

I can see us getting confused here so I am going to close this thread simply to avoid that.

From what potter~ has already told us I would say that the answers are:

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes....lights but no sound.
6. Yes
7. Following an "upgrade" to Windows Vista and subsequent re-install of XP.
8. No

I would bet that the Sounds/Multimedia settings in Windows are now pointing at some default sound system, rather than what he really has. Maybe AC97 or whatever?

Any responses in the other (new) thread please :)