IBM Thinkpad wont power up lights come on for about 3 seconds and back off. Please help

try to replace the memory or the RAM of the laptop..or just reinsert the memory..

Try to press your laptop power button for a bout 3-5 seconds to see the laptop can start or not.

If not Check your Thinkpad T42 battery hard disk faild or not.

I'm guessing it's out of battery. Try plugging in the power cord and let its battery charge for 5 minutes, then hit the power button.

Try these steps:

1. Remove battery and unplug AC adapter
2. Press power on button for 30 seconds or so (one min is also too)
3. Attach battery and plug into wall
4. Power "ON" as normal

If you are still getting the "Z" and a black screen then I would have the video card or hard drive looked at and replaced. Start with the video card and then look at the hard drive


thinkpad-t42-wont-boot.html">http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/laptop-support/234433-ibm-thinkpad-t42-wont-boot.html

Here's a great article that may help you work your way through the difficulties: click here.
Also google troubleshoot power supply or power suppply problem and follow the instructions...

I hope this information allows you to resolve this issue. If you need further assistance, please post back with a comment to this thread.
If I've managed to answer your question or solve a problem, please take just a moment to rate this post....thanks!

try taking the battery out for a day. then put it back in. see if it comes back on. i dont know why this happens but it happend to me once.

please rate this answer. i want your feedback.

Try taking the battery out and just use the AC adaptor.
Does the PC "come on" when you press the power button?
Does it show the animation bar at the bottom of the screen when XP first starts?

When Windows opens then -
Open Control Panel - then click on Power Options - Click on Hibernate tab and uncheck Enable Hibernate - Click OK

Try starting without the battery, and cheking the memory chips.

I agree with you and have a link for adapters http://www.google.com/products?q=IBM+ThinkPad+T30+2366+adapter&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&um=1&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title