I’ve cleaned out all the insides of the laptop pretty good when I switched out the fans, so I don’t think it’s dirt or dust. If the CPU really is getting to 95C, then it is being triggered only when powered by AC and only when the resources of the CPU are being pushed up to 100% usage. This sounds like something has gone wrong with the amount energy the laptop is allowing the CPU to receive. Perhaps the chip itself has some kind of electrical resistance that has failed? I’m just guessing here based on the results I have. I went into BIOS and changed two settings under CONFIG>POWER. Both were related to settings when AC power is connected. I changed them to read “Maximum Battery” which is the same setting for when Battery Power is used, which is the only time the laptop is working appropriately. This didn’t help. I plugged in AC, began a download, the fan revved up and the laptop shutdown. Only this time I didn’t see the temperature reading jump up above 46C. It all happens so quickly, though.

It looks like I’m stuck unless someone can figure out how to prevent AC from sending too much power to the CPU. I suppose I will mess with the BIOS settings some more. I saw some settings for “Minimum power” and “Always slow” processing speed, but a super slow computer doesn’t do me much good anyway.

I looked at it and noticed the output is 4.5a while the adapter for the laptop is 3.5a. I tried the original 3.5a after booting up on battery power. Although it took much longer (around 1 minute, as opposed to 10 seconds), eventually the fan did start speeding up and right when it kicked into top speed, the laptop shutdown.

Using more powerful adapter shouldn’t be a problem. You can safely use the 4.5A adapter.

Maybe your problem is heat related.
In some laptops you can set the CPU speed to be different for battery and AC mode. Maybe that’s true for your laptop?
When you run your laptop using the battery, the CPU runs at low speed and do not overheat. But as soon as you plug the AC adapter, the CPU runs full speed and the laptop shuts down because of overheating.

Look inside the heat sink. Does it look dirty? Try cleaning the heat sink with compressed air. Maybe cleaning the cooling module will help.

Actually, no, I was using the ac adapter for my docking station, but plugging it directly into my laptop (original adapter for laptop was very touchy and would cut in and out all the time). I looked at it and noticed the output is 4.5a while the adapter for the laptop is 3.5a. I tried the original 3.5a after booting up on battery power. Although it took much longer (around 1 minute, as opposed to 10 seconds), eventually the fan did start speeding up and right when it kicked into top speed, the laptop shutdown.

I started to experiment with different combinations of the two adapters, running power through the docking station…and still would always eventually shut off. Strange thing now: I just installed SpeedFan so that I could monitor the CPU temp and test if it was actually getting hot when the AC power was plugged in (I think it is unlikely since this laptop has been left off and unplugged overnight and this autoshutoff is occuring only a couple minutes after bootup). At the same time, I decided to plug my AC adapters into a powerstrip/surge protector rather than directly into the wall. I don’t know which, if either, of these things made a difference, but so far I have been running on AC power (through the powerstrip and the docking station) for about 10 minutes now. The fan revved up once but not to full speed. It has been softly humming, and SpeedFan actually showed a drop from 52C to 43C the moment I plugged in AC power (which seems counterintuitive to me). For now it’s ok, but it’s only been a few minutes. I will post again if this doesn’t last. [Also, SpeedFan says it can control fan speed depending on hardware capabilites, but I don’t believe my T41p is allowing that. I don’t see where the program has recognized any fans on this laptop.)

Thanks for the suggestion about the wrong adapter.

I have a t41p. I ordered a new fan and installed it today. If I am on battery power, no problems. Fan spins (at low speeds) fine. But the instant I plug in AC power, the fan revs up dramatically, then the whole computer shuts down. It also does the same thing if I try to boot up on AC power. I’ve read a few others advising tweaking the thermal management settings in BIOS, but the t41p doesn’t have that option. Any help????

Is the AC adapter you are using is the right one for your laptop?

Cheerio,

Dante

Same error with my T42. Replaced both the fan AND the motherboard, and I’m STILL GETTING THE ERROR!!!!!! Any ideas?? This is making me crazy.

It’s hard to tell what’s going on. Did you purchase parts from a reliable source?
Can you see the cooling fan spinning at all? Did you apply thermal grease on the CPU before installing the heatsink (if the heat sink didn’t have thermal grease pre-applied)?

Thanks, Kristen

First, I want to be sure that the fan is fried, and not the circuit on the motherboard. The fan in my T42 is clearly not operating at all. Without removing the heatsink, I plugged in a scavenged laptop fan where the T42’s fan had been plugged in. This fan failed to turn on its own, but clearly would spin longer than friction would normally let it. It is two years old and may itself be on its last leg. It is labeled DC5V .2A, where the T42’s original fan is a DC5V 0.4A–but my understanding stays a fan with a lower ampere should spin where a higher one was. Am I wrong about this electrical power issue? What does this tell us about the motherboard’s ability to power the fan properly?

I am confident that I can replace the fan only, separating the old fan from the copper base and attaching a new one. (already tested the theory) I am having GREAT difficulty finding the exact replacement fan: MCF-207AM05. I can find 208’s and 205’s, but they appear to have .195A fans–will these be acceptable replacements?