Hi all, I have a IBM Thinkpad X20 (P3 800mhz. 256mb- RAM). Im unable to boot up due to this 'error 0188' msg im receiving. Exact msg:- Error 0188 - Invalid RFID serialization information area or bad CRC2. Im not too sure whats causing this. Im unable to get into the BIOS or boot up using a boot disk. Does anyone know what may be causing this error or how to rectifiy it? Any troubleshooting steps would great. Pls help. Thanks.

Well we could try running this thru the IBM support page. But to me the CRC part suggests a memory problem. It stands for Cyclical Redundancy Check, and this is used to check on the accuracy of the memory data. If there is a problem here, it indicates bad memory. Do you have another stick (or 2) you could try? I suppose it could also be disk related. See what IBM says, I guess. HTH

hi pc Bob, Thanks for the response. Unfortunately i tried using a spare stick but still no luck. According to the ibm support pages which i tried it states to remove the h/d and then power on laptop. If error msg persists then poss. issue with system board or RFID? If it doesnt come up with an error msg then its a poss. software issue or h/d image.. the outcome was the 2nd instance, just wish i had spare h/d. thanks again.