---------------------- My brother had his IBM Thinkpad R51 charging overnight the other night. He had used it before he went to bed and it was functioning normally. However, when he returned from work the next day, his machine would not power on. Not even so much as the normal indicator light when the AC adapter is plugged in. He had me look at it, as I am in the computer profession, and external and internal inspection showed no obvious signs of any issues, and he had done nothing leading up to this that should have caused such a problem. After some research on other Thinkpad models having issues with overcharged capacitors, I followed their instructions to discharge the capacitors with the power button. Didn't work......... the motherboard just does not appear to be getting power. So I guess the real question is.... what the heck is the matter with it???? Thanks in advance, Patrick

Likely the power supply, or some other integral component of the motherboard has died. Whether or not the unit is still in warranty you'll have to get it into an IBM ASP for diagnosis. If it's in warranty, no worries it'll get fixed. If it's not in warranty you should be able to get a quote on the parts/labour involved in fixing it.

A simple check would be to use a voltmeter to see if the AC adapter is still working. They don't normally fail, but ...

Hmmm, yeah, I'll bust out the multimeter and test it. I'm 99% sure that it isn't the problem because his battery had been charging properly for several hours and the computer was not turned on. That being the case, the battery should power the unit. But, I'll check it anyway...

sometimes laptops cant boot without a battry my laptop cant boot with out one check to see the battry hasent blown

stupid question but, you have reseated all of the devices right?? battery/hd/etc. I have about 20 R51's on my NW and never have any issues with them.

Yep, reseated them. Still haven't gotten around to testing the ac adapter and battery. It was just so spontaneous that I can't figure it out...