Tom's Hardware > Forum > Laptops & Notebooks > General Laptops & Notebooks > Thinkpad A31 - type 2653 shows black screen with dash after booting

Thinkpad A31 - type 2653 shows black screen with dash after booting

Forum Laptops & Notebooks : General Laptops & Notebooks - Thinkpad A31 - type 2653 shows black screen with dash after booting

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Hi All,

I have a Thinkpad A31 for a few years now. I haven't used it in a few months and decided to get some files that I need a couple of weeks ago and realized I can't get my files . It powers on then brings me to the:
F1 BIOS etc...
F812 for temp boot device

screens and then it goes to a black screen with a white blinking dash.

I tried this:

Quote :

Check that the hard drive is recognized in BIOS, and is properly set up in the startup sequence for ThinkPad A, G, R, T, X, and Z series systems.
Turn on the computer.

While the Press F1 for BIOS Setup Utility or To interrupt normal startup, press the blue Access IBM button or To interrupt normal startup, press the blue ThinkVantage button message is displayed at the lower left area of the screen, press the F1 key, blue Access IBM, or ThinkVantage button. Select the Start BIOS Setup Utility or Access BIOS, if applicable.

The BIOS Setup Utility menu will be displayed. If a password prompt appears, type the correct password.
Select Startup and then press the Enter key.
Select Boot and then press the Enter key.
The display should list Hard Drive with a plus (+) next to it if the drive is detected by the system BIOS.
Click the plus (+) to expand the hard drive branch and confirm that the Device Name (or Drive ID) appears normal (example: IC25T060ATCS05-0).
Select Hard Drive and then press the F6 key to move it to the first boot position.
Note: The normal position is second or third after the floppy disk drive and/or CD-ROM drive.
Press F10 to save and exit and then press the Enter key to restart the system.

However, that didn't work.

Can anyone guide me on what to do? I called the shop and they suggested it was the Hard drive, I thought it was memory and would attempt to upgrade either.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

WittyToo33

Message edited by WittyToo33 on 04-15-2009 at 07:18:32 AM

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Maybe you can remove the hard disk from the laptop and try it somewhere else? Is it the standard 2.5" type that can fit on those enclosures?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to r_manic

r_manic wrote :

Maybe you can remove the hard disk from the laptop and try it somewhere else? Is it the standard 2.5" type that can fit on those enclosures?

Hi r-manic,

Thanks for your reply. Actually, I haven't removed the HD yet nor have done it before. I am not sure if it is the standard 2.5" or which one. However,someone at the shop said that the particular HD for those laptops was an IDE HD.

this may sound silly but when you say "try it with another machine" do you mean installing the old HD onto a new one?

Message edited by WittyToo33 on 04-15-2009 at 07:08:11 PM

Reply to WittyToo33

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Thinkpad A31 - type 2653 shows black screen with dash after booting

Forum Laptops & Notebooks : General Laptops & Notebooks - Thinkpad A31 - type 2653 shows black screen with dash after booting

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