A30 A30p A31 A31p

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Up Your TP Model TP HM Manuals Making probes Soldering to EEPROM 390 390E 390X 600 600e 600x A20 A21 A22 m/p A30 A30p A31 A31p R31 R32 R40 R50 and R51 R52 R60 R61 R61i R400 T20 T21 T22 T23 T30 T40/p T41/p T42/p T400 T43 T43p T60 T60p T61 T61p T500 W500 X200 X200T X30 X300 X31 X41 X60 X60s X61 X61s X61t Z60

A30 A30p A31 A31p you treat it as a 24RF08

Locating the A30 series connection points

Switch the A30 or A31 OFF.

You should have downloaded the hardware Maintenance Manual already, if you have not done so use one of the 3 links below to download it now,

Hardware Maintenance Manual (September 2003) - ThinkPad A30/p, A31/p

The links above are to the IBM/Lenovo site, if it doesn't work, don't panic, it isn't broken, their site is shut down daily for maintenance and at those times they display spurious messages like the page you requested cannot be found, wait a good while and try again.

Using the HMM link above, once you select a model and are on the page that has the PDF HMM for that model, it is best to right click on the PDF HMM for your model then select Save Target AS, that way you will have the PDF HMM on your PC to refer to any time you need it.

Locating the eeprom

Follow the section in the TP A30 A30p A31 A31p Hardware Maintenance Manual titled "FRU System Board" to dismantle your TP and gain access to the System Board where the 24RF08 eeprom is located.

Keep individual modules and their screws separate to make it easier to re assemble it correctly

There is more than one way to connect to the eeprom, it all depends on YOUR SKILLS, lighting and your eyesight etc.

Make sure you have really good lighting to see the small pins, a bare 60W globe hanging from the ceiling high above you in a dark room will make this job impossible.

You could use sharp probes or Pomona SMD Grabbers to contact the SDA and SCL pins on the EEPROM.

NOTE: VCC is NOT connected, the ThinkPad supplies power to the eeprom later on we will switch on the TP to analyse the eeprom.

The photo below shows a 24RF08 EEPROM from a DIFFERENT MODEL ThinkPad with the Pomona clips attached to SCL and SDA pins.

See my page on Options for Clips and Probes including making your own probes.

 

Assembling your TP

You need to re-assemble or partially re-assemble your TP [depending on your chosen connection method]  as you will have to have it switched ON and running to read the eeprom.

Follow the Hardware Maintenance Manual [FRU System Board], very carefully, double check screw type and size for each individual module.  Assemble the TP in the reverse order used to dismantle it.

Disclaimer

I make no warranty that any of my information is correct, or safe, or does or does not breach any warranty clause,  or anything else, it is up to you to decide if you will follow all or any of the instructions to recover the Supervisor Password from a TP. It is up to you to decide, I am not responsible for the results or for any consequential or incidental damages whatsoever.

If you have any questions, email Joe at

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Home Up Your TP Model TP HM Manuals Making probes Soldering to EEPROM 390 390E 390X 600 600e 600x A20 A21 A22 m/p A30 A30p A31 A31p R31 R32 R40 R50 and R51 R52 R60 R61 R61i R400 T20 T21 T22 T23 T30 T40/p T41/p T42/p T400 T43 T43p T60 T60p T61 T61p T500 W500 X200 X200T X30 X300 X31 X41 X60 X60s X61 X61s X61t Z60