[ Up ] [ Your TP Model ] [ TP HM Manuals ] [ Making probes ] [ Soldering to EEPROM ] [ GND Connection ] [ 390 390E 390X ] [ 600 ] [ 600e ] [ 600x ] [ A20 A21 A22 m/p ] [ A30 A30p A31 A31p ] [ G40 G41 ] [ L412 ] [ L512 ] [ L520 ] [ R30 ] [ R31 ] [ R32 ] [ R40 ] [ R400 ] [ R50 and R51 ] [ R51e ] [ R52 ] [ R60 ] [ R61 R61i ] [ R500 ] [ SL410 ] [ SL510 ] [ T20 T21 T22 T23 ] [ T30 ] [ T40/p T41/p T42/p ] [ T400 ] [ T400s ] [ T410 ] [ T420 ] [ T43 T43p ] [ T500 ] [ T510 ] [ T60 T60p ] [ T61 T61p ] [ W500 ] [ X100e ] [ X130e ] [ X200 ] [ X200T ] [ X201 Tablet ] [ X220 ] [ X30 ] [ X31 ] [ X300 ] [ X301 ] [ X40 and X41 ] [ X60 X60s ] [ X60Tablet ] [ X61 X61s X61t ] [ Z60 ] [ Z60m ] [ Z61 ] [ Z61m ] [ Z61T ] [ Other Models ]

Please visit the Home page for new developments

Instructions on how to actually unlock your ThinkPad (TP) are in the User's Guides

EEPROM Location and Type

G40 EEPROM you treat it as 24RF08

Locating the G40 connection points

Switch the G40 OFF.

You should have already downloaded the hardware Maintenance Manual for your ThinkPad model, if you have not done so use the link below to download it now,

Download the Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) for your TP model

The links above are to the 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.

Follow the section in the TP G40 G41 Hardware Maintenance Manual titled "FRU System Board" to dismantle your TP and gain access to the underside of 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

 

NOTE: VCC is NOT connected, the ThinkPad supplies power to the eeprom, later on we will switch on the X31 to analyse the eeprom.

This image is oriented the same way as the photo of the EEPROM above it.

GND, you can use one of the metal fingers that hold the MEMORY.

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.

I receive many emails asking about the GND connection, in reality it is very simple, you use some kind of a clip so that you don't have to hold it in place, you DON'T HAVE 3 HANDS and there are 3 connections, GND SDA and SCL, so have a clip for GND, then you can use the 2 hands YOU DO HAVE to hold your SDA and SCL probes in place.

In the photos below I show an Ezi-hook and an Alligator clip.

Almost any large piece of metal or the screws for the external connectors of any ThinkPad are a good GND connecting point.

Anyway a picture is worth a thousand words

Click here for pictures of GND Connections

Basically you make the system board functional outside of it's case which includes mounting heat sink and fan on CPU.

Once you have taken care of the GND connection.

You push the sharp probes onto SCL SDA , this is the reason you need 2 persons, not enough hands to hold the probes and run the software.

This is not easy, you will need to have the Keyboard [and optionally the LCD] plugged into the system board in such a way that none touch any contacts on the system board, use paper as an insulator to keep things from electrically shorting out, later you will need to plug in the AC adaptor and switch ON the TP, then you will need to hold 2 probes in place to the SCL and SDA points on the system board.

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

This page ONLY describes how to connect the KeyMaker Interface to the EEPROM.

The instructions on how to Recover or clear a Supervisor password are in The "User's Guides" click here

Assembling your TP - AFTER - you have finished.

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.