Can anyone help fix a Fujitsu Lifebook B142 , 1999 300mhz Celeron? \ VOGONS

Can anyone help fix a Fujitsu Lifebook B142 , 1999 300mhz Celeron?

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First post, by ediflorianUS

Posted on 2023-03-06, 14:43

ediflorianUS Offline

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Can anyone help,me, fix
a Fujitsu Lifebook B142 (from cc 1999-2000 with 300mhz Celeron CPU)?

Darn thing won't Post.(SO NO P.O.S.T.) (it just sat in a locked steel box) last time it worked. (led is on , HDD spins up).
I have a B112 same issue , got that one for parts.
I am thinking it's a series defect.(affecting entire series of 8.4" japanese B1x2 laptops).

Changed the 3v bat , tried clr cmos with +/- short. No avail.
My research lead me to possible culprit Ram or VGRAM or bios?

Anyone know more than me , about this issue? (hdd IDE getting power , I checked V 16 and 5 v so I am not sure ,but don't think anything is burned ).

L.E. Last time it worked for sure is when I photo'd it on April 2021

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Reply 1 of 5, by GenkiMan_Lx

Posted on 2025-09-10, 04:02

GenkiMan_Lx Offline

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Hi,

Got a B142 it was working and then from nothing it froze and now it has the same problem you are reporting.

Did you found out any possible repair?

Reply 2 of 5, by PD2JK

Posted on 2025-09-10, 04:08

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Maybe BIOS reflash works. Some mainboards I have got my hands on show similar problems. Plain dead, but after flashing the BIOS with an external programmer they sprung to life again.

With laptops it is more challenging to do this. If you can find a BIOS ROM file, then you need to get to the BIOS chip as well and hope it's not soldered on to the mainboard.

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Reply 3 of 5, by CharlieFoxtrot

Posted on 2025-09-10, 05:11

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I would check MB for leaky capacitors, especially those for VRM. Also measure voltages from PSU, I assume this one has internal one instead of external brick. PSU may have capacitor or regulator issues and it is not working properly.

When diagnosing electronics, it is important to rule out the basics, that is power delivery. If you have oscilloscope, you can also check that the crystal is working (CPU has clock) and try to find and check reset signals, memory lines, video circuitry etc. and see where there is and isn’t life.

If those things seem OK, then it may be one of your suggestions or something like a cracked solder joint somewhere.

Reply 4 of 5, by MikeSG

Posted on 2025-09-10, 07:44

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Can you plug an external monitor to it, does anything show up?

Reply 5 of 5, by kotel

Posted on 2025-09-10, 09:25

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Does the caps LED respond to capslock key press?

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