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ThinkPad Twist s230u Power Issue
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 3:22 pm
by mozartpc27
I think this is the right subforum based on other posts, but mods please move if I am wrong.
Have a ThinkPad Twist s230u that I am more or less in love with. Last night I fired it up, it was loading a little more slowly than normal, and then, all of a sudden, and without warning, it just shut down, and will not power back up. Indeed, even the little green light that would normally come on next to where I plug in the AC adapter fails to do so now.
So my question is: what's wrong? I have the thing apart. Could it be the CMOS battery? I don't see any thing that is obviously disconnected internally.
I love this laptop! Please help if you can!
Re: ThinkPad Twist s230u Power Issue
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:01 pm
by mozartpc27
OK, so I fixed the powering up problem... turns out reseating the battery connector fixed that problem.
BUT... I put the laptop back together, and now, on start up, I get all kinds of error messages:
0187 EAIA Data Access Error
2200 Machine Type and Serial Number Are Invalid
2201 Machine UUID is invalid
But then the machine boots to Windows and loads as normal, except that I still don't have the mouse hooked up correctly yet evidently.
What did I do wrong?
Re: ThinkPad Twist s230u Power Issue
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:05 pm
by mozartpc27
I've also had a devil of a time getting the mouse to work again. I've seated & re-seated the connection several times. Any suggestions are most welcome.
Re: ThinkPad Twist s230u Power Issue
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:06 pm
by mozartpc27
Found this old post where someone had replaced a fan in one of these and wound up with the same error messages I am getting:
tuxmc wrote:Hi guys !
After searching for three days an answer I gave up and I'll request your help. The story is....
I have a Lenovo Twist Thinkpad S230u type 3347-2GU that I bought it on 2012. The laptop at the beginning had a little fan's noise and with the time the noise started increasing more and more. I looked on internet the same fan after checking the part number. Then I changed but after that I got errors on the BIOS:
0187: EAIA data access error
2200: Machine Type and Serial number are invalid
2201: Machine UUID is invalid
The laptop after those messages still working fine on Windows 8.1 but with that errors means I won't be able to update the BIOS or use any Thinkpad Utility anymore.
I tried to set the type and serial number with the HMD versions 1.83 and 1.86 using an external USB floppy disk (yes I bought one for this purpose
) but always I got the same warning "EEPROM is write-protected". I tried pressing ESC when the BIOS start but nothing so far. How can I write the EEPROM and solve my problem?
The BIOS version is GDETA6WW (1.66). I forgot to mention that I put it back the old fan but the problem is still there.
Please guys !!! Help me to bring back my laptop to the light. I will reward the forum with a good donation if I can get the solution without buying a new MB.
PS: English is not my first language, sorry for my grammar mistakes.
Have a good one!
Cheers Michel.
The most relevant thing anyone said was this:
hecjav wrote:Invalid machine type, serial number and UUID can be restored by using Winphlash application, which is included in Lenovo Twist Bios Update Utility. The exe file should be found at c:/drivers/flash/(bios update folder) but use it at your own risk, I was able to restore it by this method.
But that was this poster's only post and I don't seem to have the folder he described anyway.
Basically, my Thinkpad no longer knows it's a Thinkpad. Need to fix this. And the mouse issue.
Re: ThinkPad Twist s230u Power Issue
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:04 am
by RealBlackStuff
BIOS and other drivers can be downloaded from here:
http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product ... wist-s230u
Get the
second BIOS (BIOS Update Utility for Windows 10 (64-bit), 8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit), 8 (32-bit, 64-bit), 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) - ThinkPad Twist S230u ).
Also read the
README for BIOS Update Utility file.
If you can still start Windows, run that download.
Agree to Lenovo, then click on
Install. It extracts into
C:\DRIVERS\FLASH\gduj22us
Careful, after extracting you'll get another message "Completing the Thinkpad BIOS...".
Underneath you must UNtick the box before "Install Thinkpad BIOS ...", then click on
Finish.
Your 'wanted' winphlash file (32 or 64 bit) is in there.
What to do next? No idea, I don't have any experience with UEFI BIOS.
But there is a
Reset button on that machine, maybe that could also help?
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/S-Series-T ... 247/page/2
It seems that this problem happens frequently on that model.
I'd call it a Lemon, certainly NOT a Thinkpad...
Re: ThinkPad Twist s230u Power Issue
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:45 pm
by mozartpc27
RealBlackStuff wrote:BIOS and other drivers can be downloaded from here:
http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product ... wist-s230u
Get the
second BIOS (BIOS Update Utility for Windows 10 (64-bit), 8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit), 8 (32-bit, 64-bit), 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) - ThinkPad Twist S230u ).
Also read the
README for BIOS Update Utility file.
If you can still start Windows, run that download.
Agree to Lenovo, then click on
Install. It extracts into
C:\DRIVERS\FLASH\gduj22us
Thanks for this... I found this file last night and tried to run it; wouldn't do it because the file did not recognize the Twist as a "Thinkpad."
This morning I read about someone having a problem with the trackpad, and with that unplugged, the errors I wrote about resolved themselves, so I tried that, and indeed they did. With the computer working as a "Thinkpad" again, I updated the Thinkpad System Utilities software, ran an update of the whole system, and ran the BIOS update. I then reconnected the Trackpad, hit the reset button, and tried again. Now the computer boots normally, even with the trackpad hooked up, but neither the traditional Thinkpad mouse (the red nipple thing) nor the trackpad work still, and neither does the trackpad.
Getting better, but still... hmmmm.
Any ideas?
Re: ThinkPad Twist s230u Power Issue
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 11:32 pm
by jspraker
So I had the same issue with My twist. I read this forum. disconnected the track pad. When I reinstalled the trackpad I noticed one of the ribbon connectors pins was slightly damaged and not making contact. I was able to repair and now Boot is normal and track pad works great.
Re: ThinkPad Twist s230u Power Issue
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 12:17 pm
by bbrecht1
I have a Lenovo Twist S230u Laptop which was running fine and was mothballed for 6 months. When I pushed the power button, nothing happens. The green charge light is on but nothing happens when power is turned on. I have hit the reset button on bottom as I have read. I also opened it up, removed the battery, held the power button for 20 seconds, reinstalled the battery, attached the power cord and nothing. Any help would be highly appreciated.