Thinkpads Forum

When I press the power button the function keys light up momentarily, then immediately turn off. A few seconds later they come on and go off again. The cycle repeats continuously. Nothing ever appears on the screen. The only way to shut it down is to use the reset hole on the back. Help please. Thanks!

Try re-plugging the CMOS battery. You can find the hardware manuals at the top of this site by clicking the "HMM" link. If that does not work, I would then individually test each stick of RAM in the system.

brchan wrote:Try re-plugging the CMOS battery. You can find the hardware manuals at the top of this site by clicking the "HMM" link. If that does not work, I would then individually test each stick of RAM in the system.

According to the manual, removal of the CMOS battery is pretty tricky. Also, I don't see anything about removal of internal RAM. I'm not sure it even has removable ram. I better make sure this unit is not still under warranty before I dig into it.

The X1 actually has only one DIMM slot, which is accessible after removing the keyboard. If you have another laptop that uses the same type of ram, you could test it in the other unit.

You can also try booting the laptop without non-essential hardware attached, such as touchpad, HDD, and network card. Sometimes you will find that the unit works again.

there is something about this issue scratching at my memory but I can't put my finger on it just now..
i'll come back if I remember what it is..

which model X1 is exhibiting this cycle of boot and reboot..?

what condition is it in.. good and clean or road weary..?

opening up an X1 IS a bit of a PITA when compared to other earlier thinkpads but once inside its all there to see..
I have not fiddled with the memory on mine so i'm not sure where it is mounted..

and welcome to the forum..

What is the model and type from the bottom label?

From your trouble description it sounds like an X1 Carbon Gen 2.

The CMOS battery on this model is on the underside of the motherboard which means dismantling much of the ThinkPad.

Brad

BillMorrow wrote:there is something about this issue scratching at my memory but I can't put my finger on it just now..
i'll come back if I remember what it is..

which model X1 is exhibiting this cycle of boot and reboot..?

what condition is it in.. good and clean or road weary..?

opening up an X1 IS a bit of a PITA when compared to other earlier thinkpads but once inside its all there to see..
I have not fiddled with the memory on mine so i'm not sure where it is mounted..

and welcome to the forum..

I don't know what "model" my Carbon X1 is but it's a "Type 20A7". It's in excellent physical condition. But it's trash by design. Lenovo will make more repairing it than they did selling it new. Maybe that's the plan.

Hopefully your ThinkPad is still under warranty.

Brad