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I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T410 which I left outdoors overnight after a BBQ... No rain but likely some humidity.
Symptoms? - Initially, screen remains black, nothing happens upon pressing power button. However, computer is still alive since power button is shining
- After Unplugging/reconnecting the CMOS battery cable: machine booting, showing following two errors after some time:
0271 Date and time error—Neither the date nor the time is set in the computer. [Solution in the manual]: Run BIOS Setup Utility to reset the time and date.
0251 System CMOS checksum bad— Default configuration used. [Solution in the manual]: 1. Charge the backup battery for more than 8 hours by connecting the ac adapter.
- Replace the backup battery and run BIOS Setup Utility to reset the time and date.
I tried -
- Removing The backup battery (CMOS)
- Replacing the backup battery (CMOS) - I bought a new one
- Battery, only running on DC-power
- HDD
- RAM x2
- DVD-drive
- Power button discharge as suggested on various sites to discharge (or whatever) the power; To press the power button 10 times followed by pressing it for 30 sec...
I tried to reset the time in the BIOS, however, I'm unable to navigate with the keys> nothing happens when I try going up and down between the options with the keyboard - I tried pressing many keys simultaneously, and I do get the familiar beep when you press a lot of keys randomly, so the keyboard is working fine. Then I noticed incidentally that the screen light goes up and down if I press the keys changing this, meaning it's like the Fn (function) key is constantly pressed. So I also tried cleaning the keyboard and removing the CTRL and Fn/key but this didn't help either.
PLS READ CAREFULLY and advice.
Many thanks! Regards, Dennis
alkemisten4
Posted 2016-07-03T15:59:04.230
Reputation: 21
1Maybe try with a USB keyboard, if possible. You can also disconnect the built-in laptop keyboard (easy on Thinkpads). My guess is that dampness got into the keyboard, resulting in certain keys being "stuck", and most laptops will refuse to boot or accept keypresses when some keys are stuck. Try leaving it in a warm, dry place for a few days to dry out. – JonasCz - Reinstate Monica – 2016-07-03T16:37:20.630
Thanks Jonas! However, I've left more than 2 weeks of time (in hot summer weather) to dry, so I don't think that's the issue. I'll try bring an external keyboard and try, but I very much doubt it'll solve the issue. – alkemisten4 – 2016-07-04T21:57:31.937
I'll probably just try and detach the CPU/GPU, apply some additional thermal paste, and reattach it again to see if that does it. If not, ill simply remove almost every single part including the mother board, and re attach it. Sometimes this seems to work for unknown reasons. – alkemisten4 – 2016-07-04T21:58:38.287
1I'd definitely try to detach the built in keyboard in the laptop first, before taking the whole thing apart, and then try with a USB keyboard. – JonasCz - Reinstate Monica – 2016-07-05T06:58:47.243
I've not understood if you tried the 10 times power button press and whether it worked. I had a similar problem on a X240. – Nemo – 2018-08-05T09:29:08.737