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Lenovo t480 will not power up...power button blinks 3 times when power


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#1
geno368

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All of a sudden my laptop running Win 10 home(8 gb ram) will not power up.  When I first plug in the charging cord the power button blinks 3 times and never turns the unit on.It was working 3 weeks ago but was not charged up.  I removed the battery and power cord and held the button down for 90 seconds...same results....

What should my next troubleshooting steps be?

Thanks in advance for any help...


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#2
phillpower2

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Try removing the RAM and giving the gold finger a gentle clean and then pop it back in.

 

It can be fiddly to do but you could also disconnect the CMOS battery for a while and then reconnect it after you have cleaned the RAM, you should press and hold in the case power button for twenty seconds or so both before and while the CMOS battery is disconnected,


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#3
geno368

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Thanks for the reply...I will try it and advise outcome


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#4
phillpower2

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:thumbsup:


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#5
geno368

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Completed both tasks and re-installed battery, power cord.....laptop is non-responsive....except for the power button led blinking 3 times when cord is plugged in...


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#6
phillpower2

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Not good  :(

 

If left do the LEDs continue blinking

 

Likewise, if you remove the main power brick and use the AC adaptor do you the get the same LED behaviour.


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#7
geno368

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after the initial 3 blinks, nothing....do you mean unhook the internal battery? and then try power cord?

I did that and had the same result


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#8
SleepyDude

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Hi,

 

Try the reset hole suggested here https://forum.thinkp...ic.php?t=135234


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#9
geno368

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Thanks, Dude....tried it 3 times...still dead....what does the 3 blinks mean?


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#10
phillpower2

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do you mean unhook the internal battery? and then try power cord?

 

 

No on the battery, yes to the AC adaptor power cord.

 

All that the three blinks of the LEDs means is that the notebook is connected to the power, nothing diagnostic related.

 

Remove the main power brick, not the CMOS battery, connect the AC adaptor and press the power on button, any change in the behaviour.


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#11
geno368

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The only change I see now is the top left section of the keyboard briefly lights up every time I push the power button.  Internal battery unplugged, memory out and cmos in


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#12
phillpower2

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At the risk of sounding pedantic your main power brick is an external battery and the CMOS is an internal battery, important to be precise so as to avoid accidents.

 

 

Not sure who suggested taking the memory out but it isn't helping any I`m afraid.


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#13
geno368

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sorry, I had the internal and external battery backwards.....I followed your suggestion....same results...(memory in)


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#14
phillpower2

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If the behaviour is the exact same with the main power brick out and likewise with the RAM both in and out the only thing that you can do is take the notebook to someone that will have a compatible charger.

 

Bad RAM can stop a computer from powering up but when you remove the bad RAM from the MB the computer will try to power up but POST will fail when the BIOS detects that there is no RAM in the DIMMs, the fact that your internal cooling fan does not spin up when there is no RAM in the notebook means that the issue lays elsewhere, bad AC adaptor and a flaky power button or board are a couple of possible culprits.

 

Is the present AC adaptor the original.


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#15
geno368

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yes, it is just a type c usb power cable and I have tried 2 different ones.  It is a used pc and I guess that is the OE cable setup...


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