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| Diagnosing power button issue without disassembly on some Thinkpads | |
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This guide should apply to all Thinkpad laptops using the "CS09" standard docking port. (For example T410,T430,W510,W530,X230)
This guide has been tested on Thinkpad T520, and X230.
This guide tells you how to turn on one of these laptops, if the power button doesn't work, without disassembling them.
This will help with quick diagnosis, and it can rule out other issues, such as motherboard faults.
Diagnostic steps
1. Plug in the charger. Immediately as the charger is plugged in, the battery led must blink 3 times, independent of the status of the battery. If the led doesn't blink, it suggests there is a more complex issue with the motherboard, or with the charger, so in that case stop here. 2. Press the power button. If you notice any kind of reaction to the power button being pressed (any leds lighting, any fans turning on, etc...), then your power button is okay, and this guide doesn't apply to you, stop here. 3. If you have a compatible docking station, connect it to the laptop, and try to use the power button on the docking station to turn it on. If it turns on successfully, then you have a power button/keyboard issue. 4. If you don't have a compatible docking station, then you can still simulate a power button press by shorting some pins on the docking connector:
a. Check the docking port on the bottom. If it doesn't look exactly like the docking port in Figure TODO, then STOP NOW, this guide does not apply to you. b. Use a small flat-head screw driver, and insert it into the EXACT position shown on Figure TODO. Start the motion by first pushing down the protective plastic of the docking connector, until it bottoms out, and then sliding the screwdriver towards the wall on which the actual pins are, to short those pins. c. Check if the laptop turned on. If it did, then you have a power button/keyboard issue.