Laptop won't power on without static discharge

[o o san]

I've got a Lenovo X1 Yoga that won't power on unless I do a static discharge. That means opening up the back, disconnecting the battery and BIOS battery, holding the power and reset buttons for 30 seconds, and then reconnecting everything and powering up. When I do power up, I get a message that says "0271 - check date & time settings. Press esc to continue or F1 for settings".

Does anyone know why it won't boot up without a static discharge?

 

[Bill_Bright]

FTR, that is not a "static" discharge. A static discharge is just that - a discharging of static electricity.

What you are doing is a full "cold" reboot - where all power, including any standby power, is removed at shutdown before the boot process is initiated again.

I recommend you replace the CMOS battery. Remove all power, touch bare metal of the case interior to discharge any static in your body, then replace the battery and boot directly into the BIOS Setup Menu. Set date and time, Save and Exit to [hopefully] boot normally.

 

[o o san]

Here's my followup:

I replaced the CMOS battery with a brand new one and have the same problem.

Could it be the PSU? I don't see why that would be the problem as the laptop stays powered on with battery power only if unplugged.
Could it be an overheating issue? The fan does kick in every so often, so I don't suppose that's it. Perhaps it doesn't kick in enough?
The RAM has never been adjusted or changed on this laptop since I bought it, so I doubt it's that either.

Any suggestions here? I am really stumped!

 

[R-T-B]

Maybe the primary battery?

 

[Solaris17]

Maybe the primary battery?

Agree. See if you can replicate this with the battery removed (not cmos)

 

[Ferrum Master]

The dedicated reset button doesn't work? It is tied to a watchdog...

 

[o o san]

Maybe the primary battery?

Thanks for your suggestion.

I can cold boot the laptop without pressing and holding the reset button. However, I MUST unplug the laptop, disconnect BOTH the CMOS and main battery, reconnect them, and plug the laptop back in to then power on. If I only disconnect the main battery, I still can't power on (which is the case regardless of whether the old or new CMOS batteries are connected).

It really seems to me like there's some static build up each time, or maybe a faulty capacitor?

I guess I'll try connecting a new main battery to see if that works, though I doubt it because the current battery can provide power for 2 hours when the computer is running. I also really don't want to buy a new main battery if it seems unlikely to be the problem.

Agree. See if you can replicate this with the battery removed (not cmos)

Thanks for the suggestion.

I tried this and it didn't work. Please see my response to R-T-B. Any other suggestions?

 

[R-T-B]

Thanks for your suggestion.

I can cold boot the laptop without pressing and holding the reset button. However, I MUST unplug the laptop, disconnect BOTH the CMOS and main battery, reconnect them, and plug the laptop back in to then power on. If I only disconnect the main battery, I still can't power on (which is the case regardless of whether the old or new CMOS batteries are connected).

It really seems to me like there's some static build up each time, or maybe a faulty capacitor?

I guess I'll try connecting a new main battery to see if that works, though I doubt it because the current battery can provide power for 2 hours when the computer is running. I also really don't want to buy a new main battery if it seems unlikely to be the problem.


Thanks for the suggestion.

I tried this and it didn't work. Please see my response to R-T-B. Any other suggestions?

The fact that it runs off the battery makes me question if the main battery is the culprit at all, sadly. Back to the drawing board, I guess?

 

[o o san]

The dedicated reset button doesn't work? It is tied to a watchdog...

If you mean the one that can only be accessed with a paperclip, I can confirm that it does work. Pressing it does reset bios settings.

The fact that it runs off the battery makes me question if the main battery is the culprit at all, sadly. Back to the drawing board, I guess?

Yes, back to square one. This is quite the puzzle. Thank you for your help with it.

 

[Ferrum Master]

1. If the battery is half-dead and somehow enters shipping/protection mode. You can toggle it in some BIOS also, it will cut off the BMS. It wakes up if the charger is plugged.
2. So if the reset works. Why you need to take apart the laptop? RESET button restarts the on board firmware hub IC, let it be Nuvoton, ITE etc... it has a watchdog, that works independetly to wake up the system after lock ups.
3. Try to force reflash the BIOS. It sometimes gets corrupted.
4. RMA the device for factory diagnostics.

 

[o o san]

1. If the battery is half-dead and somehow enters shipping/protection mode. You can toggle it in some BIOS also, it will cut off the BMS. It wakes up if the charger is plugged.
2. So if the reset works. Why you need to take apart the laptop? RESET button restarts the on board firmware hub IC, let it be Nuvoton, ITE etc... it has a watchdog, that works independetly to wake up the system after lock ups.
3. Try to force reflash the BIOS. It sometimes gets corrupted.
4. RMA the device for factory diagnostics.

1. I will check out if it's in BMS mode. But I doubt that is the problem because it can run for 2 hours without the power cable being plugged in. The problem is it won't power on unless batteries are disconnected and reconnected.
2. Since my original post, I've learned that bios doesn't seem to be the issue here. If I power off the computer, it won't power on unless I disconnect and reconnect the batteries (both main and CMOS). I've noticed that I don't need to reset bios each time. I need to open the laptop to disconnect and reconnect the batteries in order to power on.
3. Reflashing the BIOS is an option. I might try this after exhausting all other battery issues as I don't want to create a new problem. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
4. Unfortunately the warranty is expired.

Thanks so much for your suggestions!