Arch Linux

Qwart

Member

Registered: 2021-03-23

Posts: 32

Can BIOS in basic mode brick the laptop?

I've turned off some stuff in BIOS of my Thinkpad T420s and it suddenly stopped working. 1-3-3-1 beeps, laptop doesn't turn off after that and just sits there with screen off, didn't touched anything besides turning off simple things like microphone, camera, and other things in I/O (it worked with everything turned off there before).

Before that (same day), I needed to reinstall the GRUB after resetting bios to default. Dunno if those things could lead to a brick, but I still have warranty on that so I'm asking here just in case

ugjka

Member

From: Latvia

Registered: 2014-04-01

Posts: 1,957

Website

Re: Can BIOS in basic mode brick the laptop?

Look up the servicing manual for that laptop and see if there are instructions on how to reset the cmos. If it involves taking it apart, then you'll probably void the warranty

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https://ugjka.net

euromatlox

Member

Registered: 2017-02-10

Posts: 149

Re: Can BIOS in basic mode brick the laptop?

I'm not sure what is allowed without voiding warranty, but if laptop does not turn off, I would first uninstall the battery, and reinstall it (after a cup of coffee).
There's probably also CMOS battery inside the case, but opening the case could easily void warranty (check with manufacturer / seller), and that's a kind of last effort anyway.

Check manual which button(s) to use to enter BIOS settings (I suppose you know already).

Last edited by euromatlox (2021-08-16 19:41:07)

MrToddarama

Member

Registered: 2020-08-01

Posts: 3

Re: Can BIOS in basic mode brick the laptop?

If you check this page https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Error_Co … Beep_Codes the code seems to point to loose or damaged RAM. You might want to open the back cover and make sure RAM is seated properly.

Qwart

Member

Registered: 2021-03-23

Posts: 32

Re: Can BIOS in basic mode brick the laptop?

If you check this page https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Error_Co … Beep_Codes the code seems to point to loose or damaged RAM. You might want to open the back cover and make sure RAM is seated properly.

I can't open the laptop without loosing the warranty. The 1-3-3-1 is a confusing one since it also appears when there is something with trackpad, and it appeared on reboot after making some changes to basic bios (not advanced one)

d_fajardo

Member

Registered: 2017-07-28

Posts: 1,687

Re: Can BIOS in basic mode brick the laptop?

The Manual does say it's a problem with DIMM. The DIMM could have been unseated or need replacement. You can run memtest86+ to check it.

I can't open the laptop without loosing the warranty.

Thinkpads are very modular and not difficult to replace parts but if you're worried about the warranty, just claim it then and refer to the beep errors when submitting.