Lenovo T495 Assistance Request - Dec 4, 2023 - SUCCESS!!

[bob4432]

Picked up a Lenovo T495 laptop w/ a 512GB NVME drive in it. I needed a larger drive so I acquired a WD Blue SN570 1TB unit. Before the swap I went into the BIOS and turned off the internal battery (only battery). I swapped out the drive with no issues. After re-assembly, I plugged it in to AC and the LED by the power plug did not illuminate and the laptop will not turn on. I have done the push in "emergency" switch with a paperclip with no luck. FWIW I have been building computers since 1995 and have been using Lenovo since the IBM T42 days and am upgrading from a T440s (which I upgraded hdd/ram with no issues), with never an issue with any of my builds/upgrades until now.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as to why this machine will not turn on.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I would pull off the bottom cover, unplug the built in battery and cmos, plug in to ac and try again

also, if there's a expansion DIMM, pull that off as well.

When in doubt, minimum config, that includes unplugging the drive just installed if needed.

 

[bob4432]

Disconnected/Removed all that could be and same issue. It feels like there is a switch turned off 😠. Put it back to stock and still same issue too 🤔.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Well that doesn’t sound good!

 

[bob4432]

I hear that 😠!

 

[bob4432]

Any fuses that I could replace? I haven't taken the boards out of the chassis so am not familiar with the top sides

 

[ch33zw1z]

Any fuses that I could replace? I haven't taken the boards out of the chassis so am not familiar with the top sides

you can always check. I know I mentioned it earlier, but anything that laptop doesn't need to complete POST. I've had several laptop repairs where the "IT" department insisted that it was dead. unplugged everything, pulled the expansion dimm....and behold POST completed. Simple dimm replacement up and running.

 

[bob4432]

I have done that and no POST, not even the power LED illuminates. Full motherboard removal in the coming days...

 

[ch33zw1z]

I have done that and no POST, not even the power LED illuminates. Full motherboard removal in the coming days...

new models are ez pz tho, it's like a 15 minute hardware replacement. setting the damn vpd takes longer I like Lenovo for their support site. the HMM can be found easily, I'm sure you know!

 

[bob4432]

I have removed the removable dimm & NVMe ssd and still no post. There is a small LED next to the power USB-C socket that should illuminate when power is applied and even that does not work.

I acquired another machine, put in a different NVMe ssd and the same dimm and it runs excellent, but I would still like to get this first one running to either give to my wife or if she doesn't want it, sell it to recoup some $$.

I put the original NVMe ssd in an enclosure and use it as a external backup drive and it works excellent.

I am using the same psu on the 2nd machine and it works perfectly, no issues on the 2nd machine.

I do appreciate your suggestions, they have been helpful 🙂.

 

[C1]

If you're going to proceed with trouble shooting the 495, then carefully check the MB for any solder joint breaks/cracks, particularly in vicinity of the power connector & supply areas.

Suspicious is failure of unit after doing a change of conventional parts known to work. A remote possibility is that the laptop was previously worked on & someone didnt use the correct screws or replacements, particularly those involving the parts you changed out.

Always be reminded that with laptops, putting in an incorrect screw (eg, swapping two screws of slightly different lengths) can take out a MB !

That's why when Im involved with buying something used, I look carefully for deformations or silvering of exposed screws as telltale that the unit has been previously messed with.

Good luck

PS: Disassembly of some units easily can involve 40 or more screws ! So when I have to dis-assemble a lappy, I take photos at each layer, print them out full (1:1) size & mount them on foam board. As the unit is disassembled, I push removed screws into the corresponding screw hole in the photo (then held nicely in place by the underlying foam board) to ensure correct re-assembly screw placement.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Yes, always use insulated tools not just for safety but to look and feel like a professional. Always have s magnetic screw tray to hold your screws. A camera of 40mega pixels is required for photo evidence of your work. When done with all this nonsense, head over to the thinkpads forum. That is where the thinkpad experts are.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Did a new part sort this out?

 

[bob4432]

Thanks for asking.

Not yet. I ended up finding a different one for a steal of a price that needed a battery, SSD & ram module, so I picked it up. Once the battery gets here I will put the battery in the newer laptop and try the older battery in the older laptop. The battery should be here in about a week with holidays and all.

If that does not solve the issue I really don't know where else to go. I have seen ram sticks fail in memtest, an old agp video card fail but still output a rainbow of colors, but again, this is a binary situation.

FWIW, I used the same RAM module but used a different SSD (this time went with a Samsung 980 and it works excellent) and
used the original SSD (WD SN570) in an enclosure and use it as a portable drive.

Guess this rules out the ram stick and SSD being the culprit.

 

[bob4432]

Found the issue 🙂! "DEAD" laptop is running again!

Turns out it was the PSU adapters I was using. Being as I have had Lenovo laptops for such a long time, I have quite a few Lenovo 65 & 135W PSUs, just with the wrong connector. I went on Amazon and found the PSU adapter from the rectangle one my T440s uses to a USB-C unit needed for the T495. I had been using the adapter but it was really loose, but it worked, or worked good enough to power & charge the laptop but apparently not a 100% always fully connected connection. As a last ditch effort I ordered a Lenovo 65W PSU with the correct USB-C connector on it. I plugged it in to the dead laptop and the LED next to the PWR USB-C connector illuminated, and the PWR button LED illuminated, so I held the PWR button down and after about 10sec the laptop started its startup 🙂🙂! Looks like the wife gets an upgrade from her T440s now too! Lesson learned, especially since the used Lenovo 65W USB-C PSUs are less than $20 vs the $10 adapter.

Thanks for all the assistance with this troubleshooting endeavor!

Here is a link to the adapters I used so maybe this can save somebody the headaches and frustration I dealt with for nearly 2mos (I have 2 of the USB-C adapters and both are very loose):

https://www.amazon.com/GINTOOYUN-Charging-Charger-Adapter-Rechargeables/dp/B0C6XYZZ19/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=GINTOOYUN+PD65W+Lenovo+Square+Mouth&qid=1701720445&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

 

[ch33zw1z]

Hate it when that happens