Thinkpad T520 4242Y11 bricked in BIOS-Bootloop

Discussion in 'BIOS Mods' started by ArthurDaley, Dec 20, 2015.

  1. ArthurDaley

    ArthurDaley MDL Novice

    Dec 20, 2015
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    #1 ArthurDaley, Dec 20, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2015
    Hi guys,

    thanks for helping on the following problem:

    - noticed after 4 years of use, that suddenly my NumLock key was turned off when in docking station, which was different before.
    - went into BIOS to correct the setting for NumLock
    - did so, saved BIOS settings, rebooted and since then the device is bricked.
    - on every boot this happens:
    https ://w ww.yout ube.com/watch?v=W4I40moHMsE - before opening BIOS the message "configuration changed - please restard the system" appears before rebooting, BIOS is no longer accessible
    - no chance of getting into the BIOS or booting from any device.

    What did I try?

    - hardreset by removing battery and pressing Power On 10 times.
    - dismantling of all frus I could get to
    - tried booting from CD, Stick etc

    But no chance, it always only boots to the message in the video and restarts in an endless loop.

    Any ideas on that?
    Cheers from Germany,
    Arthur
     
  2. SOCRATE_MMXII

    SOCRATE_MMXII MDL Expert

    Jan 25, 2012
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    To reset your BIOS:
    1. remove your battery
    2. remove any AC adapters
    3. hold the power button for 1 minute
    4. install battery and AC adapter


      Another way is to unplug your CMOS battery... (a lot more work involved)
     
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  3. ArthurDaley

    ArthurDaley MDL Novice

    Dec 20, 2015
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    Tried both already...
     
  4. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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    #4 LatinMcG, Dec 22, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2015
    try 1 ram stick at time.

    my friend has a T420 .. doubt its any use to us but sounds like you need to do bios recovery procedures
     
  5. bpwnes

    bpwnes MDL Member

    Aug 11, 2015
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    I suggest flashing the BIOS if you can. Download the CD version of the BIOS update from the driver page on Lenovo's website and follow the instructions to make the CD. I suggest removing the HDD and anything else it could boot to so that it has no choice but to boot to the optical drive. Flash it then go into BIOS and load defaults. Hopefully this will fix whatever corruption happened.
     
  6. ArthurDaley

    ArthurDaley MDL Novice

    Dec 20, 2015
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    This doesnt work as it does not boot regularly. Guess I need to use that FN-B key to recover my bios from a recovery stick.

    Only problem is that I cant find the appropriate BIOS.WPH file for my T520 with core i5 2520 and IBM HD 3000 gpu...

    When I download my bios update exe from Lenovo.com there is no fl1 or fl2 or bios.wph file in it when opened with 7zip

    Any ideas on that?
     
  7. bpwnes

    bpwnes MDL Member

    Aug 11, 2015
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    I don't think I've had to do a BIOS recovery of a ThinkPad before. I've done numerous other brands before with success... Seeing as how yours isn't completely bricked, I was hoping by using the BIOS update CD (for the T520 it should be 8auj26us.iso) you could maybe force it to boot to it somehow by not having any other bootable devices connected. If you can't get it to do that, then there is probably some way of doing it but I haven't looked into it enough.

    WPH files are only for Phoenix BIOSes and their utility WinPhlash, and that is a terrible program that has bricked many devices throughout history. I advise caution if you do have a Phoenix BIOS and end up having to use it.

    You can try clearing CMOS before you attempt to boot to the CD and see if that helps.