Lenovo ThinkPad T430s Troubleshooting

Your ThinkPad won’t respond to commands to turn on.

If your ThinkPad won’t power on, its battery may simply need to be re-charged. Plug your ThinkPad into a functioning outlet and press the power button to see if your ThinkPad powers on.

Plug the AC adapter into your ThinkPad, and connect your adapter to a functioning outlet. Turn on your ThinkPad. Then, unplug your ThinkPad from your adapter. If the ThinkPad abruptly shuts off after you unplug it and only works when plugged into a power source, the battery is dead and must be replaced.

Unplug the adapter from your ThinkPad. Look for physical damage such as exposed wires, frayed wires, or broken pins at the ends of the cord. If you find signs of damage, the AC adapter may not be allowing your ThinkPad to charge and must be replaced.

Over time, a buildup of electrical charge can prevent your ThinkPad from powering on. To clear residual charge, remove the battery from your ThinkPad using these steps. Once you’ve removed the battery, unplug the AC adapter from your ThinkPad. Press down the power button and hold it for 30 seconds. Re-insert the battery. Plug the AC adapter into your ThinkPad, and connect the adapter to a functioning outlet. Press the power button to turn on your ThinkPad.

Your ThinkPad won’t respond to commands to bring it out of low power mode.

If your device won’t wake up from sleep mode, you may need to update your power management driver. To check for updates, open the Windows search bar and search device manager > system devices > Microsoft ACPI - compliant system > driver tab > update driver.

If your power management is set to maximum power savings, this could lengthen the time it takes for your ThinkPad to exit sleep mode. Changing your power management settings can shorten the time it takes your ThinkPad to come out of sleep mode. Open link state power management, and select moderate power savings to shorten the time it takes for your ThinkPad to wake up.

Your ThinkPad won’t charge its battery.

Plug the AC adapter into your ThinkPad, and connect your adapter to a functioning outlet. Turn on your ThinkPad. Then, unplug your ThinkPad from your adapter. If the ThinkPad abruptly shuts off after you unplug it and only works when plugged into a power source, the battery is dead and must be replaced.

If your AC adapter is damaged, this could prevent your ThinkPad from charging correctly. Unplug the adapter from your ThinkPad and any power source. Inspect the adapter for physical damage such as exposed wires, frayed wires, or broken pins at the end of the cord. If you find signs of physical damage, the AC adapter is likely the reason why your ThinkPad is not charging.

Your ThinkPad’s fan runs loudly during simple tasks and is warm to the touch.

If your ThinkPad’s fan makes loud noises even when you’re completing simple tasks, it may need to be cleaned along with the heat sink. Watch this video to learn how to remove and clean your fan and heat sink.

An application that requires a high CPU percentage can cause your device to overheat. To check your CPU usage, open the task manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc and selecting processes > CPU usage. Hover over tasks to view CPU percentage and right-click to end those with a high percentage.

If your ThinkPad overheats and you haven’t applied thermal paste in a while, the problem might be solved by removing the old paste residue and applying a new coat. Watch this video to learn how to apply thermal paste to your ThinkPad’s CPU.

Your ThinkPad freezes, and your screen turns blue. Windows displays a message notifying you that the system crashed and gives you an error code to explain why.

If the BSOD occurred after you installed an update, the new update may be at fault. To determine this, try uninstalling the update. To do this, first enter Windows safe mode by opening the search bar, and search settings > troubleshoot > advanced options > startup settings > restart. After restarting, you’ll be asked to select from several safe mode options. Select 5 or F5 to enter safe mode with networking.

Once in Windows safe mode, search control panel > programs > uninstall a program > view installed updates > installed on. Once you find the update, select uninstall.

If the BSOD occurred after you installed a new driver, try rolling back the driver to see if the problem resolves. To roll back a newly installed driver, open the Windows search bar and search device manager control panel. Open the panel, right-click the driver you installed, and open properties > driver tab > roll back driver.

If your ThinkPad will not allow you to roll back the driver, or if the BSOD persists, try completely uninstalling the driver. Do this by opening the device manager control panel and selecting driver > properties > driver tab > uninstall.

Faulty external hardware such as hard drives or docks could cause the BSOD. Unplug any external hardware and restart your ThinkPad. If the BSOD doesn’t occur again, the external hardware was most likely at fault.

Some third-party antivirus software can cause the BSOD. Try removing the software to see if it causes the issue.

To uninstall antivirus software, enter Windows safe mode. In the Windows search bar, search settings > troubleshoot > advanced options > startup settings > restart. After restarting, you’ll be asked to select from several safe mode options. Select 5 or F5 to enter safe mode with networking.

Once in Windows safe mode, click start. To find the software you want to uninstall, search settings > system > apps & features and search for the software by name or installation date. Once you find the software, select uninstall. Then, restart your ThinkPad. If the problem resolves, the third-party software is at fault.

Two errors that commonly cause the BSOD in older Lenovo ThinkPad T430s are the Stop 0x101 and Stop 0x124. If your problem is not resolved after following the above steps, the motherboard may need to be replaced. Watch this video to learn how to replace the motherboard for the Lenovo T430.