ThinkPad E15 Gen 3 AMD Slow POST Problem

[iammidnight233]

For a couple of months my ThinkPad E15 Gen 3 AMD (w/5800U & soldered 8G & 1x so-dimm ddr4) seems to work really fine like before, expect for one fact that it use over 30 seconds to launch my bootloader (systemd-boot menu of Arch Linux, if that matters). The strange thing is that it's NOT the case where the Lenovo logo appears a long time after pressing the power button. Instead it IS the case that the logo itself instantly shows up after powering on, and (after prompting for boot interruption) it just stays there for a LONG time before bootloader kicks in.

Other details:

1. If I interrupt the boot immediately after powering on (press Enter), the interrupt menu pops up immediately too, if I select a boot device, "the daze" happens afterwards.

2. But if I wait for at least 2 seconds, "the daze" happens before the interrupt menu pops up.

3. `systemd-analyze` shows `Startup finished in 30.838s (firmware) + 3.064s (loader) + 1.251s (kernel) + 4.562s (userspace) = 39.716s  graphical.target reached after 4.562s in userspace.`

Hardware I modified:

1. Upgraded the RAM (from 8G soldered + 8G so-dimm to 8G soldered + 32G so-dimm, DDR4-2400)

2. Once I installed another NVMe to the spare slot, but soon for reasons I removed it. (It mostly happens before the problem appears.)

Things I tried:

1. Updating to the December firmware (just did that, nothing changes)

2. Resetting the firmware settings (no effect)

3. Tweaking the boot order (set NVMe or Linux to top, no changes) (problem persists even when I boot with a thumbdrive)

4. Installing other OSes such as Windows (no effect)

5. Disabling every security & integrity related settings in FW (no effect)

6. Disabling AMD-V and memory protection (no effect)

[TimedPing]

Go to BIOS (firmware settings), select remove internal battery (I believe its in advanced option), and go press "emergency reset button" in the back of your thinkpad for 8-15 seconds (press it using a SIM Card remover pin or paper clip):

Spoiler

(IMAGE FOR ILLUSTRATION ONLY - YOUR MODEL MAY HAVE DIFFERENT POSITION - CONSULT YOUR SPECIFIC MODEL MAINTENANCE MANUAL)

This will reset the Embedded Controller (EC), and you can plug your AC adapter, then turn on the laptop. Wish this help!

[iammidnight233]

4 hours ago, TimedPing said:

Go to BIOS (firmware settings), select remove internal battery (I believe its in advanced option), and go press "emergency reset button" in the back of your thinkpad for 8-15 seconds (press it using a SIM Card remover pin or paper clip):

  Reveal hidden contents

(IMAGE FOR ILLUSTRATION ONLY - YOUR MODEL MAY HAVE DIFFERENT POSITION - CONSULT YOUR SPECIFIC MODEL MAINTENANCE MANUAL)

This will reset the Embedded Controller (EC), and you can plug your AC adapter, then turn on the laptop. Wish this help!

Thanks for your advice. I'm afraid that my model does not come with such a button. I consulted the manual and it says "pressing the power button for 7 seconds with ac unplugged". But sadly it doesn't work either. (It didn't work when I disabled the battery in firmware settings too.)

 

I think my final struggle on this "reset" thing is to drain the battery with whatever method I come up with and see what happens next.

[TimedPing]

6 minutes ago, iammidnight233 said:

Thanks for your advice. I'm afraid that my model does not come with such a button. I consulted the manual and it says "pressing the power button for 7 seconds with ac unplugged". But sadly it doesn't work either. (It didn't work when I disabled the battery in firmware settings too.)

 

I think my final struggle on this "reset" thing is to drain the battery with whatever method I come up with and see what happens next.

since its a thinkpad, just open the bottom cover and remove the internal battery, dont worry too much about bricking the wardware while taking it appart. Also dont forget to remove the RTC (CMOS) battery, and wait for 24hr if you can, and, with neither battery attached, plug it in to AC adapter and see what happen.

[iammidnight233]

20 hours ago, TimedPing said:

since its a thinkpad, just open the bottom cover and remove the internal battery, dont worry too much about bricking the wardware while taking it appart. Also dont forget to remove the RTC (CMOS) battery, and wait for 24hr if you can, and, with neither battery attached, plug it in to AC adapter and see what happen.

Tried that also, no success. I think I would just reach out to Lenovo for help (repairing) later. Anyways, thanks for your advice!