Lenovo Thinkpad T520 - Some keyboard keys (b, n, space) and Power button are not working

saltysoso

Prominent
Jan 23, 2018
6
0
510
So a few months ago I moved out and I forgot my laptop in sleep mode for a few days. When I tried to open it, I couldn't succeed. I put the charger in, kept pressing the Power button, nothing happened.

Eventually, I managed to boot it by removing the battery and the charger, remove the CMOS battery, leave it for 20 seconds, put it back in and when I would put the charger in, it would boot automatically without me pressing any button. But another issue occurred: some keys weren't working. To be more specific: b, n, space, ?, 3/4 arrow keys and a few other. Also the touchpad is malfunctioning.

What I later realized was that the Power button is not working either. So any troubleshoot steps regarding my broken keyboard in which I had to press the power button a few times or hold it pressed in order to discharge would not work.

The things I tried so far:

- remove keyboard, reattach it;
- remove the CMOS battery, put it back and boot;
- remove the CMOS battery and boot without it;
- try to boot without battery;
- try to boot without charger;
- reset BIOS settings;

Right now I'm using an USB keyboard. The keyboard is not a big issue, I can keep using the USB keyboard, but the Power button is not working. So every time my laptop gets shut down, or maybe its power gets cut off, I have to remove the CMOS battery in order to reboot it.

I know the worst (most expensive) scenario here would be to replace the keyboard entirely. But until then, I want to know if anyone had similar issues and if any of you had a different solution to this problem/a similar problem.
 

N3rdR4ge

Estimable
Jun 16, 2014
125
0
4,710
You sure no one borrowed your machine and spilled something on it? That's what it sounds like. From what you described, that's a hardware issue and you need to get the power button board and kb replaced.
 

saltysoso

Prominent
Jan 23, 2018
6
0
510


As I said above, I was looking to cover all possibilities that I might not have tried, before buying a keyboard. No, no one borrowed my laptop and I didn't spill anything on it.
 

rgd1101

Don't
Moderator
MERGED QUESTION
Question from saltysoso : "Lenovo Thinkpad T520 - Some keyboard keys (b, n, space) and Power button are not working"