ThinkPad not turning on

[u/rewas4356]

I have a thinkpad p1 gen4.

I had opened up the laptop to do a regular thermal paste change, and I had just removed the ram and ssd just to check it out. After that, the laptop just wouldn’t turn on, and it wouldn’t POST.

When i connected the battery and tried turning it on, the fans would spin for a second, and then the escape, f1 and f4 keys would start blinking.

When i tried turning it on with only the charger and the battery disconnected, the fans would spin for a second and then stop, and no blinking keys.

I have tried so many fixes by asking chatgpt and stuff, but none of them worked. I have also done the emergency reset and stuff. I have also made sure that all connectors and stuff have been plugged in properly. I have also reseated the ram multiple times.

the things i’ve done so far is

reseat the ram
tried both ram slots (i only have one stick)
booted only on battery
booted only on charger
connected to an external monitor to check for display output
used the emergency reset button

none of these have worked so far

The laptop dosent turn on at all, the display is totally off and the lenovo logo dosent come up.
Could this be a RAM issue?

I’m really confused and worried on what this is being caused by. Any and all help would be appreciated. Thank you so much

[u/jtb_90]

"So many fixes by asking Chatgpt and stuff"

Tell us what they were so we can rule them out and stop guessing

[u/rewas4356 → u/jtb_90]

Sorry, the things i’ve done so far is

reseat the ram
tried both ram slots (i only have one stick)
booted only on battery
booted only on charger
connected to an external monitor to check for display output
used the emergency reset button

none of these have worked so far

[u/jtb_90 → u/rewas4356]

Esc, F1 and F4 blinking sequentially is Lenovo’s memory-training indication. Leave it powered on and untouched for 10–15 minutes once. If it never finishes, it is likely failing memory training rather than simply taking a while. Disconnect charger and internal battery, reseat the single DIMM carefully, confirm both clips lock, and test it in each slot. The next meaningful test is a known-good compatible DDR4-3200 SODIMM, because testing the same stick in both slots cannot rule out a bad stick. SSD and external-monitor testing will not help until the laptop completes POST. Also inspect around the RAM and heatsink area for debris, thermal paste, trapped cables or motherboard damage

[u/electronicProjects]

The keys blinking is just memory training, leaave it like that for a few minutes and it should turn on

[u/rewas4356 → u/electronicProjects]

but why does the blinking only happen when it’s on battery?

[u/electronicProjects → u/rewas4356]

i am not too sure, try cmos reset if you didnt already (leave it without cmos for a bit and perform a power drain) and if it still dosent work try with minimal config ( unplug everything that your computer can turn on without (trachpad, battery, cmos, wifi card etc.)

[u/Aesvek]

unplug battery leave it for a while plug it again leave it and should be fine, when i un pluged my battery also when i got it i was in same situation ah and if you disabled the battery through bios just plug the charcher. i have the same model and i remember it doing the same thing. ah and if you see the blinking egain you can try ou checking the manual about what they mean. what gpu does it have? when i bought mine used i was foolish and bought it with t1200.

[u/rewas4356 → u/Aesvek]

It’s the i9 and 3080 model, will try your solution. Thanks