Lenovo T410 Fan Error Upon Booting

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amodoko

Member
Hi guys, got a used T410 laptop recently. I upgraded it from Windows 7 Pro to Windows 10 Pro doing the free upgrade through Microsoft. It was working fine for a while, then it started giving me a fan error upon booting, then it would beep twice, and then shut down. I opened it up, moved the fan blades around to see if it could spin and it did move fine. I then blew compressed air in the area to see if any dust was causing issues. I also unlocked and relocked the CPU socket (a guy on YouTube said to do this, so I just took the gamble and tried). After doing those things, it started up fine and went to Windows. But I noticed the fan would not run at all and the CPU temperatures would get pretty hot (70 to 90 degrees C) in Windows.

I read online that someone said when you upgrade it from Windows 7 to Windows 10, that it can mess with the BIOS and cause the fan to not work. So I booted it up, went into BIOS, I didn't even change any settings and the fan started to run fine in BIOS! I then went to Windows and the fan was running fine again!

I then shut it down, started it up again, and I'm getting the "Fan Error" again. Now it won't let me even get into BIOS. It gives the Fan Error message every time and won't let me proceed to BIOS or Windows or any other menu. It then just shuts itself off. So the fan can work it seems, but I don't know how to get it to work regularly. Does anyone know what the issue could be or how to troubleshoot this? I know the fan can work since it did work that time I went into BIOS, so I don't know if I need a new fan or if something else needs to be done. Thanks
 
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spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Try resetting or updating the BIOS and/or embedded controller. Reset would be your first option because with all of the ThinkPads I've used/owned (including my own) I think you have to update the BIOS and embedded controller in Windows. :(

If resetting the BIOS doesn't work then it might just be a bad fan.

Seems odd that Windows 10 would mess with something like this to me.
 
A

amodoko

Member
Okay, thanks for the quick reply! If I can't get into Windows or even to the BIOS menu anymore without it shutting back down (after getting the Fan Error), do you know how could go about updating the BIOS and embedded controller? I tried googling how to reset the BIOS for a T410, and everything that comes up seems to talk about resetting the BIOS password and I'm not sure if those are the same steps I need to take. If there is a website with instructions for this, or a link to something, please let me know. Just never done anything with BIOS ever. Thanks in advance for any further guidance or suggestions.
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
amodoko said:
Okay, thanks for the quick reply! If I can't get into Windows or even to the BIOS menu anymore without it shutting back down (after getting the Fan Error), do you know how could go about updating the BIOS and embedded controller? I tried googling how to reset the BIOS for a T410, and everything that comes up seems to talk about resetting the BIOS password and I'm not sure if those are the same steps I need to take. If there is a website with instructions for this, or a link to something, please let me know. Just never done anything with BIOS ever. Thanks in advance for any further guidance or suggestions.
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You should just be able to go into the BIOS and load the fail-safe defaults.
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
I really don't think it has anything to do with updating to windows 10, just have a feeling the fan is going out.
 
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amodoko

Member
Okay, thanks guys, I will first try to see if it will let me get into the BIOS by pressing F1. I could have sworn it wouldn't let me do that last time I tried due to the Fan Error coming up so quickly. I'll try and see if it will let me. If not, then I guess I will be buying a new fan:)
 
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amodoko

Member
Just wanted to update this thread. I ordered a fan last week just in case it needed a new fan and it just came in the mail. I tried again to see if I could get into BIOS without replacing the fan, and it won't let me. It gives the Fan Error every time I try to go into BIOS or the boot device list and shuts itself off. It doesn't matter how early I press F1 or F12, I can't get into any menus. So I am going to try replacing the fan to see if that solves the issue. I will update the thread once I try that and see if that solves the issue:)
 
A

amodoko

Member
Okay, just replaced the fan, and it works! I'll cross my fingers to hope that the issue doesn't return. But looks like it was just a bad fan. Thanks for the advice to get me to solve the issue, much appreciated.

If anyone has the time or knowledge, can you explain to me a reason why a fan that is going bad can sometimes work and sometimes not work? I was able to get the bad fan to work a few times when I first started getting the fan error, then over a short time it no longer worked ever. What mechanism in the fan would cause this inconsistency in working? Like, what do you think was in the process of going bad? I'm assuming it was something in the electrical motor of the fan, and if it was the motor that was going bad, I'm not sure what part of the motor was wearing out.

Thanks for the help, problem solved!
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
amodoko said:
Okay, just replaced the fan, and it works! I'll cross my fingers to hope that the issue doesn't return. But looks like it was just a bad fan. Thanks for the advice to get me to solve the issue, much appreciated.

If anyone has the time or knowledge, can you explain to me a reason why a fan that is going bad can sometimes work and sometimes not work? I was able to get the bad fan to work a few times when I first started getting the fan error, then over a short time it no longer worked ever. What mechanism in the fan would cause this inconsistency in working? Like, what do you think was in the process of going bad? I'm assuming it was something in the electrical motor of the fan, and if it was the motor that was going bad, I'm not sure what part of the motor was wearing out.

Thanks for the help, problem solved!
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Pleased to hear it's working! The bearings in a fan can degrade over time and cause the fan to go bad, especially if the fan is run at full RPM for very long periods of time.
 
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