davidmhuitt86

Here is what you will be looking for. Be sure to check which PCI slot port your ExpressCard links to and make sure its set to hot swappable and Gen1 in those settings as well. (your pc may be in a POST loop because it thinks something isnt plugged in that is.)

I dont have to do it very often, but the only reason I do I have to do it is when I restore my factory defaults in bios and resets TOLUD allocation and possibly PCI Bus speed. I would suggest flashing the unlocked version of your bios so you can have access to the TOLUD features and see if thats the issue. I also see your using the ExpressCard Adapter and you stated that you have set PCI Express Speed to GEN1. You must also set your ExpressCard Speed from Automatic to GEN1 otherwise you could still be running on GEN1. Its here if you wanna give it a try. Lenovo X220 Unlocked and Whitelisted BIOS ver. 1.40 https://app.box.com/s/coe1d05ne3cqcw57g87lgiloz6ut8r4h

I know your problem well and I think I have noticed a pattern. See I am always tweaking my BIOS for some reason or another and I can actually make my TP POST loop as you describe. The last time this happened to me I went back into my Advanced Memory Settings in BIOS to check everything closely. What I found that my TOLUD Memory Allocation had changed itself from Dynamic to 3.25GB, as my eGPU is only stable in Dynamic Mode. I am not using DiYeGPUsetup since I have unlocked BIOS to Force TOLUD allocation. I then proceeded to test my hypothesis and sure enough, changing the setting will cause my TP to POST loop up to three times(no cpu fans or anything but the power lights to cycle.) I also learned that if the PCI Slot is not set to Hot-Swappable, I can never just simply eject ExpressCard or even put TP to sleep to remove it safely. I always have to shut completely down and then disconnect eGPU. I also leave my eGPU running constantly and I notice that if I leave my eGPU running for more than a week, when I go to reboot my TP it will then POST Loop at that time as well(they need to be rebooted just like any other device.) Hopes this helps someone, any questions just ask.