Lenovo Utrabook X1 Yoga Gen 1 - SSD will not power off

[JMG88]

My Lenovo Ultrabook X1 Yoga has recently developed a problem. When I shut the machine off, the SSD continues to run (and gets very warm). This goes on until the battery is drained. I have done a fresh install of the OS and all of the updates and the problem continues. System info is below. I am assuming that this is a software, not a hardware problem, but perhaps I am wrong. Has anyone else encountered this and does anyone have some suggestions on what steps to take to resolve this?
System:
Kernel: 6.8.0-58-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.3.0 clocksource: tsc
Desktop: Cinnamon v: 6.4.8 tk: GTK v: 3.24.41 wm: Muffin v: 6.4.1 vt: 7 dm: LightDM v: 1.30.0
Distro: Linux Mint 22.1 Xia base: Ubuntu 24.04 noble
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 20FRS4R520 v: ThinkPad X1 Yoga 1st
serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: LENOVO model: 20FRS4R520 v: SDK0J40697 WIN serial: <superuser required>
part-nu: LENOVO_MT_20FR_BU_Think_FM_ThinkPad X1 Yoga 1st uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO
v: N1FET49W (1.23 ) date: 02/08/2017
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 18.2 Wh (31.0%) condition: 58.8/55.0 Wh (106.9%) power: 32.2 W volts: 16.2
min: 15.2 model: LGC 00HW028 type: Li-poly serial: <filter> status: charging
CPU:
Info: dual core model: Intel Core i5-6300U bits: 64 type: MT MCP smt: enabled arch: Skylake
rev: 3 cache: L1: 128 KiB L2: 512 KiB L3: 3 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 400/3000 cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 bogomips: 19999
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-9
ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2, HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:1916
class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Chicony Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
lanes: 1 bus-ID: 1-8:3 chip-ID: 04f2:b5c1 class-ID: 0e02
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.11 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 driver: X: loaded: modesetting
unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.00x11.22") s-diag: 582mm (22.93")
Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: AU Optronics 0x183d res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 158
size: 309x173mm (12.17x6.81") diag: 354mm (13.9") modes: 1920x1080
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris device: 1 drv: swrast gbm:
drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris x11: drv: iris inactive: wayland
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 24.2.8-1ubuntu1~24.04.1 glx-v: 1.4
direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2) device-ID: 8086:1916
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:9d70 class-ID: 0403
API: ALSA v: k6.8.0-58-generic status: kernel-api
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
Network:
Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-LM vendor: Lenovo driver: e1000e v: kernel port: N/A
bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:156f class-ID: 0200
IF: enp0s31f6 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Intel Wireless 8260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:24f3 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp4s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 1-7:2 chip-ID: 8087:0a2b class-ID: e001
Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 4.2 lmp-v: 8 sub-v: 100
hci-v: 8 rev: 100 class-ID: 7c010c
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 12.82 GiB (5.4%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Toshiba model: N/A size: 238.47 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4
tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 510657LA temp: 30.9 C scheme: GPT
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 233.18 GiB used: 12.82 GiB (5.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
ID-2: /boot/efi size: 511 MiB used: 6.1 MiB (1.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
Swap:
ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 2 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swapfile
USB:
Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 12 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1
chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
Device-1: 1-7:2 info: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface type: bluetooth driver: btusb
interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 power: 100mA chip-ID: 8087:0a2b class-ID: e001
Device-2: 1-8:3 info: Chicony Integrated Camera type: video driver: uvcvideo interfaces: 2
rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 power: 500mA chip-ID: 04f2:b5c1 class-ID: 0e02
Device-3: 1-9:4 info: Validity Sensors VFS7500 Touch Fingerprint Sensor type: <vendor specific>
driver: N/A interfaces: 1 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 power: 100mA chip-ID: 138a:0090
class-ID: ff00 serial: <filter>
Device-4: 1-10:5 info: Wacom Pen and multitouch sensor type: HID driver: usbhid,wacom
interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 power: 400mA chip-ID: 056a:503e class-ID: 0300
Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 6 rev: 3.0 speed: 5 Gb/s lanes: 1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0003
class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 38.0 C pch: 39.5 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (rpm): fan-1: 0
Repos:
Packages: 1886 pm: dpkg pkgs: 1879 pm: flatpak pkgs: 7
No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
1: deb http: //packages.linuxmint.com xia main upstream import backport
2: deb http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble main restricted universe multiverse
3: deb http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates main restricted universe multiverse
4: deb http: //archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports main restricted universe multiverse
5: deb http: //security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ noble-security main restricted universe multiverse
Info:
Memory: total: 8 GiB available: 7.61 GiB used: 1.87 GiB (24.6%)
Processes: 216 Power: uptime: 32m states: freeze,mem suspend: deep wakeups: 0
hibernate: disabled Init: systemd v: 255 target: graphical (5) default: graphical
Compilers: gcc: 13.3.0 Client: Cinnamon v: 6.4.8 inxi: 3.3.34

 

[osprey]

Welcome.
The temperatures are well within normal limits: "System Temperatures: cpu: 38.0 C pch: 39.5 C". Critical levels are up around 80 to 90 degrees.

Perhaps the first thing worth investigating is to test whether the machine can poweroff at all. It's probably worth opening a terminal, and becoming root and running:

/usr/sbin/poweroff

If that succeeds in powering off the machine, then the problem is unlikely to be a hardware problem. Then one can investigate further.

 

[KGIII]

In addition to the above, I'd ask how do you know it's still running and is responsible for draining the battery?

An SSD is, well, solid state. There are no moving parts to indicate that it's running. It doesn't even really have the concept of 'running' in the same sense as an HDD. Further, even at full activity, the SSD consumes mere watts, and when there's no data being written to it then it will only consume milliwatts. My point is that the SSD at full activity would not drain the battery very quickly, and it'd drain the battery even less when at idle.

Now, assuming you're diagnosing it and it is indeed the SSD, I'd look to see if you have some process that's constantly writing to storage, like a backup/snapshot utility or something else that would want to continually write to storage.

You mentioned doing a fresh installation of your OS. Did you then install applications on it, or did you leave it stock to see if the symptoms persist? (I've got to ask these questions for a clearer picture - and hopefully someone will have some additional insight.)

Hmm... In my bag-o-tricks, I have this:

Close everything but your terminal.

sudo apt install iotop -y
sudo iotop -o -b -d 10

Watch the output from that, and you can (hopefully) see what's being written to storage. If I were to make a wild guess, you might have something like your backup/restore utility running.

 

[Condobloke]

G'day JMG88, Welcome to Linux.org

How 'out of the blue' was this problem?.......Was LM22.1 Xia installed for very long ? (initial install) ...or was this a recent install taking the place of windows?
Note that I am talking about the first install....not the reinstall.

 

[theLegionWithin]

does the ssd pass smart? dont really use mint, not sure if smartmontools is included or not. if it is, then use it to see whats going on. documentation and some howto's are here --> https://www.smartmontools.org/wiki/TocDoc

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Last year I was messing with 2 different Lenovo ThinkPads. Odd, unpredictable things were happening with them both.

They both had failing SSD's. Personally, the first thing I would do is test the SSD.

 

[JMG88]

G'day JMG88, Welcome to Linux.org

How 'out of the blue' was this problem?.......Was LM22.1 Xia installed for very long ? (initial install) ...or was this a recent install taking the place of windows?
Note that I am talking about the first install....not the reinstall.

Thank you Condobloke. I'd had xia installed for probably a couple of months before this started to happen.

 

[JMG88]

In addition to the above, I'd ask how do you know it's still running and is responsible for draining the battery?

An SSD is, well, solid state. There are no moving parts to indicate that it's running. It doesn't even really have the concept of 'running' in the same sense as an HDD. Further, even at full activity, the SSD consumes mere watts, and when there's no data being written to it then it will only consume milliwatts. My point is that the SSD at full activity would not drain the battery very quickly, and it'd drain the battery even less when at idle.

Now, assuming you're diagnosing it and it is indeed the SSD, I'd look to see if you have some process that's constantly writing to storage, like a backup/snapshot utility or something else that would want to continually write to storage.

You mentioned doing a fresh installation of your OS. Did you then install applications on it, or did you leave it stock to see if the symptoms persist? (I've got to ask these questions for a clearer picture - and hopefully someone will have some additional insight.)

Hmm... In my bag-o-tricks, I have this:

Close everything but your terminal.

sudo apt install iotop -y
sudo iotop -o -b -d 10

Watch the output from that, and you can (hopefully) see what's being written to storage. If I were to make a wild guess, you might have something like your backup/restore utility running.

Hi KGIII, thanks for this. If I shut the laptop down the SSD stays warm and if I disconnect the AC power this will continue until the battery is drained. (I opened up the case to double check the source of the heat and it is definitely the SSD.)

 

[JMG88]

Last year I was messing with 2 different Lenovo ThinkPads. Odd, unpredictable things were happening with them both.

They both had failing SSD's. Personally, the first thing I would do is test the SSD.

Thank you Sherri is a Cat. How would you go about testing the SSD? I have run the System Reports tool in Mint and it did not indicate any problems. What other options are available to do this sort of testing?

 

[JMG88]

Welcome.
The temperatures are well within normal limits: "System Temperatures: cpu: 38.0 C pch: 39.5 C". Critical levels are up around 80 to 90 degrees.

Perhaps the first thing worth investigating is to test whether the machine can poweroff at all. It's probably worth opening a terminal, and becoming root and running:

/usr/sbin/poweroff

If that succeeds in powering off the machine, then the problem is unlikely to be a hardware problem. Then one can investigate further.

Hi Osprey, thank you for this. I used /usr/sbin/poweroff as you suggested and although the machine powered off just fine, the SSD stayed warm (continued to draw power) even though the machine was otherwise shut down. This continued until the battery was drained.

 

[KGIII]

Uff...

This could be a legitimate hardware issue. There could be a short circuit somewhere that's keeping the SSD connected to power.

The symptoms could point to that.

Also, as I mentioned above, the SSD should only draw a trivial amount of power, and then it should only draw that kind of power when it's actively being written to or read. That shouldn't drain the battery all that quickly. If the battery is healthy and charged to full, you should have capacity in multiples of Wh range, like 50 to 70 Wh for most anything modern.

Yeah, I looked up your computer. Your computer's battery has a capacity of 52 Wh (or 3290 mAh). At full rip, you might be using 1.5A. Laptop SSDs are configured to use even less power than that.

If you do the math, that's a long time to drain all that power. The math isn't mathing very well - unless you're leaving the device unplugged for days before it's drained.

I pondered if it was an SSD issue, but then I dropped that idea. I can't picture an SSD failure that could cause this. It's incapable of turning the power back on, even if you mash it together, causing thousands of shorts. It is incapable of demanding power. That's not how it works.

Which leaves me wondering if there's a short somewhere in the system. Modern PCBs are tightly packed with components and traces. We no longer use lead solder. We use some sort of tin-based solder which means that 'tin whiskers' are a potential problem. Some amalgamations are better than others when it comes to tin whiskers, but they're a problem from time to time.

Is the device still within the warranty phase? I can see that it's still being sold, but it is also on the used market. So, it may still be under warranty. That depends on when you bought it.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Thank you Sherri is a Cat. How would you go about testing the SSD? I have run the System Reports tool in Mint and it did not indicate any problems. What other options are available to do this sort of test

I'm not sure which app I downloaded from the software manager, I think it was GSmartControl. @Condobloke can tell you if I'm wrong. You can use it to test your SSD from the desktop, but I was told and it makes sense that it should be tested while it's not in use. Just boot into the live Linux desktop from the installation files on a USB drive. (I'm assuming that's how you installed LM 22.1). Download the app from repository (software manager).

Below is an image of the GUI

Right click on drive you want to test Select 'Perform Tests..'

	From the drop down menu you do a short or extended self-test. I used the extended test. It didn't take nearly as long as the estimation.
	If it doesn't say passed... Well I don't have to say more.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

...it may still be under warranty. That depends on when you bought it.

From what I can tell, this laptop comes with Windows 10 preinstalled. If so, the warranty was probably voided.

 

[Condobloke]

The results of the test which @Sherri is a Cat has detailed at post#12 will be of interest, @JMG88 ...

Just to confirm....boot to your usb stick with LM22.1 on it, access the software manager there and install Gsmart control....Run it from there. That ensures that the SSD is not mounted.

Good luck

 

[KGIII]

From what I can tell, this laptop comes with Windows 10 preinstalled. If so, the warranty was probably voided.

Installing Linux will not void your warranty - but it will not be supported on the software side.

 

[JMG88]

Interestingly enough, when I run GSmartControl I get the following.

When I run System Report, it gives the following info on the drive.

Am I doing something wrong?

 

[JMG88]

A bit more info on the SSD.. Perhaps it's not SMART compatible?

 

[Condobloke]

Did you access the drive from a bootable usb ?

 

[JMG88]

Did you access the drive from a bootable usb ?

yes

 

[Condobloke]

Smart compatible?...according to the info I found, it is compatible

Speed Test THNSN5256GPU7 TOSHIBA

ismyhdok.com

However, before you go buy a new ssd.... I will mention a few members names who will no doubt have a different way of looking at this than me. No action on your part required....they will be notified.

@osprey
@Brickwizard
@KGIII ......what was the brand that you buy, David ?....cheaper than toshiba etc etc