X201 severely crippled after disabling Intel AMT / AT in BIOS

Question

Hi all,
My X201 has been running great for a number of weeks now, but somehow I managed to pretty much destroy it.  Before going to do a fresh install (been trial testing different antivirus packages) I went into BIOS by hitting F1 during boot and disabled Intel AMT and Intel AT.  Since these are enterprise features I didn't think I would need them at the house here.
After disabling both and doing a save-and-quit, I got a screen saying something to the effect of "configuration updated" and it rebooted.  Except now it takes about 1 full minute to get through POST and hitting F1 takes about 15 seconds before BIOS configuration is shown.  Here is what I have observed since disabling AMT and AT...
1) CPU fan is now disabled. The left side of the unit will get so hot it will burn your finger.
2) From main BIOS screen, choosing the "Config" option will cause it to hang and freeze.
3) From main BIOS screen, choosing the "Security" option will no longer show the "Intel AMT" menu option so there seemingly no way to reenable it.
4) Waiting over a minute to get through POST and it will still boot the OS, but even when running Win7 the CPU fan will not enable.
5) During various stages of boot (initial power-on and right after hitting F1 to get into BIOS) the CPU fan will turn on for no more than 2 seconds and then turn back off.
My 2 immediate ideas to fix this haven't panned out...
-- Created a BIOS update CD from the .iso available in the support section.  Booting from CD works but it says something to the effect of "BIOS does not been to be updated.  Process is cancelled."
-- Googling around I have been unable to find any reference to a jumper on the X201 mainboard to clear CMOS or any reference to a CMOS Clear button.
Has anyone else encountered this problem and knows a fix, or knows how to clear CMOS on the X201?  I still have over a year left on the factory warranty but I'd like to fix this myself if I can.

Answer 1

knacky805:
Resetting the CMOS should resolve the issue, if you are comfortable opening your Thinkpad, you can try that. What you'll want to do is unplug the AC adapter, open up the Thinkpad, remove the battery, then the CMOS, press the power button a few times to ensure you drain the capacitors. You can then replace all components starting with the CMOS and it should restore all the default settings in BIOS including the Intel AMT settings.
Please note: Use an electrostatic discharge (ESD) strap to establish personal grounding, If you don't, you can make sure you and the computer are at Zero Potential by continuously touching an un-painted metal surface of the Thinkpad chassis.
Let us know if this solves your problem!
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