I remember running into a similar issue with my W520.
The WiFi card had died and, given that this is a simple mPCIe card, I simply ordered a replacement.
Turns out, Lenovo hard-codes the valid PCI IDs in the BIOS (some sources said it was for FCC compliance) and refuses to boot if you plug in an invalid card. In the end, I had to flash the BIOS with a cracked one I found somewhere on the web to get the system running again...
Cached version <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:J4bxSliXq8oJ:www.zmatt.net/unlocking-my-lenovo-laptop-part-1" rel="nofollow">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:J4bxSli...</a>
It's interesting how a non-genuine battery for this laptop is even sold. If the laptop refuses to charge it out of the box then nobody will buy it, since it does not work. Why sell it if everyone will just try it and return it immediately?
Part 3: <a href="http://www.zmatt.net/unlocking-my-lenovo-laptop-part-3/" rel="nofollow">http://www.zmatt.net/unlocking-my-lenovo-laptop-part-3/</a>
Is it legal for a company to do something like this? I could understand a message on boot-up saying "This is not a Lenovo certified battery and we are not responsible for damages caused by it."<p>I don't know, any one here familiar with the laws pertaining to this?
TIL: Tiny USB logic analyzers are a thing. It seems the company mentioned in this post (CWAV USBee) has gone out of business. Are there other good quality USB logic analyzers?