While searching for a fix for my broken ThinkVantage Power Manager, I came across a forum post suggesting that I press the power button ten times after disconnecting power to the machine. At first I thought it was a joke or a troll, but there are other reports suggesting the same thing — or very similar variations, at least — as a solution for a variety of problems.
Even though this technique seems to be successful in some cases, I couldn't find the reason that it works. Most posts either jokingly refer to it as a magic fix or avoid the "why" aspect entirely. I do remember one vague reference to it influencing the BIOS, though I can't find the source again now. So, what does the ThinkPad "press the power button ten times" thing actually do?