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Installed Vista SP1, after a lot of problems, now no BIOS screen


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I have a quick question myself regarding DELL PCs, its not really worth making a new topic for, and as this thread is about a DELL PC, I figured I'd post it here. Does anyone know if DELL PSUs are compatible with non-DELL cases/motherboards? I'm building a new system, and trying to decide how much of my old one I can reuse.
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I don't think I can answer your query Terminator, sorry, lol. I don't hardly know anything about my own PC.

 

I have tried all the suggestions, reseating the cards, resetting CMOS. All I've accomplished is now when I turn it on as well as getting the diagnostic lights to light up and stay lit, I also get a quick double beep from the PC. Any Ideas? I'm about to say *ban me* it and just let the PC sit there until I can raise enough money to take it to someone who knows what they are doing. It sucks though because I'm jonesing for my Fallout 3 fix, lol. I'm playing on my Xbox while I wait, but it's like playing half a game, know what I mean?

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This page here is the advanced troubleshooting section of the service manual for your PC. It lists what all the different combinations of the four lights on the front of your PC mean, what different combinations of beeps mean, and also what different system messages mean (I think these messages appear on a little LCD screen on your motherboard, but I'm not sure).

 

There is obviously something wrong, as the diagnostic lights do not remain lit if the PC boots correctly, however having all four lights lit isn't one of the error codes listed. Similarly, the double beep indicates a problem, but all of the beep codes informing you of an error all include at least 4 beeps, usually more.

 

Try looking at the LCD screen on the motherboard, if you can locate it (and if there actually is one), and see if that tells you any of the system messages listed in the page I linked. That should help give you an idea of what the problem is.

 

If it doesn't show any of those messages, or you can't find it, then you're going to have to contact DELL customer support - send them an email, or ring them. Not only would I not put it past DELL to neglect to include all the possible error codes for your PC, but as it is likely a hardware problem (the majority of which is manufactured by DELL), they would be in the best position to advise you on what the problem could be.

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The diagnostic lights do stay lit now, numbers 1,2 and 3. When I went to DELL's online troubleshooting with it, it told me to disconnect and reconnect the monitor and look for an error message. Yeah right, I can't get BIOS to display yet alone an error message, so needless to say, they weren't much help.

 

The double beep only started after I tried to reset the CMOS.

 

Also, there isn't any LCD on my mother board, I wish there was, I'd know what the problem was, lol.

 

I tried the recommended steps to reset the CMOS while the forum here was down, so I didn't get the reply whether the power should be on or off when I did it. First I tried it without any power at all, when that didn't work, I moved the pin connecter to the CMOS port (with the power off) then turned the PC on and let it run for a few seconds. Then I turned it off and put the connector back. I was sure to drain all power from the system before either switching it forward or back. This didn't help either.

 

Any ideas?

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Lights 1, 2, and 3 just means an 'Other Error' has occurred. Helpful lol. Try checking the LCD display on the motherboard like I said, and if that doesn't work, contact DELL customer support. As in, actually ring them up and talk to one of their technicians, not just do the online troubleshooter stuff they have on their website (those are totally useless).

 

Theres a list of numbers/email addresses for contacting them here, in the owner's manual for your PC.

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Thanks man. You have been very, very helpful. Tell you what, when I get my PC back up and running, I'll do a set of custom Combat Armor for you as a way of saying thanks since I can't give you kudos a second time, lol.
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I've come to the conclusion, after trying every bit of advice I could get and trying Dell's advice (which was nothing more than useless, lol) that I'm going to have to break down and pay somebody to sort my computer out. Now I just need to find something I can sell to get the money, lol.
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Just an update to keep you guys in the loop, it was my video card. I ended up have to buy a new one. I got a brand new GeForce GTX 260 SC PCIe for $190. Hopefully I'll be back into the wasteland within a few days. I am so excited... Hooray for me!!! LOL
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