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PC doesn't boot past Dell splash screen; Keyboard unavailable; can't F2 or F12
I have a Dell Inspiron 530 that won't boot after a restart.
Background:
Machine froze on "shutting down", so I held power button to effect a complete shutdown.
Upon start, machine stops at Dell splash screen. I noticed that the lights on my keyboard were out and then realized that F2 and F12 were not available to me as "next steps." I think there's a Dell diagnostics package, but I'd need to get to F12 (according to other posts).
Have tried a different keyboard, but same result.
Have disconnected all USB devices (I have several hubs) and still nothing. Also noticed that I had only power lights on hubs before I disconnected them. Usually, the ports on each Dlink hub are illuminated.
At this point, I have not removed any internally connected devices.
Dell Inspiron 530
Intel Quad core processor 2.5 mhz x 4
750 GB HDD
Dual boot
* Windows 7 RC1
* Vista Home premium
Other notes:
1) lights on network card are on/active as usual
2) cannot test sound card
3) PCI modem card in machine (never used)
This couldn't have happened at a worse time. Am pretty desperate!
Will provide additional info upon request.
Thanks in advance...
Mark
Background:
Machine froze on "shutting down", so I held power button to effect a complete shutdown.
Upon start, machine stops at Dell splash screen. I noticed that the lights on my keyboard were out and then realized that F2 and F12 were not available to me as "next steps." I think there's a Dell diagnostics package, but I'd need to get to F12 (according to other posts).
Have tried a different keyboard, but same result.
Have disconnected all USB devices (I have several hubs) and still nothing. Also noticed that I had only power lights on hubs before I disconnected them. Usually, the ports on each Dlink hub are illuminated.
At this point, I have not removed any internally connected devices.
Dell Inspiron 530
Intel Quad core processor 2.5 mhz x 4
750 GB HDD
Dual boot
* Windows 7 RC1
* Vista Home premium
Other notes:
1) lights on network card are on/active as usual
2) cannot test sound card
3) PCI modem card in machine (never used)
This couldn't have happened at a worse time. Am pretty desperate!
Will provide additional info upon request.
Thanks in advance...
Mark
igor-1965
If your system hangs during the POST and you are not even able to get to BIOS via F2 on the internal keyboard than it might be an indication that your motherboard, CPU or memory is faulty. You probably have no other choice rather than to take your system to the service. Hope it is on a warranty?
ASKER
Igor-1954
Just past warranty, I'm afraid. Needed it in a hurry last year and picked it up at Best Buy. It's been a great machine, especially with Win 7, but this has me dead in my tracks.
Not quite sure what you mean by "internal keyboard", though. How else could I 'F2' other than an external keyboard?
Mark
Just past warranty, I'm afraid. Needed it in a hurry last year and picked it up at Best Buy. It's been a great machine, especially with Win 7, but this has me dead in my tracks.
Not quite sure what you mean by "internal keyboard", though. How else could I 'F2' other than an external keyboard?
Mark
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Could be your hard drive. Try starting the computer without it.
ASKER
UPDATE
I'm going to leave this open for the time being....
Here's what has occurred and what my next steps will probably be (looking for your advice here!)...
I removed the USB receiver for my Logitech mouse
I removed connections for speakers/subwoofer from sound card
I removed CAT5 cable from network card.
After starting the machine, I finally got a "keboard not present error"
Connected USB keyboard (successfully)
Pressed F2 and exited with no changes.
System passed POST and went to boot screen (dual boot)
Selected Win 7 and system started up as normal.
QUESTION:
Before I begin reattaching devices, is there a "system test" that I can run? I thought that Dell provided something, but will defer to the experts on this one.
Thanks,
Mark
I'm going to leave this open for the time being....
Here's what has occurred and what my next steps will probably be (looking for your advice here!)...
I removed the USB receiver for my Logitech mouse
I removed connections for speakers/subwoofer from sound card
I removed CAT5 cable from network card.
After starting the machine, I finally got a "keboard not present error"
Connected USB keyboard (successfully)
Pressed F2 and exited with no changes.
System passed POST and went to boot screen (dual boot)
Selected Win 7 and system started up as normal.
QUESTION:
Before I begin reattaching devices, is there a "system test" that I can run? I thought that Dell provided something, but will defer to the experts on this one.
Thanks,
Mark
Dell usually provides a bootable Resource CD that can be use for the system tests. The diagnostics also provided as a SW package (you can download it from their web-site) - I am not sure if there is a version for Win7 for your system. Also, it might be a hidden utility partition containing diagnostics on your hard drive - during boot press F12 and check for this option.