Dell won't boot
Hello,
I have a dell dimension desktop that won't boot. The owner said before it stopped booting the fan started running REALLY fast. When I turn it on nothing appears on the monitor. Not even the bios. I tried:
switching monitors
taking out one ram chip
installing a new video card
replacing the power (this caused the fan to spin really fast again)
Sometimes when I boot it I hear 4 or 5 long beeps.
Thanks
I have a dell dimension desktop that won't boot. The owner said before it stopped booting the fan started running REALLY fast. When I turn it on nothing appears on the monitor. Not even the bios. I tried:
switching monitors
taking out one ram chip
installing a new video card
replacing the power (this caused the fan to spin really fast again)
Sometimes when I boot it I hear 4 or 5 long beeps.
Thanks
You mentioned trying to take out one RAM stick. Did you try reseating the RAM? That's the first thing I try when there is a video issue.
Can you determine a pattern in the beeps? That can point you to the problem. Does this model (?) have the ABCD lights? Are any on and what is the pattern?
Reseating the processor can resolve no-video issues too, but I would explore other options (memory, power, etc.) first.
Reseating the processor can resolve no-video issues too, but I would explore other options (memory, power, etc.) first.
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ASKER
Hey Guys,
Thanks to your help I got the computer to boot. The power supply seemed to be bad and one of the memory modules seemed to be bad. Is this an surge issue? Right not it boots up but mouse and keyboard won't work. I tried replacing them with usb ones but nothing still. Any final suggestions before I say it is toast?
Thanks to your help I got the computer to boot. The power supply seemed to be bad and one of the memory modules seemed to be bad. Is this an surge issue? Right not it boots up but mouse and keyboard won't work. I tried replacing them with usb ones but nothing still. Any final suggestions before I say it is toast?
You might try clearing the NVRAM - this is a hardware/configuration list that the BIOS keeps. If this gets corrupted, it can have some pretty erratic behavior. The NVRAM jumpers are located on the motherboard, but their location vary by model. If you need assistance finding them, let me know the model you're working with.
Good luck.
Good luck.
ASKER
Sorry the model is dell dimension 8400. Thanks again!
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Thanks guys!
May I know what is your system model?