computer will not boot to bios or anything

sprint777 · Post by **sprint777** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:10 am

Dell 8100. I haven't used the computer for several weeks and when I hooked mouse,keyboard, monitor etc. up and turned it on, it does nothing. I tried a different monitor, same results. I tried a different video card, same results. I replaced the battery, same results. I am baffled as the computer just sat there by itself with nothing hooked up to it, and now it is dead. Worked great before. Help please. Thanks in advance. I am not expert but have basic skills.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:58 am

Interesting. My son's 8100 just went haywire last night. Went to turn it on and it seemed to have power, however the power button was blinking yellow and the hard drive indicator light was solid green. I believe I have narrowed it down to the power supply. Could be the same in your case. Of course you can't use an everyday power supply, due to the wiring being different on the one installed by dell. So have to order from them or buy of E-Bay for around $70.00.

sprint777 · Post by **sprint777** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:45 pm

I have power to board and ide drives. No boot up to bios.

thepieman · Post by **thepieman** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:57 pm

You sure you have the Keyboard and Mouse plugged in the right spots? the Keyboard goes in the purple and mouse in the green. If they are correct and it still doesnt boot, try disconnecting the Mouse , Keyboard and any thing else except the Video and see what happens.
You mentioned that you haven't used the system in a while...do you keep the modem connected? Have you had any Lightning storms recently?

After the above:
Remove any cards in there except the Video and see if it boots.

Pie

sprint777 · Post by **sprint777** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:01 pm

I have tried with the mouse and keyboard disconnected. No the computer was not hooked during the downtime. No power cord or modem or anything connected. Just sitting there by itself.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:07 pm

Same with mine. The light is on on the motherboard, the fans are spinning, etc. However nothing displays on the monitor, the diagnostic lights do not light up and there are no error beeps. Everything I was able to find on Google and Dell's site suggest a power supply failure.

sprint777 · Post by **sprint777** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:09 pm

my diagnostic lights are on. Also my ide drives work, do yours?

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:11 pm

No power to the drives that I can tell. No lights and nothing happens when I push the eject button. Also the hard drives do not appear to be spinning either.

sprint777 · Post by **sprint777** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:15 pm

I feel my problem lies else where. I feel certain that the power supply is working.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:37 pm

May be something on the motherboard then.

cyberskye · Post by **cyberskye** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 2:40 pm

thepieman wrote:Remove any cards in there except the Video and see if it boots.

Pie

thepieman · Post by **thepieman** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 2:52 pm

Ok if you have tried the keyboard and mouse being disconnected, and all the cards pulled out except the Video, then try disconnecting the IDE cables from the motherboard. I've had it where letting a HDD sit up for a while they can sometimes seize up. It can prevent the system from starting.

Also , If you have 2 sticks of memory try taking one out as well and swap to see if its the memory.

sprint777 · Post by **sprint777** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 9:20 am

I have tried one stick and about any combination I can think of. In searching Dell site I have noticed that there are 2 memory modules and 2 memory cards which I am told transfer electricity to the memory modules.

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 4:58 pm

have you called Dell yet?

sprint777 · Post by **sprint777** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 10:58 pm

I don't know what number to call because the computer is not under warranty anymore.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:50 pm

Call the one on the website 1-800-www-dell. Press 3 for tech service and follow the voice prompts. That should get you where you need to go.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 9:17 pm

Just curious if you've had any luck getting your system up and running? I ordered a new power supply for mine yesterday. Hopefully that will be the answer to my problems. If not, I'll break it down and build a new system with the parts.