dimension 3100

[david244us]

hi again folks, working on a dell dimension 3100 that wont boot, it has diagnostics on the front of the case, 1234... well i've downloaded the manual and read about these flashing lights, but this pattern is diffrent, problem is i have no hardware in my house that matches this thing at the moment, so no testing tools i guess, i get a black screen, powers supply fan turns and a yellow light near the cmos battery is lit, so Iknow i HAVE POWER, any idea as to what this might be, tryed to reset cmos jumper and this may be a video card issue but the people who i got it from says they had some writing on the screen when they try to boot it and the writing was some sort of cleaning or something, well thanksas always and hope I made some since in this lol

[AngelicKnight]

Have you tried swapping hard drives? Or do you not have any spare HDDs either? That would be what I'd look at first.

[david244us]

the one in it is sata, mine here are ata-? not sure would it make a difference, cant get to bios so haven't tryed? thanks

[AngelicKnight]

I would say try troubleshooting the HDD next then. Given that you only hear the fans running, I'm wondering if the drive isn't totally dead. Then again, you'd at least get some sort of error on the screen, not total blackness. Could be a bad mobo.

Until you can swap out some hardware to test with though, I'm not sure what to tell ya.

What about the video card you mentioned? Is it an external video card, or build into the mobo? Does it have both?

And lastly, do you hear any beeps when you power it on?

[nihil]

These are the Dell visual and audible (beep) error codes:

http://www.support.dell.com/support/....htm#wp1130520


1. Check that the RAM is properly seated and try it one stick at a time.

2. Check that all the power connectors are properly and firmly seated, especially the processor supply.

3. Check the CMOS battery with a multimeter.

[DellCA]

Hi,

My name is Todd and I'm with Dell's online outreach program. I wasn't sure if you meant that the four diagnostic lights are all lit up? If you haven't fixed the problem with this system and still need help please let me know and I will see what I can do to get your system working again.

Thank you,

Todd
Customer Advocate
Dell, Inc.

[AngelicKnight]

^^ Dude, we've got a Dell!

Sorry, I just absolutely could not resist.

AO IS getting cozier.

[Raion]

lol, I didn't actually think Dell would be doing support online until I Googled it and came across this:

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archi...1/19/3648.aspx

[zallison]

And I am officially chopped liver

[DellCA]

lol, I didn't actually think Dell would be doing support online until I Googled it and came across this:

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archi...1/19/3648.aspx

Hi,

Yah, we've been doing this for about a year now. Slowly moving out to new sites as we go along. It's been interesting, to say the least. If you see something we might be able to help with just let us know.



Thank you,

Todd
Customer Advocate
Dell, Inc.