Dell OptiPlex System Does Not Boot to Windows

Dell OptiPlex System does not boot to Windows

A user may report that their OptiPlex computer fails to boot to Windows. This issue may occur for several reasons, some of which we cover in this article.

First of all, the user should ensure they are not dealing with a No Post issue. This can be defined as follows:

• No Post (Power On Self-Test) - Once the Power button is pressed, the computer goes through a series of internal checks. If any of these checks should fail, the computer will not boot to Windows and the diagnostic LEDs and or Power button LED should illuminate to indicate the potential problem.  Please see the No Post Article to troubleshoot this issue.
• No Boot - The computer completes the POST routine and the Diagnostic LEDs will not illuminate. The Power button LED shows the computer as turned on and working normally but it will not load Windows. You may see a flashing cursor on the display.

To find out what is causing the No Boot issue, perform the troubleshooting steps below:

1. Ensure that the Hard Drive is recognized in the BIOS.

2. Run Hard Drive Diagnostics.

3. Reseat the Hard Drive Cables.

4. Try the Hard Drive data cable in a different slot.

5. Reset the BIOS

6. Replace the Hard Drive.

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1. Ensure that the Hard Drive is recognized in the BIOS

1. Restart the computer.

2. When you see the Dell splash screen, Press F2 to load the BIOS.

3. The System Information screen of the BIOS will display which version is installed. See the Dell Support Site to check if this is the latest version.

4. If you must install the latest version, download the BIOS on another computer and save it to a USB memory stick.

5. Once the BIOS has been updated on the failing computer, access the BIOS again and ensure that the Hard Drive is recognized. This can be seen in the System Information screen.

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2. Run Hard Drive Diagnostics

See the article: Dell Diagnostic Tools to Diagnose and Fix Hardware Problems on Your Dell Computer or Tablet.

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3. Reseat the Hard Drive Cables

1. Power off the computer and remove the power cable.

2. Open the computer cover.

3. Remove the Power cable and the Data Cable from the Hard drive.

4. Remove the Hard Drive Data Cable from the Motherboard.

5. Reattach the Data cable to the Motherboard.

6. Reattach the Power cable and data cable to the hard drive.

7. Replace the computer cover and reattach the power cable to the computer.

8. Power on the computer.

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4. Try the Hard Drive data cable in a different slot

1. Power off the computer and remove the power cable.

2. Open the computer cover.

3. Remove the Hard drive data cable from the motherboard.

4. Insert the data cable in another SATA port on the Motherboard if available.

5. Replace the computer cover and reattach the power cable to the computer.

6. Power on the computer.

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5. Reset BIOS

To Reset the BIOS setting, watch the below Video:

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6. Replace the Hard Drive

1. Power off the computer and remove the power cable.

2. Open the computer cover.

3. Remove the Power cable and the Data Cable from the Hard drive.

4. Remove the Hard Drive from the casing and replace it with a verified working drive from another computer.

5. Reattach the Power cable and data cable to the hard drive.

6. Replace the computer cover and reattach the power cable to the computer.

7. Power on the computer.

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Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

• OptiPlex 3060, 5060, and 7060 Tower Systems: Cannot Boot to the Operating System when Hard Drive Protection has Been Enabled
• No POST, No Power, No Video on a Dell Desktop Computer
• Dell Computer Does Not Turn On or Boot Into Windows With Errors Such as No Bootable Device

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