Black screen on XPS One 2710

After CMOS reset a few days ago, I have been periodically turning off and restarting my 2710, with the result that it would randomly complete the boot into Windows 10 maybe 1 out of 7 or 8 tries. Sometimes it would suddenly boot after 5+ minutes in the "black screen" state.

On reading GVIJAY's post, I immediately tried the enter button and random pressing of capacitive touch buttons procedure, which worked as advertised!  I then reinstalled the A12 bios, and like GVIJAY's, my 2710 is now fully working (except for touch screen) with Win 10. Since I have now moved on to another non-Dell PC, I will likely be selling the 2710.

Regarding previous comments and "scientific" surveys noting that 8 out 10 2710 owners had no problems with Win10 and suggesting that those who did had caused their own problems by installing bad drivers from suspect sites and/or breaking hardware components, I can confirm that I never installed any driver except those from Dell's 2710 support page or those installed automatically by Windows, nor did I break any hardware components. Perhaps a 20% failure rate and not supporting customers who purchased one of their (most expensive) flagship machines with Windows 10 upgrade-ability is acceptable to some. For this customer, however, it is not.

Some of us never upgraded to Win 10 (though I don't see why Dell shouldn't support this) and still have the black screen problem.

When you reset the CMOS does the system always tell you it has been reset and press F1 to continue?  I've reset the CMOS....at least I though I had, but maybe I'm not doing it right.   I didn't upgrade to Windows 10, but your post...especially the end mimics my thoughts exactly.  I will go back to building my own PC's again and will do the PC in a Desk concept or something of that nature.  RIP 2710 and forget you Dell. 

After 4 months of not being used, my 2710 came back to life a few days ago. I was testing the screen with an external monitor when after a dozen or so attempts at powering on and off the PC booted. I was pressing F10 immediately after switching the PC on. If I leave the machine on, it's fine. If I switch off and then on again, I get the black screen. I've switched off twice, but so far pressing F10 at boot up works (after a few attempts). Restarts are fine. Any suggestions, please? Thanks!

Hello Communiverse,

Have you tried pressing the eject button on the keyboard? This may work for you better than the LED lights on the screen as they were quite temperamental from my experiences. 
As soon as the machine boots, just tap the eject key over and over.

Plugging in your Surface Pro will not get your files out. The only method in which to retrieve your files is to take out the hard drive and put it into an enclosure (search for Hard Drive Enclosure on Amazon). Once the hard drive is in the enclosure, it essentially becomes a portal hard drive.
The process is incredibly easy and should take you no more than 10 minutes to execute.

1) To remove the hard drive, place the computer face down on a table.
2) Undo the two black screws at the bottom of the computer. This will release the back cover.
3) Slide the back cover forward and lift it off completely.
4) Remove the four screws keeping the stand in place. They are clearly marked.
5) Lift off the stand.
5) The hard drive is right in the center of the computer - which the stand was originally covering
6) There are several screws keeping the hard drive in place - just remove these and the hard drive will slide right out.
7) To reassemble just go backward from steps 6-1.

8) Once the hard drive is out, simply slide it into your enclosure, using the screw to keep the unit in place (your enclosure will contain instructions)
9) Connect the enclosure to your computer (Surface etc) and the new computer should read your hard drive.

I know it sounds scary but I kid you not, the process literally takes 10-15max regardless of whether you're a computer expert or not.

I'm having the same problem with black screen.  My husband told me to put the boot CD in to the drive, which I did, and now I can't get it out.  The XPS repeatedly switches on for a short time, and off for a short time, and it's not enough time for me to get the CD out.  I've been reading the forum entries and, so far, this is something nobody's mentioned.  My first question is, 'Is there any way I can get the CD out, other than touching the eject light on the screen?'  Secondly, if I manage to get the CD out, will plugging my Surface Pro 3 into the HDMI port allow me to get files off it if the XPS is switching on and off so quickly?'  Thirdly, 'Could it be that something else is the problem, rather than the motherboard?'  Like you, I've seen the posts from others who didn't upgrade to Windows 10, saying they have the same problem.  I think I even saw one when I searched Google that was before Windows 10 came out!  I've been using Windows 10 since Microsoft said it was compatible, and it's only just now developed a problem, if it's related to Windows 10 at all.   Thanks for your much appreciated help.

Hello Prototype98,

Thank you very much for your speedy reply.  Dell told me yesterday that the motherboard and the DVD drive would be changed out today, but now the engineer's been (and just left) and it seems they think the hard drive might be faulty as well!  I got the impression yesterday that it was a case of making sure they were covered to get the machine up and running again.  However, the engineer took out the hard drive for me, and says I can get a cable to allow me to copy the files from the hard drive to another computer, then Dell will book him to come out again once I've got what I need from the hard drive.  I'm now searching for the right type of cable to do it.  I believe it's a SATA to USB for a 3.5" HDD.  I'm sure you know this already, but for the unitiated (like me), this information may be useful to include in this message.

Thanks again.  I'll write another message on this thread to say how I've got on.  Eeeek!

Search on Amazon for "SATA to USB hard drive adapter". Some available for about $10.

Exactly!  I went to Dell to buy a top-of-the line unit that would see me through my upcoming retirement.  I wasn't tech-savy enough to know I needed the check some Dell list before upgrading to Win10.  So I upgraded, ran into black screen problems, found a way to get going again to revert to Win8 but now I'm back to black screen with no cursor.  They owed us a warning when they found out the 2710 XPS would be killed off by WIn10.  At the least they owe us a fix.  If they think I'll buy a Dell again they are crazy!

I wasn't tech savvy enough either.  And when I was pointed towards the message, it said that some drivers probably wouldn't work.  That didn't put me off enough, obviously.  I had a problem with the audio driver, but that was easily resolved, and the computer worked fine with Windows 10 for months.  However, there's a twist to my experience.  OK, Windows 10 may be the common denominator in many black screen cases, but... when I switched the XPS 2710 on for the first time ever, straight out of the box, the motherboard didn't work and I was presented with a black screen!  OS was Win 8, and I didn't even get as far as the Windows start or desktop screen!  It was before I even heard that Windows 10 was in development, so they couldn't blame Win 10 then!  I do have to say though that the tech support we pay for has been great, and I'm so glad the machine was in warranty and I had the foresight to copy the hard drive.  Something was niggling in my head that I wouldn't be able to use Dell Backup and Recovery to recover my files, which had been backed up from Windows 10.  I ended up with a new motherboard, hard drive, and optical drive, so if I hadn't copied my hard drive, and couldn't get the files back from my backup store, I would have been really stuck.  I asked a Dell tech guru on the phone, if he thought Dell would ever produce something that would allow us to work Windows 10, and his response was that they won't because it's too far down the line for the XPS 2710.  My husband always comments about technology being out of date within 3 months of buying it!  It seems to be true.  I don't think we'd ever have a Dell again, especially if someone else does a large screen all-in-one (we look at lots of building plans), because even though the tech support is good, it's a shame we needed it in the first place, and to make a machine that doesn't allow one to upgrade the OS, is really disappointing.

I really appreciate the response and the hope!  I would not know how to get at my motherboard so it could be reflashed so I'll hope for more help here and the ad I am running on Craigslist "$100 to fix". 

fugashi1 and Communiverse

You are correct.  Dell at least owed us a warning and probably some type of compensation.  It won't happen unless a class action is brought against them.  Similar to the nVidia graphics card issue with Macbooks several years ago.

The Dell Rock Stars state it's listed on Dell's website that it's not supported.   Just like the warning on their web site about scammers calling Dell customers with our private information after we've contacted Dell for support on our lemon 2710's.

It's so nice that Dell has these warnings somewhere to cover themselves after the fact.  I have covered my Dell logo's on the products I own with stickers and will never purchase another Dell product again.

For the record I never updated my 2710 to Windows 10 but something corrupted the bios on my system.  Dell didn't have a replacement board because our XPS $1500-$2000 systems are deemed too old.

I wanted to respond to let you two know that a business on eBay reflashed the bios to my motherboard and now the 2710 is working again.  I can provide you with the contact information if you'd like.  It cost me $100 which was half the cost of a new motherboard from Dell if they had one to even sell.

I've been running the Debian distro of Linux.  It was difficult to get TRIM support running in Linux.  If you don't know what that is and your 2710 has a 32GB cache drive or a SSD, then you better stick with the version of Windows that your system shipped with.

I have bypassed Dell altogether and have filed reports on government sites for cyber crimes.

Dell has not fessed up to their data breach causing these scam attempts and won't even offer parts.

I'm sad to say if you want quality support and quality hardware you need to purchase a Macbook or iMac and run Windows in Bootcamp.  Three years down the road you will still be able to get a refurbished apple product to replace the one that broke.

It would cost more to ship but they would take apart the system for you.  I would suggest downloading the manual to take off stand.  It's up to you but don't give up.  It's such a nice system it's at least worth one repair.

i have exactly same issue here. Dell support is completely joke. Operated by east indians, none of those morons know what they're doing. Just transfer call line after line only to waste time.

I regret choosing this computer. I don't care had it been under 1k price range, it costed me over 2k. 

Sigh...