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66240
March 24th, 2010 11:00
Dimension 8400 - Memory & Bios Upgrade & system does not boot anymore
I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and I recently upgraded the memory from 3 GB to 4 GB. The system booted and appeared to recognize the memory. The instructions I received with the memory stated to also check for a Bios update. I went ahead and checked to Dell website for the latest Bios for my Dimension 8400 using my service tag. I did not have the most up to date Bios and therefore downloaded the latest version. The download went fine and the system asked to reboot. I checked yes and the as the computer was shutting down, I got a message on the screen stating windows is shutting down. After a half hour, my monitor was still showing that windows is shutting down. I did not hear any noise from the computer and thought that it had froze up on me. I then killed the power to the computer and then tried to restart the computer with the power back on. My computer no longer boots up at all. The computer makes about 5 - 6 beeps while trying to boot up and the fan starts racing to a high speed. Nothing shows up on the monitor. If I leave the computer on, the fan slows down, but the computer will not boot up at all.
How do I reset things to get the computer to boot up again? Is there any safety boot procedure that might work? Any ideas what could have caused the problem?
fireberd
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33.4K Posts
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March 24th, 2010 12:00
Reset the CMOS (BIOS) and if your lucky it will take care of the problem. If not the BIOS is corrupted and the ONLY recourse is to replace the motherboard with another Dell 8400 motherboard.
See Clearing CMOS settings in the Dell manual HERE <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell> If that doesn't work, power off the PC, open the case and remove the CR2032 CMOS battery for 10 minutes, reinstall with correct polarity. Power the PC back on and see if it boots.
In ref to the motherboard, Dell uses a proprietary and undocumented front panel connection thus a non-Dell motherboard would not work unless you can figure out which wires are what. Also, if you use a non-Dell motherboard (BIOS) you will need a new copy of Windows as the Dell will not install on a non-Dell motherboard.
hessme
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March 24th, 2010 19:00
Thank you very much for your response. I followed your link to the instructions to Clear the CMOS and it worked perfectly. My computer is back up and running without any issues. My computer recognizes the memory upgrade to 4 GB. I don't think I'm going to upgrade the BIOS like the install memory directions stated. If the computer works fine on an older BIOS version, I don't see a need to upgrade.
Thanks again!!
fireberd
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33.4K Posts
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March 25th, 2010 03:00
With a BIOS update, keep in mind the old saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it".