Dimension XPS T550 won't boot without reset

It's probably to late but if this just started within the last 4-5 days, you could try a scanreg /restore. If it just started happening, restart in MS-DOS mode. At the C:\Windows> prompt type in cd C:\. At the C:>\ prompt type in scanreg /restore. This will give you a choice of dates to restore from. If your problem started before these dates, restore won't help.

Thanks- tried that, but when I selected the earliest possible restore date, I got a "failed" message. In any case, problem started before that date. Any other ideas? Somebody in the BIOS forum suggested I might have a loose connection, and that I should open the case, reseat the connectors and blow out the dust bunnies. Haven't tried it yet, but seems simple enough to try.  Thanks again.

wmklmr

You can look here to see if CleanSweep made a backup that you can restore from.
C:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton CleanSweep\Backup.

If there is one, you can try restore using NSW - restore wizard.
Also, you could try scanreg /restore with the /fix switch (scanreg /restore /fix).

I just had a suggestion made to me, try re-flashing the BIOS.  I'm not sure this would help, to me it still sounds like something isn't putting out or getting the right voltage from a cold start, but a bios re-flash is pretty easy to do and doesnt cost you anything.   It's worth a try.

You can download the latest bios flash for your machine from Dell's software site and follow the instructions to create a boot floppy disk that will automatically run the bios flash program.   Ya never know.......

I disagree with the previous solutions, this is a hardware problem of some sort.  My first suspicion would be the power supply, but it could be a failing processor or component on the motherboard as well.

If you decide to investigate the power supply, be aware that these are NOT standard ATX supplies, some rocket scientist at Dell decided to make them proprietary by switching a few of the leads around, so a "normal" ATX supply will not work

You can either buy a new Dell one for an outrageous price, or buy a regular ATX supply and a $10 adapter made to solve just such a problem......go to http://www.centrix-intl.com/ and do a search for "dell"

Why this was necessary is beyond me.  The Dimension XPS-T machines use an Intel 440-BX motherboard, admittedly with some modifications, but mucking up the power supply leads was just stupid and greedy on Dell's part, it just looks like they want to make sure you have to buy THEIR replacement parts instead of more reasonably priced alternatives.

Good luck and remember it could be any one of a number of things, but its not a software problem, otherwise you would get your boot-up screens every time.....those show up even if you don't have a single drive installed in the computer

I tried opening the case and reseating connectors. Also tried flashing BIOS with A09 version. No change. I also ran Dell Diagnostics for hardware problems and didn't uncover anything. There were no back-up files in Clean Sweep to try to restore from.

I'm thinking this is a power supply problem, too. Only new information is I watched the system carefully when I cold-start it. The hard drive indicator light comes on, you can hear the hard drive whirring for a moment, then everything stops before the monitor powers up. Again, resetting gets everything going normally.

 

Any suggestions on where to get a compatible replacement power supply?

wmklmr,
You can get a Dell-compatible power supply at http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/highperformance/turbocools/index_hp_atx.htm or you can buy a power supply from your favorite brick and mortar or online retail and get the adapter here (look at the last item under OEM replacement) to keep a standard ATX power supply from burning up in your T550 and possibly taking your motherboard and CPU with it.

This is only a guess, but if you can boot up using the reset button, that should rule out the power supply. Try doing a SFC to see if any (critical) files were deleted that may be needed to run your OS. From the Start button-> Run-> type in SFC -> OK and see what it comes up with.

Message Edited by chuket on 03-14-2003 12:28 AM

Just a thought, but if you haven't replace the little battery inside case that is used to keep BIOS settings, after three years it probably needs replaced.  Good Luck.  Keep us posted, as I also have an XPS T550.

PROBLEM SOLVED! I tried all of the above suggestions with no luck. Then I started having errors with my ethernet card, and decided out of desparation to do a clean install of windows, and PRESTO! No more startup problems. Looks like this was an operating system problem after all, although it sure sounded like hardware to me. Thanks to everybody for the help.