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No video in bios startup
I have a dell OptiPlex 760 small for factor desktop that I was using trouble free for a few month but I cant get it to display video during bios startup. the only video it ever showed was after Windows started booting. I pulled the backup battery out and put it back in in hopes it would clear the problem but it didn't . I'm guessing I have to re enter some bios settings before windows will boot again now because when I hit the power button the fans and lights start up like normal but I cant do anything because there is absolutely no video output. If someone could help me figure out how to fix this problem it would be great , if not I would be more then happy if someone could tell me how to boot windows with the blank bios screen and I would use it like before.
RoHe
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July 3rd, 2013 12:00
If I may...
Do you know the monitor is working correctly? Can you test it on a different PC or test a different monitor on this PC? Can you also test a different video cable, or at least reseat the current video cable connectors at both the PC and monitor ends?
When you pulled the battery, you reset BIOS to the defaults. The video output default is AUTO so it should be set to use whichever video controller it finds. From what I can tell, the USFF model doesn't have any PCI or PCI-e slots so the only video controller should be the on-board controller. If the monitor works elsewhere, this suggests your motherboard may have failed.
If you boot now, what happens if you just press Enter instead of F2?
What happens if you boot from a bootable CD or DVD, such as your Dell Windows Reinstallation disk or Dell Resources disk?
If none of this helps, you may have to replace the motherboard. Contact Dell Tech Support if it's still under warranty.
Otherwise, you might consider trying a USB>VGA or USB>DVI converter. They're not cheap (but probably less than a motherboard) and I don't know if they will even solve your problem. They plug into a USB port and connect to a monitor by VGA or DVI port. Obviously, you'll need one that doesn't require you to install drivers or other software because you can't do that now...
DELL-Nikhil D1
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June 20th, 2013 03:00
Hi andmail1298,
To isolate the issue, I would like you to remove all the external peripherals connected to the computer, remove the power cable from the desktop, press and hold the power button for 20 seconds. This process will drain all the static energy from the computer.
Now connect only the power cable, display cable to the monitor and restart the system.
If the system is beeping please listen to the beep sounds carefully and count the number of beeps and the order in which the system beeps. And also check
the status of the 4 LED lights on the front of the system tower (1,2,3,4) and reply with the LEDs lights status and beeps sounds if any. Also include the status
and color of power button light.
I would check the problem depending on the status of LED lights and help you further.
Please reply for further help.
andmail1298
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June 21st, 2013 07:00
OK , when i do this the 4 leds will go on and off in different patterns during start up ( approx 20 seconds ) then they all go out . The power button stays green till i press it again then it goes out and the fans stop. There is another green indicator under the power button that blinks at a unsteady speed and pattern. if i unplug the hard drive i get 2 beeps and led 1,2,3 go on. if i remove the ram i get a steady hum that lasts a few seconds and led 1 goes on. If I put everything back in they all go out. It does not seem like hardware as it had been working fine other than during startup, the display would stay in sleep mode till the windows icons started showing. Then i removed the battery and put it back in and now it seems to hang in bios as the display stays blank. Also i'm using a dvi to VGA adapter to run the VGA display.
DELL-Nikhil D1
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June 24th, 2013 05:00
Hi andmail1298,
Please connect the monitor using VGA cable to the VGA port on the computer and check if there is any display.
Also if possible, please try to post a video of the diagnostics LED behavior on the front of the system when it is switched on.
andmail1298
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June 24th, 2013 15:00
Where is the VGA port located?( all I could find was the DVI port ). I will try to post a video of the LED's tomorrow.
DELL-Nikhil D1
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June 25th, 2013 03:00
Hi andmail1298,
The image below shows VGA port on OptiPlex 760 Small Form Factor desktop:
andmail1298
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June 27th, 2013 08:00
Is there a ultra small form factor optilex 760? Mine has the optiplex 760 label but the panel is different from your picture.
It has only the DVI port, no VGA port, and has an external power supply. It's service tag ( same as seral # ) is <ADMIN NOTE: Service tag removed per privacy policy> . I have a video of the LED's but I'm not sure how to post it. It also has a express service code which is <ADMIN NOTE: Express service code removed per privacy policy> .
andmail1298
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June 27th, 2013 10:00
OK, try using this link to view the video (http://youtu.be/zstyX83vBGg)
DELL-Nikhil D1
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June 28th, 2013 06:00
Hi Andmail1298,
Thanks for posting the video. I checked the system specifications with the service tag in my records; your system is an Ultra Small Form Factor Optiplex 760 Desktop.
The issue appears to be with the motherboard of the system, but before we conclude, I suggest you to remove and reconnect all the internal parts in the system tower, and check.
Please refer this link to remove and replace the internal parts: http://bit.ly/121lRuQ
Please let me know the results.
andmail1298
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July 1st, 2013 11:00
No matter what I do it still does the same thing. Can this be fixed or do I have to replace the motherboard? Also if it can't be fixed would it be possible for you to tell me which keys to press in what order to go through the bios setup without seeing what the display is showing?
DELL-Kalyan S
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July 2nd, 2013 08:00
Hi Andmail1298,
Just to confirm - is the computer booting to windows and are you able to use the computer other than not being able to see the video in BIOS?
Also, did you tap F2 key only once or have you tried tapping the key repeatedly as soon as powering on the computer?
andmail1298
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July 3rd, 2013 07:00
To the first question, yes. Except ever since I re-installed the backup battery, it acts exactly how it did When I pressed the F2 key during start-up ( yes I pressed it a couple times).It starts up but the display stays blank. Before I reinstsalled the backup battery and I pressed the F2 key a few times during start-up the display stayed blank even after waiting a long time till I would restart the computer without pressing the F2 key then it would boot windows without showing bios.
andmail1298
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July 3rd, 2013 11:00
Just to make things clear, the computer does not boot right now. I,m guessing that since I had removed the battery , it is trying to prompt me to set the time or something like that before it boots but since it doesn't display anything during bios, the screen stays blank and I can't see what it is trying to tell me.
andmail1298
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July 8th, 2013 11:00
This weekend i was playing around with it again, pressing various combinations of keys to see what happens and suddenly windows booted and i could use it again. It still does not show bios during start-up but i guess i cat use it like this for now
RoHe
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July 8th, 2013 13:00
Glad you got it running again.
If this system is still under warranty, you might want to contact Dell Tech Support about swapping the motherboard.