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Studio XPS 8100 will not start
Hello! I have a 2010 studio xps 8100 (Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80GHz, 8GB ram) and it is awesome when it is working. Last week I was out of town and when I came back it would not start up. I can turn it on and the fans start up, but it doesn't pass POST and so doesn't boot. I tested the ram and it seemed ok (two beeps when tried to boot up without ram, no beeps when ram is properly placed). The original graphics card died last year and I had replaced it with an EVGA Geforce GTX 750, which I chose because it was one of the few cards that could work with the 350w psu that came with the computer. I thought that maybe the psu was failing so replaced it with a 500w psu, but the problem persists. I then read somewhere that if you are having date/time snyc problems (which I was when the computer could turn on) that you need to replace the battery on the motherboard, so I did that and still won't start. I'm not sure what else I can do, is the motherboard dead? I've tried the drain the power trick (holding down power button while unplugged for 30 seconds) and that hasn't worked either.
RoHe
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July 1st, 2016 14:00
Not necessarily...
If the video card is faulty, the PC could still boot but you just wouldn't see anything on the monitor, so I don't know that you can actually say it doesn't pass POST.
When you tested the monitor with your laptop, did you use the same cable and video port on the monitor that you use with the desktop? If you used a different port on the monitor with laptop than with the desktop, that's not a fair test.
Have you tried reseating the video card in its slot and checking the video cable connections at both ends?
This system has onboard video and your add-in video card. So you can remove the add-in card and switch the monitor over to an on-board video port. According to the specs, the onboard video has HDMI and DVI outputs, so assuming your monitor supports either of those, you have an easy way to test further.
NOTE: The onboard video ports are DISABLED unless you physically remove the add-in video card. So you can't just move the video cable to an onboard port while the video card is installed.
RoHe
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June 30th, 2016 13:00
Did you press/hold the power button for ~15 sec after unplugging the PC and again for ~30 sec after you removed the motherboard battery, before reinstalling the battery?
Are you sure the new battery is good and installed correctly?
What color is power button and is it steady or blinking?
Do you see anything on the monitor?
maddygillis
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June 30th, 2016 20:00
Thank you for responding! I tried your first suggestion (draining power after removing the battery/before installing new battery) but it didn't help.
I'm assuming the new battery is good because it is new, but not sure how to test it. I don't have anything else that uses the same battery (CR2032). I'm fairly positive it's installed correctly, I followed the instructions in the service manual and it was a very simple process.
The power button is a steady white. Sometimes I have to hold the power button down for a few seconds to get it to start up, other attempts it starts up right away.
The monitor remains in sleep mode. If I turn the monitor on and off it goes back into sleep mode after a few seconds. The monitor is working, though. When I plug it into my laptop it shows my laptop screen with no problem.
RoHe
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July 1st, 2016 13:00
Well you could just buy another battery, and make sure it's installed "right-side-up".
How do you know it doesn't "pass the POST"?
Does the monitor go into its power saving mode?
Failed video card?
maddygillis
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July 1st, 2016 13:00
Yeah, but I'm pretty sure the battery is not the issue. If it was I would be getting battery error beep codes (5 beeps).
It doesn't pass POST because it doesn't boot...
Yes, the monitor goes into power saving mode.
Might be a failed video card- I was skeptical because I had just bought a new one. If it is I'm in luck because I should still have a warranty on it. When I remove the graphics card I get the correct beep errors (6 beeps) but when the card is installed there are no beeps.
RoHe
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July 1st, 2016 22:00
Glad you got it sorted.
If the adapter failed, it might have overloaded things and that could have turned off the USB ports...
At least it's running ok again. Be safe and back up your personal files on external media ASAP. :emotion-5:
maddygillis
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July 1st, 2016 22:00
Well, I feel pretty dumb now! Thanks for the port suggestion, Ron. My desktop requires a converter for the monitor cable but the laptop doesn't. Plugged the desktop into the TV with an HDMI cable and the dell logo appeared when the computer turned on but then everything went black. Tried again after hooking up my keyboard and, to my surprise, the keyboard worked and I was able to get into setup and reset the cmos config. Then everything proceeded as usual. Found another VGA-DVI adapter lying around and poof! Everything seems fine. Although probably something besides the adapter had to have gone bad initially since I wasn't getting any power to my keyboard and mouse before replacing the battery. But hooray! No expensive replacements needed. :)