You can clear the NVRAM as OneTrickDog stated, but instead of waiting an hour just press the ON button for several seconds with the battery removed and the machine unplugged. This will dissipate any residual electrical charge on the motherboard and has the same effect as leaving the machine sit for an hour. After the NVRAM is cleared, with the XPS D model you may have to reset your processor speed. I have included a link below to a Dell Knowledge Base article on how to do that.
Unplug the system from electrical source. Press and hold the power button. Open the system and remove the CMOS battery and leave like this for one hour. Replace battery and reattach power cord. Boot system.
A big thank you to all of you for your help and support. I'm enjoying trying to correct the fault and your help is considerable. By the way, I can't boot to the a:\ drive for some reason, even if I put a disk in the a:\ drive. It just goes to invalid system disk again but surely it should boot from the floppy? I wonder if I have a boot virus now?
Yes, there is only one battery. I have included a link below to the on-line version of the XPS D User Guide and the diagram of the motherboard. The battery is the 3v round battery that looks like a watch battery. In the diagram it is colored light blue/green.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>
If you can still boot to your C: drive and the problem only effects the floppy drive then I doubt you have a virus. Try going into the BIOS Setup and check to see if the floppy drive is listed correctly under the Diskette Options menu. Also check the Boot Menu of the BIOS Setup to see if the floppy is listed as a bootable device. In this menu it will be listed as a "Removable Device."
Do you still have the same problem with your PC, or were you able to resolve it. I just got the same pb, and I am wondering if there is a solution. Mine seems worse, since my system stalls at the Dell screen. The extended memory won't even count up.
Majestic
9.4K Posts
0
May 24th, 2004 19:00
Ron
You can clear the NVRAM as OneTrickDog stated, but instead of waiting an hour just press the ON button for several seconds with the battery removed and the machine unplugged. This will dissipate any residual electrical charge on the motherboard and has the same effect as leaving the machine sit for an hour. After the NVRAM is cleared, with the XPS D model you may have to reset your processor speed. I have included a link below to a Dell Knowledge Base article on how to do that.
OneTrickDog
595 Posts
0
May 24th, 2004 19:00
Unplug the system from electrical source. Press and hold the power button. Open the system and remove the CMOS battery and leave like this for one hour. Replace battery and reattach power cord. Boot system.
ceri sheeran
2 Intern
•
1.7K Posts
0
May 24th, 2004 19:00
Hi,
Follow the post regarding taking the battery out for an hour or so,
If this doesn't work
Check all IDE cables are on securely at both ends if necessary them
Also check power connectors and voltages.
If possible check hard disk in another machine, run virus scans and spyware removal scans on it.
What do the diagnostic lights on rear of machine show
Do all the hard disks & fans including PSU spin
What operating system are you using.
If Win 9x
Download the file to create a Win 98 SE boot disk from http://www.bootdisk.com Run downloaded file to create boot disk
Boot from floppy disk
Give exact details of all error messages.
If this fails, Strip out the machine to just CPU, one memory stick and video card
Connect monitor mouse & keyboard and try booting. Add one component at a time.
Post back
Ceri
ronwyatt
3 Posts
0
May 24th, 2004 20:00
ronwyatt
3 Posts
0
May 24th, 2004 20:00
Majestic
9.4K Posts
0
May 24th, 2004 20:00
Yes, there is only one battery. I have included a link below to the on-line version of the XPS D User Guide and the diagram of the motherboard. The battery is the 3v round battery that looks like a watch battery. In the diagram it is colored light blue/green.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>
Majestic
9.4K Posts
0
May 25th, 2004 11:00
kjsdad
1 Message
0
December 7th, 2004 16:00
Hi Ron
Do you still have the same problem with your PC, or were you able to resolve it. I just got the same pb, and I am wondering if there is a solution. Mine seems worse, since my system stalls at the Dell screen. The extended memory won't even count up.
Diby