XPS8700 short beep

"Further, in regards to the issues with ‘Beep Code’ at startup; it seems that the Motherboard is a point of failure and needs replacement. I would like to assure you that we will replace the Motherboard in the system "

Now I am totally disgusted in a system that is but 20 days old. I think I will be returning my product to Dell. It seems like one hand doesn't know what the other is doing and I am the guinea pig. Nope, not me. Until Dell can get their act together I will steer clear from them. looks like they will get another computer back!

On another post (XPS8700 Issues:need feedback) I saw this reply

"Hi all,

Hi

I have a brand new Dell XPS 8700 and it does one short beep at boot, which I understand is normal and indicates a successful POST.

My sister in law has the same exact Dell XPS 8700 pc, and her machine beeps once at boot as well.

From what I understand this is normal and not indicative of a problem.

Wow again. Maybe we should go work for Dell because the Tech (name withheld) specifically states "

Further, in regards to the issues with ‘Beep Code’ at startup; it seems that the Motherboard is a point of failure and needs replacement. I would like to assure you that we will replace the Motherboard in the system".

I thank you for the insight and it makes me somewhat relieved but I tend to trust the info from the Tech at Dell and he specifically states the motherboard needs replacing. I think maybe you and you sister might want to open up a Tech request about your problem. It seems that they most likely have put in a bunch of bad boards and only the people experiencing the beep problem are talking about it. I think for the money we have invested it would be good to open a case just so you will have it on record. I still have about 10 days to return my system to Dell and would hope that you still have ample time to get yours returned before they start playing parts swap on your.

Yes, it's misleading, as are related troubleshooting documents available from Dell.  I had the same panic attack when I bought mine a few weeks ago and it beeped at first boot.  I researched the issue online and found several forum threads and complaints about Dell support, and beep code troubleshooting charts all suggesting that one beep at boot is a sign of a mother board error.  One customer actually shipped his pc back to Dell even though all diags passed and no problems existed other than the notorious beep.  Also, nothing anywhere in writing from Dell that one beep at boot  is normal.   

The bottom line is if the PC boots and loads the operating system and all's well, there's no reason to be concerned.

Also, I would suggest getting a 256 GB SSD drive for under $200, reinstalling the OS on it from scratch, and using the hard drive for data storage and backup.  The XPS 8700 screams.

As of now I have  John C. from DELL Social Outreach Services telling me it is normal and then on the other I have Y-S- from Dell Technical Support telling me the motherboard needs replacing. By the signature on his email I assume he has firsthand knowledge about a problem with the motherboard where as John C. is a Social Outreach Services rep. Who would you believe? The tech who I assume works with the unit on a day to day basis. I plead to you all who say it is normal, to get a first hand first person acknowledgement from Dell Support.  As I said before it wouldn’t hurt and who knows it might start the departments at Dell communicating with each other.  Either way me as the consumer lose because of the time and frustration I have put into this. Maybe they will change the manual and state the beep is normal and should be ignored maybe they will recall all of them and put new boards in. Either way DELL should address this issue and straighten up the confusion amongst the departments and with the public.

Hi BeepsWhirls,

I can understand your frustrations as you're being told two different messages, however I just want to put your mind at ease - Dell representatives that have signatures stating that they are from Social Outreach Services are part of the overall Technical Support organisation at Dell. I myself have been part of Dell Technical Support in various roles for 7 years.

Regarding the confusion surrounding this, I want to reiterate that only repeated beeps from this system relate to error conditions. A single beep from the system at POST indicates that the system has passed the POST successfully and will boot to the installed operating system. As such, a single beep shows that the system is functioning 

I've sent you a friend request asking for case details - this is so I can contact the agents you have been dealing with in order to ensure that the correct message is passed on to all of our customers who may contact about this.

Thanks again!

Glad to hear it. I was going to call in about the beep myself.

I am intrigued, however, that the Dell give so little info when its doing the post check. Is there any way to see the various tests its running? Also, when its past post, it does not give the old message to hit f12, or f2, etc. I wonder why that wasl left out on the newer models.

Brad

Hpsupercell is here I'm having the same problem to but mine is about two years old at most. It did boot up earlier fine but I had tons of sudden annoying restarts, Please make this rightfor all of us.

Hpsupercell is here I'm having the same problem to but mine is about two years old at most. It did boot up earlier fine but I had tons of sudden annoying restarts, Please make this rightfor all of us.

Please don't double-post the same question. Answered in your other thread.