(Another) Dell Inspiron 530 will not boot up! Meaning of error code??

Hi DougMacHi,

I’d suggest that you follow the steps mentioned below and check if the system starts up.

1. Switch off the computer.
2. Disconnect the power cable from the wall.
3. Press and hold down the power button for 15 seconds.
4. Then connect back all the peripherals and check if the system switches ON.

If the system is switching ON then I would suggest that you run the diagnostics on the computer by following the steps mentioned below and check if there is any issue with the hardware on your system.

1. Turn on or restart the computer.
2. Immediately at the Dell logo screen, starting tapping the key once a second until the One Time Boot menu appears (if the computer boots to Windows turn the computer off and try again).
3. At the One Time Boot menu, press the arrow key to highlight Diagnostics, PSA+ or Enter ePSA, then press to begin the hardware Diagnostics.
4. Write down any error codes listed. Reply to us with the error codes.

Ravi,

Thank you for your suggestions.

If you read my addendum carefully you will note I have already followed your suggestions (with the exception of the diagnostic). I did not explicitly state holding the power button with the power cord disconnected but that was one one of the first things I did. Then I reset the CMOS & tried to boot, removed the MB battery, reset the CMOS again & tried to boot...changed the power supply. & did boot once (see addendum)....Maybe I should also note here that when I was doing this I had disconnected all peripherals except for the monitor & keyboard. (no mouse...no need, the bios does not support it anyway). Please note the problem is:

NOT being able to get to the BIOS...the machine appears to power on but not as far as the Dell logo (ie the bios is not loaded).

My original partition with the Dell diagnostics is long gone but I still have the Dell Diag. CD. The problem is, to run it, I will have to power down & up - and I will likely not get to the F12 stage.

So, what I really want to know,  is the meaning of the error code (25) that I did receive (see OP) when I finally managed a successful boot.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help with that.

Computer is off. After pushing the power button it briefly flashes orange and then changes to a steady blue light, the fans are running hard, nothing appears on the video. And it stays that way, the BIOS does not load.  (No Dell logo)

After multiple attempts it did boot normally and gave this message:
"ALERT! PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS AT BOOTING THIS SYSTEM HAVE FAILED AT CHECKPOINT [25]. FOR HELP IN RESOLVING THIS PROBLEM, PLEASE NOTE THIS CHECKPOINT AND CONTACT DELL TECHNICAL SUPPORT"
Can anyone please tell me what the error code means?

I posted a fuller description here:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19512509.aspx

Hi Doug,

Checkpoint errors are AMI BIOS problems. The first thing I would do is to reset the CMOS. Locate the 3-pin CMOS jumper (CLEAR CMOS) on the system board. Remove the jumper plug from the CMOS jumper (CLEAR CMOS) pins 2 and 3. Place the jumper plug on the CMOS jumper (CLEAR CMOS) pins 1 and 2 and wait approximately five seconds. Remove the jumper plug and replace it on the CMOS jumper (CLEAR CMOS) pins 2 and 3.

Before you try to boot the system, unplug everything except the monitor, keyboard and mouse.

This resets everything, so you'll need to boot to the BIOS, if you can, and change the setting to fit your hardware.

Checkpoint 25 is related to USB problems. Have you cleared BIOS as Osprey suggested in your other thread?

If that hasn't helped, disconnect all USB devices except mouse and keyboard and clear BIOS again.

If that still doesn't help, clear BIOS again and try a different USB mouse and keyboard on this PC and/or test this mouse and keyboard on a different PC.

Hi Ron,

I appreciate any help. To answer your question, yes, I did clear the BIOS (at least twice, please see my above reply to Ravi). Did not connect the mouse so that is not an issue but your idea of changing the keyboard might be a good one.

Once the BIOS actually loads everything (including the keyboard) is working normally.

My present concern is in order to try your suggestion I will have to attempt a reboot & it seems very possible that I won't get as far as loading the BIOS & then I will have a dead machine.

May I ask the source of your info that checkpoint 25 is related to USB issues?

Below is a screenshot of the error message.

Thanks for the suggestion,

Doug

My system is a Dell Ispiron 537

Hi Sellfty2005,

Is that a Dell diagnostic error code 0123? If so, it indicates a RAM problem. Can you provide more detail?

I have the same issue but have received a 0123 error 

Shut the PC down. Open it up and remove all RAM modules. Insert one module and try to boot the system. It may be slow. Keep trying one module at a time until you determine which one is giving the error.

That is correct.  I try to boot up  PC and it will on go to error warning screen when it does come up