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dewey32105

12 Posts

12913

January 27th, 2007 00:00

dimension 9200 won't start the first time

When i first start up the computer from sitting all night , the dell screen appears the bar is quarter of the way over & in the right hand corners F2  &F12 ,  if you shut it down & start it again it will work, tried the dell tech advice 5  times nothing seems to work , they say go to F2 then USB controller then no boot , then save & exit but that doesn't work it still the same next morning I have tried everything tried different power outlets, tried uninstall all in one printer then installing again 3 times, nothing seems to work this did not happen when I first got the computer in dec. it just started in early Jan. need Help ?

x_lab rat

2K Posts

January 27th, 2007 01:00

The diagnostic lights should stop progressing the same time the bar does.  The pattern they display is a clue to what's stopping it.  The codes are in the manual and online at Dell support.
 
But surely when you called they asked that, not?  Yes, BIOS can delay or hang trying to get boot status from an unbootable USB device.  Of course you only need to turn it off once if that's the problem.
 
Assuming it's in warranty, keep calling.  It might be onset of motherboard failure.  You need the problems 'on record'.  Meanwhile, first thing I'd do is disconnect all USB except kybd & mouse and see if the problem changes.  If the printer causes it and it's still in warranty, it should be replaced.

dewey32105

12 Posts

January 27th, 2007 10:00

just tried it this morning & the lights go on 1234 then 123 light up but not number 4, then stops called dell again , they just make me do the same thing, so tonight I will unistall the printer & see what happens in the morning Thanks for the help. dewey 

x_lab rat

2K Posts

January 27th, 2007 14:00

Lights 1, 2, 3 on and 4 off is the end of the cycle, where the system is looking at potential boot devices--HDD, CDD, USB.  If it can't communicate with one of those, or can't decide whether it's bootable or not, it pauses for up to 3 minutes waiting for devices to become 'ready'. 
 
One thing that will cause this pause is installing an optical drive that is much newer than the system and is not 'on the list' of recognized devices.  Updating BIOS can resolve this.
 
But none of that explains why it works right the second time you try.  There is a pre-failure mode in harddrives where the drive doesn't 'ready' until it has run for a minute or two.  I'd say "run Dell Diagnostic extended HDD test", but Dell Diag will pass a drive in pre-failure and never know anything was wrong.  However if you know what to listen for, you can tell the drive is failing even though it's passing diagnostics.  Well, I needn't have brought that up, because I can't explain in text 'what to listen for'.
 
There is a history of Dells wanting to boot from all-in-one USB printers.  Turning off USB boot should stop that--but then computers should just work and a sprawling website for diagnosing problems shouldn't be necessary.  Nonetheless, here we are.
 
If unplugging the printer 'fixes' it, call back and tell them that, along with making a note of the BIOS revision number that shows up when you first turn it on. 

dewey32105

12 Posts

January 27th, 2007 18:00

when I install my all in one printer the next time  should I choose personal installtion or netwrok installation. dell said use personal but I see now I my set up instructions it says choose network can you help me, I am new at this sort of thing.
Thanks dewey

x_lab rat

2K Posts

January 27th, 2007 19:00

The driver is already there, waiting for the hardware to show up.  Plugging it in 'installs' it.  (Though over time there have been drivers that crash the system if their hardware was suddenly missing.)
 
Far as network/personal, you have conflicting advice and I don't have printer-conflict experience to advise you further.  Shoot, try it the other way, see what it does.

Kravena

16 Posts

March 21st, 2007 11:00

I am also getting this exact same issue.
 
I have a Dell 9200 with the latest bios 2.3.0, when the system boots the bios, it gets so far and then stops with the lights 1,2 & 3 lit.   After checking up, this combination of lights refers to a USB issue.  So, by unplugging all my USB devices and re-attaching them one by one and booting, I discovered that if I connect my Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000, the bios refuses to boot.
 
This sounds like a BIOS issue that needs to be corrected.
 
K.

dewey32105

12 Posts

March 21st, 2007 18:00

I think I fix my problem , because it only happened after I hooked up the all in one printer, Dell tried everything, even sent out 3 more printers, I ask to have new cable sent out to as I had ordered one with the printer a 10 foot black one, they said oh no couldn't be the cable, well I was so fed up with them I went to Wal-Mart bought a heavy cable because the other one was very light, & I haven't had a problem since, & it has been 2 months now, maybe you could try new cables you never know.
Dewey

Kravena

16 Posts

March 21st, 2007 19:00

Well, for me, if I plug in the USB camera after bootup, it works perfectly.  And on my old Dell 9100, if the USB Camera was plugged in all the time, it always booted.  So, I don't think the cable is the issue.
 
I have only just started to use the camera on my 9200 because Logitech have only just released the drivers for it, so there was no reason to plug it in before.
 
K.

x_lab rat

2K Posts

March 21st, 2007 20:00

Turns out 'Universal Serial Bus' is not quite as Universal as we were led to believe.  But it's a catchier name than BIOS-Dependent Serial Bus, which it ends up being at POST. 
 
Windows has drivers and stuff, can usually sort it out.  BIOS is like, "D-u-u-u-h, why isn't the printer/cam/scanner sending me its boot sector?  Maybe it's stuck in the drive-thru at Starbucks.  I'll just wait." :smileyvery-happy:
 

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