Inspiron 3847, boot problem

Question

Computer was working fine on Friday while kids were doing homework. Came in to do homework today and the screen was sitting on the dell logo. Restarted computer but after 45 minutes its still sitting on Dell screen and the light is white on the tower. I can restart it and while holding the shift key and f8 get it to display F2 settings and F12 boot options in the upper right corner. While this pops up there is also a blue loading bar that appears. I can hold the shift key and it pauses the loading bar. If i let go then it resumes. If I let go of the shift key and select with f2 or f12, both options disappear along with the blue loading bar and it just sits on the dell screen. I have also unplugged everything and plugged it back in with the power being last with the same result. Lost at what to try next.

redxps630 · Accepted Answer

bingo. you figured it out.  hdd was stalling the POST and after you disconnected the sata cable to hdd motherboard no longer sees the bad hdd, therefore POST proceeds to completion.  now you need to get a working hdd or ssd.

RoHe · Answer

Version of Windows?

For starters, power off and unplug power cord from rear of PC and from the wall. If you're using a surge protector or power strip remove those.

Then press/hold power button on front of PC for ~30 sec. Now reconnect power cord to rear of PC and last, directly to the wall. See if it boots now...

If that doesn't help, reboot and immediately start tapping F12 (and nothing else). Assuming the F12 menu opens, look for the option to run diagnostics and run all of them, including RAM and hard drive tests...

Can you test this monitor on a different PC or a different monitor on this PC?

Do you have an add-in video card (eg, NVidia) or do you only have onboard Intel HD Graphics? And what video port are you using on PC and on monitor?

redxps630 · Answer

Your pc is stalling during POST when it is stuck at Dell logo screen indefinitely. It could not complete the pre boot basic firmware test. I suggest you remove all hdd ssd odd connection to motherboard and test again. If no more stalling then HDD failed. If still stuck, remove all ram sticks and put only one stick back in DIMM1 and test again. if no change try the next ram stick until all 4 are tested individually. use on board VGA video for the test (remove discrete video card first).

either bad hdd or bad ram can cause POST stalling (I have personal experience w both scenario), but those are not the only two possible suspects. If you have 4 ram sticks, chances are not all 4 fail at same time but you never know. If you are lucky either hdd or only one ram failed then you still have a good ram to help pc pass POST. Your issue is not the same as No POST when there is no video at all on screen. Your cpu is unlikely to fail in the interval given pc was working a few days ago and you did not remove it from socket. It is like playing detective Poirot when there is a crime scene. If psu is failing you will more likely get No POST or trouble turning on power button than stalling.

RoHe · Answer

One more thingy...

The service manual doesn't show the back panel, so look on the back for a power supply LED indicator. Is it on/green when PC is only showing the splash screen?

If there's a push button next to the LED, read this about using that PSU BIST button to test the power supply.

speedstep · Answer

Hard drive has given up the ghost. Time to buy new drive and install Windows 10 OEM system builder dvd.

The win8 key in bios will work fine to install 10 home or pro. The media for home or pro is the same.

You cannot use pro if your windows genuine sticker doesnt say pro on it.

https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-pro-64-bit-reinstall-recovery-disc-only-no-license-key-included/p/N82E16832350238

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-Drive-3-5-Inch/dp/B07H2RR55Q/

Geeteedan · Answer

Thanks for the reply, going to go thru and check all these suggestions now. BTW, its running windows 8 if I can remember correctly and everything in it is how it was bought.

Geeteedan · Answer

it flipped the image upside down for some reason but if you have a minute,  could you possibly show which connections to remove and try the reboot? Thanks

Geeteedan · Answer

Unplugged the power cord from wall and pc and held button for 30. Installed in correct order and restarted, Same dell screen. Restarted again and only pressing f12 repeatedly does nothing. Monitor is connected using the 15 pin connection 🤷‍ . Graphics card is the original one.

Geeteedan · Answer

Back panel does have the green light on one the power supply. My unit has 2 sticks of 4GB 1Rx8 PC3

I removed one and restarted and then swapped them and installed just the other. Both times it still shows the same dell screen.

Geeteedan · Answer

Appreciate it, will check out that solution in the morning.

redxps630 · Answer

unplug all the sata data cables from motherboard and try again.  I have blue circled the sata ports in the linked pic. if that works and you are able to pass Dell logo screen, then one of the drives connected to mobo before is the culprit, likely hdd.

shinschery1 · Answer

If you having a Windows recovery tool, try to boot with that CD or Flash Drive. That might solve your issue.

Geeteedan · Answer

Unplugged both of those and get this It gets past the dell logo now and shows Hard-disk drive failure No bootable device Strike f1 to retry boot, f2 enter setup menu, f5 enter psa

3arana · Answer

@Geeteedan​ you never solved it? because two years later I ran into the same problem and I have tried everything, nothing is wrong with my hardware or everything did the advanced diagnosis test. Wondering If you ever did solve it

Inspiron Desktops

Inspiron 3847, boot problem

Was this post helpful?