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7123
March 28th, 2020 11:00
Precision Tower 3620, troubleshooting
Hi, some time ago my Precision 3620 stopped working.
That is, it would not boot, but instead the power button LED started blinking amber.
At first glance I read that would imply a PSU failure, which I promptly replaced to no avail.
Only to figure out the 2,1 blinking pattern implied a system board failure.
I now replaced the motherboard and guess what: it still does not boot and shows the 2,1 blinking pattern.
In all fairness, after some tries of unplugging/plugging, it some times DOES start, get stuck permanently at the DELL logo intro screen and such.
I further took each of the 2 memory bars out separately. No change.
What next? The CPU?
Before I buy a Intel Core i7-6700 and start having a clone of the 3620
I wonder what to do? Is the blinking diagnostic unreliable? After all, its a new motherboard.
Open for all suggestions.
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RoHe
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March 28th, 2020 13:00
A 2-1 blink code on the Precision Tower 3620 is "system board failure".
Sisyphos81
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March 28th, 2020 13:00
Sorry, of course, my bad: is a Precision Tower 3620.
RoHe
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March 28th, 2020 14:00
Are you sure the replacement board is good? Are all cables securely connected?
If you installed your original CPU, did you clean top of CPU and bottom of the heat sink and apply a thin coat of thermal paste before re-attaching the heat sink to top of CPU?
Do you get a beep code if you remove all RAM modules and try to boot?
Try removing all add-in PCI-e cards, including add-in video card, if installed, and disconnect all drives, except boot drive and see if it boots with monitor connected to one of the onboard video ports, plus mouse connected.
Did you clear BIOS on the new (or old) board and install a fresh 3-volt CR2032 lithium coin cell motherboard battery...? Power off, unplug and press/hold power button for ~15 sec. Remove motherboard battery and press/hold power button for ~30 sec. Install fresh battery, close up and try to boot. You should clear BIOS each time you install/uninstall/disconnect any component(s), eg RAM, cards, drives...
And for future reference, the Precision Workstation forum is here.