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April 7th, 2020 11:00
Inspiron 7368 won't boot with error codes
I have a Dell 7368 laptop that has been having all kinds of issues for a while. Normally hard freezing or failure to power on. I changed the battery thinking that may have been the cause. But the other day it froze again and now will not boot up at all.
The keyboard will light for a few seconds, nothing on the monitor at all and no beeps. It will flash 2 amber followed by 5 white lights. I've removed the memory and tried one at a time but same issue. I've also unhooked the battery and pressed the power for over 30 seconds, then reattached power. No difference.
I'm thinking since it flashes 2 amber 5 white that the problem may be either memory or the mainboard but unsure how to tell without spending the money to change either. Everything looks normal. No heat spots or anything that may signify damage.
Since there is no memory error displayed and I never see anything even attempting to get into the bios, I'm thinking mainboard. I also noticed that the CPU fan will spin at first when power is pressed but then powers down after about 5 to 10 seconds.
Thoughts welcome!
nyc10036
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April 7th, 2020 11:00
Are we suppose to guess at the error codes?
miturnbo
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April 7th, 2020 11:00
Ah.. Well nothing is displayed at all. I cannot even get into the diagnostics on the system. Blinking lights are all I get.
nyc10036
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April 7th, 2020 11:00
Error codes are numbers which are displayed when ePSA is run.
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miturnbo
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April 7th, 2020 11:00
Hmm. I guess I thought this being a Dell forum that people would have access to the error codes already. But as far as I know, this is what I have found on the Dell support site for the Inspiron 7000 series systems.
https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/us/en/04/inspiron-15-7560-laptop/insp-15-7560-servicemanual/diagnostics?guid=guid-9c521927-d4dd-4b00-b21f-7be423fa64ee&lang=en-us
It says for 2,5 it means Invalid Memory Installed but I'm not sure if that is trustworthy. Memory has not changed and swapping around or using just one does not change anything on the error at all. Even removing memory altogether still yields the same code.
miturnbo
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April 7th, 2020 12:00
BTW - Are you in NY? If so, very sorry to see what is happening there. Stay safe and thank you for attempting to assist on this issue. Sorry I do not have more information but since there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to get further in the troubleshooting effort, I think I'll send it to Dell and let them do their diagnostics. $39 seems like a bargain at this point. I can decide following that whether to let them fix it or do it myself once I know what's wrong.
Appreciate your thoughts on this as well.
Thank you!
miturnbo
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April 7th, 2020 13:00
Yes, that is correct. The blink codes, as stated above in this thread, mean Invalid Memory Installed. I'm doubting this to be the case though. Previously when the laptop was having lock up issues but would still boot, I ran exhaustive diagnostics from the laptop's tools and the memory tests never gave any kind of errors in those tests. I suppose it's possible that both sticks may have just crapped out but that just seems unlikely.
I could buy new memory and test I suppose but may just be cheaper to let Dell have it for a while to run diagnostics on.
Clintlgm
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April 7th, 2020 13:00
This could be all sorts of different things, from a failing SSD or RAM Something is telling your OS not to boot until you fix it. The Blinks are a code to tell you what the issue is. If I remember right your service manual will have the blink codes listed there. That's where I would start
To get this information you need to log on to support, enter your model number and most importantly Enter your Service Tag Number.
That will open all the hardware information on your Particular notebook, You should download and read your Service Manual there you will find out how to open your notebook towards the back of your service manual there is troubleshooting steps. I think you will find the blink codes there.
This article may help you. https://www.dell.com/support/article/en-us/sln309627/a-reference-guide-to-the-inspiron-notebook-diagnostic-indicators?lang=en
Checked this out myself and it sounds like the issue is your RAM 2 amber and 5 whites =