Black Screen will not boot two short beeps

Question

When I turned the power on the laptop makes two consecutive short beeps and the LCD stays black. And it stay on and do not shut down but the screen is still balck with no picture at all.
I try to remove
Mini PCI network/modem combo
Batteries
AC Adapter
Any peripherals and PCMCIA Cards
Hard drive
optical and floppy drives

and reseated my RAMs.

The system led did not blink at all it stay on all the time.

What can I do to resolve this problem?

funtoupgrade · Answer

Let's start with some system info. Please tell us which model laptop and its configuration. Also which version of Windows you are using. If you want to try something before forum members jump in try reseating your memory module(s).

funtoupgrade

JI18GU · Answer

I have a Inspiron 8100 Pentium III 1.2Ghz 50GB IBM harddrive, 126RAM 64 Radon 7500 Grapic card and using Windows XP.

JI18GU · Answer

I have a Inspiron 8100 Pentium III 1.2Ghz 50GB IBM harddrive, 126RAM 64 Radon 7500 Grapic card and using Windows XP.

funtoupgrade · Answer

When a laptop will not boot there are some standard steps to take before we condemn your hard drive or motherboard or ?. First, remove all drives including the hard drive (see owner's manual if not sure how to do this). Remove the plate on the bottom of the laptop which covers the memory modules. Remove the module(s) per instructions in manual. Insert one only module in the first slot (marked either Dimm1 or DimmA). Startup laptop and see if it will boot to the setup screen (F2 on startup). If it will not boot and you have a second memory module then try it instead of the first one you tried. If still no luck there is a good chance you have a bad motherboard unless your memory went bad. Another possibility is a faulty or bad CPU. The best thing to do at this point is to remove and reinstall the CPU following the directions in the Removing and Replacing Parts Guide downloadable from the Dell Web-site.   If the laptop booted successfully you can turn it off and reinstall the hard drive, then see if it will boot to set-up screen. On the first page make sure the BIOS recognized the hard drive. If it says none installed then you probably have a bad hard drive. If still ok, continue to put the drives back in one by one with the laptop off and restarting until you find the offending drive or get it working normally again. After doing all this then please report back to the forum for more advice.   After rereading your original post it seems you have tried most of this except reseating the CPU which you should do.  Also if you have access to an external monitor try plugging it in and see if it works.  Did you try the Fn + F8 keys (which switch between LCD and external monitor) just to make sure the laptop is toggled the right way?   funtoupgrade Message Edited by funtoupgrade on 03-16-2005 09:32 AM

drewgmiller · Answer

I had the same problem and it ended up being the system board.  Unfortunately, I had to send it to Dell 3 times before they finally realized what it was.  I hope you have better luck.

funtoupgrade · Answer

After you find out the price of a new motherboard from Dell you will begin looking for a new laptop! They charge two or three times what they are worth. The overwhelming advice from most forum members will be to buy a new laptop. Personally, if I were happy with the performance of the 8100 I would buy a replacement motherboard on eBay. If you follow my "Tips for Buying on Ebay" post of a month or so ago on this forum, you should have no problem. With patience you should be able to find one in the $150 range that is guaranteed to work normally on arrival.

funtoupgrade

JI18GU · Answer

What is the number that I should call to get a service? Can I order a motherboard and install it myself.

Locked Topics – Laptops General

Black Screen will not boot two short beeps

Was this post helpful?