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Dell 7720 bios corruption, unable to reflash, help please!
Hello,
My 7720 which I have owned for years decided to throw a wobbler last week and now when I turn on the power nothing happens other then lights appear, no fan, no screen, no beeps.
If I remove the RAM I get beeps and I can press D when it starts for the display check which it does before going back to a black screen.
I have tried a few methods using a 2GB USB and a bios to reflash the bio. The USB flashes and the fan spins up but it doesn't reboot and the lights stop flashing.
Am I doing this wrong, do I need to wait longer or is my laptop broken in some other way
Thanks
J
DELL-Rishi
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August 28th, 2016 09:00
Hi JBUGMAN,
When you remove the memory modules, how many beeps in a cycle are generated?
Press and hold the fn key + power button to turn on the system and it should initiate the diagnostics. If you encounter an error, listen to the exact # of beeps in a cycle, this should help isolate the source of the issue.
If nothing works, then I would suspect a motherboard failure.
Presuming there is no warranty, you could contact our team to get a quote for a paid service call - http://dell.to/1vnT6CQ.
Personally, I would suggest you invest your money in a new machine than to repair an old system. However, this is your discretion.
Also, please click my DELL-username and write me a private conversation with the service tag and your contact details(Name and Email) for case records.
Let us know if you have any other queries.
ejn63
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August 28th, 2016 09:00
A corrupt BIOS will send a set of single-beep errors.
If you haven't:
Remove the battery, unplug the system, and hold the power button for 30 sec. Remove and reinstall both memory modules and the hard drive.
Leave the battery out and plug the AC adapter only into the wall. The LED on it or on the DC cable should come on and stay on. If it doesn't, replace the adapter with a new one.
Plug in the system end. The LED should stay on. If it doesn't, there's a short in the system - commonly with the DC jack, but it can also happen with the USB ports (check to make sure the pins in the USB ports are not shorting the port). See if the system will power up - it it will, but won't with the battery installed, replace the battery.
If it still won't power up, the mainboard is toast.
Jbugman
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August 28th, 2016 11:00
Rushing,
I get two error beeps if I remove the memory modules.
If I press the power and FN key, nothing new happens, the power button lights, the quickset keys light up and and go up and down so to speak but nothing else.
I can press power and end key for a bios start up but once it's read the USB key nothing else happens
What's the difference f the bios was bricked, does fell not have a proper bios recovery method??
Since this has dedicated graphics, replacement similar laptops cost too much for my current budget
Any other ideas??
Thanks
J
Jbugman
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August 28th, 2016 11:00
The power unit lights up and remains on when you plug it in and turn it on, no shorting.
A bios which is bricked will also not error beep single beeps and since I can still press D for display, get two error beeps if I remove the memory and press end + power to make the laptop start into bios recovery mode would suggest it's not toast.
Thanks for the ideas. Have you got any more or at least a known working bios recovery?
Thanks
Jbugman
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August 28th, 2016 12:00
Hmmm, starting to get that feeling :-(
ejn63
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August 28th, 2016 12:00
Did a BIOS update fail on the system?
Jbugman
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August 28th, 2016 12:00
No I turned it on one day and it got to the Windows W7 load screen and froze
Upon restarting it the entire laptop just wouldn't boot, no fan no screen etc
Thanks
J
ejn63
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August 28th, 2016 12:00
If a hard reset as described above doesn't help, and the problem developed spontaneously - and in the absence of the BIOS beep code -- this isn't a BIOS issue. It's a bad mainboard.
DELL-Rishi
2K Posts
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August 28th, 2016 23:00
Hi JBUGMAN,
Both ejn63 and myself, have isolated the issue to be a failing motherboard.
I have found a blog with BIOS recovery. While some customers have reported the issue has been resolved by following the blog, many others have reported it does not work.
Dell has not tested this, so you are on your own. This blog is for reference only and might not completely be applicable to your system - http://bit.ly/29qXPzR
Let us know if you have any other queries.