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28899
Inspiron 1520 will not post
Hi everyone,
I've had this 1520 for quite some time. Dell sent it to me as a refurbished replacement for my original laptop that died.
I've had it in storage for a few years, so I decided to dust it off and take it for a spin.
It didn't want to start right, so I reformatted the hard drive and upgraded it from Vista to 7. All went well and it ran perfectly.
A few days later, I begin getting SMART warnings, to replace the hard drive. The old drive failed all tests, so I ordered a new WD 500g.
I made an image of the old drive and simply loaded it onto the new drive and all was fine.
A few days later and for no apparent reason, the laptop stopped posting altogether.
Note: battery is all but dead and only held a charge for a half hour at most. When I press the battery indicator switch, all 5 lights illuminate.
Symptoms now: laptop will not post while on battery alone, AC adapter alone, or both.
I did a cmos reset by removing the battery and adapter, and holding the power button for 60 seconds.
I then plug into the ac adapter. The electric light comes on for an instant, and then goes off. Shouldn't this light stay on as long as ac adapter is plugged in?
When I press the power button, the power light, bluetooth light, and the optical drive lights comes on for an instant, then all shut off. Then the electric light comes on for an instant and also shuts right off.
So I remove all power and remove both memory chips and the hard drive and re-seat them. Try booting ... same thing exactly.
Note: Green power indicator on the ac adapter comes on and stays on even when plugged into the laptop...even during attempted boots..always on as long as plugged into the wall socket.
So I'm thinking of a few possible solutions:
1. cmos battery is dead (it is dated 0901 - 06), so it is nearly 7 years old.
2. motherboard is dead or shorting out
3. integrated video died
4. CPU is fried
So, I completely tear down the laptop...remove the cpu (no indications of overheating), so I reinstall it with fresh arctic silver compound. While tore down, I decide to plug into ac adapter and power it up. When I do the cpu gets very hot very fast, so I am getting power to the cpu.
While its torn down, I inspect for any exposed wires, etc...nothing out of the ordinary is found. I re-seat all wires and components while disassembled...cleaning with alcohol as I go.
I reassemble the laptop and I get the same exact thing...
My guess is that the motherboard is dead. Would a dead cmos battery cause the laptop to NOT post? I can't even get to the bios or the diagnostics because I can't even get a simple post. A laptop will at least post even without memory or a hard drive, or at least give beeps.
Anyone wanna take a stab at this? Thanks in advance.
ibleet
15 Posts
1
July 19th, 2013 14:00
SOLVED
I swapped out the motherboard and it works.
Thanks for all the input / suggestions!
DELL-Sujatha K
Community Manager
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July 7th, 2013 19:00
Hi ibleet,
I appreciate for the all the trouble shooting steps tried to isolate the issue.
I suspect the motherboard is faulty and you may consider replacing it. Let me know the region you belong to, to provide the contact information to get the system serviced.
ibleet
15 Posts
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July 7th, 2013 22:00
Well as you can see, I will have no problem replacing the motherboard myself.
What I need is diagnostics. I do not have the diagnostic tools to confirm that the problem is actually the motherboard or something else.
I would hate to replace the motherboard just to find out that the laptop still doesn't work. I would like to be at least 95% certain that I have eliminated all other options.
Would the bad cmos battery cause the laptop to NOT post?
What does it suggest that the electric light comes on then shuts off immediately after plugged in? Shouldn't it stay lit?
Is it possible to be power related and not involve the motherboard being faulty?
My next step is to replace the cmos battery because it needs a new one anyway.
Other than that, I am open to suggestions of other diagnostic measures I can try.
Thanks!
DELL-Sujatha K
Community Manager
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July 9th, 2013 02:00
Hi ibleet,
Since the system is turning for an instant and shutting down, you will be unable to run diagnostics on the hardware components. You may try to run diagnostics on the computer. Shut the system down, remove the battery, press and hold the power button and connect the Ac adapter which should launch diagnostics. If the test run, let me know the results. Also refer to the following link:
http://dell.to/OUGnqT
You may try replacing the CMOS battery and check.
ibleet
15 Posts
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July 12th, 2013 19:00
I did notice that most 1520 issues involve the green light on the power adapter turning off when they plug the end into the laptop. Mine is different....my green light stays on as long as it is plugged into the wall. No matter what I try, the green light stays constant unless I unplug the adapter from the wall. Interesting...
ibleet
15 Posts
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July 12th, 2013 19:00
Thanks for your input.
When I tried your suggestion, the same thing occurred with one exception...the 3 blue lights to the left of the power button came on as soon as I plugged in the ac adapter. Then they went off just as quickly and the unit shut down.
I have the cmos battery on order and I will post the outcome when I replace it.
Thanks.
ibleet
15 Posts
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July 14th, 2013 21:00
You suggested replacing the cmos battery. Would a dead cmos actually cause the inspiron 1520 not to post?
DELL-Sujatha K
Community Manager
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3.3K Posts
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July 15th, 2013 00:00
Hi ibleet,
CMOS is also called BIOS memory and holds information like BIOS password, drive configuration, the time and date.
Since you wanted to replace the CMOS with a new one, I suggested you to try. However I cannot assure replacing the CMOS battery would resolve the issue. Even with the dead CMOS battery, the system should be able to post.
ibleet
15 Posts
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July 15th, 2013 15:00
Yes thank you. I have a cmos battery on order. It would be nice if I could just replace the 2032 battery, but Dell decided to put it in a wrap and attach it with a 3-pin connector...
Ok what about the ac adapter light situation. What does it suggest that the green light on my ac adapter stays on even after I plug it into the laptop?
Also, what would it suggest if the blue battery indicator (battery symbol with a lightning bolt) comes on when plugged in and then stays off?
But with the battery in, it flashes on and off approximately every 8 seconds? That might suggest that the battery is fully charged?
ejn63
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July 15th, 2013 16:00
A bad CMOS battery won't prevent powerup - nor does the battery back up the system password (it does on a desktop system but not on a notebook).
If the system has integrated video, it's highly probable the mainboard is bad. If it has nVidia video, it could easily be a bad video card (that CAN prevent powering up, and the nvidia chips used in this model are well known for faulty design).
ibleet
15 Posts
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July 15th, 2013 22:00
I replaced the cmos battery with a new one and unfortunately, it did not make a bit of a difference.
The system does have integrated video. That was one of my original concerns that the on-board video is faulty.
Thanks, it looks like I might be replacing the motherboard after all.