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XPS 8500, installed SSD, does not boot up
My 2TB hard drive failed last week and I am trying to replace it with an SSD drive. For some reason now my computer turns on but my monitor (which works, I checked with another computer) is just a solid black with absolutely no writing. The power button is now solid orange. The motherboard light is on (solid orange). one thing I noticed is when I have the monitor plugged into the tower, the monitor light is solid orange, as soon as I unplug it then it is blue and I can see the writing on the monitor.
I am not sure what to do, is it the motherboard, the video card, the CMOS battery or something else? When I unplug the monitor from the video card and plug it into the slot directly on the motherboard it does the same thing (that is why I don't think it is the video card), but I am not an expert and I don't want to mess up the machine more.
If someone has been through this, I would love some help.
Thank you
RoHe
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May 15th, 2018 23:00
Version of Windows?
Do you see the Dell logo when you first power on?
Did you already install the new SSD and load Windows on it? And is the old drive unplugged from the motherboard?
What happens if you boot from a bootable USB stick?
You have to physically remove the add-in video card from the PC in order to try using any of the on-board video ports, because the add-in card usually disables the on-board ports.
RanAway
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May 16th, 2018 04:00
It originally came with Windows 8 and I updated to 10.
No Dell logo. The new SSD is installed but I haven't been able to install anything on it. I have a black screen, so can't see anything. The old drive is unplugged. I couldn't boot up from a bootable disk, cause I can't see anything.
I removed the video card and plugged the monitor straight to the motherboard and I get the same thing still.
RoHe
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May 16th, 2018 10:00
When you tested the monitor, did you use the exact same input port on the monitor and same video cable you use with the XPS 8500?
What color is the power button on front of PC and is it steady or blinking?
Do you have a small (32-GB) SSD that was used as a cache for Windows in this PC?
You can try resetting BIOS, start without the add-in video card installed:
Do you see anything on the monitor now?
RanAway
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May 16th, 2018 18:00
Thank you, now changing the battery seems to work except, it happened a couple of more times and I kept changing the battery. I am not sure if my batteries are just old or something is killing the battery. I will go out and buy new batteries tomorrow.
This started happening once I installed the new SSD card, could the card kill the CMOS battery?
So frustrating.
Thank you
RoHe
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May 17th, 2018 10:00
How fast are these batteries dying? Get a fresh one from a name brand company, not an El-Cheapo. Most brand name batteries will have a "use by" or guarantee date so use that to find one that should be fresh.
Are you doing anything different now, eg unplugging the PC from the wall or turning off a power strip, that you hadn't done in the past? Those can cause the battery to drain faster, but it still shouldn't die very fast.
I wouldn't expect the new SSD to be draining the battery, but check around inside to make sure there are no loose cable connections etc and reseat PCI cards and RAM in their slots. You might gently wipe the battery socket with a lint-free cloth before installing a fresh battery and hold the new one by the edges so you don't get fingerprints on it and make sure it's fully seated in the socket.
RanAway
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May 18th, 2018 09:00
I went out yesterday and bought new batteries and the computer seems to be running just fine.
I will see after a few days. The previous batteries were still new in the package but I had them for a few years.
fingers crossed that everything will be okay now.
My problem now is after speaking with dell, that the new SSD drive I purchased is not compatible with the machine and that is why the software is not installing. LOL as they say, when it rains it pours :)
Thank you so much for all your help, I greatly appreciate it.
RoHe
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May 18th, 2018 10:00
Old batteries stuck in a drawer for years can die. I typically only buy a new battery for my PC when it starts complaining that the battery is low.
You might start a new thread about the SSD issue. Be sure to include the PC model, the exact SSD model and storage capacity, version of Windows, how you've installed and connected the SSD, and how you're trying to install (clone?) the software. Maybe somebody here can help you with that problem...