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XPS 8930, white LED, no video or beeps
I have an XPS 8930, out of warranty in 2019 which powers up, and the LED is solid white, but there's no video or beep code. I've swapped the power supply, RAM, and video with no change.
If I pull the RAM I get two amber blinks on the LED, so the diagnostics appear to be working.
I'm thinking it's the motherboard, but is there a way to diagnose accurately?
If it is the motherboard, can I get a motherboard from Dell?
speedstep
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November 19th, 2021 11:00
@brundleflyguy
"3 - 6 amber flash" is bios update failure.
Please press the blue Accept as Solution button below if the post answers your question.
Note: BIOS recovery is only applicable to USB 2.0 FAT32 flash drives. All other storage should be removed to recover bios.
3,6 blink means its not dead yet.
XPS 8930 BIOS RECOVERY
How do I initiate BIOS Recovery on a Dell desktop or all-in-one computer?
Are you seeing a 3-6 or 3-7 LED No POST diagnostic error on your Alienware or XPS PC?
Recovery Requires disconnecting All storage devices and using a USB 2.0 FAT32 flash Drive. Use a WIRED USB Keyboard.
must be usb2 media 16 gig 32 gig max MUST be FAT32
cannot be fat 16 or exfat or ntfs
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Flash-Cruzer-Glide-SDCZ60-016G-B35/dp/B007YX9O9O/
Affected Systems:
Alienware R5/R6/R7/R8/R11
XPS 8910/8920/8930/8940
On a working machine
Download the BIOS update executeable
Erase the flash drive FAT32
Copy the file to the flash drive.
Hook up wired USB Keyboard
in an admin dos prompt go to the flash drive letter and
EDIT this is no longer needed to rename XPS8930_1.1.17.exe BIOS_IMG.rcv
You can download the RCV file Directly now.
XPS 8930 BIOS_IMG.rcv file
Plug recovery usb into machine with power offPut this in dead pc with nothing else attached except the keyboard and the flash drive.
As soon as you power the system on, press and hold down the CTRL + ESC keys until the BIOS Recovery page appears.
(If it can’t enter the BIOS Recovery page, then remove the power cord and CMOS battery coin and wait for about 1 min, then re-plug the power cord and reseat the CMOS battery and repeat)
Select the Recover BIOS option on the screen to perform a BIOS recovery
The system will show a process bar of the BIOS Flashing Process
(It may take time to complete)
Once the BIOS flash process is complete it will display an on-screen message asking you to Press any key to reset the system.
BIOS 1.1.7
Xps-8930-BIOS
XPS8930_1.1.17.exe
fireberd
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33.3K Posts
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November 18th, 2021 08:00
Solid white indicates its "powered on". One blink is motherboard. Are you sure its not blinking?
Try CMOS memory reset (with it powered off, remove the 2032 battery for at least 5 minutes).
I don't have access to all parts but no motherboard listed in the Dell parts listing for the 8930. I do see used/refurbished motherboards doing a google search.
RoHe
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November 18th, 2021 12:00
@brundleflyguy
Is the monitor connected to the add-in video card?
Can you test this monitor on a different PC or a different monitor on this PC?
Vic384
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November 18th, 2021 13:00
@brundleflyguy I would do as @RoHe suggests and test the monitor on a different PC. You indicated you swapped video, so I assume you have either have a discrete graphics card.or you connected the monitor to the integrated graphics. Which did you do? If you swapped video cards I suggest you try the integrated graphics.
brundleflyguy
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November 18th, 2021 15:00
This monitor works with another computer. I swapped video cards (this motherboard has no onboard graphics).
The monitor never gets a signal.
Vic384
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November 18th, 2021 15:00
@brundleflyguy What CPU came with your XPS 8930? I thought that all processor offered by Dell for the XPS 8930 has Intel UHD Graphics.
brundleflyguy
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November 18th, 2021 16:00
I'll take a look tomorrow. I'm 95% sure that it has no integrated video, but now I'm doubting myself.
Vic384
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November 18th, 2021 16:00
@brundleflyguy Page 11 of the Setup and Spedifications shows the locations of the DisplayPort and HDMI connections for the integrated graphics..
RoHe
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November 18th, 2021 17:00
Unless you have an Intel CPU with 'F' at the end of it's name, eg, i5-9400F, it supports onboard Intel UHD Graphics so you should have both onboard Intel HDMI and DP ports.
The XPS 8930 Service Manual is out-of-date, but I don't think Dell ever installed any 8th or 9th Gen 'F' CPUs in the XPS 8930.
So have you actually been connecting the monitor to an onboard video port instead of to your add-in video card?
fireberd
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November 19th, 2021 03:00
I had thought about on-board video when I responded but after looking at the Dell documentation it states the ports are covered on models that ship with a video card and I didn't see any way of uncovering them like there are on some other models.
brundleflyguy
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November 19th, 2021 07:00
You guys were right. It has HDMI and DisplayPort. However; the same thing happens when I use those. Fans spin up, the power LED is solid white, no beeps, no video.
brundleflyguy
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November 19th, 2021 08:00
OK, first of all, you guys are right, it has HDMI. I was going to pull the heatsink off and check the CPU, but this morning I'm getting three slow amber blinks on the power LED, followed by six blinks, which looks like a BIOS recovery problem I think. I'm investigating this.
fireberd
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November 19th, 2021 08:00
Here is the Dell BIOS recovery options
How to Recover the BIOS on a Dell Computer or Tablet | Dell US
You did the CMOS battery reset?
Vic384
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November 19th, 2021 09:00
@brundleflyguy The 3 blinks indicate System board or chipset error and the 6 blinks indicate Video card or chip failure. A System board: BIOS or ROM failure would have benn indicated by 1 blink. The diagnostics codes are in the Serivice Manual.
RoHe
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November 19th, 2021 11:00
@brundleflyguy - Did you see my post directly above your last one with instructions to download the BIOS recovery file?
The 3-6 code means the system can't find a BIOS recovery file on your boot drive so you need to provide it on a USB stick. Then follow the instructions at that link.
If it still won't open the recovery environment when using the USB stick, do this: