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Attention: Unsupported video configuration detected...
Out of the blue this message has come up at startup, and I can't get past it. It tells me to plug the monitor into a different port which doesn't exist. Its a dimension C521 and has worked fine for 2 years. Any ideas?
Thanks
The Happy Teach
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September 15th, 2008 15:00
x_lab rat
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September 15th, 2008 15:00
No setting or wiring has changed, and it just started saying that? I'm not sure there's going to be a stock answer for that--it's not supposed to happen. So you're on onboard video, not a plugin accessory card? And it mistakenly thinks you do have a display card when you don't? Yikes!
Try resetting BIOS. It seems badly confused. The location of the jumper and procedure will be in the online manual. If the reset brings the display back, you will have to F2 and reenter your configuration--what drives and plugin accessories you have. If it doesn't, I'm not sure what else to try. Anyone?
x_lab rat
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September 15th, 2008 17:00
I left Dell before the C521 came out, so I'm not firsthand familiar with it. Taking out the battery for 3 minutes should have done it--assuming it was unplugged at the time. The jumper does the same thing, only faster, about 30 seconds.
Not all Dells even have jumpers. In some, they have elected to save a half cent and just put posts in. I don't know what the 521 has. The conventional jumper had 3 hollow posts. The jumper is stored on two of them that aren't connected to anything. The third one is the active one. Moving the jumper to that one engaged the reset function.
If your motherboard thinks it has a video card installed when it doesn't, it may be, colloquially, toast.
The Happy Teach
12 Posts
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September 15th, 2008 17:00
The Happy Teach
12 Posts
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September 15th, 2008 18:00
x_lab rat
2K Posts
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September 15th, 2008 19:00
Nevermind the password jumper. RTCRST is the one you want. Connect the two posts with something metallic like a paperclip. Or the plastic thingy if it has metal posts. That's the half-cent Dell saved giving you only two posts and one plastic thingy.
Unfortunately, if you already took out the battery for 3 minutes, it's not likely to alter the result. If the motherboard thinks it has a video card when it doesn't, it has most likely failed.
Like I said, this is not supposed to happen, and I've never seen it happen in around 2000 systems I've looked at. But the rule in computer diagnosis is that anything CAN happen, and the best you can do is go from where you find yourself.
livecam
23 Posts
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September 16th, 2008 17:00
Your video resolution is set incorrectly. The best bet is to startup in safe mode, or with a CRT monitor and remove the video drivers. Then reinstall them. THis happnes alot on LCD monitors as a CRT can display more "weird" resolutions than an LCD. Hopefully you have a CRT around otherwise you need to get those video drivers uninstalled somehow.
The Happy Teach
12 Posts
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September 16th, 2008 18:00
x_lab rat
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September 16th, 2008 20:00
The Happy Teach
12 Posts
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September 21st, 2008 17:00
Having spent nearly 3 hours "chatting" with the support team they finally decided that it WAS a mother board problem. And those nice people from Dell are actually sending a technician all the way from Paris to replace it. So, assuming all goes well, normal service will be resumed tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who tried to help
Merci beaucoup
Jerome
x_lab rat
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September 21st, 2008 19:00
Great. I didn't know it was in warranty. It's definitely a hardware/warranty issue.
I can't explain why it took them 3 hours to figure it out, except that the people who answer the phone for Dell tend not to know what the smoof they're doing. It took me about 15 seconds to figure it out, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions based on spotty evidence. Then again, I would charge them $25 an hour to do what I do, and the people answering the phone get $3 an hour. Ya get whatcha pay for.