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October 20th, 2021 12:00

Inspiron 15 3501, Alert TPM device is not detected

Hello,

At each boot of my Inspiron 15 3501 (bought it less than 1 month), I get the error message: "Alert! TPM device is not detected". Supposing that the TPM chip is no longer effective on the motherboard is hard to conceive because the laptop is completely new. Possible tracks/guesses on the causes of this error can be:
- BIOS updates (suggested by DELL).
- The battery reached twice a critical level.

To the best I know, Inspiron 15 3501 does not have TPM module but contains Intel PTT feature which somehow replaces the role of TPM. But I can see any of them when I enter BIOS setup (with F2) and look for TPM/PTT under the security tab. Naturally, TPM 2.0 is not detectable by Windows 10 either (under device manager, I get the error message: "Compatible TPM cannot be found").

When the error started to show up, the BitLocker software asked me to enter a recovery key. This clearly means that before the error the module TPM/PTT was working correctly by providing a key to BitLocker for unlocking the internal hard drive.

I applied many solutions I could find on internet, including the ones I could find in official DELL documentation. However, none of them was effective. Here are the solutions I applied:

1- Downgrade BIOS from the latest version (1.18) to previous versions (1.17 and 1.16). This didn't solve the issue.
2- Reset BIOS to factory/defaults settings. This didn't solve the issue.
3- Shut down the PC, then held down the keystrokes Ctrl + Esc while plugging in the AC power. Well, after applying this solution, when I reboot and click directly on F2, I can see again PTT feature appearing. But just exiting the BIOS and restarting, the former error comes up again and the PTT feature disappears from BIOS settings again.
4- Shut down the PC, then maintaining the power bottom held down for 60 seconds before powering up and plugging in again the AC power. The results of this solution are the same of solution 3 just above.

Please, could you give me more feedback/explanations on the causes of this error message, and more importantly the solutions for remediating definitely?

Thanks in advance for your discussion and propositions.

1 Message

April 1st, 2022 08:00

Call Dell Support.  After talking with them they said the motherboard needs to be replaced.  The reason for the message is because the TPM module on the MB has failed, which is also why the option to enable it under the Security tab of the BIOS is not giving the option to enable it.

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25.1K Posts

November 2nd, 2021 15:00

Please try these troubleshooting steps:

 

* Turn the laptop off 

* Disconnect the AC adapter from the laptop

* Remove the back cover

* Disconnect the battery cable from the motherboard port

* Press and hold down the laptop power button for at least 20 seconds

* Reconnect the battery cable to the motherboard port

* Replace the back cover

* Power on the system

 

If this doesn't work please try the steps below:


 

TPM Frequently Asked Questions for Windows 11

 

How to Troubleshoot and Resolve Common Issues with TPM (Trusted Platform Module) and BitLocker

Does my Dell PC support TPM?
* Press Windows + R
* Type tpm.msc [press Enter]
- If you see a “Compatible TPM cannot be found” message, your PC does not have TPM
- If you see information about the TPM in the PC including which TPM specification version your chip supports, your PC does have a TPM

Check the BIOS
* Restart the PC
* Press F2 to enter the BIOS
* Go to Security
- TPM Security --> TPM On
or
- PTT Security --> PTT On
or
- Intel Platform Trust Technology On --> On

 

You may also use the "Get Help Now" option at the bottom right to chat with a Dell technician right away.

DELLNathaliaM_0-1691502395450.png

2 Posts

October 23rd, 2021 03:00

Any suggestion/help, please?

November 3rd, 2021 13:00

Hi there. Same inspiron 3501. Same TPM issue. And a brand new laptop locked. If no news within this week, I will send it back. 

November 7th, 2021 12:00

Did you get any feedback? Fed up with this situation. I'm stuck for more than one week

November 14th, 2021 23:00

I spent 3 weeks in chats, forums and calls just to listen "Find your BitLicker key with Microsoft". No operator can hear that :"BitLocker isn't available on Windows 10 Home edition". (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/turn-on-device-encryption-0c453637-bc88-5f74-5105-741561aae838)

I finally managed to reinstalled Windows 10 (with lost of pain due to Bitlocker) and the starting error is still there ( Alert! TPM...)

Dell tells me that they'll send me an UPS shipping for expertise, but 1 week after, I'll still waiting for the information... I'm so disappointed.

October 9th, 2022 14:00

Dell Vostro 5568, i5-7200U 8GB/256GB. I've spend several days searching how to get rid of annoying alert on startup that "TPM device is not detected". Alerts starts after upgrading BIOS to 1.20. Unplugging power for 30sec doesn't work for me.

Another thing is that in BIOS in security tab, there was no TPM bar no longer, so I wasn't able to change any setting regarding TPM.

But I was wondering why sometimes alert doesn't show up. When alert doesn't show up during boot - in device manager TPM 2.0 was active and working. If alert shows up then in device manager it was hidden with error "device not found/plugged in".

Solution that worked for me:
After boot without error (sometimes happen), I've turned off the notebook.
Pressed simultanously both CTRL+ESC keys and while holding them turn on the notebook.
Options of BIOS rollback will appear.
I've choose to rollback to last one (1.15), because there was no problem with alert and the option TPM was visible in BIOS before (to do such rollback, in BIOS you have to enable rollback to older versions).
After rollback OS WIN10 doesn't starts but I went to BIOS and unboxed tip in TPM.
Then I've make new installation of WIN10 from USB.

As a result, there is no more alert.
Also I've succesfully updated BIOS to 1.20 and TPM bar is visible in security tab.

 

Hope it helps someone of you that tries to resolve this problem.
Cheers!

October 9th, 2022 22:00

Was the replacement motherboard refurbished or a new one?

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