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10525
June 25th, 2008 14:00
Inspiron 8600 - M1004 error code (repost in different section)
I didn't receive any responses when I posted this in the "General Hardware" section, so before I give up I'll post it here.
I have an Insprion 8600, well out of warranty, Pentium M, Windows XP, BIOS A14. A while back I had a static event (I live in Arizona) when plugging in the adapter. Rather than giving up on the laptop, of which I am fond, I decided to replace the motherboard. I used Arctic Silver 5 when reseating the heatsink, cleaned out all the dust. Started her up, and miraculously, it worked. BUT . . if I shut the computer off (power completely off), and then press the power button 5 minutes later, or even an hour later, the 3 little green lights next to the power button, and the power light, flash briefly, but nothing else happens. If I wait until the next day, it turns on, I get the standard M1004 error message, press F2 or whatever to boot, laptop then runs fine, operates with no noticeable issues, fans are running as expected.
This ONLY happens if I have had the laptop on, shut it down, and then try to turn it on again within anywhere from 2 minutes to several hours. This does NOT happen if it has been sitting unused for a day or longer. This also has never happened while the laptop has been running--it has never shut itself off.
I've installed the I8kfangui program and am monitoring temps. CPU is stable at 36C, with a peak of 56C when the program starts running. GPU runs around 57 with a peak of 63. Memory is at 40 with a peak of 47. This is while it's just sitting there.
So it seems to be a functional laptop, as long as I only need to turn it on/off once a day. (I haven't actually tested in great detail how many hours I have to wait before it will turn on properly.) I haven't used it extensively enough to know if I would have performance problems if I pounded away at it for hours at a time, but if I just let it sit there humming along, the operating temperatures do not change.
Is there something else that is heating up while it is on, and then overheating immediately if I try to shut down and restart? I have searched for anwers for quite a while, and the only thing I have run across that sounds just like this dates from 2004 and was never totally resolved.
Thanks for any suggestions.
DELL- Sreenath
168 Posts
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June 25th, 2008 16:00
Swain0632
4 Posts
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June 25th, 2008 22:00
Hello-
Thanks for the response. Right now I'm in the period of time when it won't turn on at all. I had it on from 8 am until about 11:30. I tried to turn it on at 3:30, 4:00, and 4:30, and all I get are lights flashing briefly. I know that because I have tried to turn it on without success, I will get the M1004 error message the next time I succeed in turning it on.
I tried your suggestion at this point, and it doesn't help. I will try every half hour until the computer actually turns on and gives me the message, and then I'll try your suggestion.
I will add, if I didn't put it in the original message, that if I use the computer for a while, and then wait long enough before even trying to turn it on, I don't get the M1004 error message at all. This makes me think that the "overheating" the computer is complaining about actually takes place at the moment that I'm trying to turn it on. For example, it I use it for a bit and then wait overnight, I won't get the error message. But if I try to turn it on after 3 hours, or immediately after shutting it down, I get the message.
It's as if it has to wait for a certain period of time before it will turn on again, but the period of time isn't the same. Yesterday I was able to turn it on after 4.5 hours, but today it wouldn't turn on after 5 hours.
While I would certainly like to solve this mystery (because it's maddening not to be able to figure it out and because it is very inconvenient), I could get used to having to wait a long time if I had some assurance that I'm not frying some unknown part by using the computer at all.
Swain0632
4 Posts
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June 25th, 2008 23:00
OK, I was able to turn it on at 5:30. When I saw the M1004 message (there was also an invalid setup message, since I'd removed the battery and power earlier and the time was wrong), I turned it off, unplugged it, removed the battery, and held the power button down for 10 seconds. When I turned it on again, the error message was gone (except for the one about setting the time).
I think I should have tried this *without* removing the battery and power first, just as a check, since at this point the computer is basically happy because it hasn't been on for a while.
DELL- Sreenath
168 Posts
0
June 25th, 2008 23:00