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67476
August 31st, 2010 17:00
Dell C521 only partial boot?
Here is the situation. I shut the computer down, but it froze on the "windows Shutting down screen". So I used the power on button to finish the shut down. After about 30 seconds I turned the computer back on. At first I had a screen come up saying that an adnormal shut down had occured, that the CMOS battery had low voltage and the boot configuration was incorrect. It also said that this was caused by a thermal event. I them powered the unit back down and replaced the CMOS battery.
What is happening now is I get only a partial boot. The MB light is on, the power on light is on and green. I get the Dell splash screen and the progress bar for the bios goes about 1/3 of the way and stops. The diagnostic light on the fron have 2 and 4 lit. This unit is running bios rev 1.1.4. Windows XP/SP3. 3.5 gigs of ram and 2.3 processor.
Any hope for this unit and what can I do to get it up and running again?
Rod/ ICAN6K
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RoHe
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September 1st, 2010 20:00
Progress! :emotion-21:
The floppy drive error message is actually irrelevant. When you removed the battery and held the power button, you reset BIOS to factory defaults. The default BIOS setting is to enable the floppy drive controller on the motherboard, even if you don't have internal floppy drive. Reboot and press F2 to open BIOS setup. Look for the Diskette Drive option and change it to OFF (disabled). Save the change and exit setup. That should eliminate this problem.
LED code 1,2,3 means "Routine system activity subsequent to video initialization." and " Watch your monitor for on-screen messages." So now you're past the video error code which is good. And you got some on-screen messages...
I'm puzzled by the low battery alert. Either you got a package of bum batteries, or the voltage sensor on the CMOS chip isn't detecting the battery properly. Are you sure it's installed right-side-up, and fully/correctly seated in the socket. You might try removing it and wiping both sides with a lint-free cloth to clean off any fingerprints which might cause bad contact. Hold it by the edges when you reinstall it.
There have been other recent posts on these forums where the user replaced the battery and still got that message, only to find out that the "new" batteries were as dead as the old one. Do you have a voltmeter to test them, or know somebody who does? I know it's your money, but maybe you should buy one single battery from some other store...
As for the thermal event, has it been really hot in your space lately? Could the system have overheated because room temps got too high? If not, that error might imply that either a fan stopped working and/or the heatsink failed. So double check that all fans spin up when you power on, including the one in the power supply. Check that the CPU fan connector is firmly connected to the motherboard too.
Dell doesn't use socketed CMOS chips, so you'd either need a professional replace it (assuming you can buy the replacement BIOS chip) or you'd need a new motherboard. But lets not go that far, yet. :emotion-5:
Ron
RoHe
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August 31st, 2010 17:00
Lights 2, 4 indicate a graphics problem. Do you use integrated video or have an add-in PCI-e x16 video card?
If you have an add-in PCI-e card, remove the card and reseat it in its slot. Make sure the fan on the card (if any) is clean and turns freely. While you're inside the case, blow out all the dust bunnies with canned air too. And make sure all the other fans are clean and turning freely.
Be sure to power off and unplug, then press/hold power button on the tower for ~15 sec before opening the case and removing/adding parts.
If you use integrated graphics, you may have a motherboard failure, but an add-in PCI-e x16 video might solve that problem.
Ron
EDIT: If you have an PCI-e x16 video card, but reseating it doesn't fix the problem, you may have to replace that card.
ican6k
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August 31st, 2010 19:00
Ron ;
Thanks for replying. I am using integrated graphics. So this maybe another problem. I will try an add on graphics card to see if anything changes. But as the monitor appearrs to be working I am not sure it will help. I cleaned out all the fans and the rest of the dust bunnies. I noticed that diagnostic lights did come on very briefly, but 2 and 4 stay on.
Rod
RoHe
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August 31st, 2010 21:00
When you say "the monitor appears to be working", what do you mean? Do you see the Dell logo splash screen when trying to boot?
If you install a video card in the PCI-e x16 slot, that should automatically override the onboard graphics, so hopefully the motherboard recognizes the new card and boots the system. Be sure to move the monitor cable from the onboard graphics output connector on rear of the tower to the new video card's output before booting. :emotion-5:
Assuming it boots with the new card, the Windows hardware wizard should detect the new video card and ask for drivers. So have the CD that comes with the card handy. And/or follow the card's instructions to install the correct drivers.
Post back and let us know what happens.
Ron
ican6k
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September 1st, 2010 02:00
Ron;
That is what I mean. I do get the DELL splash screen. It has the F2 for settings and F12 for boot in the upper right corner. Then DELL in large font, below that it has a bar graph to show the BIOS progress while loading, and below the graph it says BIOS revision 1.1.4. The bar graph goes about 1/3 of the way across then everything stops.. None of the F keys are working F2, F12 or F8. The Motherboard led is on, color is amber, not sure if that is the correct color or not. The processor fan runs for a short time and quits which is normal for this unit.
Rod
RoHe
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September 1st, 2010 10:00
The motherboard LED only means there's (some) power to the motherboard. It's either on or off, no color changes.
If the BIOS progress bar only goes ~1/3 then this is a hardware problem because the boot hasn't been handed off to Windows at that point. You may have to strip it down to bare minimum. Power off and unplug. Press/hold power button for ~15 sec. Then disconnect all drives except boot hard drive, remove all PCI cards, disconnect modem/network cable etc. Then remove the motherboard battery and press/hold power button again for ~30 sec. Reinstall the battery (right-side-up!) and see if it boots now with only mouse, monitor and keyboard connected.
If still no go, then the problem is likely on the motherboard and your only option may be to try a PCI-e x16 video card or replace the motherboard.
Ron
ican6k
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September 1st, 2010 13:00
Ok, tried your suggestion, still no go. I just remembered that the error screen that came up when I powered down said that the hardware configuration was incorrect and that I needed to go to settings and and reset the boot sequence. When I went to setting page and looked at the boot sequence it showed that the HDD and DVD drive were not present. I set the 1st boot to the dvd drive. I am wondering if that is why the system will not boot, because it can't find the HDD or DVD. Of course now I can't access the setting page or the boot sequence page. Might be impossible to correct.
Rod
RoHe
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September 1st, 2010 16:00
When the DVD drive is first in the boot sequence, the system looks there first. If there's no bootable disk in the DVD drive, it should look for the next device in the boot sequence (eg, the hard drive). But BIOS has to recognize the drives for that to happen.
Try the "battery thing" again, and make sure you reinstall it right-side-up. BTW: Do you have a fresh battery to try? It's possible the old one is dead and not able to hold BIOS settings correctly. It's a 3-volt CR2032 lithium coin cell battery, ~$2-$3 at discount stores.
Ron
RoHe
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September 1st, 2010 16:00
Me again...
My bad! I just realized you already replaced the battery. Do you know that it's any good?
Ron
ican6k
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September 1st, 2010 18:00
Yes I bought a new 2 pak to make the change. I dId notice that the DVD drive tried to start but ran only a few seconds then stopped.
I am wondering if perhaps the CMOS chip has gone south, and if it can be replaced without soldering. I know some are plug ins.
I am still leaning toward a software issue where the OS is not recognizing the drives but am not savy enough to know how to fix it if that is the case.
I am wondering if the diagnostic lights 2 and 4 are on because the OS cannot find the hardware it needs to run, ie the DVD drive or the HDD?
Rod
ican6k
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September 1st, 2010 19:00
Yes I bought a new 2 pak to make the change. I dId notice that the DVD drive tried to start but ran only a few seconds then stopped.
I am wondering if perhaps the CMOS chip has gone south, and if it can be replaced without soldering. I know some are plug ins.
I am still leaning toward a software issue where the OS is not recognizing the drives but am not savy enough to know how to fix it if that is the case.
I am wondering if the diagnostic lights 2 and 4 are on because the OS cannot find the hardware it needs to run, ie the DVD drive or the HDD?
Rod
Hope spring eternal!!. Just finished installing yet another battery. While I was in there I unplugged the power supply connector and gave the inside a good cleaning with canned air.. when i put everything back and powered up, I now have an error screen that says. Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS v6.00PG
with the following errors
diskett drive 0 seek failure
Invalid configuration information - please run SETUP program
Alert! System battery voltage is low
Alert! previous shutdown due to thermal event
I now have diagnostic lights 1, 2, and 3.
it now offers the options to press F1 to continue, F2 to enter SETUP
I am hesitant to proceed beyond this point and end up back where i was. Somw guidance from here forward would be very helpful.
Rod
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shesagordie
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September 1st, 2010 21:00
ican6k
Regards to the 'Alert! System battery voltage is low' nag, try using the solution in the first post HERE and see if it makes a difference.
Bev.
ican6k
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September 1st, 2010 22:00
Thanks for the input. Have made a note of this for future reference.
Rod