Inspiron 3500 BIOS loading problem

Question

Hi there

I have had my Inspiron 3500 for two and a half years, never had any hardware problems, whatsoever...
I am a COMSCI major and work as a tech in a microlab, so I should be able to resolve most of my computer problems.

However, this one is quite unique. In my Phoenix BIOS there is an option to use "CPU Throttling", so I wanted to check it out, because I frequently take my laptop with me, and I needed to save some power consumption...
Since I had that option turned off for the whole time that I've had this laptop, this was the first time I enabled "CPU Throttling".

When I rebooted my computer, the BIOS started loading as usual, tested the RAM, detected my hard-drive, my floppy-drive, my CD-ROM, and then it hanged! It was just about to look for a bootable drive and load WIN95, but it won't!!!

It would not finish loading the BIOS, it just sits there, watching me go nuts... if it would look for a bootable drive, I would be able to upgrade the BIOS, or so, but it doesn't.

The first thing that came to my mind was go into "Setup BIOS" mode, but it won't let me do that either. Then I thought it would be great if I could remove the battery on the mother-board, but the stupid thing is soldered to it, and I can't do a thing about it.

PLEASE, HELP ME

cause I have asked other qualified people, and all they would do is say: "Sorry, kid..."

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ASSISTANCE!

Message Edited on 08/15/01 09:28AM by denalex

JEJisRight · Answer

Hi, perhaps you can reset your BIOS somehow. I have an I3800 and for some reason when my keyboard and display at the same time were unplugged and replugged in (due to replacing my touchpad by a technician, the BIOS settings reset. He couldn't explain why that happened, but you might want to try to reset the BIOS by unplugging and the replugging different stuff in to see if it will reset.

That may be your best bet, but I don't see why you shouldn't call Dell tech support for some guidance. After all, Dell is responsible for putting a feature on your computer's BIOS that makes it unusable. Have you tried unplugging all outside peripherals and then turning on the computer?

Suzanne · Answer

denalex,

Try using the reset switch on the side of the system.

The reset switch on the Inspiron 3500 is on the right hand side of the system below the modem port. Depress a paperclip into this button for 5-10 seconds while the system is powered on. This should power the system off. Reboot and try entering the BIOS of the system again.

r5jpk · Answer

Hello!

I have now exactly the same problem, which
occured after I changed the "CPU Throttling" on.
Did you get the problem solved? If did, could
you please send the solution here?

I tried to reset my BIOS from the reset button, but it
didn't work (reset button was actually on the left hand
side, next to USB port).

Thanks,

J-P

Suzanne · Answer

r5jpk,

You are correct in regards to the location of the reset button. Are you able to enter the BIOS at all on the system or boot to a floppy drive? Did you try the reset button while the system was turned on?

denalex · Answer

Madam,
I tried so many things... I asked so many technicians... nothing happened. I HAD TO VOID MY WARANTY, open my own laptop, find the battery, unsolder it, solder it back... Everything works fine now, but

I had the reset button pushed for one hour, in hope that it would reset, but it didn't. The only thing that the BIOS would respond to is when I press F2, it would say:
Entering BIOS...
Of course, it would never actually enter it, it would just freeze...
I CANNOT BOOT OFF OF ANY DRIVE, AT ALL!!! I cannot update the BIOS, I can only remove its microchips, and put them back, or unsolder and resolder the battery, or wait for the battery to go dead!?!

PLEASE, WARN your technicians, REMEDY this situation. I recently read a post on DellTalk from a certain C.E.O that he lost $10,000 on a bad BIOS, resulting in frying his microprocessor. So far I have had no hardware problems, and at the computer labs on campus, we have 103 DellSFF desktops. They work great. But this thing with the BIOS is just UNACCEPTABLE for a company like Dell!!! REMEDY YOUR SOFTWARE, or you shall suffer consequences beyond your comprehension...

Suzanne · Answer

If the system is under warranty, there should have been no reason why you should have needed to open the system and remove any internal components in the system. You could have contacted Dell Technical Support to have the system serviced under warranty to correct the problem.

The phone number to contact our US Mobile Computing Hotline is 800-822-8965 for Corporate/Government Accounts or at 800-247-9252 for Direct accounts. You will be connected to a Technical Specialist who will help you resolve the issue over the phone or arrange the appropriate service. You can also email mobile_support@dell.com for assistance. If contacting Technical Support via email, please include your system service tag and a description of the problem and troubleshooting done to try to resolve it.

If you are outside of the United States, you will need to contact Dell in your global area.

lueden · Answer

Hello denalex, can you describe where you found the battery? I have the same trouble, and it would cost at least 450 € to send it to ireland for repair. So I would like to give the soldering solution a chance. thanks!

lueden · Answer

I found the Battery: It was just beside the power button. I had to unsolder it, wait a minute and fix it. When I turned on power, the settings were default and everything worked fine :-)

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Inspiron 3500 BIOS loading problem

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