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June 19th, 2023 19:00
No Splash Screen During Boot - Optiplex 7040 SFF
I am attempting to upgrade the SSD on my brothers Optiplex 7040 SFF PC.
I booted the PC from a Windows PE tool kit. As best I recall, I could see the boot menu and believe the PC video was working correctly. I made a system image and powered off the machine.
I then replaced the SSD and restarted the PC, but there was NO VIDEO (ie Dell Splash Screen or Boot Menu displayed). The PC booted to my Win PE drive as I heard it play it's jingle, but I had no video in Win PE.
There are dual Dell monitors connected via DP on the MOBO and an unused HDMI port,also on the MOBO.
I tried to power on\off monitors, change the display cables\monitors, etc, but still had no video. I did not attempt to access BIOS (F2), but did try F10 for the Boot Menu, but was unable to display any video.
I replaced the SSD with the original. The PC booted and displays the Windows Login Screen, but NO video is displayed prior to the Windows Logon screen.
I have read about all I can find on POST issues. About the only 2 things I can find are:
- Turn off the PC, pull the power cord, press the power button for 30 seconds, reconnect and reboot => Done, No difference.
- Pull the CMOS Jumper, but the manual does not identify one. Can not check for this ATM.
I have serviced dozens of Dells over the years, but this is something I have never seen.
Thoughts or ideas appreciated!
EDIT: FWIW, I replaced an NVME with a SATA SSD, but the NVME is back in place
bradthetechnut
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June 20th, 2023 17:00
Does the 7040 have a GPU card installed and if so, what kind? Sometimes a GPU card video driver isn't there until Windows boots. If there is a GPU card, may need the latest driver(s) for it and/or the latest BIOS that's for the 7040.
By any chance are you trying to clone the NVME drive with Windows PE? I'm not sure if PE is applicable here. But if it helps: Windows PE (WinPE) article Also, if somebody replies that knows more about WinPE than I do, that's fine too.
Are you/brother on Win10 or 11? For example, if Win10, I'd Google "microsoft download windows 10 iso." After going to the Microsoft site, the Win10 or 11 can be downloaded to an 8GB (or bigger) flash drive formatted to FAT32. Then boot from the flash drive to load Windows onto the SSD with previous boot drive disconnected. Not sure if you know about all of that already. Blank/new SSD doesn't need any prep. Win10 or 11 will automatically format it to NTFS using GPT partition scheme.
RangerZ
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June 22nd, 2023 18:00
@bradthetechnutThanks for your reply
No GPU, just the onboard options. I have seen, and think you are alluding to video not moving from the last functioning adapter to the "new" one, but not the case here. Using the same to connections, cables and monitors as before. That said, next time I am there I will check the HDMI connection.
Using what's called Win10XPE, which is a WinPE toolkit which has Macrium Reflect. Migrating drives and installing Windows is a mastered skill at this point.
At this point however, I do not think that is not relevant. The PC is back to the way it was when before I started, so I expect it should run (boot) as it did before.
RangerZ
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July 3rd, 2023 10:00
So more fickle behaior from this PC.
When I returned yesterday I noticed that the PC was now displaying the Dell logo, twice during boot, with a momentary black screen in between. There were no changes to the environment.
So I shut it down, inserted my bootable USB, restarted the PC, hit F12 and nothing displayed on the screen. I am not clear if it was working with no video, or hung at some menu.
I removed the DP cable on the top video connected, which was attached to the monitor that was used during boot and replaced this with an HDMI cable. I was then able to access both BIOS (on the other DP connected monitor) and the boot menu on the HDMI connected monitor.
In BIOS, the only video related parameter was set to Auto. This had to do with selection between onboard and a card.
Interestingly, the Audio, which is connected to external speakers with a std mini-stereo connector, stopped working with the HDMI cable, but returned when I put the DP cable back. I did not have time to troubleshoot the Audio, but will next visit. I'd rather have the HDMI if it makes it serviceable.
BIOS 1.24 Latest
bradthetechnut
7 Technologist
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9.2K Posts
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July 3rd, 2023 11:00
When the monitor is connected HDMI, there should still be a option to select speakers. Right click speaker icon on taskbar > Click on Sounds. You should then get a window like the one on the left in the screengrab. (Screengrab shows Recording tab instead of Playback tab.)
John harper
2 Intern
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346 Posts
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July 4th, 2023 02:00
If you're not seeing the splash screen during boot on your Optiplex 7040 SFF, it could be due to several reasons. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try:
Check Monitor Connections: Ensure that your monitor is properly connected to the Optiplex 7040 SFF. Make sure the cable is securely plugged into both the computer's video output port and the monitor's input port. If possible, try using a different cable or connecting to a different monitor to rule out any potential issues with the connections or the monitor itself.
Verify Monitor Power and Input: Confirm that your monitor is powered on and set to the correct input source. Some monitors have multiple input options (e.g., HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort), so ensure that you have selected the correct input source corresponding to the cable connection you are using.