Precision 5810: Sits on blank screen before BIOS

Question

Hi all, I recently purchased a Precision 5810 through Dell Refurbished, and i'm noticing something odd with ti when it boots.

What I’m noticing is that upon pressing the power button to boot, the computer sits with no activity on the screen for about a minute or so, then the BIOS screen comes up for less than 10 seconds, and continues the boot process. The display shows that there is no signal and remains amber (it’s a Dell ultrasharp monitor), then once the BIOS comes up, it stays green.

Originally i was using DVI, but then I tried troubleshooting by trying the displayport on the Quadro that came with the machine, and also removing the Quadro and put another Nvidia card in there, both behaved the exact same. i also ran the ePSA diagnostics and everything passed fine. I tried Dell Refurb support and they have been no help so far, which is why i'm posting here.

Is this behavior normal for this machine? Compared to some of my other Precisions, (T3400, T7400, T3610), they all, upon pressing the power button, the BIOS comes up immediately, then the storage controller shows the drives, and continues to the OS. Has this changed with this revision of the 5810 where it sits before getting to the BIOS?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

PunkAdmin · Accepted Answer

So I figured out the problem of why I was just getting the black screen when attempting to enter the BIOSl. Also noteworthy to mention, the DELL logo that is usually displayed on power-up was never displayed on the monitor.

SOLUTION: The ViewSonic VA2756 monitor that I was using could not display the low resolution that the graphics card sends out during the hardware and BIOS start up routines. The system WAS entering the BIOS setup but the monitor could not display it's low resolution. I switched to an older Dell monitor and everything worked as expected. I saw the Dell logo when I powered on the computer and it entered the BIOS when I pressed F2. The problem was not with the BIOS or with the computer at all.

Mystery solved!

Best wishes to all!

Harold_A · Answer

We have three 5810s and with Quadro K1200 boards. They all three do the dead display startup thing. Very strange.

If you are using RAID on this machine make sure you disable all the Dell services under Administrative Tools if you want to use it for extended periods of time without a blue screen. VERY frustrating to have your PC blue screen 2-3 times a day when you are trying to get work done.

Dell-Alan D · Answer

@Harold_A does the bluescreen you encounter happen to be iastorb.sys?

For the K1200 video cards, what cables are you using to connect to the displays?

What version of the BIOS are you currently running?

What version of the graphics card driver are you currently running?

I'll drop you a private message for your service tag details.

Alan

mknabster1 · Answer

Hi Harold,

Mine actually doesn't blue screen at all, just goes blank upon boot before it gets to the BIOS. Originally it was taking about 2 minutes to get to the BIOS, but upon messing around with some settings in the BIOS< i was able to shorten it down to 15-30 seconds. I disabled Dell RMT and SERR messages, and that seems to have helped.

Dell-Alan D · Answer

@mknabster1 i'm wondering if the issue you are experiencing is described in this support article - https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln315525/nvidia-video-card-displayport-1-3-1-4-support-and-blank-video?lang=en

The issue is related to using DisplayPort technology using older K series cards on this generation of systems.

If it is the issue there is an Nvidia Graphics firmware update tool as outlined in the article.

I'll drop you a private message to get your service tag details.

Alan

mknabster1 · Answer

Thanks Alan,

Interesting, however i did test with a non-Quadro card with DVI and the issue persists. I now have a Nvidia GTX 1070 in there and it behaves the same, so not sure if it's related. The monitors i am using are Dell Ultrasharps, and all of them i use DVI with, so not sure how the displayport would conflict, but i guess it is possible.

DELL-Cares · Answer

@mknabster1 we appreciate your effort in running the trouble shooting steps.

Please let us know more about the issue.

1) Since when are you facing this problem.

2) Was there any hardware or software changes made before this issue occurred.

3) Do you have any external device connected apart from Monitor.

4) Is BIOS updated to latest.

mknabster1 · Answer

I did just downloaded that firmware update you had provided a link to and applied it, but the issue persists, so doesn't look like that is the cause.

Dell-Alan D · Answer

@the.mknabster thanks for trying those different configurations. That's strange that the issue was happening with DVI and multiple cards.

a) What version of the BIOS are you running?

b) If you power on the system and keep tapping the F12 key to access the boot menu, does the same no video delay occur?

c) If you have the ability to connect up the monitor directly to the system's onboard video, can you remove the graphics card completely from the system and then power it on. Does the system still take a while to display video using the onboard graphics?

Alan

NWLaGent318 · Answer

Hey Alan:  I also have a Dell Precision Tower 5810 with having issues getting anything to display.  Unfortunately, there is no onboard video such as a VGA port so it is hard to know if the issue is with the video card.  I have tried several video cards with not getting anything to display.  I am looking for a video card with a VGA port to see if that makes a difference.  In addition, while the unit is on, the number & cap lock lights on the USB keyboard do not light up nor does the optical USB mouse.  Your assistance on this older unit is greatly appreciated.

PunkAdmin · Answer

I just got a hand-me-down 5810 Tower with Win10 that someone had installed on it previously. it boots up and runs perfectly in Win10 and it is using the same 4 port NVIDIA Quadro card that shipped with the machine. The problem I'm having is that when I press F2 at power on I just get the blank screen and it never enters the BIOS no matter how long I wait. I have NumLock and Cap lights on the keyboard but no video. I'm starting to think that this Quadro card requires windows drivers, which makes no sense. I've tried removing the Quadro card and installing an ATI Radeon B276 but still a blank screen. Not sure where to go from here.
Has anyone figured out this problem yet?

Mark86HN · Answer

@PunkAdmin Thank you, I had the same problem, I could not enter the Boot menu, and that was indeed the solution.

Precision Fixed Workstations

Precision 5810: Sits on blank screen before BIOS

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