As you have probably found in your owner's manual, the 7-beep POST error refers to a CPU failure. This is a user-replaceable part but you might consider having Dell or a computer shop do the replacement if you are not experienced working with laptops.
Thanks for the swift reply. As you have said, I did find this out, but it also said it could be a motherboard failure. Would a MB fail produce a different beep code?
Guess its too late for yourself Steve, but anyone else getting this...
I followed the advice on another forum. Stripped the motherboard of everything - memory CPU the lot, actually GENUINELY not that scary even if you have never done this before.
Heat an over to 385 farenheit, put the board on a tray supported by four 2" balls aluminum foil. ( to let air and heat prioperly circulate)
After eight minutes turn off the oven, open the door and let it all cool. The original recommendation was for an hour - then a further hour outside the oven, but I think the postee might have been protecting himself from lawsuits in case of a burn as I found mine was cool in a fraction of that.
Reassemble -
His worked! Yea!
Mine worked! Yea!
Like he said - no guarantees and treat it as a last ditch with a dead computer - but the board looked none the worse for the heat.
What it does is reflow the solder which is the known cause of this problem.
In these cases it is NOT a dead CPU as the code suggest, but that this particular motherboard is known to have 'experienced' some poor soldering in original manufacture.
The only difficulty is reinsterting the the keyboard ribbon cable on reassembly, but realistically the tear down and subsequent the rebuild takes about an hour in total.
osprey4
4 Operator
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34.2K Posts
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February 24th, 2013 03:00
Hi Steve,
As you have probably found in your owner's manual, the 7-beep POST error refers to a CPU failure. This is a user-replaceable part but you might consider having Dell or a computer shop do the replacement if you are not experienced working with laptops.
steve_cyprus
2 Posts
0
February 24th, 2013 20:00
Thanks for the swift reply. As you have said, I did find this out, but it also said it could be a motherboard failure. Would a MB fail produce a different beep code?
Steve
osprey4
4 Operator
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34.2K Posts
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February 25th, 2013 16:00
The motherboard failure code is 3 beeps. So I think the CPU is the likely culprit.
noumenon1
1 Message
0
October 21st, 2013 15:00
Guess its too late for yourself Steve, but anyone else getting this...
I followed the advice on another forum. Stripped the motherboard of everything - memory CPU the lot, actually GENUINELY not that scary even if you have never done this before.
Heat an over to 385 farenheit, put the board on a tray supported by four 2" balls aluminum foil. ( to let air and heat prioperly circulate)
After eight minutes turn off the oven, open the door and let it all cool. The original recommendation was for an hour - then a further hour outside the oven, but I think the postee might have been protecting himself from lawsuits in case of a burn as I found mine was cool in a fraction of that.
Reassemble -
His worked! Yea!
Mine worked! Yea!
Like he said - no guarantees and treat it as a last ditch with a dead computer - but the board looked none the worse for the heat.
What it does is reflow the solder which is the known cause of this problem.
In these cases it is NOT a dead CPU as the code suggest, but that this particular motherboard is known to have 'experienced' some poor soldering in original manufacture.
The only difficulty is reinsterting the the keyboard ribbon cable on reassembly, but realistically the tear down and subsequent the rebuild takes about an hour in total.