XPS 8300, ST2420L, Windows 10, PSM

Note, Windows 10 was never validated on the eight year old XPS 8300. We only validated Windows 7.

* What hardware and/or software changes did you do prior to the issue appearing?
* What video card?
* What video out ports are on the video card?
* How is the ST2420L (HDMI/DVI/VGA) connected to the video card using which ports and cable?
* With both on, did you press the ST2420L Menu button, go to Input Source and check the one connected?

Hi Chris,

Thanks so much for getting back to me!  This problem is really frustrating.  The computer is starting up without any error beeps.  The power button is white, steady. The monitor says "Entering Power Save Mode" as soon as it is turned on. It says "There is no signal coming from your computer."  I don't use this desktop that often as I 'm usually on a laptop.I installed an upgrade to Norton's Security Premium on 5/17/18 but the computer was working fine.   I did notice that the monitor would black out for a second every so often but this was before the Nortons upgrade.

I unplugged everything from the back of the computer, unplugged everything from the power sources (2 surge protectors), held the power button down for about 30 seconds after the power was shut down and all cables were detached.  I tried connecting another monitor but the same thing happened (entering power save mode).

Your questions answered:

• I received an e-mail with the Windows 10 upgrade offer so I installed it (when it first came out).  I didn't know it might not be compatible.
• XPS 8300 - Intel Core i7 - 2600 processor (8mb cache, 3.4 GHz)
• 12 GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHZ, 2x4GB/2x2GB
• Serial ATA II RAID 0 with dual 750GB hard drives
• Nvidia GeForce GT 545 1GB GDDR5
• Ports: there are 3 ports. The monitor is connected via an HDMI cable on the monitor side but on the computer side, a small adapter is connected to the HDMI cable which then plugs into the computer.
• Yes, I checked that HDMI was checked on the monitor by pressing button #4.  I also ran the monitor dignostic test and inspected the display in gray, red, green, blue, black and white. There weren't any abnormalities.

I'll send you the Dell service tag via a private message.

Thanks,

Donna

OK, everything points to the monitor being good. This is a problem, "a small adapter is connected to the HDMI cable which then plugs into the computer". There should be no adapters. You should be using a straight cable. You can purchase them locally or online. All of the ST2420L video in ports max to 1920x1080 60Hz. They are all equal in quality. This is how the ST2420L should be connected to the GeForce GT 545 =

GeForce GT 545 DVI out port --> ST2420L DVI to DVI cable --> ST2420L DVI in port
-or-
GeForce GT 545 mHDMI out port --> mHDMI to HDMI cable --> ST2420L DVI in port
-or-
GeForce GT 545 DVI out port --> DVI to VGA cable --> ST2420L VGA in port

Hi Chris,

Thanks fr your help!  There isn't a regular HDMI port on the computer, that's why there is the adapter/connecter.  It's the mini HDMI adapter that connects to the regular HDMI cable that came with the computer.  It's like your option #2.  I'm ordering a new cable from Amazon with the mini on one side and the regular HDMI on the other end to see if that helps.

Thanks,

Donna

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@Woody0707 wrote:

My XPS 8300 is having a startup issue where the monitor enters PSM (power save mode) immediately on startup.

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My XPS-8300 runs Windows-10 64bit perfectly. In fact, PC Sleep Mode works great, as does Monitor-Sleep.

Just wanted you to know so you can look elsewhere for problems.

 https://www.dell.com/community/Vostro/Vostro-460-XPS-8300-Upgrade-Adventures/m-p/6054983/highlight/true#M1213

Thanks Tesla. I was advised to purchase a mini HDMI cable to see if that was the issue but my monitor still shuts off on startup.  It say entering power save mode while the computer is on.  I was able to hit F12 and run a full diagnostic.  There weren't any errors.  Everything was working.  Any ideas?

Hi....

Sorry, I don't know what you mean by Windows Proper.  On startup when the computer was starting....black screen with some text.  I hit F12 and ran the full diagnostics.  It took a while but evrything came back working fine.

Monitor, hard drive, memory, video card, etc.....all were okay.

I can't download drivers because I can't get the monitor to stay on.  It enters power save mode immediately on startup.

I just bought a new mini HDMI cable as I was using an adapter connected to a regular HDMI cable.  I'm wondering if the mini HDMI port is the issue.  I'm going to try using a DVi to DVI connection.

Thanks for your help!

Donna

The DVI to DVI connection worked so maybe I have a bad mini HDMI port!  Thanks for your help everyone!