I must admit that I got intimidated by the post that says I should get someone to look at my computer instead of doing it myself since my hardware knowledge is limited. It's probably the right recommendation too. However, I'm worried that they will ask for an arm and a leg and I just can't afford that right now.
My symptoms are the same as felmap, except I don't know how to run the diagnostics. The only two screens I can assess is the Setup screen and the screen that says "Strike F1 to retry boot, F2 setup" These are my only options.
I would appreciate any help. I don't mind wiping the C: Drive clean and reloading the operating system. I have a restoration disk that came with my computer.
"must admit that I got intimidated by the post that says I should get someone to look at my computer instead of doing it myself since my hardware knowledge is limited. It's probably the right recommendation too. However, I'm worried that they will ask for an arm and a leg and I just can't afford that right now."
Like I said I didn't want to offend you and I am sorry if I did. It is just through the years I read stories from individuals who with very limited experience attempted to correct a problem and only made matters worse. A static discharge inside a computer can damage components, ribbon cables can be easily torn and pins in sockets can be easily bent. I don't mean to try and scare you, but those of some of the problems people have had. Good sources of free help are friends, relatives, neighbors or a student from a local high school or tech college computer class.
"My symptoms are the same as felmap, except I don't know how to run the diagnostics. The only two screens I can assess is the Setup screen and the screen that says "Strike F1 to retry boot, F2 setup" These are my only options."
If the machine will at least boot from a floppy disk there is a version of the Dell Diagnostics that will run from a floppy. The only problem is that you will need to download the file to a working computer and then create the bootable diagnostic floppy disk. The link here is for that download and the instructions for creating the floppy disks are listed on the download page. You can print out the page for a quick reference when creating the bootable disks.
Hi - just wanted to add that the Boot Sequence was also not allowing me to select the CD drive (it would also only see the Floppy), but after I did some disconnecting and reconnecting and isolating, the setup saw all the drives.
I just experienced the same issue as a result of downloading and installing the latest version of Symantec's Norton System Works 2005. Our Anitvirus software subscription was due to expire so being a conscienscious person we purchased a new package. When we tried rebooting after the installation we received the dreaded "Press F1 to Continue or F2 for Set-Up"....... Symantec helped us into SafeMode and we tried to restore the computer to an earlier date with no luck. Our Dell 4300 is out of warranty and we were confident we would receive no sympathy from Dell Technical Support so we call Microsoft. Now since our Operating System is an OEM install from Dell, MSFT does not provide FREE technical support, but you can pay $35 per incident and get support.
The support MSFT provide was second to none. I was blown away. Our support person is Ian Johnson, a Canadian... Thank you MSFT for providing North American Support!! Being a businessman, MBA grad etc.. I understand the value of outsourcing... but when customer support suffers all in the name of cost reduction - a counterbalance needs to be applied. Some companies simply haven't alienated enough people, yet, to loose enough money, yet, to understand this... but the market is all-knowing and all-seeing and eventually the pendullum swings back towards equallibrium. Enough said.
MSFT eventually discovered that the OS was not at fault, but something in the BIOS was causing the computer confusion over what hardware was installed (Hard Drive 0 and 1 not found etc...). To my amazement, MSFT actually volunteered to call Dell on our behalf, staying with us the entire time. The Dell representative, who will unfortunately go nameless at this time because he provided support even when the machine was no longer under warranty (now that is great support!), was excellent. In a short time we cleared the NVRAM rebooted and all was well again.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
The link above leads to DEll's instructions on how to clear the NVRAM (non-volatile RAM) in the BIOS.
The call to MSFT and Dell in combination took 2 hrs, but lead to complete success. My sister's Dell 4300 boots perfectly again. We'll never know for sure, but we strongly suspect the download/install of Symantec Norton System Works 2005 somehow caused this issue as the machine was working flawlessly up until the install. How such a download would cause such an issue is beyond us.
What number did you call for Miscosoft Technical Support. I can manage $35. I have not been able to fix my computer since this posting because I'm afraid of the cost.
Lande007
8 Posts
0
September 9th, 2004 12:00
I must admit that I got intimidated by the post that says I should get someone to look at my computer instead of doing it myself since my hardware knowledge is limited. It's probably the right recommendation too. However, I'm worried that they will ask for an arm and a leg and I just can't afford that right now.
My symptoms are the same as felmap, except I don't know how to run the diagnostics. The only two screens I can assess is the Setup screen and the screen that says "Strike F1 to retry boot, F2 setup" These are my only options.
I would appreciate any help. I don't mind wiping the C: Drive clean and reloading the operating system. I have a restoration disk that came with my computer.
Majestic
9.4K Posts
0
September 9th, 2004 12:00
"must admit that I got intimidated by the post that says I should get someone to look at my computer instead of doing it myself since my hardware knowledge is limited. It's probably the right recommendation too. However, I'm worried that they will ask for an arm and a leg and I just can't afford that right now."
Like I said I didn't want to offend you and I am sorry if I did. It is just through the years I read stories from individuals who with very limited experience attempted to correct a problem and only made matters worse. A static discharge inside a computer can damage components, ribbon cables can be easily torn and pins in sockets can be easily bent. I don't mean to try and scare you, but those of some of the problems people have had. Good sources of free help are friends, relatives, neighbors or a student from a local high school or tech college computer class.
"My symptoms are the same as felmap, except I don't know how to run the diagnostics. The only two screens I can assess is the Setup screen and the screen that says "Strike F1 to retry boot, F2 setup" These are my only options."
If the machine will at least boot from a floppy disk there is a version of the Dell Diagnostics that will run from a floppy. The only problem is that you will need to download the file to a working computer and then create the bootable diagnostic floppy disk. The link here is for that download and the instructions for creating the floppy disks are listed on the download page. You can print out the page for a quick reference when creating the bootable disks.
Lande007
8 Posts
0
September 9th, 2004 13:00
Oh Magestic....you did not offend me at all! I'm just looking at my empty pocket
I'll try running the diagnostics and report back.
Thanks again!
felmap
8 Posts
0
September 9th, 2004 18:00
whp03
1 Message
0
December 1st, 2004 16:00
I just experienced the same issue as a result of downloading and installing the latest version of Symantec's Norton System Works 2005. Our Anitvirus software subscription was due to expire so being a conscienscious person we purchased a new package. When we tried rebooting after the installation we received the dreaded "Press F1 to Continue or F2 for Set-Up"....... Symantec helped us into SafeMode and we tried to restore the computer to an earlier date with no luck. Our Dell 4300 is out of warranty and we were confident we would receive no sympathy from Dell Technical Support so we call Microsoft. Now since our Operating System is an OEM install from Dell, MSFT does not provide FREE technical support, but you can pay $35 per incident and get support.
The support MSFT provide was second to none. I was blown away. Our support person is Ian Johnson, a Canadian... Thank you MSFT for providing North American Support!! Being a businessman, MBA grad etc.. I understand the value of outsourcing... but when customer support suffers all in the name of cost reduction - a counterbalance needs to be applied. Some companies simply haven't alienated enough people, yet, to loose enough money, yet, to understand this... but the market is all-knowing and all-seeing and eventually the pendullum swings back towards equallibrium. Enough said.
MSFT eventually discovered that the OS was not at fault, but something in the BIOS was causing the computer confusion over what hardware was installed (Hard Drive 0 and 1 not found etc...). To my amazement, MSFT actually volunteered to call Dell on our behalf, staying with us the entire time. The Dell representative, who will unfortunately go nameless at this time because he provided support even when the machine was no longer under warranty (now that is great support!), was excellent. In a short time we cleared the NVRAM rebooted and all was well again.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
The link above leads to DEll's instructions on how to clear the NVRAM (non-volatile RAM) in the BIOS.
The call to MSFT and Dell in combination took 2 hrs, but lead to complete success. My sister's Dell 4300 boots perfectly again. We'll never know for sure, but we strongly suspect the download/install of Symantec Norton System Works 2005 somehow caused this issue as the machine was working flawlessly up until the install. How such a download would cause such an issue is beyond us.
Bill
Lande007
8 Posts
0
December 1st, 2004 17:00