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Diagnostic Error Code Standardization For 2015 & 2016 Notebook and Tablet Systems

Summary: This article provides information about diagnostic error codes for 2015 and 2016 laptops or tablets with Skylake, Kaby Lake, Purley, and Cherry Trail chipsets.

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Diagnostic Error Code Standardization

Dell has moved to a single error code system across all lines of business. The goal of this standardization is to simplify interpretation of error indications by incorporating the same platform across all Dell computer models.

This change is initially applying to Dell Laptops and Tablets and will be applied to future Desktop and All In One designs in 2017.


Diagnostic Error Code Tables

The tables below will define the LED/Beep codes for Dell Notebook and Tablet systems:

Form-Factor Specific Error Codes - Hardware Controlled
Dell OEM Beep/LED Flash Code
LED # of Flashes Fault Description Fault(s) Notebook Desktop Tablet
1,1 Bad Motherboard Motherboard Failure - Pre-POST indicators N Y N
1,2 Bad MB, PSU, or Cabling Motherboard, Power Supply Unit or PSU Cabling N Y N
1,3 Bad MB, DIMMS, or CPU Motherboard, Dual In-Line Memory Modules or Central Processing unit Failure N Y N
1,4 Bad Coin Cell Bad Coin Cell N Y N

 

Form-Factor Specific Error Codes - BIOS Controlled
Diagnostic Beep/LED Code
LED # of Flashes Fault Description Fault(s) Notebook Desktop Tablet
4,1 CPU Config or CPU Failure Incorrect Central Processing Unit Configuration or CPU Failure N Y N
4,2 Generic POST Video Error Generic POST Video Error (POST Completed no hand off to Operating System N Y N

 

Standard Error Codes
Diagnostic Beep/LED Code
LED # of Flashes Fault Description Fault(s) Notebook Desktop Tablet
2,1 CPU Central Processing Unit (CPU) Failure Y Y Y
2,2 Motherboard BIOS ROM Failure Motherboard, covers BIOS corruption or ROM Error Y Y Y
2,3 Memory No Memory/RAM Detected Y Y Y
2,4 Memory Memory/RAM Failure Y Y Y
2,5 Memory Invalid Memory Installed Y Y N
2,6 Motherboard, Chipset Motherboard, Chipset Error Y Y Y
2,7 LCD LCD Failure Y Y Y
2,8 LCD LCD Failure Y Y Y
3,1 RTC Power Failure CMOS Battery Failure Y Y Y
3,2 PCI/Video PCI or Video Card Error Y Y Y
3,3 BIOS Recovery 1 Recovery Image Not Found Y Y Y
3,4 BIOS Recovery 2 Recovery Image Invalid Y Y Y
3,5 Power Rail Failure EC Ran into Power Sequencing Failure Y N* Y
3,6 SBIOS Flash Corruption Flash Corruption Detected by SBIOS Y N* Y
3,7 ME Error Time out Waiting on ME to Reply to HECI Message Y N* Y
4,1 Memory Memory DIMM power rail failure N Y Y
 

* Current desktops have 5555 or 5553 SIO with Mask ROM, not sure yet if it can support these new LED codes using "patch region."

 

Power Button LED Stand Behavior
Power LED Power State Description Notebook Desktop Tablet
Off S4 Hibernate or Suspend to Disk Y Y Y
Off S5 Off Y Y Y
Steady Amber - Boot Failure - This is a system fault error condition, including the power supply. Only the +5VSB rail on the power supply is working correctly. N Y N
Blinking Amber - Boot Failure - The computer is receiving electrical power, and power supplied by the power supply is normal. A device might be malfunctioning or incorrectly installed. N Y N
Blue (or Green or White) S0 Normal Operation Y Y Y
Blinking Blue (or Green or White) S1 or S3 Sleep or Stand By Y Y Y

 

LED Selection by Form Factor
System Type LED
Notebook Battery LED
2-in-1 Power & Charging LED
Dual Color
Tablet Power & Charging LED
Dual Color
Desktop/IoT Power LED
AIO Power LED
Fixed Workstation Power LED or Quad-Pack (TBD)
Wyse TBD
Chromebooks N/A

 

Platform Rollout
System Type Generation/Chipset Intercept
Notebook CT15/Skylake
2-in-1 CT15/Skylake
Tablet CT15/Skylake/Cherry Trail
Desktop/IoT CT17/Kaby Lake
AIO CT17/Kaby Lake
Fixed Workstation CT17/Purley/Kaby Lake
Wyse CT17/Kaby Lake
ChromeBooks N/A

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Last Published Date

01 Aug 2023

Version

4

Article Type

Solution