XPS 13 9305 Usage and Troubleshooting Guide
Summary: Learn how to use and troubleshoot issues related to drivers, Windows, LCD, input devices, networking, webcam, and more on your XPS 13 9305 laptop.
Instructions
For help with issues such as: Wired and wireless networking, Windows, mouse, touchpad, keyboard, LCD, webcam and downloading drivers, see an expanding section below.
For specifications, browse to the XPS 13 9305 Online Manual Page. Touch or click View PDF under XPS 13 9305 Setup and Specifications (see the Specifications of XPS 13 9305 section).
For port locations, browse to the XPS 13 9305 Online Manual Page. Touch or click View PDF under XPS 13 9305 Setup and Specifications (see the Views of XPS 13 9305 section).
To view or download the Service Manual, browse to the XPS 13 9305 Online Manual Page. Touch or click View PDF to the right of the XPS 13 9305 Service Manual.
To locate your Service Tag or Express Service Code, browse to: Where is the Service Tag located?
For how-to's and troubleshooting information about Wired and Wireless networking, browse to the Dell Networking and Wireless Support Center.
For information about how to turn the wireless antenna on and off on a Dell Computer, see Dell Knowledge Base article: How to Turn the Wireless Antenna On and Off on a Dell Computer.
- Using the SupportAssist application provides automatic laptop updates and detects issues that it resolves for you. Let us take the effort out of maintaining your Dell Laptop or Tablet. For more information about SupportAssist, browse to: SupportAssist for Home
- Run online hardware diagnostics to ensure that your hardware is working correctly. See the Dell Knowledge Base article: How to use the Dell Diagnostics. The article explains how to access the hardware diagnostics and the different kinds of tests available for your Dell laptop or tablet.
Note: The diagnostics either fix the problem automatically, or guide you through the steps to resolve the problem. When the diagnostic identifies a failing part, depending on the failing part, we immediately start the process for a free in-warranty replacement part.
- When the laptop cannot access the Internet, you can run the onboard diagnostics: The enhanced Pre-boot System Assessment (ePSA) diagnostics. For more information, see the Dell Knowledge Base article: Resolve Hardware Issues With Built-in and Online Diagnostics (ePSA or PSA Error Codes)
This section covers the Microsoft Windows operating system that is installed on your laptop; select the tabs below to find out further information.
For help with using Microsoft Windows, see the Dell Windows Support Center. Select the operating system that you need help with.
When the laptop stops responding or you are troubleshooting slow performance issues, perform the following steps:
- Press the Power button for at least 15 seconds to ensure that the laptop turns off.
- Disconnect all external peripherals including the keyboard, mouse, and external monitor. Peripherals also include external storage devices. (For example: Such as flash drives, USB devices, printers, cards, and so on.)
- Press the Power button to see if the laptop turns on and boots up correctly. If not, see Dell Knowledge Base article: Computer Does Not Turn on, or is Stuck on the Dell Logo Screen
- When the laptop does boot up correctly, download and install SupportAssist. For more information about how to obtain and install SupportAssist, browse to: SupportAssist for Home
- Perform system maintenance on your laptop, for more information see Dell Knowledge Base article: Optimization and Maintenance of Microsoft Windows or Troubleshooting Slow Performance Issues
- Start connecting external peripherals one at a time, and check to see if the laptop continues to respond.
This link takes you to the Dell Knowledge Base article: Microsoft Windows Locks Up or an Error Occurs
For information about the drivers available, browse to the XPS 13 9305 Drivers Page.
This article provides information about how to download drivers for Dell laptops: How to Download and Install a Driver
This section covers the hardware that is installed on your laptop; select the tabs below to find out further information.
See the following Dell Knowledge Base articles for information about how to use or troubleshoot mouse, keyboard, or touchpad issues.
- Keyboard Usage and Troubleshooting Guide
- Mouse Usage and Troubleshooting Guide
- Touchpad Usage and Troubleshooting Guide
- Some keys on your keyboard have two symbols on them. These keys can be used to perform secondary functions. To perform secondary functions, press Fn and the appropriate function key. Press and hold the Fn key. Then press the Esc key to switch the primary behavior of the function keys (F1-F12) between two modes. (multimedia key mode and function key mode.)
- When the laptop is powered on, the battery LED also acts as the hard drive activity light. Press and hold the Fn key, and then press the h key to switch the activity light function between the battery and the hard drive.
For information about how to turn the touchpad on or off, see Dell Knowledge Base article: Disabling or Enabling the Touchpad on a Dell Laptop
See the Dell Knowledge Base article: Troubleshooting Touchscreen Issues in Microsoft Windows, for information about resolving Touchscreen issues.
When you experience a situation in which the laptop does not start at all. Or it does turn on. (Lights turn on, and fans are spinning.) Look at the Battery LED for a blinking amber and white pattern, if the laptop does not show any image. (Located on the left side of the laptop, Figure 1.) You can determine the failures that are listed in Table 1.
Figure 1: Power and Battery Status LED Location
The blinking patterns consist of two sets of numbers that display as a group of Amber blinks, and then a group of White blinks.
First Group: The LED blinks with an Amber color 1 to nine times, followed by a brief pause with the LED off for 1.5 seconds.
Second Group: The LED blinks with a White color 1 to nine times. Followed by a longer pause before the next cycle starts again with the LED off for 3 seconds.
For example: For a No Memory Detected Error (2,3). The battery LED blinks two times with an Amber color, followed by a pause and then blinks three times with a White color. The battery LED pauses for 3 seconds before the next cycle repeats itself again. Each LED blink takes 0.5 seconds.
The laptop does not shut down when displaying the Diagnostic Error Codes.
Diagnostic Error Codes always supersede any other use of the LED. For instance, on Laptops, battery codes for Low Battery or Battery Failure situations are not displayed when the Diagnostic Error Codes are being displayed.
|
Blinking Pattern |
Component | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amber | White | ||
| 2 | 1 | CPU | CPU failure |
| 2 | 2 | BIOS ROM failure | System board failure (included BIOS corruption or ROM error): Try to flash the BIOS to the latest version. For more information, browse to Dell BIOS Updates (See the How do I update BIOS using a USB flash drive? section). |
| 2 | 3 | Memory | No memory or RAM detected |
| 2 | 4 | Memory | Memory or RAM failure |
| 2 | 5 | Memory | Invalid memory installed |
| 2 | 6 | Chipset | System board or Chipset error |
| 2 | 7 | LCD | LCD failure |
| 3 | 1 | Real -Time Clock power failure | CMOS battery failure |
| 3 | 2 | PCI or Video | PCI or Video card or chip failure |
| 3 | 3 | BIOS recovery image | Recovery image not found: Try to flash the BIOS to the latest version. For more information, browse to Dell BIOS Updates (See the How do I update BIOS using a USB flash drive? section). |
| 3 | 4 | BIOS recovery image | Recovery image found but invalid: Try to flash the BIOS to the latest version. For more information, browse to Dell BIOS Updates (See the How do I update BIOS using a USB flash drive? section). |
| 3 | 5 | Power rail | Power rail failure: Try to flash the BIOS to the latest version. For more information, browse to Dell BIOS Updates (See the How do I update BIOS using a USB flash drive? section). |
| 3 | 6 | BIOS recovery | BIOS Recovery Image not found while performing auto-recovery: Try to flash the BIOS to the latest version. For more information, browse to Dell BIOS Updates (See the How do I update BIOS using a USB flash drive? section). |
| 3 | 7 | ME Error | Management Engine error during boot: Try to flash the BIOS to the latest version. For more information, browse to Dell BIOS Updates (See the How do I update BIOS using a USB flash drive? section). |
For additional help with your laptop: Contact Technical Support
When the Battery LED does not blink with an Amber and White pattern, perform the following steps:- Press the power button for at least 15 seconds to ensure that the laptop turns off.
- Disconnect all external peripherals including the keyboard, mouse, and external monitor. Peripherals also include external storage devices. (For example: Such as flash drives, USB devices, printers, cards, and so on.)
- Remove the AC adapter from the laptop and unplug the AC adapter from the electrical outlet.
- Ensure that the connections on the power cable and AC adapter are firmly pressed together.
- Insert the AC into the laptop and a good electrical outlet (not on a surge protector or power strip).
- Press the Power button to see if the laptop turns on and boots up correctly. If not, see Dell Knowledge Base article: Computer Does Not Turn on, or is Stuck on the Dell Logo Screen
- Start attaching devices one at a time and testing to see if the laptop turns on.
There are times when changes to the settings in the System Setup (BIOS) prevent the laptop from booting into Windows or connect to the Internet. Setting the BIOS back to its defaults may help fix these issues.
- Reboot the laptop.
- When you see the Dell logo during POST, press the F2 key to enter the setup screen.
- On the System Setup screen, click Load Defaults.
- Ensure that BIOS Defaults are selected and click OK (when asked).
- Click OK on the Warning window (when asked).
- Click Exit, and the laptop restarts.
This section covers the hardware that is installed on your laptop; select the tabs below to find out further information.
For information about troubleshooting a laptop LCD Screen, see the Dell Knowledge Base article: Troubleshooting a Laptop LCD Screen That is Black, Blank or Hard to See
For help with resolving USB port issues, see Dell Knowledge Base article: How to resolve USB port issues
For information about and help with resolving Hard Drive issues, see the Dell Knowledge Base article: Understanding and Troubleshooting Your Hard Drive
For information about and help with resolving Audio issues, see the Speakers and Headphones Support site.
Power LED
The power button LED indicator light is located on the palm rest next to the keyboard at the upper right side of Figure 1. See Table 1 for the description of the LED.
Figure 1: Power LED Location
| Power Source | Power LED State | System Power State | Battery Charge Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| AC Adapter | Solid White | On (S0) | 0% to 100% |
| AC Adapter | Solid White | Hibernate or System Off (S4/S5) | Less than Fully Charged |
| AC Adapter | Off | Hibernate or System off (S4/S5) | Fully Charged |
| Battery | Solid Amber | On (S0) | Less than or equal to 10% |
| Battery | Off | On (S0) | More than 10% |
| Battery | Off | Hibernate or System Off (S4/S5) | 0% to 100% |
- S0 (ON) — Laptop is turned on.
- S4 (Hibernate) — The laptop consumes the least power compared to all other sleep states. The laptop is almost at an OFF state, expect for a trickle of power. The context data is written to a hard drive.
- S5 (OFF) — The laptop is in a shutdown state.
Battery Charge and Status LED
The battery charge gauge LED indicators are located on the left side of the laptop Figure 2. See Table 2 for the description of the LED.
Figure 2: Battery Gauge LEDs Location
| 1 | Battery Charge Indicator Button | 2 | Battery Gauge LEDs |
|---|
| LED Gauge Status | LED behavior | System Power State |
|---|---|---|
| No LED's (Button unpressed) | Off | N/A |
| One LED | Blinking White (four times) | Less than or equal to 10 % |
| One LED | Solid White | 11% - 20% |
| Two LEDs | Solid White | 21% - 40% |
| Three LEDs | Solid White | 41% - 60% |
| Four LEDs | Solid White | 61% - 80% |
| Five LEDs | Solid White | 81% - 100% |
- S0 (ON) — Laptop is turned on.
- S4 (Hibernate) — The laptop consumes the least power compared to all other sleep states. The laptop is almost at an OFF state, expect for a trickle of power. The context data is written to a hard drive.
- S5 (OFF) — The laptop is in a shutdown state.
- For models with a fingerprint reader (where no Power LED is on the power button), the LED illuminates white immediately once the power button is pressed.
- When the laptop is powered on, the battery LED also acts as the hard drive activity light. Press and hold the Fn key, and then press the h key to switch the activity light function between the battery and the hard drive.
For additional information about and help with resolving Battery issues, see the Battery Support site.
This section covers the software that may be installed on your laptop; select the tabs below to find out further information.
The Dell Windows Backup Media and Recovery Options page provides information about backing up your Windows Operating System. It includes recovery options for when Windows does not start correctly.
The Dell Download Center provides information about software that you may have bought and software that is already installed on your laptop. (For example: Such as Dell Backup Solutions and Dell SupportAssist for Home.)
Some of the software that is sold at the time of purchase has to be downloaded once you receive your laptop. You can download and install those programs by using Dell Digital Delivery, for more information see the following links:
A free PDF reader (Acrobat Reader DC) is available for free from Adobe 
This article provides help with Microsoft Office programs, A Guide to the various Microsoft Office programs available on your Dell Computer.
- The Skype software can be downloaded from the Skype website. This website also offers instructional videos on how to use the Skype program.
- To uninstall Skype, perform the following steps:
- Close Skype and ensure that it is not running in the background.
- In the Search bar, type appwiz.cpl
- Touch or click appwiz.cpl (Control panel item) to open the Programs and Features window.
- Touch and hold or right-click Skype from the list and select either Remove or Uninstall.
- Reboot your laptop and check to ensure that the application has been uninstalled.
To access the Dell Security and Virus Support Page click the following link:
Your laptop comes preinstalled with an anti-virus program. For more information, see the Dell Knowledge Base article: How to Get Support for McAfee Products Sold at Dell
More information about Viruses, Spyware, and Malware can be found at the following links: