RE: [ILUG] [OT] Dell machine giving me hassle. > -----Original Message-----
> From: Aherne Peter-pahern02 [mailto:peter.aherne@motorola.com]
> Sent: 28 August 2002 09:29
> To: 'ilug@linux.ie'
> Subject: [ILUG] [OT] Dell machine giving me hassle.
> 
> Ok, Iknow this is blatantly OT but I'm beginning to go insane.
> Had an old Dell Dimension XPS sitting in the corner and decided to
> put it to use, I know it was working pre being stuck in the
> corner, but when I plugged it in, hit the power nothing happened.
> I opened her up and had a look and say nothing much. A little orange
> LED comes on when I plug her in but that's it, after some googling
> I found some reference to re-seating all the parts, but no change.
> The problem I'm having is that since the power supply is some Dell
> specific one, ATX block with what looks like one of the old AT
> power connectors, I cant figure out weather this is a Mobo prob
> or a PSU prob. Just to futily try and drag this back OT, I want
> to install Linux on it when I get it working. If anyone knows
> what the problem might be give me a shout.


Here is what you do.

Remove all the PCI & ISA/EISA cards.
Remove the floppy disk cable from the mobo, the ide cables from the mobo...
essentially leaving only a video card... ram and a keyboard plugged in.

Turn on the system.
If it doesn't POST then, switch it off and remove the video card.

Switch it back on ... if your mobo doesn't emit some beeps complaining about
lack of video card then.

Switch it off.
Remove it's ram.

Same procedure as above.

If you still don't have any kind of mobo beep codes then you can try as a
last ditch effort to reseat the cpu... (remembering to never ever ever power
up your system without a heatsink & fan).

If after reseating the cpu into the mobo... you still get no beep codes,
from it with just the cpu inserted into the mobo ie(no pci,*isa cards or and
no actual ide or floppy cables connected to the system)... even though you
have power... you either have a faulty motherboard or a faulty cpu.

Once you get beep codes various permutations of the above should eventually
disjunct which device it is, is causing the lack of POST.
Power On Self Test.

Bod

-- 
Irish Linux Users' Group: ilug@linux.ie
http://www.linux.ie/mailman/listinfo/ilug for (un)subscription information.
List maintainer: listmaster@linux.ie