I can't get my PC to boot up. All it does is get to the Dell
splash screen and then hangs, displaying the blue logo. I
have tried restarting, holding down various combinations of
keys, although I now the 'Del' key is the one, but nothing. No
'bleep' or sound of drives spinning.

If you don't mind losing all your data, you can restore the system to the way it came from the factory.

When you start your computer, hold down the CTRL key and press F11 to access the system recovery wizard.

Do yourself a favor BACKUP!

The above instructions work for the newer Dells. I'm not sure about the older ones. You might want to check the Dell web site.

Do yourself a favor BACKUP!

HI, Wow, that's a quick reply!

I tried the Dell site, it was useless the nearest I can get is
instructions to press 'Del' at the splash screen, but they
don't have an option for what if nothing happens...

I can't even boot from a floppy disk, so I doubt I can get to
any system wizard.

My guess is something is stopping my PC from even
entering BIOS.

Open up the PC and disconnect hardware, you only need mobo, cpu, memory, graphics and PSU to boot up...........

Disconnect which hardware exactly... the hard drive?

Then once I've done that... boot into DOS?

Does this sound like a hardware issue? Or do I go ahead and
format the drive... assuming my PC will let me of course!

Yes you do not need a floppy or optical drive or hard disk drive connected to test a PC.

Where did you get DOS from, without drives it will boot to the BIOS POST screen.

"Or do I go ahead and format the drive..."

You won't be doing anything until you can initialize the machine - in other words, get it started to the POST (Power On Self Test) screen. As stated, the idea is to adopt a minimalist configuration - processor, 1 piece of RAM, keyboard & vidcard - everything else disconnected in order to determine to problem. If this doesn't work, you would then try substituting known good memory, in case the original RAM is bad

Once (and if) you can get the POST screen, you progress from there by connecting the drives (one at a time) - if successful then, boot to a floppy or CD and proceed with any disk management or OS installation. You would also want to have a look at the CMOS setup to configure boot order and whatever else may seem appropriate

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Well I have unplugged everything I can see, I even tried
unplugging the power cables from the motherboard!

As far as I can see now all that is plugged into the MOB is
the video card, and 1 RAM SIM, I have 3, so I have cycled
through those to see if it makes any difference... I don't
have any other SIMMS to use, but what are the odds on
ALL 3 of them becoming corrupted at the same time?

I have tried removing ALL the RAM, and I get a few beeps,
one followed by 3, twice.

um.

Any idea where I go from here?

With 1 RAM SIMM in it powers up, drives spin, and the big
blue Dell BIOS screen appears again...

I rather expect you have DIMMs rather than SIMMs - anyways, firing it up with no RAM installed is an interesting way to pass the time (just not very productive)

"I even tried
unplugging the power cables from the motherboard!"

Hoping for what, exactly? A little thought behind your experimentation should lead you away from obvious dead ends

It's a process of elimination - if you rule out everything else, then all that really remains is a bad motherboard or a faulty power supply - a PSU can malfunction yet still provide enough juice to spin a few fans & blink some lights. A bad board is generally unrepairable and can only be replaced

Is there any history to this? The machine worked for some period of time when out of the blue it just stopped? Added any new parts or experienced any lightning strikes?

Perhaps it's all connected to weird line spacing occurring in your messages

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie!'... till you can find a rock

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Yeah, I was wondering about that line spacing, maybe it's a dislike of this browser (Safari).

The machine has been fantastic, pretty much 7 years of faithful service, with narry a glitch. No lightning strikes, no modifications. My kids use it for playing CD ROM that's about it. My main PC is an apple, and won't play PC CDs.

So... from what you say, this sounds like the PC equivalent of a major cardiac, and the only remedy is a pretty heavy one.

Is it time to salvage what I can and chuck it?

Hey Sean.

Your dilemma sounds pretty much what happened to a friend of mines Dell.

Upon turning it on, he would get the Dell Logo some beeps, then a whole bunch of writing which looked like in DOS mode.

He actually had to let it idle for an hour or so to warm up, then restart it and it would work.

Dude finally called Dell, and explain the problem. They sent a service technician and the tech replaced the Motherboard.

Seems that the capacitors were shot, and were causing the problem. Dude owns a business so the Dell was a lease. It didn't cost him anything.

Unfortunately, if this (What sounds to be) the same thing happening to your Dell, you'll need to invest in a new computer.

I would keep everything as parts. With the exception to the Motherboard, everything else should be fine.

The Above Computer Specs Are For Internet Surfing Only!

Oh well, I got a good run out of it, 7 years+ aint bad.

I guess there isn't much use for the parts, a 7 year old anything PC wise isn't much use I guess.

I'm thinking about using the 2 internal drives (a 30 + a 40 gig) as externals, I heard you can buy a unit that you slot the drives into.

Has anyone tried this?

Any chance of finding a friendly tech who will check your PSU? Some shops will do this, on the basis that whatever the result some business might come their way.

I rather suspect it's the mobo though and sure, 3 sticks of RAM failing at once is most unlikely.

DerekW

The PSU, is that the Processor? I know that lugging my hulking computer to a tech shop here will only get me a big bill, the tech shops here are a bit like mechanics. They will bombard me with vocab and acronyms before advising me to take out a mortgage to reincarnate my PC.

That or they will just laugh out loud when they see me even trying to keep my Dell alive.

Oh well.

Thanks for all the help. if nothing else I have learned a lot about PC hardware!

Sorry, jargon, "PSU = Power Supply Unit".

My idea was to take out the PSU and just walk that down to the techie shop (you hope they don't just throw you out LOL).

They will often pop it into a working spare machine and see if it still boots - crude but effective.

DerekW

Yeah, anecdotes aside, 'bad caps' can possibly develop, as well as other faults, especially on a 7 year old system

It can be pretty random though - I definitely have machines as old or older that function just fine (at the moment, I'm using a 6 year old Optiplex)

It's 'more likely' a power supply issue, but that's no garantee. If possible (as suggested) try another.

If it is the board then it's doubtless well past time to upgrade. You may be able to connect your old drives to the new machine, although not much need for extra capacity on a modern system, which can have a 250Gb+ state-of-the-art main drive. Sure, you can get external USB drive enclosures, if needed

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Thanks.

I have a new iMac, with a 250GB HD, but you can never have too much memory! I got myself an enclosure with firewire and USB 2 (not cheap, about $85 USD) and then it looks like the internal drives are going to make great external drives for backup. It really was plug and play, I'm very impressed!

The place I work has a load of old PCs, they are often dumping so hopefully I can one of those revitalised.

Do I need to store the spare internal HD in a particular way? I'm planning to back up a load of data onto it, and store it.

Modern HD's are not too fussy. Pop it in something so that it doesn't get smothered in dust. Room temperature is fine, just keep it dry and away from strong magnetic fields, that's all.

DerekW

I've yet to hear anything bad about a Mac, and after many years of salvaging machines, I've only ever encountered a handful of (pitifully antique) abandoned Apple computers - people seem to hang onto them

Sure, it's well worth reviving older machines, especially if you get them gratis - although finding older parts (if needed) can be a challenge

You'll learn quite a bit doing that

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I tried one more thing. Removing and replacing the CMOS battery. I heard that some Dells respond to that... but alas nothing much.

It did succeed in getting rid of the Dell splash screen and processes the RAM I have plugged in, but then it just stops there. With a list describing my PC and a

'Press <Del> to enter SETUP

command... But no amount of pressing <Del> makes any difference. Yes I have checked that the keyboard is plugged in, no bleeping, nothing...

Shall I give up now? Or do you have one more little thing I might need to try???

Yes, resetting the CMOS, either by jumper or by pulling the battery can on occasion help, and hurts nothing to try.

A bad board does seem likely, but it won't hurt to try another power supply if possible - although with an old Dell, a 'standard' supply might not fit (hard to say)

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Yeah, I see what you mean.

I'll just harvest the parts, especially the drives will be handy for backup, and get a knackered PC from work that I can reincarnate.

Thanks for all the help!