Dell Dimension 4550 no boot

['putertutor]

I've got a Dell Dimension 4550 with Dell A04 bios. Customer reports that it won't boot and they only get a black screen with 'some beeping'. Opened it up and immediately found the problem - no memory.

Ok, easy fix. I happen to have some compatible memory, stick it in and I get the 'memory has changed' screen, followed by a F1 to reboot or F2 to enter setup option. F1 just immediately beeps and displays the same F1/F2 option without attempting to reboot. F2 puts me into bios where I can see the memory is recognized.

The bios event log shows a memory change back in February, when I assume the original memory was removed. I tried 4 different known good sticks of ram, all with the same results. HD tests out ok. What now?

 

[NYJimbo]

Opened it up and immediately found the problem - no memory.

Ok, since we all know a computer like this cannot run without memory, did you call the customer and get the back story on this machine ?

Did they know it had no ram, how long have they had this, when did it last work (if ever) ? Did they take it to a shop earlier this year or did anyone else have access to this machine?

Did you take out the HD and slave it to see whats on it and if the o/s installed looks bootable and if its compatible with the hardware its in ?

Stuff like that is very important to find out because this is an abnormal situation. A computer that comes in without ram could not have worked and you need to find out more before wasting time trying to get it to boot.

There are several scenarios that can explain what you are dealing with and a few of them would clue you in that this might be a waste of your time.

 

['putertutor]

The drive is fine, running xp, and it boots fine (on a different machine, clearly). One of the first things I do to any computer is slave the drive, which I did and is how I know it tested ok. This was late last night when I started with this computer (one of the benefits/drawbacks of having my bench in my basement is that I tend to work when I shouldn't), so more info from end user was not available at the time. The F1/F2 option appears with or without a drive present, so it doesn't look like its getting past bios. Haven't touched it since last night, but will try a live disc and a known good drive tomorrow. Planning on calling Monday to find out more.

 

[Visioned]

Is it saying that it cannot find a bootable device? If so you may check the bios settings for the hard drive discovery.

 

['putertutor]

No. Here's what I get:

"F1 to reboot, F2 to enter setup"

Pressing F1 results in an immediate single beep and the message repeating itself on a second line.

Pressing F2 takes me into bios where I can see the memory, and the hard drive.

I'll open it up again tomorrow, after speaking with the owner, but I my assumption is that this is a mobo issue.

 

[Visioned]

If there are any light indicators on the front, you can check the manual.

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...ktops/dimension-4550_Owner's Manual_en-us.pdf

On page 60 is where the diagnostic light information is.

 

['putertutor]

Unfortunately, no diag lights on this case.

 

[Xander]

I would really like to see some answers to Jimbo's questions. There's no way it was booting for the customer so why are you expecting it to be booting for you now?

 

['putertutor]

I would really like to see some answers to Jimbo's questions. There's no way it was booting for the customer so why are you expecting it to be booting for you now?

As I mentioned, it's the weekend and I will call her Monday. Visioned posted, I replied. I haven't looked at since the original post, when it was also the weekend. I'll be contacting her tomorrow (as I mentioned) and will find out more.

 

[brandonkick]

Try just one memory stick, in one slot. If it fails, try the second slot.

Could have bad slot(s). Especially if you know the memory your swapping in works and is of the type and speed it should be.

 

['putertutor]

@brandonkick: Yes, when I did try single stick at a time, both slots, same results.

I got a hold of the customer and she states that she did have another tech look at it back in February (which matches with the memory change log in bios). Since then she has moved twice (messy divorce) and hasn't tried to turn it on until recently.

I know the tech she took it to, and he was a shady character in my opinion, but he moved out of the area some time ago. She tried to call him first and when she couldn't get a hold of him, got a hold of me. What's getting me is that bios recognizes the ram, cpu, and hd. Even without the hd, I get the same results. I don't have a compatible cpu to swap out. I also swapped out the psu, but nothing positive came of that. Completely stripped down (nothing but monitor, kb, and memory) I get the same results.

 

[FremontPC]

Have you had a close look at the motherboard for bad caps? Sounds like it may be of that vintage.

One other possibility, are there chips on both sides of the RAM or just one side? Might be an issue with the memory itself (low density vs high density).

Had a look at the USB (etc) ports too, just in case something got lodged in one of them?

 

[NYJimbo]

This machine is a piece of junk. How much do you think she will be willing to spend on it ? It needs ram, probably has more wrong like cpu or hd or will need o/s cleanup, a/v ? etc.

If you don't think she will pay for all the work and parts I would call it a total loss and walk away.

 

[FremontPC]

I think we may have passed that point already, NYJimbo. It tasks him and profitability be damned. I agree with you though, something of that era would be hard pressed to keep up with today's demands.

 

['putertutor]

I had the $ discussion with her and she is willing to spend some money on tune up and av, if it will boot, but my input to her now is to walk away. All my time is covered and paid for with an upfront diagnostic fee. I don't always charge that, but on older ones like this I normally do. I don't really have much time into this one, >1/2 hour, so my profitability is just fine.

 

[FremontPC]

Good for you! It would be interesting to hear about the final diagnosis, in any case. Keep us posted!

 

[NYJimbo]

Meh, sometimes you lose a few bucks, no big deal. There's more coming in all the time.

 

['putertutor]

So she just left, she came in to pay the last few $ she owed. Donated the machine to me for recycling, so when I get some time I'll see if I can dig in deeper.

 

[JW The Computer Guy]

Unfortunately, no diag lights on this case.

The diag lights should be on the I/O plate, right above the LAN and USB ports.