Diagnostic Lights

  • Thread starter Thread starter eny
  • Start date Start date
E

eny

After I formatted the hard drive on my dimension XPS T450, the monitor will
not turno on and I get 2 yellow lites in the back (A & B) C & D are green, I
can't find the site for information on this issue, any sugestions? Thanks
 
eny wrote:
> After I formatted the hard drive on my dimension XPS T450, the monitor will
> not turno on and I get 2 yellow lites in the back (A & B) C & D are green, I
> can't find the site for information on this issue, any sugestions? Thanks

"System Codes and Messages: Dell Dimension XPS Txxx and Txxxr Systems Reference"
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dkub/codemess.htm

yellow-yellow-green-green is:

"Memory failed to be sized or enabled.

Reseat the DIMMs. If the problem persists, remove all but one DIMM
and then restart the system. Repeat this step until the malfunctioning
DIMM is identified."

HTH,
Paul
 
Thanks, I reseted the DIMM and all the lights are green now and monitor will
turn on fine, I think I have a motherboard problem because I am trying to
delete and create partitions and re-format the hard drive but the computer
freezes and it won't allow me to go past the steps of creating the partition,
etc. Thanks again

"Paul" wrote:

> eny wrote:
> > After I formatted the hard drive on my dimension XPS T450, the monitor will
> > not turno on and I get 2 yellow lites in the back (A & B) C & D are green, I
> > can't find the site for information on this issue, any sugestions? Thanks
>
> "System Codes and Messages: Dell Dimension XPS Txxx and Txxxr Systems Reference"
> http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dkub/codemess.htm
>
> yellow-yellow-green-green is:
>
> "Memory failed to be sized or enabled.
>
> Reseat the DIMMs. If the problem persists, remove all but one DIMM
> and then restart the system. Repeat this step until the malfunctioning
> DIMM is identified."
>
> HTH,
> Paul
>
 
Paul: I reseted the DIMM and all the ligths are on now, the monitor turns on
fine but I think I have motherboard problems, I tried to delete and create
partition and then re-format the hard drive but the computer freezes and it
won't allow me past the deleting and creating of the partition. Thanks again

"Paul" wrote:

> eny wrote:
> > After I formatted the hard drive on my dimension XPS T450, the monitor will
> > not turno on and I get 2 yellow lites in the back (A & B) C & D are green, I
> > can't find the site for information on this issue, any sugestions? Thanks
>
> "System Codes and Messages: Dell Dimension XPS Txxx and Txxxr Systems Reference"
> http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dkub/codemess.htm
>
> yellow-yellow-green-green is:
>
> "Memory failed to be sized or enabled.
>
> Reseat the DIMMs. If the problem persists, remove all but one DIMM
> and then restart the system. Repeat this step until the malfunctioning
> DIMM is identified."
>
> HTH,
> Paul
>
 
eny wrote:
> Paul: I reseted the DIMM and all the ligths are on now, the monitor turns on
> fine but I think I have motherboard problems, I tried to delete and create
> partition and then re-format the hard drive but the computer freezes and it
> won't allow me past the deleting and creating of the partition. Thanks again

Check the hard drive and see if it has a label. The manufacturer's name
should be on it somewhere.

Some of the manufacturers have diagnostic software for their disk drives.
Download a copy and put it on a floppy. Try the diagnostic. Maybe that
will give you some idea as to what is wrong. There are two possible
outcomes - either the drive passes completely (meaning there is some
other kind of problem), or you'll get a cryptic error code. The
manufacturer diagnostic is not intended to tell you exactly what is
wrong, rather it is intended to indicate whether the drive needs
warranty service.

In terms of cabling, if the disk drive is connected via IDE ribbon cable,
and there is only one drive on the cable, the drive should go on the
end connector. The best kind of cable to use, is the ones with 80 wires.
They are better than the 40 wire kind used for things like CDROM drives.
Check that this issue is not caused by bad cabling, or even a
flaky jumper connection of a jumper on the drive.

If the machine has a CD drive, you could also download Knoppix or
Ubuntu LiveCD software. That is an OS that boots from a CD. The
download is 700MB and is in the form of an ISO9660 file. You'd need
another computer, one with a CD burner, to burn the software onto the
CD (I use Nero for that). The benefit of booting with an alternate OS, is
being able to test the computer, to see if it is otherwise operating OK.
(knopper.net for Knoppix, ubuntu.com for ubuntu)

The reason for suggesting some tests, is to try to dig up a few more
symptoms to go on, to decide what needs to be swapped next.

I suppose it could still be a memory problem, and you could try
memtest86+ from memtest.org to test that possibility. Just because
the diagnostic LEDs are now clear, does not mean the memory is perfect
in every way. Microsoft has their own test software, that does the
same thing.

"Windows Memory Diagnostic"
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

Paul
 
Paul: The hard drive is in good condition, I installed it in a diferent
computer and it works fine, I am going to check the cable as you suggested
and also download the
software. The whole situation is kind of strange, I had the computer stored
and I tried to use it and it didn't work, prior to storing it was working
fine; also I will get another DIMM.
"Paul" wrote:

> eny wrote:
> > Paul: I reseted the DIMM and all the ligths are on now, the monitor turns on
> > fine but I think I have motherboard problems, I tried to delete and create
> > partition and then re-format the hard drive but the computer freezes and it
> > won't allow me past the deleting and creating of the partition. Thanks again
>
> Check the hard drive and see if it has a label. The manufacturer's name
> should be on it somewhere.
>
> Some of the manufacturers have diagnostic software for their disk drives.
> Download a copy and put it on a floppy. Try the diagnostic. Maybe that
> will give you some idea as to what is wrong. There are two possible
> outcomes - either the drive passes completely (meaning there is some
> other kind of problem), or you'll get a cryptic error code. The
> manufacturer diagnostic is not intended to tell you exactly what is
> wrong, rather it is intended to indicate whether the drive needs
> warranty service.
>
> In terms of cabling, if the disk drive is connected via IDE ribbon cable,
> and there is only one drive on the cable, the drive should go on the
> end connector. The best kind of cable to use, is the ones with 80 wires.
> They are better than the 40 wire kind used for things like CDROM drives.
> Check that this issue is not caused by bad cabling, or even a
> flaky jumper connection of a jumper on the drive.
>
> If the machine has a CD drive, you could also download Knoppix or
> Ubuntu LiveCD software. That is an OS that boots from a CD. The
> download is 700MB and is in the form of an ISO9660 file. You'd need
> another computer, one with a CD burner, to burn the software onto the
> CD (I use Nero for that). The benefit of booting with an alternate OS, is
> being able to test the computer, to see if it is otherwise operating OK.
> (knopper.net for Knoppix, ubuntu.com for ubuntu)
>
> The reason for suggesting some tests, is to try to dig up a few more
> symptoms to go on, to decide what needs to be swapped next.
>
> I suppose it could still be a memory problem, and you could try
> memtest86+ from memtest.org to test that possibility. Just because
> the diagnostic LEDs are now clear, does not mean the memory is perfect
> in every way. Microsoft has their own test software, that does the
> same thing.
>
> "Windows Memory Diagnostic"
> http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
>
> Paul
>
 
eny;3333450 Wrote:
> Paul: The hard drive is in good condition, I installed it in a diferent
> computer and it works fine, I am going to check the cable as you
> suggested
> and also download the
> software. The whole situation is kind of strange, I had the computer
> stored
> and I tried to use it and it didn't work, prior to storing it was
> working
> fine; also I will get another DIMM.
>

Eny, Did you ever get this fixed? From what you've listed so far, it
sounds like you are on the right track to get things working. If not
I'll be happy to provide any help I can on it.

Larry
Dell Customer Advocate


--
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=858998

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Larry: Thanks for your concern, I almost gave up on the motherboard. I read
somewhere in this forum about resetting the SECC2 package and heat sink
assembly and that took care of the problem, the computer is working fine.
Thanks again.
Eny

"DellCA" wrote:

>
> eny;3333450 Wrote:
> > Paul: The hard drive is in good condition, I installed it in a diferent
> > computer and it works fine, I am going to check the cable as you
> > suggested
> > and also download the
> > software. The whole situation is kind of strange, I had the computer
> > stored
> > and I tried to use it and it didn't work, prior to storing it was
> > working
> > fine; also I will get another DIMM.
> >
>
> Eny, Did you ever get this fixed? From what you've listed so far, it
> sounds like you are on the right track to get things working. If not
> I'll be happy to provide any help I can on it.
>
> Larry
> Dell Customer Advocate
>
>
> --
> DellCA
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> DellCA's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=20193
> View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=858998
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>
>
 
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