Dell E521 will not boot...

[rudeguy]

I need some help here. I have a Dell E521 that will not boot. When I power it on, the power light lights up, CPU and video card fans spin, but I get no video and the keyboard and mouse are not powering up.

I reseated the video card since that has been quirky and still the same problem. When I power cycle the monitor, the Dell logo pops up but then it goes blank when the Windows splash screen should show up.

Any suggestions?

 

[masteryoda34]

I think most Dell's have four green lights on the back (usually labeled A,B,C,D) that light up to give a diagnostic readout. You should be able to look at the lights on the back and then lookup the readout online.

 

[rudeguy]

I unplugged the HD and tried booting without that plugged in. I got the bios screen (better than nothing). So I plugged the HD back in and its working now. Its not clicking or anything, is it possible the HD just got stuck or could it be going bad?

I never had that happen before. Usually if its the HD Windows says that it can't find whatever file or boot device is not present...


EDIT:
Also, lights 3 and 4 were blinking on the front. Wonder what that means???

 

[MadAmos]

light codes

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: MadAmos
light codes

Thanks! It doesn't make sense that power cycling the HD would fix a memory error, but I guess whatever works.

 

[MadAmos]

Might be worth running chkdsk /r just to see if there are any drive issues, also the disc manufacturers utility to see how it's doing.