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JKerwin
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7
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 Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:10 pm |
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Over the weekend a friend gave me an Inspiron 700m. He made it clear that he was giving it away because it no longer worked, but he thought the problem was a hard drive.
I fear the problem is worse than a hard drive failure. The unit won't even POST and the screen is blank. (I tried connecting to an external monitor.) The unit does power up and the battery has been charged. (No, the battery isn't listed in the recall units.)
What the unit WILL do is to emit a short, repeated "beep code" series -- 1 long, 2 short beeps. I suppose if there's a diagnostic-code chart somewhere, those beeps could be decoded. Does anyone know how to "read" this particular series?
The unit is out of warranty (I have no idea when the 700m hit the market, because I'm not a previous Dell user), so I realize that I may have to fork over the $49 to speak with a Dell tech. But I figured I would check in here first to see what y'all knew and if the 700m's problem was so catastrophic that it wasn't worth pursuing the matter.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. |
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Raybdbomb
Joined: 22 Jun 2006
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:18 pm |
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| not sure about the beep codes, but it sounds to me like a mobo issue. |
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ade099
Joined: 29 Sep 2006
Posts: 47
Location: midwest usa
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| Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:29 pm |
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| if my memory serves me, it could be faulty memory sticks? i used to dabble in desktop hardware a lot and beeping with nothing on the monitor sometimes meant i stuck the memory in the wrong banks, or i was using wrong type or ram. that seems to easy of a fix to be the problem, but hey..who knows. it's an easy thing to test/try out, to just pop out the ram and see if anything appears on the screen. |
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JKerwin
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:45 pm |
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| Raybdbomb wrote: | | not sure about the beep codes, but it sounds to me like a mobo issue. |
I fear that is correct, but I'd like to ascertain that fact, so that I can answer the question: "Is it worth the cost of a mobo replacement?" |
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JKerwin
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 12:51 pm |
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| ade099 wrote: | | if my memory serves me, it could be faulty memory sticks? i used to dabble in desktop hardware a lot and beeping with nothing on the monitor sometimes meant i stuck the memory in the wrong banks, or i was using wrong type or ram. that seems to easy of a fix to be the problem, but hey..who knows. it's an easy thing to test/try out, to just pop out the ram and see if anything appears on the screen. |
So far as I know, it has its original 512 Mb module. After I saw your reply, I yanked the module, and booted. Same beep code. Then I replaced/reseated the module. Same thing. I suppose that doesn't rule out a bad SIMM, but at least I'm certain that it's installed properly.
BTW, I think I mentioned in my initial posting that the former owner suspected a HDD issue. I didn't believe that, since the unit wouldn't POST. But I did pull the hard drive and test it on another system; it seems fine. (It passed all antivirus and spyware tests, too.) That doesn't solve my problem, but does add a point in favor of getting the machine fixed. |
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ade099
Joined: 29 Sep 2006
Posts: 47
Location: midwest usa
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:35 am |
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hmm..that's a crapper :/
the only other thing i can think of is that the video chip might be fried. i remember hearing that same beep code on my desktop before..but i have no memory of ever having to replace the mobo because of it. but even if it's the video chip, my understanding is that the 700m's video = 700m's mobo. blech. sorry that the laptop isnt a complete freebie on your end. |
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JKerwin
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:32 am |
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| ade099 wrote: | hmm..that's a crapper :/
the only other thing i can think of is that the video chip might be fried. i remember hearing that same beep code on my desktop before..but i have no memory of ever having to replace the mobo because of it. but even if it's the video chip, my understanding is that the 700m's video = 700m's mobo. blech. sorry that the laptop isnt a complete freebie on your end. |
I've found an outfit in nearby North Carolina that services Dell laptops. They'd charge $399 for a new (reconditioned?) modo, which is darned near the price of a new, low-end laptop; so unless there were strong sentimental reasons for keeping it (there aren't), that doesn't make too much sense economically.
However, it might not be a total loss. The same outfit mentioned says that they would offer around $200 for the unit as is, or $175 if I yanked the 40 Gb HDD for my own use. I suppose I could put that towards a new, low-end laptop and be that much farther ahead of the game. As the unit stands now, it's not really the greatest design possible for a doorstop -- it takes up too much floorspace! Does the $200 figure sound reasonable? |
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zenguy
Joined: 01 Jul 2006
Posts: 37
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:21 pm |
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If you could get to the bios, you could have it boot up to an external HD and try installing an OS on it to rule out HD.
What happened to the laptop to make the beeps? Was it dropped? I don't think a normal comptuer would do that and the owner would give it up so easily.
_________________
700m 1.7Ghz / 1.5GB Ram / Logitech V200 Mouse / Tucano 12" iBook Sleeve / 4 Cell + 8 Cell Battery / Sandisk PC Card Reader / Shure E2c Headphone / Plantronics DSP-500 USB Headset / Sprint Merlin S720 EVDO card |
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odengiz
Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:30 pm |
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Remove the battery, unplug power and hold down the power button for 10 seconds. Leave it for 10 minutes, plug everything back up and try to start.
It worked for my friend's laptop (HP) when it was a complete dead box.
Orhan
_________________
700m 1.8Ghz 1.25GB Ram 60GB
Extended battery
Mods:
-Internal bluetooth via USB relocation
-Microphone static fixed |
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JKerwin
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:31 pm |
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| zenguy wrote: | | If you could get to the bios, you could have it boot up to an external HD and try installing an OS on it to rule out HD. |
Ah, but that's the thing -- it doesn't even POST, doesn't show video, so it can't get me into the BIOS.
| zenguy wrote: | | What happened to the laptop to make the beeps? Was it dropped? I don't think a normal comptuer would do that and the owner would give it up so easily. |
The former owner told me that a friend borrowed it, but didn't use a surge suppressor, and that the unit took a jolt. Some chip or capacitor probably took the hit, ruining the mobo. The "beep code" is an old BIOS-maker trick that goes way back to the first PCs. If you know the "beep codes" (essentially, a "Morse Code" with long and short beeps), then the beeps should help to isolate the issue that can't be displayed -- handy for bad graphics cards and other problems that can't/won't report to the monitor/screen. |
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JKerwin
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:00 pm |
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| odengiz wrote: | Remove the battery, unplug power and hold down the power button for 10 seconds. Leave it for 10 minutes, plug everything back up and try to start.
It worked for my friend's laptop (HP) when it was a complete dead box. |
Well, I'll take your work for it that it worked for your friend. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I gave it a try. It made no difference. But thanks for the idea. |
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ade099
Joined: 29 Sep 2006
Posts: 47
Location: midwest usa
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| Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:58 am |
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yeah. the $200 sounds pretty good, considering that your friend gave it to you for free!  you can use that towards an m1210 or something that has better graphics..at least you'll be able to run aero unlike the rest of us poor saps  |
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mh
Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Posts: 1
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JKerwin
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:21 pm |
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Ah, now that's a helpful site to bookmark! Alas, even though the meaning is "video adapter failure," for all intents and purposes on a laptop, that means "bad motherboard" because of the video-chip integration.
I have finally sent the unit off to the outfit in North Carolina and it arrived there yesterday (according to the tracking-number report that was e-mailed to me). Let's see what the tech guys say once they've had a look at it... |
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