Dell 5160 Boot Problem

philh · 10-17-2006, 01:50 PM

Hi

I am currently trying to fix a relatives Dell 5160 which has a seemingly common problem, but one I can`t find an answer to!

On Boot up, it will not go past the initial Dell screen, with the progress bar hanging 75% of the way across.

I can press F2 for setup or F12 for Boot Menu whilst the progress bar is still moving, but nothing happens. If I press either of these it will say it is prerparing for setup or one-time boot menu but then it will still just hang, with either of these messages still showing, along with the progress bar (which also hangs at 75% if I don`t press the buttons at all).

A couple of other forums mention taking out screws here and there but I`m not sure if they are a lucky fix more than a perm fix, although if that`s the only way round it then that`s what I`ll have to do!

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me.

Regards

Phil

**laboye** · 10-17-2006, 05:42 PM

Welcome to TSF. Try resetting the CMOS by removing the battery and the CMOS battery for 10 minutes. Check under the keyboard for the battery. After 10 minutes, plug it back in and try it.

philh · 10-18-2006, 02:02 AM

Many thanks.

I will try this tonight and report back.

Thanks again.

Kind regards

Phil

philh · 10-23-2006, 09:20 AM

First chance I have had to try this since my last post. Do I have to take the keyboard off to get to the CMOS battery as I may have to remove the LCD to do this as well?

Ive got to the stage where all the available screws are out but I still cant get inside the machine and I dont want to proceed any further until I know exactly what I am looking for!

Thanks in advance

Phil

crazijoe · 10-23-2006, 09:37 AM

You should not have to remove the LCD to remove the keyboard.
However I do not believe you can access the CMOS battery that way.

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n/SM/index.htm

philh · 10-25-2006, 01:17 PM

I cant find any info anywhere on the location of the Dell 5160 CMOS and how to get to it.

I would be immensely grateful if anyone could give me this information!

Many thanks

Phil

philh · 10-26-2006, 02:34 AM

Ok, I have managed to fix this somehow although I dont really know why what I did worked.

I basically tried booting it up with a general cd (just had a word doc on it). This made the laptop do a constant boot cycle i.e. the Dell screen would disappear, the machine would reboot and do the same thing again and again.

Whilst it was doing this I kept the 'info' button (next to the power button under the LCD) pressed down which somehwo forced it through and I could then start it in safe mode.

From here I managed to get into Windows, did a system restore from 10 days ago and it now works perfectly!

Like I say, I haven`t a clue why this worked but it did so I`m happy!

Thanks for all previous input, much appreciated.

10-17-2006, 01:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
philh Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Dell 5160 Boot Problem Hi I am currently trying to fix a relatives Dell 5160 which has a seemingly common problem, but one I can`t find an answer to! On Boot up, it will not go past the initial Dell screen, with the progress bar hanging 75% of the way across. I can press F2 for setup or F12 for Boot Menu whilst the progress bar is still moving, but nothing happens. If I press either of these it will say it is prerparing for setup or one-time boot menu but then it will still just hang, with either of these messages still showing, along with the progress bar (which also hangs at 75% if I don`t press the buttons at all). A couple of other forums mention taking out screws here and there but I`m not sure if they are a lucky fix more than a perm fix, although if that`s the only way round it then that`s what I`ll have to do! Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me. Regards Phil

10-17-2006, 05:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
laboye TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hollywood, FL Posts: 1,246 OS: Windows xp Pro/Vista Beta 2/Ubuntu 6.06 LTS My System	Welcome to TSF. Try resetting the CMOS by removing the battery and the CMOS battery for 10 minutes. Check under the keyboard for the battery. After 10 minutes, plug it back in and try it. __________________ Repair Windows XP Guide --- Resolutions Crazy Computer that I'm saving up for::Antec P180 Case;PC Pwr&Cooling 1kW Quad SLI PSU;Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe;Intel Core2 XE X6800;Corsair TWIN2XP2048 2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM;2xAsus GeForce 7950 GX2;BFG PhysX Accel.;IBM DVD-RAM/Plextor DVD±RW;Seagate 750GB HD 7200RPM;WDX 150GB 10000RPM;Vigor Monsoon TEC Cooler

10-23-2006, 09:37 AM	#5 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	You should not have to remove the LCD to remove the keyboard. However I do not believe you can access the CMOS battery that way. http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n/SM/index.htm __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

10-18-2006, 02:02 AM	#3 (permalink)
philh Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Many thanks. I will try this tonight and report back. Thanks again. Kind regards Phil

10-23-2006, 09:20 AM	#4 (permalink)
philh Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	First chance I have had to try this since my last post. Do I have to take the keyboard off to get to the CMOS battery as I may have to remove the LCD to do this as well? Ive got to the stage where all the available screws are out but I still cant get inside the machine and I dont want to proceed any further until I know exactly what I am looking for! Thanks in advance Phil

10-25-2006, 01:17 PM	#6 (permalink)
philh Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	I cant find any info anywhere on the location of the Dell 5160 CMOS and how to get to it. I would be immensely grateful if anyone could give me this information! Many thanks Phil

10-26-2006, 02:34 AM	#7 (permalink)
philh Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Ok, I have managed to fix this somehow although I dont really know why what I did worked. I basically tried booting it up with a general cd (just had a word doc on it). This made the laptop do a constant boot cycle i.e. the Dell screen would disappear, the machine would reboot and do the same thing again and again. Whilst it was doing this I kept the 'info' button (next to the power button under the LCD) pressed down which somehwo forced it through and I could then start it in safe mode. From here I managed to get into Windows, did a system restore from 10 days ago and it now works perfectly! Like I say, I haven`t a clue why this worked but it did so I`m happy! Thanks for all previous input, much appreciated.