gkrysler

Hi -

I rebooted my pc as I normally do from time to time. The box itself seemed to reboot but all my peripherals are dead: monitor, keyboard, mouse, heaphones, printer. I did the usual basic troublshooting stuff: checked power, plug connections, etc.

Equipment is a 6-year old -- and until now trouble free -- Dell box pc running Windows XP.

Any idea what might be wrong?

Many thanks!

dai

try a cmos reset

cmos reset
turn the computer off
remove the power lead from the back
take the side off
remove the cmos battery
move the cmos jumper from pins 1 and 2 to pin 2 and 3 and the back to pins 1 and 2
reinsert the battery
put the side on
replug in the power lead
boot the computer

there can be 2 solder points you touch with a screwdriver
2 pins you touch with a screwdriver or use a jumper
a cmos clear switch or button
there will be a diagram and instructions in your manual

gkrysler

I will give that a try and let you know how it goes.

Thanks!

gkrysler

It turned out to be two problems.

1.) I did the reset as you described, and for good measure replaced the battery ($5 at Walgreen’s).

2.) Next, when the boot failed again, the diagnostic lights on the back of my pc indicated a video card failure. I took out the card, cleaned and reinstalled it. (I'm pretty good about keeping the innards of my box clean, but the problem wasn't visible until I completely removed the card: the *inside* of the heat-sink fins were clogged, so while it looked okay from the outside the card fan was pulling in little if any air.)

I’ve never had occasion to use the diagnostic lights. Very useful. Here’s a link to the Dell documentation on it, just in case it helps someone else.

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1052313

Thank you VERY much for helping me troubleshoot and correct this problem!

dai

glad you have it sorted