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by Miriam on April 5th, 2008

Miriam

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Help answer this question below.

Hi,
I have a Dell 8300 with boot problems. I hear two short beeps and get a message requesting that I use F1 to retry or F2 to enter setup. My error lignts on the back are green for A,B, & C but D is amber.
I've changed the cmos battery and reseated

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Answers. 4 helpful answers below.

  • by Dangerous Dick on April 9th, 2008

    Dangerous Dick

    Hi
    Dell definitely do not list a 2 beep BIOS code for the 8300 but the nearest is:
    1-1-2 = Microprocessor register failure.
    Nevertheless Dell codes vary from model to model and 2 beeps is often associated with:
    ‘No video card detected’.
    It would cost you nothing to try re-seating the video card, but after that you would have to either borrow a suitable card to try in it or take it to somewhere who can do that for you. Whilst you have the case open you may as well re-seat any other cards, and the memory, and check that all internal cables are properly connected (see below).

    To confuse the issue, the error light pattern code you have suggests a problem with a drive:
    Ensure that the cables are properly connected from the system board to the Hard drive, CD drive, DVD drive etc.
    But that pattern can also mean:
    The operating system is attempting to boot from a disk or device with a boot program that has been left in a drive (such as the floppy drive or other drive). If there is no rogue disk left in a drive then ensure that the BIOS boot sequence is correct for the devices installed on your computer (press F2 on bootup to get into the BIOS). In view of the fact that you have changed the battery you may have corrupted the settings, so find the BIOS ‘Default setting’ entry and set it to that. Remember to save the settings when prompted on exiting the BIOS setup.

    I’m sorry to say that this sort of convoluted problem is typical of Dell, who ‘like to do things different’ and that, along with the couldn’t care less attitude of their support, is the reason I never recommend Dell to my customers.

    I hope the above may help you, but I reckon you are probably going to have to take this to a Dell specialist.

    Regards,

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  • by 0gravity on April 23rd, 2009

    0gravity

    What it is happening, your BIOS it is not set up right. Before you do anything do a visual inspection, get a antistatic wrist, open the case, check for blown capacitors, make sure all IDE cables are set right, remove and reinstall them again.Most of the time I open the case, disconnect all hardware, leaving on the master hard drive, enter set up and disable all the other hardware, leaving only my master hard drive on. Close the case. Press F2 and reset the booting process. Before you do anything check that all your hardware it is turn on. If you are reinstalling your OS, first setup BIOS to startup from CD , after the installation is finished shot the computer down, reboot it and then go back to set up and change the booting sequence to Hard Drive O. In every computer it is different, but every single drive must be recognize, if it is not recognize, replace IDE cable, Hard Drive jumper, from master to Cable Select. If still it is not recognise get a PCI IDE card and boot your computer from the IDE Port. I hope that helped you. H

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  • by Rockitrob on July 19th, 2008

    Rockitrob

    Enter the bios. Look at the boot sequence. Simply changing the order or what boots first is not enough. There might be a check mark next to the CD rom. If so to change it to the hard drive hit the space bar while highlighting the hard drive. Remove the check on the CD rom the same way and it should boot the hard drive first.

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  • by G_tech on April 10th, 2008

    G_tech

    this is a list of beep codes that cover most all PC and by it I would check memory
    #
    of beeps
    What’s Wrong none You’re supposed to
    hear at least one beep. If you truly don’t hear anything, either
    your computer’s power supply, motherboard, or PC speaker is no good. 1
    short System RAM Refresh failure. Your programmable
    interrupt timer on your motherboard has failed. It could also be
    your interrupt controller, but either way, your motherboard will
    need to be replaced to fix it. 2 short Your computer has
    memory problems. First, check video. If video is working, you’ll see
    an error message. If not, you have a parity error in your first 64K
    of memory. Check your SIMMs. Reseat them and reboot. If this doesn’t
    do it, the memory chips may be bad. You can try switching the first
    and second bank memory chips. First banks are the memory
    banks in which your CPU finds its first 64K of base memory. You’ll
    need to consult your manual to see which bank is first. If all of
    your memory tests good, you probably need to buy another
    motherboard. 3
    short Same as 2 beeps;
    follow diagnosis above. 4 short Your problem could
    be a bad timer. The system timer failed to work properly. It will
    require motherboard replacement. 5
    short CPU Failure. Replace the CPU or possibly the
    motherboard. 6 short The chip on your
    motherboard that controls your keyboard isn’t working. First, try
    another keyboard. If that doesn’t help, reseat the chip that
    controls the keyboard, if it isn’t soldered in. If it still beeps,
    replace the chip if possible. The chip is erroring in the gate A20
    switch that allows the system to run in virtual mode. Replace the
    motherboard if the chip is soldered in. 7
    short Your CPU has
    generated an exception error. This could be a fault of the CPU or a
    combination of problems with the motherboard. Try replacing the
    motherboard. 8 short Your video card
    isn’t working. Make sure it is seated well in the bus. If it still
    beeps, either the whole card is bad or the memory on it is. Your
    best bet is to install another video card. 9
    short ROM checksum error. This means that the checksum
    error checking value does not match the content of the BIOS ROM.
    This means the BIOS ROM is probably bad, and needs to be replaced. 10 short Your problem lies
    deep inside the CMOS. All chips associated with the CMOS will likely
    have to be replaced. Your best bet is to get a new motherboard.
    11 short Your L2 cache
    memory is bad and your computer disabled it for you. You could
    reactivate it by pressing -Ctrl- -Alt- -Shift- -+- , but you
    probably shouldn’t. Instead, replace your L2 cache memory.
    Obviously, this could lead to outright motherboard replacement. 1 long, 3 short Memory test failure. An error has been detected
    in the memory over the first 64K. Try replacing the memory, and if
    that doesn’t do it, the motherboard. 1 long, 8 short Display test failure. Your video card is either
    missing or defective. Replace it. If its part of your motherboard,
    you’ll need to replace it or bypass it.

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