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soundchippy View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Joined: 09 September 2011
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    Posted: 09 October 2011 at 9:18pm
Earlier this evening I was sitting at my Dell PC doing some CAD work (Windows 7 update running in the background) when all of a sudden the computer forces a restart ... boots to the Windows logo, underneath which lots of text containg the word "**/registry/*" flashes up, gets to the "installing updates" screen then freezes and shuts down. I try to boot the pc again with no joy  when on my 10th or so try it boots to a screen saying cmos checksum error and then another screen saying no boot device available (listing my sata drive). It freezes again so I reboot. This time I am faced with the startup repair screen. I set this in motion and it freezes again. Reboot. This time all i get is flashing red and white lines on the screen. Now the PC is refusing to start (It will physically turn on with fans etc but not enter the boot process).


Any suggestions?
Could Windows update have fooked my machine?


Edited by soundchippy - 09 October 2011 at 9:19pm
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soundchippy View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote soundchippy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 October 2011 at 9:24pm
the having sex thing just booted! i'm loosing my rag.
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soundchippy View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote soundchippy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 October 2011 at 9:35pm
Gone again!
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Edd Jordan View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Edd Jordan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 October 2011 at 9:56pm
fan on the cpu dead???
I do a sideline in ply wood wheels.
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soundchippy View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote soundchippy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 October 2011 at 10:05pm
all fans appear to be working correctly. the machine is less than a year old.

the power button flashes about every 2 or 3 seconds when it tries to boot.
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slaz View Drop Down
Old Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote slaz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 October 2011 at 10:13pm
Originally posted by soundchippy soundchippy wrote:

all fans appear to be working correctly. the machine is less than a year old.

the power button flashes about every 2 or 3 seconds when it tries to boot.


Sounds rather like the motherboard has fallen over in some way, but could also be memory, PSU ... all sorts.

Assuming desktop machine ... you might try :-

Switch off completely. Take out the mains IEC from the back, and leave it a few minutes.

If it shows signs of life after this, use boot menu (usually F12) and see if there a "Dell diagnostics" option. If so (attempt to) run it .... might give you some clues.

Otherwise, unless you're fairly used to solving these kinds of probs, invoke your warranty if applicable, or take it to a competent tech.


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soundchippy View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote soundchippy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 October 2011 at 10:27pm
thanks for the advice. i got half way through the dell datasafe thing this time before it crashed. just going to try a full restore if i can get it to works one more time.
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slaz View Drop Down
Old Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote slaz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 October 2011 at 11:00pm
Originally posted by soundchippy soundchippy wrote:

thanks for the advice. i got half way through the dell datasafe thing this time before it crashed. just going to try a full restore if i can get it to works one more time.


If you want to get at your data, best to take the HD out of the machine, hook it up to a USB<->SATA adapter (or similar) and attach to another machine ....

Oh yeah - one more possibility - you may just have corrupted BIOS setup data (CMOS data).

Switch off completetly, unplug from mains, leave for a minute or two. Ten open up the machine and remove the CMOS battery (usually a 2032 coin cell) .... leave a few minutes, then replace the battery and fire back up again. You may something to the effect of "BIOS defaults used" ..... set the time and date and see how you go.



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soundchippy View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote soundchippy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 October 2011 at 12:09am
thanks for the help. but no luck i'm afraid. on the phone to dell in the morning i think.
lucky really as i backed up all my data quite recently.
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colinmono View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote colinmono Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 October 2011 at 8:04am
I've seen bad RAM cause similar issues.

If you can get into setup on boot (F2?) worth doing a memory test.
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Old Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Builder Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 October 2011 at 8:53am
Two different issues. The updates, fine.
The flashing coloured lines are ram of some sort (or make sure your video cable is firmly attached).
RAM could be system or Video.
Make sure all RAM is seated propperly, if you have two sticks, try one at a time.
There are Dell diagnostics onboard to check RAM as said above.
It just is.
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soundchippy View Drop Down
Young Croc
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote soundchippy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 October 2011 at 2:06pm
Gave the machine a try today. Booted into Bios, reset defaults (not sure if this did anything tbh), then ran the dell factory restore from the recovery partition. Woking fine now.  Confused

Thanks for all the tips.
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