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General discussion

Dell 8400 fails post - ABC=green and D=amber.

by slappyslappyslappy Apr 20, 2010 5:59AM PDT

Hi - Dell 8400, XP, RAID 0 (stock 320MG) P4/HT, aftermarket NVIDIA card - fails post.

Diag indicators are A,B,C green and D amber. Sometimes the monitor is black with a single blinking cursor and sometimes it shows the Dell splash screen. Cannot get to the point where I may select safe mode, f8 key, etc. After many attempts, it did boot (twice so far) but failed soon afterwards, once with a blu screen that said PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA.

Once it failed with diag lights: A=amber, BC, and D =green and Dell splash screen on monitor.

Doesn't seem to matter whether nothing is plugged-in or just a USB keyboard is plugged-in.

Note that I do not get to the place where I can enter safe mode, press f8, etc.

I uploaded latest MS stuff (XP Home, SP3, etc) but it worked for a couple of days after that.

Dell service unable to help. Suggested I send it into service.

Thanks much!

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1 Posts

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Just ideas.

by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 20, 2010 9:09PM PDT

1. Those after market addins made me wonder if the power supply was upgraded to handle the added gear. But how to keep answers short when the owner writes "it worked for years."

2. When it does run that message makes me thing the OS might be damaged and needs a reinstall. And again, how to answer it ran for years.

But the overall story sounds like power or heat issues. Remember you are the repair person, not me.
Bob

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