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Question

Dell Latitude E520 not working...

by Dec 19, 2012 8:56AM PST

Hi folks, here is my problem;

Got this machine from ebay. It never worked. Seller 'no longer registered' so Im stuck with it. Please help me fix it..

I press the power button, fan gets going, slight buzzing noise then dvd drive spins once. About 10 seconds go by then there are 2 beeps, then the front panel displays 1 2 3 in green.

Ive looked around the forums and tried a few things:

Checked all connections on drives etc and on the mainboard (only connector not actually connected is marked p7 which is for the floppy; which is strange because the floppy is already connected to the mb via a different cable and there seems to be no place for the p7 to go!; so i removed the floppy connector at both ends and tried to power up
Same outcome as above

Reseated ram in all possible orders (all ram sticks work on another machine)
Same outcome as above each time

Replaced the hdd with a hdd from a reeeeally old machine
The outcome this time was the same except instead of the process taking 10 seconds it took 40 seconds. Also I could actually this hdd spinning a little whereas there was no activity with the original
Also during this 40 seconds 1 2 and what looks like the battery symbol were lit up in green, before going to the usual 1 2 3

Well that's as far as ive come. Any and all advice is welcome I'm willing to try anything here

Thanks in advance and sorry for going on Wink

Discussion is locked

6 Posts
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Answer
So what about no HDD?
by Former Forum moderator Dec 19, 2012 8:59AM PST

No optical, no USB things, and the usual reset noted at the CNET Laptop Troubleshooting forum?

If that's still dead, then you swap the mainboard but it looks like you own a laptop in need of repair. And since boards are rarely repaired you get another board. Your new to laptop repair folk tend to plead for help a lot.
Bob

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pc not laptop
by mediaracoon Dec 21, 2012 8:02AM PST

its a pc not a laptop, if that makes any difference

also, not sure what your first line means:
No optical, no USB things

thanks for reply and hope you can help

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It means to downsize the machine.
by r. proffitt Former Forum moderator Dec 21, 2012 8:43AM PST

Remove parts. It's that simple. As we reduce the number of parts we may find that a part is causing the issue. If the issue remains, it's the remaining parts.
Bob

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Answer
If you go to Dell's site
by Dec 19, 2012 10:43PM PST

It you go to Dell's site, you can find the documentation for that unit and look up the diagnostic code for the 1 2 3 being solid green. It's been too long since I did Dell hardware work, so I can't remember that one off the top of my head, but once you know what that code signifies, it should at least give you a starting point.

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read the manual, still broke
by mediaracoon Dec 21, 2012 7:57AM PST

Hey Jimmy,
Thanks for your reply
This is what the manual says. My comments/updates at the end of each

Another failure has occurred.
Ensure that the cables are properly
connected to the system board from the
hard drive, CD drive, and DVD drive (see
"Drives" on page 86). Done. More than a few times..

If there is an error message on your screen
identifying a problem with a device (such
as the floppy drive or hard drive), check the
device to ensure that it is functioning
properly. No messages on screen, no bios, in fact nothing on screen at all. Ive removed all non-essential devices. Same outcome when i try to power up

The operating system is attempting to boot
from a device (such as the floppy drive or
hard drive); check system setup to ensure
that the boot sequence is correct for the
devices installed on your computer (see
"System Setup" on page 113).Cant get into setup as there is no bios

If the problem persists, contact Dell (see
"Contacting Dell" on page 124). Last resort.. Oddba11, any ideas, suggestions? Willing to try anything. Also I bought a diagnostics kit on ebay from pctestcardsdotcom and am anxious to use it..

Cheers for any help
John

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Dimension E520
by mediaracoon Dec 21, 2012 8:08AM PST

Its a Dell Dimension E520. Just now realised my mistake.. sorry folks

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