What happens during BIOS load?

Thanks for your help.
In answer to your questions, all I'm seeing is the DELL logo screen, with a progress bar that says loading BIOS 1.1.4 - i.e. nothing relating to the os, as far as I'm aware.

When that Dell logo 1st appears, hit the ESC key and the logo should disappear and then display the boot-up process of sorts as it continues. This may not happen, as systems vary.

tada -----Willy

One of the steps that the POST does (and yours seems to be failing in the POST) is for the check of itself. It does that by actually doing a quick sum-check of the code in the system ROM.
Funny thing about that though, while sum-checking yourself sounds like a good thing (and in most cases it should be) but what would happen if the code itself is bad, and either the checking sequence, or what to do if the sum-check fails, is bad? What a quandary.

You mentioned that the version you see on the screen is 1.1.4. I just checked at Dell's website, and it says that the E521 computer now is up to version 1.1.10.

Of course we have a real problem here, if you wanted to upgrade your BIOS firmware, the update file was designed to replace your current BIOS from the Windows environment, and you can't get to Windows!!

Nothing is ever easy, is it?
I know of a way to get the new BIOS installed, but I hesitate to detail the steps here, since it is real clumsy, and a person who knows what they are doing has got to do it. I suggest that you look around to competent people or shops in your area, and present this problem to them.

Good luck.

Thank you ever so much Chuck. As the problem is only intermittent, I am actually able to get into Windows, but it takes usually two, or three hardboots to get restarted.

With your help, I took another look at the Dell support site and found the following notice:

"Dell is currently working on adressing the start up issues that some users have been reporting with their E521 and C521 systems.

Currently the workaround is to remove any powered hubs from the system, in order to allow them to boot up. A new version of the BIOS is being tested at this time that will fix this problem."

I feel much happier now that I know the problem is recognised. I'm disappointed though that with numerous calls to Dell, none of the support staff seemed to be aware of this issue.

Question: What do they mean by "powered hubs"? Would that include the USB connection to the screen (which has two USB ports). I also have a Belkin wireless card, a USB external drive and webcam connected via USB. Should they all be unplugged at start-up? What a pain!

I hope they fix this soon!

Thanks again.

Probably all newer computers (perhaps in the last couple years) now have routines in the POST and the BIOS startup to check the USB ports. The reason is because as computers are now having USB keyboards and mice installed, and not the older PS2 style devices plugged in, there has to be some basic drivers during those early stages to be actually there to 'read' the USB keyboard and perhaps mouse.

If this ability to read those devices in not there, then how else would you be able to press a key to get to the BIOS settings? since otherwise, your keyboard could not be read until Windows was actually up and has its USB drivers installed. That's too late.

So, perhaps it is your USB devices having some sort of conflict. I have seen this in one of my customer's computers. The problem in his case was that I found he had one of the loose USB plugs, under his desk (what a rat's nest!) plugged into an open USB port ("hey it was loose, so I plugged it in!"). But, that loose USB cable was actually a spare cable that fed the output of one USB hub right back into the output of another USB hub. I don't know what sort of 'race' or worse condition that caused, but it sure messed up his startup. It was not until I unplugged everything (which allowed his computer to now start up) and started tracing all of his wires that I realized the situation.

If you are able to unplug all your USB cables from the computer, and things are now allowed to startup, you might consider simplifying your USB cables also. And then if that works, start re-connecting one device, at a time, and try out that.

(By the way, in that customer's case, once Windows was up and running, all the devices worked. We even found that just shutting off his USB connected printer, allowed his computer to start - even though he did have those rat's nest cables mis-connected. It was that 'weird' result that first made us think something was wrong with his printer or BIOS. But, all it was was that USB-plugged-into-USB situation.)

Good luck with your issue.

Some USB devices need power from a couple of the pins in that USB port. Those types of devices are low power devices, such as an LED light (useful for directing light onto a laptop keyboard), or maybe a fan, I have even seen one small scanner that was powered just by that USB port. Lots of other new ideas are coming out too.

Whatever is plugged into a USB port, that draws power from that port, has got to be low power since the spec of a USB port states that the maximum current is no more than 1 amp (at 5 volts, that's just 5 watts) per port (actually there are 2 lower levels that some USB ports might be maxed at also).

A USB hub allows the 'spidering' out of a USB port into multiple USB ports. But they typically do NOT pass through the power lines, because to do so would give a user the misconception that each one of those additional ports can also now use up to 1 amp of 5 volt power. Bad idea!

So, a powered USB hub, would be a hub that has its own power supply to power all the output USB ports from it. You do not have to plug in that power supply to use the hub. You only need to plug in that power supply if the devices that you may plug into that hub are expecting to get power. That is why you can find some cheap-o USB hub, not having a power supply, and they'll work. And if you look real close on most of those cheap-o hubs you will probably find a small socket that you could plug an external power supply to make that hub powered also. If you were to do that make sure you only use a 5 volt power supply, and that it can, at least, supply enough amperage to supply the devices that you plug into the hub (the hub does not need the power, the installed devices do).