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March 17th, 2022 08:00
Dell Precision Tower 7910 Power light comes on but fails to boot BIOS
Hi
I had a motherboard replaced by dell after it blew about 6-7 months ago.
It was running fine for a few months and then just as the parts warranty ran out it suddenly it failed to boot. After dell told me that they were unable to help as the part was out of warranty and stock. I left the PC in the corner for about a month or two. I then randomly tried to power it on and it suddenly worked. Everything was fine it booted up a couple of times and I assumed the problem had somehow fixed itself. About a week later it's suddenly failing to boot again. The symptoms are as follows:
- Press power on.
- Power switch light comes on. A brief glimmer of light passes through the hard disk read /write light & fan kicks up.
- Then fan stops nothing ever appears on screen no BIOS no other sign of life. no keyboard lights.
- The Power button light then remains lit solid white. And on the motherboard there is a green flashing LED with LSI HB LED written below it.
If anyone has any information on how to solve any of this I would be truly grateful,
A
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mazzinia_
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April 25th, 2022 11:00
Good , glad that things are moving forward quite well
https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/precision-t7910-workstation_owners-manual_en-us.pdf
Check this manual, page 51 has the supported memory configurations.
Now, about finding the faulty ram... one way would be to remove one good module, and use that slot to test the rest of the ram one by one (assuming that the moment you put a faulty inside, the system would be again not working as before).
Mary G
4 Operator
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March 17th, 2022 09:00
Try replacing the coin cell battery. Buy a new coin cell battery in any store that sells batteries. It's a cheap fix. Manual-- Dell Precision Tower 7910 Owner's Manual
alexdey
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March 17th, 2022 09:00
Thanks Mary,
I have just tried replacing the CMOS battery and unfortunately, there is no change.
mazzinia_
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March 18th, 2022 08:00
You could try a few things
1) a spare videocard, if you have one
2) removing the ram and trying with just one dimm installed ( check manual for the supported configuration , usually is slot0 )
3) cmos reset
mazzinia_
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March 18th, 2022 08:00
LSI HB LED >> it's the heartbeat led... blinking green means the lsi controller is perfectly fine. You will find a similar led on raid controllers ( usually green when ok, but there are makers that use red ) and in some cases directly on motherboards to signal that the mb is healthy .
In this specific case obviously is signaling that the lsi controller is working as it should
alexdey
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March 18th, 2022 10:00
Ah thanks for the info on the raid controller LED.
I tried all of the above fixes. Changing the graphics Card. Removing RAM cards. And I've replaced the CMOS battery.
I can't however reset the CMOS as it never displays the BIOS. It neve actually boots to the point where I see the BIOS.
But power is running through the board I know this because all the fans and Graphics card Fan all start.
I'm not sure if there is anything else I can try if I can't even get to the BIOS?
A
mazzinia_
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March 18th, 2022 12:00
To fully reset the cmos :
remove the cmos battery , (unplug the psu cable to the mb - optional), press the power on button a few times ( and keep it pressed a few seconds ).
Wait 5 / 10 minutes , put back all and cross fingers
loriz91
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March 18th, 2022 12:00
Hi alexdey.
I have the same issue.
With a Precision T5810, Power led ON, fan working. But no video output, no keyboard or mouse power.
I have tried everithings.
Reset CMOS, Remove the SSD and the RAM, Changed the BIOS button battery and no results.
I think the BIOS is irreversible bricked.
bradthetechnut
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March 18th, 2022 19:00
When you try to access BIOS, be sure to press F2 immediately upon startup. No waiting for Dell logo or keyboard light. The same applies for accessing F12 Boot Menu. If it you've done that already and/or still doesn't allow BIOS access, MB may be bricked. If it does allow BIOS access, it should allow Boot Menu and Diagnostics access. Arrow down to Diagnostics and run it.
alexdey
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March 21st, 2022 06:00
Hey, I've just done a hard reset of the CMOS as described above. Unfortunately no change.
alexdey
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March 21st, 2022 06:00
I've also tried pressing F2 or F12 as soon as the machine is powered on and again no signs of life.
I've even removed both hard drives to try to see if I get any alternative response. But the problem remains exactly the same. The RAID LED is still blinking happily but how can the RAID be fine if both HD have been removed !?
alexdey
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March 21st, 2022 08:00
Yes I fear you might be right. I've only just had the motherboard replaced officially by dell because of the exact same problem last year. Even if I could source a new motherboard I'm not sure I can trust it to last longer than 3 months. There must be something fundamentally wrong with this setup.
The only thing I can think of that may have caused it is an Allegro USB C card I installed weeks before all the trouble started?
mazzinia_
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March 21st, 2022 09:00
The LED is only notifying that the controller hardware is working as it should vs being faulty. It's not related with the hdds status
For hdd faults you would get messages ( at boot / in managing tools ) and alarms ( if supported ). One of those beeps kicking in due to an hdd considered faulty tends to be so loud.....
bradthetechnut
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March 21st, 2022 10:00
Sounds like replacement MB is the way to go. When one can't even access BIOS or Boot Menu, it's basically a brick.
Dell is very proprietary, so aftermarket MB would likely not line up in a 7910. Also, I don't know if another Dell MB would work in it.
I've answered before about swapping Dell MB's before though. While it's likely screw holes won't even line up, one of the things to look at is does it have the same rear panel layout, as it is attached to the MB. Another thing to look at is the MB connection. Is it 24-pin+4-pin, 8-pin+4-pin, and so on. Adapters can go from large to smaller, like 24-pin to 8-pin, but not in reverse. 7910 MB is 24-pin+4pin.
alexdey
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March 21st, 2022 10:00
Ah I see thanks for the info.
I'm currently hunting on eBay for a replacement motherboard. I've found a few and I'm considering rebuilding it. My only concern is that the exact same thing will happen again in a few months' time.
this is the code for the replacement MB:
T7910
XRP8R
AL7610
Would there be any alternative motherboards that would be compatible with all my components and worth considering? or am I locked into Dell?
A