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Advanced Troubleshooting
Dell™ Dimension™ 4600 Series Service Manual
Diagnostic Lights
Beep Codes
System Messages
Diagnostic Lights
To help you troubleshoot a problem, your computer is equipped with four lights on the back panel labeled "A," "B," "C," and "D." These lights can be yellow or green. When the computer starts normally, the lights flash. After the computer starts, the lights remain green. If the computer malfunctions, the color and sequence of the lights identify the problem.
CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in your Owner's Manual or Product Information Guide.
Light Pattern | Problem Description | Suggested Resolution | |
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| The computer is in a normal | Verify that the computer is plugged into a working electrical outlet and that you have pressed the power | |
| off condition or a possible | button. | |
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| occurred. |
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| Memory modules are | • | If you have one memory module installed, reinstall it and restart the computer. |
| detected, but a memory | • | If you have two or more memory modules installed, remove the modules, reinstall one module, and |
| failure has occurred. |
| then restart the computer. If the computer starts normally, reinstall an additional module. Continue |
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| until you have identified a faulty module or reinstalled all modules without error. |
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| • | If available, install properly working memory of the same type into your computer. |
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| • | If the problem persists, see "Contacting Dell" in your Owner's Manual for instructions on obtaining |
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| technical assistance. |
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| A possible expansion card | 1. | Determine if a conflict exists by removing a card (not the video card) and then restarting the |
| failure has occurred. |
| computer. |
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| 2. | If the problem persists, reinstall the card that you removed, remove a different card, and then |
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| restart the computer. |
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| 3. | Repeat this process for each card. If the computer starts normally, troubleshoot the last card |
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| removed from the computer for resource conflicts (see "Resolving Software and Hardware |
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| Incompatibilities" in your Owner's Manual). |
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| 4. | If the problem persists, see "Contacting Dell" in your Owner's Manual for instructions on obtaining |
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| technical assistance. |
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| A possible video card failure | • | If the computer has a video card, remove the card and reinstall it, and restart the computer. |
| has occurred. | • | If the problem still exists, install a video card that you know works and restart the computer. |
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| • | If the problem persists or the computer has integrated video, see "Contacting Dell" in your Owner's |
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| Manual for instructions on obtaining technical assistance. |
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| A possible floppy or hard | Reseat all power and data cables and restart the computer. | |
| drive failure has occurred. |
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| A possible USB failure has | Reinstall all USB devices, check cable connections, and then restart the computer. | |
| occurred. |
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| No memory modules are | • | Reinstall all memory modules and restart the computer. |
| detected. | • | To eliminate the possibility of a faulty memory connector, remove all memory modules, reinstall one |
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| memory module at a time (if the computer supports a single module), and then restart the |
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| computer. If the computer starts normally, move the memory module to a different connector and |
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| restart the computer. Continue until you have identified a faulty connector or reinstalled all modules |
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| without error. |
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| Memory modules are | • | Ensure that there are no special memory module/memory connector placement requirements. |
| detected, but a memory | • | Verify that the memory modules that you are installing are compatible with your computer. |