Dell Advanced Troubleshooting, Diagnostic Lights, Dell Dimension 8300 Series Service Manual

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Advanced Troubleshooting

Dell™ Dimension™ 8300 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, all four lights will display solid 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.

Light Pattern	Problem Description	Suggested Resolution
	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.
	pre-BIOS failure has
	occurred.
	Memory modules are	•	If you have one memory module installed, reinstall the module and restart the computer.
	detected, but a memory	•	If you have two or more memory modules installed, remove the modules, reinstall one module,
	failure has occurred.		and then restart the computer. If the computer starts normally, reinstall an additional module.
			Continue until you have identified a faulty module or reinstalled all modules without error.
		•	If available, install properly working memory of the same type into your computer.
		•	If the problem persists, contact Dell. See "Contacting Dell" in your Owner's Manual for technical
			assistance.
	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.
		2.	If the problem persists, reinstall the card that you removed, remove a different card, and then
			restart the computer.
		3.	Repeat this process for each card. If the computer starts normally, troubleshoot the last card
			removed from the computer for resource conflicts (see "Resolving Software and Hardware
			Incompatibilities" in your Owner's Manual).
		4.	If the problem persists, contact Dell. See "Contacting Dell" in your Owner's Manual for technical
			assistance.
	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.
		•	If the problem persists or the computer has integrated video, contact Dell. See "Contacting Dell" in
			your Owner's Manual for technical assistance.
	A possible floppy or hard	Reseat all power and data cables and restart the computer.
	drive failure has occurred.
	A possible USB failure has	Reinstall all USB devices, check cable connections, and then restart the computer.
	occurred.
	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
			memory module (if the computer supports a single module), and then restart the computer. If the
			computer starts normally, move the memory module to a different connector and restart the
			computer. Continue until you have identified a faulty connector or reinstalled all modules without
			error.
	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.
	configuration or compatibility	•	If the problem persists, contact Dell. See "Contacting Dell" in your Owner's Manual for technical
	error exists.		assistance.
	Other failure has occurred.	•	Ensure that the cables are properly connected from the hard drive, CD drive, and DVD drive to the
			system board.