timbo343 Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 A user has brought me a Dell E4300 laptop which wont boot. What i mean by "wont boot" is it wont get past the Dell Bios screen. Its got the small blue bar stuck at about a 10th of the way across. What i've tried: Removed HDD, Removed CD Drive, Removed, WLAN Card, Removed Battery (its powered via PSU), Swapped Ram with another E4300 which works, Removed Keyboard, Unplugged CMOS Battery, Powered on without battery in or plugged into mains to "reduce static" and it still doesn't boot. Is there anything that i've missed?
timbo343 Posted March 22, 2016 Author Posted March 22, 2016 Does the Fan spin when on? Yup, once its been on a while Motherboard issue? Thats what im starting to think.
sted Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 is there a jumper to reset the bios to defaults? sometimes you have to remove the battery for a long time for them to clear 1
difinity Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 You've pressed and held the power button for 30 seconds with the battery and PSU removed ? No shorted pins in a USB socket ? Does anything happen if you press F2 or F12. Could be a corrupt BIOS.
timbo343 Posted March 22, 2016 Author Posted March 22, 2016 is there a jumper to reset the bios to defaults? sometimes you have to remove the battery for a long time for them to clear Ill leave it completely unplugged from everything an battery removed over night to see what that does but not holding out for much to be honest. You've pressed and held the power button for 30 seconds with the battery and PSU removed ? No shorted pins in a USB socket ? Does anything happen if you press F2 or F12. Could be a corrupt BIOS. Its got 1 usb socket on the right and that looks fine. Nothing happens at F2 or F12, in fact its doesnt even get that far. Ive been into the BOIS once to look but that was it.
difinity Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 Can you get back into the BIOS ? There is a USB/eSATA port on the left.
timbo343 Posted March 22, 2016 Author Posted March 22, 2016 There is a USB and eSATA port but cannot get into the bios.
difinity Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 No damage to the USB/eSATA and you previously got into the BIOS but not again, i'd guess at a corrupt BIOS. 1
timbo343 Posted March 22, 2016 Author Posted March 22, 2016 I was thinking the same but making sure i wasnt missing anything. Well, this is going to be an interesting conversation with the owner .
difinity Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 I have found some reference to an emergency BIOS recovery procedure, I've not tried it so I can't speak for it's validity, but it might be worth a try. Download the required BIOS file; let's call it x.exe Extract the HDR file from the x.exe with: "x.exe -writehdrfile". This will give a file x.hdr Copy x.hdr to a formatted diskette, perhaps on a USB-diskette (might even work on a pen drive) Rename x.hdr according to the list below Unplug the adapter and remove the battery from the laptop Hold "END" down on the keyboard while you plugin the Adapter The battery light should come on red Release "END" - the laptop power should up Wait while the diskette is read, this might take some time (you'll hear it) The laptop should shut down or restart itself Dell Latitude D410 : VENI???.BIN, VENI???.HDR, VENI???.HDC, VEN????.BIN, VEN????.HDR Dell Latitude D420 : CRO????.bin, CRO????.hdr, CRO????.hdc, D420???.bin, D420???.hdr Dell Latitude D430 : CAR????.bin, CAR????.hdr, CAR????.hdc, D430???.bin, D430???.hdr Dell Latitude D610 : AZED???.bin, AZED???.hdr, AZED???.hdc, AZE????.bin, AZE????.hdr Dell Latitude D620 : TRAV???.bin, TRAV???.hdr, TRAV???.hdc, D620???.bin, D620???.hdr Dell Latitude D630 : BRIS???.bin, BRIS???.hdr, BRIS???.hdc, D630???.bin, D630???.hdr Dell Latitude E4300 : LOLA???.bin, LOLA???.hdr, LOLA???.hdc, E4300??.bin, E4300??.hdr Dell Latitude E6400 : RSH????.bin, RSH????.hdr, RSH????.hdc, E6400??.bin, E6400??.hdr Personally, I'd stick the BIOS chip in an external programmer and see it it can be read.
timbo343 Posted March 23, 2016 Author Posted March 23, 2016 This is getting worse. So i followed the instructions above. Holding END and plugging in the PSU shows the Battery LED as Orange (red). When i let go the battery LED flashes Blue and Orange which apparently means "Alternately blinking amber light and blue light — An unauthenticated or unsupported, non-Dell AC adapter is attached to your laptop."... great! It doesnt do anything other than show that the laptop is powered on with the BLUE power LED and a flashing Orange and Blue Battery LED - nothing on screen.
difinity Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Slightly different instructions here https://www.bios-mods.com/bios-recovery/insyde-bios-recovery/
timbo343 Posted March 23, 2016 Author Posted March 23, 2016 Tried another PSU? The other PSU we have is a 3rd party one too Slightly different instructions here https://www.bios-mods.com/bios-recovery/insyde-bios-recovery/ Just looking at this link now.
timbo343 Posted March 24, 2016 Author Posted March 24, 2016 Slightly different instructions here https://www.bios-mods.com/bios-recovery/insyde-bios-recovery/ The instructions on the site dont work. Im trying the WindowsKey and B but it just hangs at where its been hanging for the last couple of days. I think i'm going to look at replacing the BIOS chip, if i can find it.
difinity Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 Possibly on a plug in board. Dell Latitude E4300 Bios Chip JX186 - LS-4157P | eBay 1
timbo343 Posted March 24, 2016 Author Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) Possibly on a plug in board. Dell Latitude E4300 Bios Chip JX186 - LS-4157P | eBay Im trying to find it and not having much luck ?? Im going to ring @ICTDirect_Dave to see if he has had any problems with them. Edited March 24, 2016 by timbo343
Joanne Posted March 24, 2016 Posted March 24, 2016 Dell motherboards are WELL CHEAP on ebay. I replaced one last week. Just triple check it's exactly the same though! DELL LATITUDE E4300 MOTHERBOARD 2.26GHz CPU DELL P/N UX187 TESTED OK ref ax23 | eBay 1
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