We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

Computer won't boot up - Dell E521

lonestarfan
lonestarfan Posts: 1,232 Forumite
Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
in Techie Stuff
My dell computer won't boot up. I turn it on and it just makes a whirring sound but doesn't boot up. Screen is blank. There are no diagnostic lights flashing or lit up.
The on button is on constant and is an Orange colour.
The monitor on button is also static orange whereas it should be green.
Its windows vista.
Any ideas anyone as its vital I have a computer as can't access my work.
Many thanks.
«13

Comments

  • JJ_Egan
    JJ_Egan Posts: 20,281 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Do you have a backup of your vital work ???.
    Try booting holding down Delete button and again hitting F8 key .
  • Collabora
    Collabora Posts: 1,360 Forumite
    Last time this happened to me, i got it working by opening the case cleaning the dust out with a vacuum and then disconnected the HDD and reconnecting it. Then when i rebooted it worked.

    Give this a try
  • lonestarfan
    lonestarfan Posts: 1,232 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks for reminder about saving work but I don't need to as I just want the gateway via Internet for my work.
    I've tried delete and f8 but nothing has happened by doing it.
    Any other ideas.
    Thanks for your help.
  • lonestarfan
    lonestarfan Posts: 1,232 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Collabora wrote: »
    Last time this happened to me, i got it working by opening the case cleaning the dust out with a vacuum and then disconnected the HDD and reconnecting it. Then when i rebooted it worked.

    Give this a try

    Thanks. I did do that but no joy unfortunately. Thanks anyway.
  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,946 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    disconnect the hdd and see if you can get into bios then
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
  • lonestarfan
    lonestarfan Posts: 1,232 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    GunJack wrote: »
    disconnect the hdd and see if you can get into bios then

    How do I disconnect HDD and what key strokes then get me into BIOS. Once in what do I do. Thanks.
  • grumpycrab
    grumpycrab Posts: 5,042 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Bake Off Boss!
    1. switch off at mains - leave plug IN; press and hold power button for 20secs.
    Switch main ON; turn computer on.
    2. may be a memory problem; switch off at mains - leave plug IN; take off desktop cover; find memory - take out and reinsert.
    Put on cover; switch on mains; try computer again.
  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,946 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    lonestarfan wrote: »
    How do I disconnect HDD and what key strokes then get me into BIOS. Once in what do I do. Thanks.

    unplug the two connectors going into the back of it. dell usually use f2, keep tapping it immediately after turning on the power button :)
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
  • lonestarfan
    lonestarfan Posts: 1,232 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    grumpycrab wrote: »
    1. switch off at mains - leave plug IN; press and hold power button for 20secs.
    Switch main ON; turn computer on.
    2. may be a memory problem; switch off at mains - leave plug IN; take off desktop cover; find memory - take out and reinsert.
    Put on cover; switch on mains; try computer again.

    I'll give that a go as I know how to take memory out as I installed some myself about 2 yrs ago. Cheers.
  • lonestarfan
    lonestarfan Posts: 1,232 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    GunJack wrote: »
    unplug the two connectors going into the back of it. dell usually use f2, keep tapping it immediately after turning on the power button :)

    I'll give that a go. Thanks.
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 353.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455K Spending & Discounts
  • 246.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 602.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178K Life & Family
  • 260.5K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.
Update Your Picture