YouTube Archived: private Dell video about detecting non-POST issues like motherboard or memory failures
Posted by jpluimers on 2024/09/09
I forgot where I got this video from: [Wayback/Archive] YouTube Archived: private Dell video about detecting non-POST issues like motherboard or memory failures
It came in useful researching beeping pattern combined an amber/orange blinking pattern on one of my 2018 Dell 3060 MFF machines.
TL;DR
NOTE: On any OptiPlex built since 2012 (that is, 7010/9010/9010 AIO), Dell has stopped using all beep codes except for the Memory Failure code. (1, 3, 2, or one beep, then three beeps, then two beeps.) If your computer was built after 2012 and is making any other beep code, contact technical support for further help.
I knew it already needed a new coin cell battery, but that was surely not the only problem with it, and what type of battery it was (TL;DR: CR2032 and likely longer lasting BR2023 will be compatible too).
Related videos and links:
- [Wayback/Archive] Dell OptiPlex 3060 Micro – disassemble for HDD and RAM upgrade or CMOS battery replacement – YouTube (~2 minutes overview)
- [Wayback/Archive] Dell OptiPlex 3000 Disassembly For Repair – YouTube (~ 6 minutes more in depth)
- [Wayback/Archive] Troubleshooting Memory Errors on Dell Desktops | RAM Not Detected (Official Dell Tech Support) – YouTube
- [Wayback/Archive] How To Troubleshoot No POST, No Power, No Video Issues on a Dell Desktop | Dell US
No Post Issues
The term POST stands for Power-On Self-Test. It is a series of checks the desktop goes through whenever it starts. If the desktop fails any of these tests, it stops the start-up process and reports a fault. This informative YouTube video (English only, not available in China) gives general information about this topic.
Indications of a failed POST include:
- The desktop displays the Dell logo and does not move past that point, it has probably failed POST.
- The power light is lit up, and it is amber or orange. This is usually an indicator that it has failed POST.
- You see text on a black screen. The desktop is performing the POST. Where the desktop stays in that condition and does not move past it, it has probably failed POST.
- The monitor displays anything at all during the startup process but is now black. This probably indicates that the desktop failed POST.
- The desktop is beeping, diagnostic LEDs, or Power LEDs are flashing. Note down the pattern in which it beeps or flashes and the colors seen.
- The desktop does not beep and the Diagnostic LEDs, CAPS, NUM, and Scroll Lock lights are not flashing or lit. Unplug all connections from the desktop and remove all media communication devices. (For example: External monitors.) Reconnect one device at a time and check if the desktop functions.
- [Wayback/Archive] YouTube: This is a private video. Please sign in to verify that you may see it. which you can actually view on the Wayback link and explains more in depth how to trouble shoot Dell machines.
- [Wayback/Archive] Optiplex 3060 power led flashing twice amber then seven times amber | DELL Technologies
Dell has stopped using all beep codes except for the Memory Failure code. (1, 3, 2, or 1 beep, then 3 beeps, then 2 beeps.) If your system was built after 2012 and is making any other beep code, please contact technical support for further help.Amber LED state White LED state System state Notes 2 5 BIOS state 1 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 0001) Corrupt BIOS. 2 6 BIOS state 2 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 0010) CPU config or CPU failure. 2 7 BIOS state 3 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 0011) MEM config in process. Appropriate mem modules detected but failure has occurred. - [Wayback/Archive] Understanding Beep Codes on a Dell Desktop Personal Computer | Dell US
Introduction to Beep Codes
Dell has a long tradition of building diagnostic indicators into our computers. These indicators can be useful in helping to diagnose and resolve any issues that your personal computer might experience while starting up. I have given a guide to the various codes for each family of desktop below.
If the display cannot show any errors that your computer might emit a series of beeps during start-up.
- Three means 3-3-3-3 …That is three beeps and three beeps and…: Endless looping until user presses the power button to shut down the computer.
- The delay between each beep is 300 milliseconds. The delay between each set of beeps is three seconds, and the beep sound lasts 300 milliseconds.
- After each beep and each set of beeps, the BIOS should detect if the user presses the power button. If so, the BIOS jumps out from looping and performs the normal shutdown process and turn off the computer.
- [Wayback/Archive] A Reference Guide to the Dell OptiPlex Diagnostic Indicators | Dell US
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Diagnostic LEDs for the OptiPlex series (2012 to 2020)
Power Button Leds
Power Button LED State Description 
Off Power is Off. LED is blank. 
Blinking Amber This is the initial state of the LED at power-up. See the table below for Blinking Amber pattern diagnostic suggestions and possible failures. 
Solid Amber The second state of the LED at power-up indicates that the POWER_GOOD signal is active, the power supply is likely OK. 
Blinking White The computer is in a low-power state, either S1 or S3. This does not indicate a fault condition. 
Solid White The computer is in S0 state. This is the normal power state of a functioning machine. The BIOS turns the LED to this state to indicate it has started fetching op-codes.
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Diagnostic Indicator Table
State State Name Power Light:
Amber BlinkingAmber Blinking Pattern Problem Description Suggested Resolution – – 2, 1 two blinks followed by a short pause, one blink, long pause, then repeats. Bad Motherboard - Replace the motherboard.
– – 2, 2 two blinks followed by a short pause, two blinks, long pause, then repeats. Bad Motherboard, Power Supply, or Power Supply cabling - If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue with PSU BIST Test, and reseat the cable.
- If nothing works, replace the motherboard, power supply, or cabling.
– – 2, 3 two blinks followed by a short pause, three blinks, long pause, then repeats. Bad Motherboard, Memory, or Processor - If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by reseating the memory and swapping a known working memory module, if available.
- If nothing works, replace the motherboard, memory, or processor.
– – 2, 4 two blinks followed by a short pause, four blinks, long pause, then repeats. Bad coin-cell battery - If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by swapping a known good coin-cell battery, if available.
- If nothing works, replace the coin-cell battery.
S1 RCM 2, 5 two blinks followed by a short pause, five blinks, long pause, then repeats. BIOS Checksum Failure - The computer is in Recovery Mode.
- Flash latest BIOS version. If the problem persists, replace the motherboard.
S2 CPU 2, 6 two blinks followed by a short pause, six blinks, long pause, then repeats. Bad Processor - CPU configuration activity is in progress, or a CPU failure was detected.
- Replace the processor.
S3 MEM 2, 7 two blinks followed by a short pause, seven blinks, long pause, then repeats. Memory failures - The memory subsystem configuration activity is in progress. Appropriate memory modules were detected, but a memory failure has occurred.
- If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by reseating the memory modules and swapping in known good modules, if available.
- If nothing works, replace the memory.
S4 PCI 3, 1 three blinks followed by a short pause, one blink, long pause, then repeats. PCI Device or Video subsystem failures - PCI device configuration activity is in progress, or PCI device failure was detected.
- If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by reseating the PCI cards, and removing them one by one to determine which card failed.
- If you can identify the PCI card that failed, replace the PCI card.
- If none of the PCI Cards failed, replace the motherboard.
S5 VID 3, 2 three blinks followed by a short pause, two blinks, long pause, then repeats. Video Subsystem failure - Video subsystem configuration activity in progress or video subsystem failure.
- If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing graphics cards one by one to determine which card failed.
- If you can identify the card that failed, replace that card. If none of the cards failed, replace the motherboard.
S6 STO 3, 3 three blinks followed by a short pause, three blinks, long pause, then repeats. No Memory detected - If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing the memory modules one by one to determine which module failed. Swap the failed module with a known good module, if available, to confirm.
- If you can identify the faulty module, replace it.
- If none of the modules have failed, replace the motherboard.
S7 USB 3, 4 three blinks followed by a short pause, four blinks, long pause, then repeats. Storage Subsystem failure - Possible storage device configuration in progress or storage subsystem failure.
- If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing all attached storage devices from the motherboard one by one to determine which device failed.
- If you can identify which storage device failed, replace it.
- If none of the storage devices failed, replace the motherboard.
S8 MEM 3, 5 three blinks followed by a short pause, five blinks, long pause, then repeats. Memory configuration or incompatible error - The memory subsystem configuration activity is in progress. No memory modules were detected.
- If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing the memory modules one by one on to determine which module failed. You can also combine configurations to validate the appropriate combination.
- If you can identify the failed component, replace the component.
- If none of the components failed, replace the motherboard.
S9 MBF 3, 6 three blinks followed by a short pause, six blinks, long pause, then repeats. System board failure - Fatal system board failure was detected.
- If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing the components on the motherboard one by one to determine which component failed.
- If you can identify any faulty components, replace the components.
- If none of the components failed, replace the motherboard.
S10 MEM 3, 7 three blinks followed by a short pause, seven blinks, long pause, then repeats. Possible memory failure - The memory subsystem configuration activity is in progress. Memory modules have been detected, but they appear to be incompatible or in an invalid configuration.
- If you can troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing the memory modules one by one to determine which module failed.
- If you can identify the faulty module, replace it.
- Otherwise, replace the motherboard.
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- [Wayback/Archive] How to replace the CMOS battery in a Dell OptiPlex 3060 Micro – YouTube
The battery used was “CR2032”.
- [Wayback/Archive] Dell OptiPlex 3060 Micro Service Manual | Dell US
Diagnostics
The computer POST (Power On Self Test) ensures that it meets the basic computer requirements and the hardware is working appropriately before the boot process begins. If the computer passes the POST, the computer continues to start in a normal mode. However, if the computer fails the POST, the computer emits a series of LED codes during the start-up. The system LED is integrated on the Power button.
The following table shows different light patterns and what they indicate.
Table 1. Power LED summary Amber LED state White LED state System state Notes Off Off S4, S5 - Hibernate or Suspend to Disk (S4)
- Power is off (S5)
Off Blinking S1, S3 System is in a low power state, either S1 or S3. This does not indicate a fault condition. Previous State Previous State S3, no PWRGD_PS This entry provides for the possibility of a delay from SLP_S3# active to PWRGD_PS inactive. Blinking Off S0, no PWRGD_PS Boot Failure – The computer is receiving electrical power, and power supplied by the power supply is normal. A device might be malfunctioning or incorrectly installed. Refer to the table below for Amber Blinking Pattern diagnostics suggestion and possible failures. Steady Off S0, no PWRGD_PS, Code fetch = 0 Boot Failure – This is a system fault error condition, including the power supply. Only the +5VSB rail on the power supply is working correctly. Off Steady S0, no PWRGD_PS, Code fetch = 1 This indicates that the host BIOS has started to execute and the LED register is now writable. Table 2. Amber LED blinking failures Amber LED state White LED state System state Notes 2 1 Bad MBD Bad MBD – Rows A, G, H, and J from table 12.4 of SIO Spec – Pre-Post indicators [40] 2 2 Bad MB, PSU or cabling Bad MBD, PSU or PSU cabling – Rows B, C and D of table 12.4 SIO spec [40] 2 3 Bad MBD, DIMMS, or CPU Bad MBD, DIMMS or CPU – Rows F and K from table 12.4 of SIO spec [40] 2 4 Bad coin cell Bad coin cell – Row M of table 12.4 in SIO spec [40] Table 3. States Under Host BIOS Control Amber LED state White LED state System state Notes 2 5 BIOS state 1 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 0001) Corrupt BIOS. 2 6 BIOS state 2 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 0010) CPU config or CPU failure. 2 7 BIOS state 3 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 0011) MEM config in process. Appropriate mem modules detected but failure has occurred. 3 1 BIOS state 4 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 0100) Combine PCI device config or failure with video sub sytem config or failure. BIOS to eliminate 0101 video code. 3 2 BIOS state 5 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 0110) Combine storage and USB config or failure. BIOS to eliminate 0111 USB code. 3 3 BIOS state 6 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 1000) MEM config, no memory detected. 3 4 BIOS state 7 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 1001) Fatal Motherboard error. 3 5 BIOS state 8 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 1010) Mem config, modules incompatible or invalid config. 3 6 BIOS state 9 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 1011) combine “Other pre-video activity and resource configuration codes. BIOS to eliminate 1100 code. 3 7 BIOS state 10 BIOS Post code (Old LED pattern 1110) Other pre-post activity, routine subsequent to video init. - [Wayback/Archive] How to Run a Preboot Diagnostic Test on a Dell Computer | Dell US
Queries:
- [Wayback/Archive] dell 3060 mff beeping amber white led – Google Search
- [Wayback/Archive] dell 3060 mff introduction – Google Search
- [Wayback/Archive] dell mff memory troubleshooting video – Google Search
- [Wayback/Archive] dell 3060 cmos battery type – Google Search
--jeroen
The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff 
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