Vostro 230 won't boot with odd beep code

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
O

Onum

Honorable
Apr 25, 2013
9
0
10,510
I recently acquired an ex business DELL Vostro 230. The memory and HDD had been removed and the PSU was duff. The mobo is an MIG41R

I swapped in a good PSU and the machine switched on but only to an error state with 2 beeps <pause> 2 beeps sounding repeatedly.

I assumed this was due to there being no memory but this still persists after adding memory.

From what I can find the beep code should be a sequence of three beep patterns and I cannot find any reference to a repeated double beep.

Elsewhere on this forum someone had a similar problem on a different model Dell and it was solved by a re-seating the CPU. I have tried this but the problem persists.

I also added an HDD and discrete graphics card JIC but the problem persists.

Any ideas?
 
Solution
jbseven
Does the cheap ram have trouble clocking to 1066Mhz but not 800Mhz? Possibly. But for now:

With the E1200 installed, install the memory and confirm that it boots. If not, we know it is a memory socketing issue.

If it boots, install the E6500 without touching the ram to confirm one last time. if it boots, we know it is a memory socket issue. If not,

physical cpu / socket issues:
I recommend zooming in on high res photos of processor pins as it is highly suspicious that the e6700 refuses to boot on a system that previously had no problems. its next to impossible to see leftover thermal grease with just eyeballing it.

cpu compatibility issues:
I can't seem to find any specs for the vostro 230 without a serial number but in the...
Sort by date Sort by votes
jbseven

jbseven

Distinguished
Dec 2, 2011
646
0
19,160
Hi,

What memory did you add? The motherboard supports upto DDR3 1333 memory.

Make sure the memory is firmly socketed. On lots of mb's even if the ram is socketed and locked with the tab, it remains loose so put as much measured downward pressure as you can afford to without breaking the mb.

According to this it means no memory is being detected,
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

Onum

Honorable
Apr 25, 2013
9
0
10,510
I added 2x2GB DDR3 PC1333 the manufacturer is SUM - couldn't find any detailed info about the modules at all. They were bought 2nd hand off eBay so....(!)

Without the clips locked the modules do seem a bit loose in the sockets, I'm guessing there's not a lot I can do about that.

I've tried pushing them home as hard as I dare as it is.

Might have to knock this one on the head as I don't want to spend money on new memory.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jbseven

jbseven

Distinguished
Dec 2, 2011
646
0
19,160
Even if it was a compatibility issue with a budget ram manufacturer, the pc should still at least detect the memory and try to configure it, in which case you wouldn't hear this particular beep code..

There's still something left to try. Use only 1 stick of ram at a time on one slot and firmly socket it. if that fails try the next slot. repeat for the other stick of ram. This method has helped me boot up many systems with poor quality ram or motherboard ram sockets.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

Onum

Honorable
Apr 25, 2013
9
0
10,510
Ok, now I'm confused. I swaped out the CPU (a Pentium E6500) for another LGA775 cpu - a Celeron E1200 and it booted - yay!

Assumed it was CPU that was wonky so put another - higher spec - LGA775 CPU - a Core 2 Duo E6700 that I know to be good from another system - in and got the same old double beep :??:

Put the E6500 into the mobo the E6700 came out of - won't boot. Put the E6700 back in - won't boot. Put the E1200 in and it does boot.

So does the vostro mobo knacker CPU's?? - but not the low spec E1200? Seriously unhappy if I've knackered my E6700 - I don't understand what's going now :??:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jbseven

jbseven

Distinguished
Dec 2, 2011
646
0
19,160
Reset the cmos on both boards - remove the battery and put it back in after 1 minute. After this, wait at least 1 minute for the mobo to configure the ram at power on. Some boards take ages on first boot.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

Onum

Honorable
Apr 25, 2013
9
0
10,510
Ok, the situation is only the E1200 will boot on the Vostro mobo.

The E1200 & E6700 will boot on the alternative (older gen DDR2) LGA775 mobo.

The E6500 (supplied with the vostro) will not boot in either board.

The E6700/E6500 both yield the memory double beep code on switch on in the Vostro mobo - BTW this beep sequence starts immediately on power-up there is no delay or other beeps before-hand.

There are no error beeps with the E6500 in the older board it just doesn't boot. All CPU's start to get warm if left in so I'm guessing they're getting powered up.

I'm wondering if its something to do with the FSB speeds of the E6500/E6700 (in conjunction with the DDR3 memory poss being a bit flaky) as these are both 1060 vs 800 on the E1200? or maybe the mobo's just damaged, the original PSU was dead after all.

It's a shame as the Vostro mobo was a much better spec than the one the E6700 came out of and i was hoping swap it over.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jbseven

jbseven

Distinguished
Dec 2, 2011
646
0
19,160
Ok. Put the E1200 into the vostro, remove all ram and boot it up. Is the beep code the same?

Secondly, take some hi res pic of the cpu pins and motherboard socket. Is there any thermal paste smeared on them or bent cpu pins?

Thirdly, do your other pc's consist of any ddr3 ram (preferably 1066 or 1333)?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

Onum

Honorable
Apr 25, 2013
9
0
10,510
You're on the ball this morning ;-) That was a good idea!

The E1200/Vostro mobo/no memory = double beeps/no boot exactly like the the other 2 CPU's.

The CPU socket looks good as far as I can tell. No thermal paste contamination or bent pins (just from eye-balling though).

The contacts on the CPU's look good/clean too.

Unfortunately this is the only DDR3 memory I have, bought specifically for this project :-/ I only keep a desktop to support an old bit of A/V hardware I have.


 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jbseven

jbseven

Distinguished
Dec 2, 2011
646
0
19,160
Does the cheap ram have trouble clocking to 1066Mhz but not 800Mhz? Possibly. But for now:

With the E1200 installed, install the memory and confirm that it boots. If not, we know it is a memory socketing issue.

If it boots, install the E6500 without touching the ram to confirm one last time. if it boots, we know it is a memory socket issue. If not,

physical cpu / socket issues:
I recommend zooming in on high res photos of processor pins as it is highly suspicious that the e6700 refuses to boot on a system that previously had no problems. its next to impossible to see leftover thermal grease with just eyeballing it.

cpu compatibility issues:
I can't seem to find any specs for the vostro 230 without a serial number but in the unlikely event that the previous owner tried upgrading to a E6500 cpu, failed, and then binned the system before it found it's way to you, it might be worth performing a bios update.

memory compatibility / last resort:
the ram is simply incompatible with the e6700 and e6500. To maximise compatibility, you would have to get 1066 Mhz tried and true brands like corsair, kingston, gskill, crucial.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
O

Onum

Honorable
Apr 25, 2013
9
0
10,510
Ok it's now fully working on all CPU's after the BIOS update :) - it was on v1.0, now v1.4.

The RAM is recognised and running at 1060 in dual channel mode, so I'm a happy bunny at last.

Thanks for your attentive assistance jbseven, it's been much appreciated.

Cheers
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom