Studio - three flashing lights

[spinney]

I've seen this and similar problems all over Google, but no solutions. The mute, volume down, and volume up buttons all blinking simultaneously. At the same time, the power LED blinks orange four times in quick succession, then white for about a second, repeatedly. I've tried making sure the RAM is connected correctly, and also tried getting rid of the static charge. Any solutions? Thank you!

 

[CocoHacker]

Could you provide the exact model?

NOTE: On the dell's usually three orange blinks followed by white/blue means the battery is faulty.

 

[spinney]

I was hoping no one would ask.. it's buried under a bunch of parts Yeah, it's a 1537. The battery won't hold a charge, so that explains that..

 

[CocoHacker]

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/19398842/19932381.aspx

I have used a couple of dell's so as long as a faulty battery is inserted my earlier statement holds true.

Since the nature of the problem is motherboard related, it requires a certain integrated motherboard component to be replaced, in which case the manufacturer(in this case Dell) would ask you to replace the motherboard.

BTW does your laptop work/boot-up?

If your laptop is under warranty I'd suggest you to get the board replaced.

Have you run the Dell Diagnostic Tool? Are there any error codes?

(To run Dell Diag. Tool,

1. press the F12 key during the DELL screen,
2. you ll get a boot option screen
3. Choose Dell Diagnostic Utility

)

 

[spinney]

The screen never turns on. The only response whatsoever are the lights. Connecting it to an external monitor does nothing, either. It isn't under warranty anymore.. so motherboard it is, then?

 

[CocoHacker]

The screen never turns on. The only response whatsoever are the lights. Connecting it to an external monitor does nothing, either. It isn't under warranty anymore.. so motherboard it is, then?

It seems as though your system is not booting up, nor is completing POST ( Power-on-self-Test).
Its the motherboard. Replacement is expensive, so third party repair/service would be cheaper, if its something that can be done by the latter. How old is the system BTW?

 

[spinney]

It seems as though your system is not booting up, nor is completing POST ( Power-on-self-Test).
Its the motherboard. Replacement is expensive, so third party repair/service would be cheaper, if its something that can be done by the latter. How old is the system BTW?

No idea how old it is.. I bought it for about the price of it's screen. I guess I'll just sell it as parts, because I really don't need it. Would this be a wise course of action? If so, where and for how much should I sell it? Thanks so much for your responses

 

[CocoHacker]

Certain motherboard components are replaceable .... so if you could get it repaired (for cheap) first and then sell it, that would your best course of action. Your laptop is around 4 years old. In working condition you could sell it on craigslist for approx. $150-$200.

In its current state, wherein you would have to sell it for parts, excluding the ram modules and hard drive, your looking at anything around $50-$80( since mobo isn't working).

(The ram and HDD wouldn't amount to much, you could use the extra storage)

This is an VERY ROUGH estimate, check out the listings on such sites, take an average, bump it up by 10-20% and keep it negotiable!!!

 

[spinney]

Certain motherboard components are replaceable .... so if you could get it repaired (for cheap) first and then sell it, that would your best course of action. Your laptop is around 4 years old. In working condition you could sell it on craigslist for approx. $150-$200.

In its current state, wherein you would have to sell it for parts, excluding the ram modules and hard drive, your looking at anything around $50-$80( since mobo isn't working).

(The ram and HDD wouldn't amount to much, you could use the extra storage)

This is an VERY ROUGH estimate, check out the listings on such sites, take an average, bump it up by 10-20% and keep it negotiable!!!

Thank you very much! for the replies an advice!

 

[spinney]

Best answer selected by spinney.