Dell 8400 No Boot, not even POST

This might be caused by hard-drive failure. You should run hard drive test from BIOS to make sure hard drive is ok. You can access BIOS by pressing F2 during start up, from there start hard disk self test and wait for it to complete.

If hard drive is ok after test, insert in your original Windows installation media and reinstall OS.

More likely it is a HDD problem, allow it to reinstall system 32

Welcome to FixYa!

Using Dell PC Restore by Symantec

Use Dell PC Restore by Symantec only as the last method to restore your operating system. PC

Restore restores your hard drive to the operating state it was in when you purchased the computer.

Any programs or files added since you received your computer-including data files-are

permanently deleted from the hard drive. Data files include documents, spreadsheets, e-mail

messages, digital photos, music files, and so on. If possible, back up all data before using PC

Restore.

NOTICE: Using PC Restore permanently deletes all data on the hard drive and removes any applications

or drivers installed after you received your computer. If possible, back up the data before using PC

Restore.

To use PC Restore:

1 Turn on the computer.

During the boot process, a blue bar with www.dell.com appears at the top of the screen.

2 Immediately upon seeing the blue bar, press .

If you do not press in time, let the computer finish restarting, and then

restart the computer again.

NOTICE: If you do not want to proceed with PC Restore, click Reboot in the following step.
3 On the next screen that appears, click Restore.

4 On the next screen, click Confirm.

The restore process takes approximately 6-10 minutes to complete.

5 When prompted, click Finish to reboot the computer.

NOTE: Do not manually shut down the computer. Click Finish and let the computer completely reboot.

6 When prompted, click Yes.

The computer restarts. Because the computer is restored to its original operating state, the

screens that appear, such as the End User License Agreement, are the same ones that

appeared the first time the computer was turned on.

7 Click Next.

The System Restore screen appears and the computer restarts.
8 After the computer restarts, click OK.

Good Luck

I suggest going through my tip pertaining to this matter, it is entitled My Computer is not
turning on!!! Is it dead!!! No POST!!! this should guide you through the process and get
your PC going again.

Thanking you
damnor01

Unfortunately the dell website (not me) is not very helpful. Here's what is says about your diagnostic lights


Another failure has occurred.

• Ensure that the cables are properly connected to the system board from the hard drive, CD drive, and DVD drive.
• If there is an error message on your screen identifying a problem with a device (such as the floppy drive or hard drive), check the device to make sure it is functioning properly.
• The operating system is attempting to boot from a device (such as the floppy drive or hard drive); check system setup (see "Boot Sequence") to make sure the boot sequence is correct for the devices installed on your computer.
• If the problem persists, contact Dell.

windows is not loading properly.
if you're not worried about anything on the computer:
insert the recovery CD, boot the system to the CD, and reinsatll windows.

Okay you need to boot from cd
put win cd in drive restart when asked to boot from cd hit enter
this should get you there
if not we'll have to change your boot options

hi there, check the cmost setup for hard drive detection. if detected you may have a software prob., try to re-install your operating system, i.e. windows, hope you can save your documents files before you can install new operating system. ty

Try disconnecting the power and resetting the CMOS. Sometimes there are 3 pins on the motherboard by the battery, change the jumper to reset, and restart the system. If there are no jumpers to reset CMOS simply remove the battery for about 1 minute then replace, and try booting again. I suspect windows won't actually boot, and if it doesnt restart and press F8 before windows attempts to load. This will take you to the boot manager where you should choose last known working configuration.

Some USB devices seem to cause this problem. I've had it myself. USB devices when hooked up cause the computer to freeze as it hard for USB drivers to be loaded outside of windows. Try updating you windows thru windows update though even updated I still run into the problem sometimes. If updating dosen't work you need to keep the drive unhooked while booting then hook up in windows.