Dell Latitude C600 won't start

Certainly sounds like a motherboard issue. Unfortunately you may have gotten another dud. A couple of other things; reseat RAM again, but this time try only one module in at a time. Another possible cause is the CPU being broken rather than the motherboard. Hence even replacing motherboard would not help.

But given what you have described I would try and see if the ebay seller will refund/ exchange.

Stu

what code is it giving you (light sequence) on the status indicators

I need to know how many blinks, etc.

If you press the power button 2 seconds and release it does it blink the status LED's a specific # of times (this is a dell diag)

All three lock lights flashing constantly indicates the process is not seated correctly. If just the scroll lock lights up it is a processor failure during POST. Caps lock only is a motherboard failure. If the caps and scroll lock lights are on, but num lock is off, it is some kind of memory failure.

The types of processors the system will support are Intel Geyserville Pentium III (with SpeedStep™). The speeds I show the C600 shipped with are 600, 700, 750 and 850 MHz.

If you have any other questions about the system itself I will be more than happy to help. The first department I worked in when I started here at Dell was the Latitude support queue, so I have quite a bit of experience with the C600.


Larry
Dell Customer Advocate

I've got the same problem, but on mine when you press the power button all three lights come on and then start blinking once every 4 seconds. just put a new motherboard in the thing. I put the old one back togeather and the same thing is happing. Do you think it could be the processor??

The error is basically that the motherboard is not seeing the processor correctly. Try reseating it, and if that doesn't work then try replacing it.

Larry
Dell Customer Advocate

Thanks Larry

That's what I thought, if this motherboard had an arm to lock down the processor I probably would not have this problem, but it's pressed down by a bar and four screws. That's our buddys at Dell Go Figure......

I'm orderning the new processor and will let you know what happened.

The processor is NOT just held down by four screws and the heatsink. There is a cam lock just like on a desktop, instead of a lever though, you have a little screw for a flat blade screwdriver


Here's a picture of the socket (or at least a representation)

That little screw locks and unlocks the CPU from the socket, if it is NOT locked the CPU will not be registered by the motherboard. I've made this mistake myself in the past, so don't feel bad about it. It just takes half a turn to lock the CPU in place.

Welllllllll what do you know, I was wondering about that screw, as they say when all else fails read the directions. Thank you a BIG bunch MrEvil and SORRY ABOUT THAT (DELL) Hay! the thing works now.......

Larry,
I have a friend's C600 that will not power up. The only thing that happens is that the battery light will come on for about 10 seconds when power is plugged in.
I have removed battery, hard drive, CD ROM drive, RAM and mini PCI card.
No luck with getting any lights - flashing or otherwise.
I also tried another power pack.
Ooops - as I was typing this I see the battery light flashing orange. Current state of computer is that everthing is back in it except the hard drive and CD ROM drives.
Pushing and holding powe on does nothing - no lights fans,etc.
Any ideas?
Ray

I'm glad to hear it is working correctly now. And thanks for posting the picture and instructions from the manual, MrEvil. I had forgotten about the lock screw. This is why I still use the manual when doing repairs, even after 15 years working with computers. You never know what will slip your mind. Ray1509, unfortunately, if it does not power on at all using battery or AC power as you describe then the motherboard itself (well, the intergrated PSU) is most likely at fault. Definitely try it AC-no-battery and battery-no-AC to make sure one is not making the other fail, but my impression based on your description is the motherboard has failed. The only other thing I can think of is let the battery charge for a few hours (4+) or use a known good battery and see if that makes a difference. Larry Dell Customer Advocate

Hello, I have problem like this, my C600 after pressing power buton, flashing all led's and after blink 10 times led in the midle (caps lock). What problem maybe there?
May some problems with power supply? Where find schematic diagram?

I found solution in other forums, problem with RAM connector, when pressing RAM module a litle harder, PC starting normaly.

I have a dell c600 I am working on need some help.

1) with battery in left bay computer wont do anything, three "lock" lights come on, then go out, the power light stays on for about 3 sec, then goes out with a noise.

2) removed battery and power held power button down for 30 sec computer will boot off of ac and normally goes to windows.

3) the right side with battery in charges and works normally.

4) here is the twist, I upgraded the bios to a23 from a21 hoping it would clear it up, left the computer off over night hoping to charge another battery tried to boot this morning and it is asking for a administrator password. I cant understand how leaving a battery in overnight caused a admin password to appear.

still looking for information on why the battery wont work on one bay but will on the other, would seem to me that it has to be a connector problem took the thing apart but dont see a cold solder joint

I have seen where you can access the bios after a upgrade then not be avialable during post.

Drake

This definitely sounds like there is a problem with the connection in the battery (left) bay. The fact that the battery works in the media (right) bay tells me it is not a problem with the connector on the battery itself. I took a look at a C640 one of the guys here has, just to refresh my memory on the bay setup. Take a look at the battery connectors in both bays and see if anything looks different between them. If the two connectors looks the same then, unfortunately, it could be a problem with the charger portion of the motherboard that is the problem. If that is the case then I believe getting the board replaced is probably going to be the only way to fix this. The service manual will have instructions for taking the system apart (although it sounds like you've already used it). If it helps any, the Inspiron 4000 is the same chassis and, for the most part, hardware as the Latitude C600 (there were some differences in what options were available for the two systems). If you need to find parts to fix your system that info may help. Is the system asking for the BIOS password or the Windows Administrator password? If its the Windows Admin password then I cannot think of any reason for the BIOS update to cause the system to be asking for it. If you have other questions let me know. Larry Dell Customer Advocate