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E1705 won't POST

post #1 of 8
9/13/12 at 10:58pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,

after searching I didn't find a problem description similar to mine, so here it goes.

Recently my E1705 video card (7900GS single heatpipe) started having artifacts.
I applied the "baking" method (which I have successfully applied in the past in another E1705 that I own) but it didn't work.

I mean, after putting back the "baked" card, I press the power button, the power LED stays on, I hear the dvd-rom being powered up but thats all.

*No fans, no hdd, no beeps, no POST.*

The same result is also produced if I press the "Dell Home" button instead of the power button!!!

After that, I tried replacing the "baked" card with another 7900 GS (dual pipe though), which I know it's working.
The result was the same.

Could it be a motherboard or CPU problem? Is there any way to check?
(Besides disassembling my other laptop which btw has a Merom CPU and I guess mobo architecture, while the problematic one is one generation older (Yonah) :-P )

Thanks!
Edited by Danizz - 9/13/12 at 11:16pm
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post #2 of 8
9/14/12 at 2:16am
I'd try baking the card once more, making sure that it is really cool off - at least 40 min not touching it - or get another card with the same spec

cheers ...
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post #3 of 8
9/14/12 at 3:43am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the reply, but I am not going to bake that card again dummy3.gif - I have done it enough times in the past and it doesn't seem to help anymore.

By suggesting to "get another card with the same spec" you mean that the never-baked dual-heatpipe 7900GS that I also tried is not considered of the "same spec"? I thought that the only difference was in the cooling system and the rest is the same or at least compatible!

But please note that after the initial baking the laptop WOULD post. It stopped POSTing after third round of baking (since the artifacts would't go) and the main problem is that it still persists after replacing the VGA with a dual-pipe *never-baked* version that I stripped off another working laptop!
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post #4 of 8
9/14/12 at 3:52am
Are you sure that you don't need another BIOS version to support the dual-pipe on this model?

cheers ...
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post #5 of 8
9/14/12 at 4:52am
Thread Starter 
Well, I'm as sure as I could get smile.gif
I have searched the forums and I didn't see any related reference. Makes sense, since it is the same card with different cooler afaik.

e.g. http://www.notebookforums.com/t/154520/7900gs-dual-pipe-install-in-e1705

In any case, the laptop has (had?) the latest BIOS.
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post #6 of 8
9/14/12 at 6:02am
Short of having another card to test, I'd for the baking one last time as mentioned above, also re-seating CMOS, ram and hard drive. Pray. If it's not working, time for a new comp winknudge.gif

cheers ...
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post #7 of 8
9/16/12 at 6:56am
Thread Starter 
In case anyone faces a similar problem:

the problem was with one DIMM! I found the suggestion by browsing several forums, although none mentioned the same symptoms.

To summarize:

the computer would turn on normally before the last "baking" session, albeit with artifacts.
After the final "bake" it wouldn't turn on. By pressing the power button (or the Dell Home) the power LED would be on, DVD yould power up and nothing else (no fans, hdd etc). The strange thing is that I wouldn''t hear any beeps.
Also power on + fn key would cause all three LEDs to flash (which usually means faulty motherboard).

It seems that one of the two 512MB DDR2 DIMMS broke down between the baking sessions!!! (Which is rather strange, singe the laptop just stayed on the desk for 1 hour only...)

After I removed the faulty DIMM the laptop POSTs again, using the dual heatpipe 7900 GS. I didn't bother to re-install the "baked" 7900 GS, but maybe I will if the new one fails...

Thanks for the replies.
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post #8 of 8
9/16/12 at 10:55am
Thank you for the informative input and feedback headbang.gif

cheers ...
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