Dell Inspiron 17 Beeping and isn't booting

[xXxSourcexXx]

I'd suggest that you try an update the BIOS using a DOS boot disk. Since, the laptop boots up some of the time, you can download the latest BIOS from Dell's support website and make a USB boot diskette (flash drive). 

 

Follow the instructions here: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN143196/EN

and here: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN284433/en 

 

I suspect the BIOS is failing its checksum causing intermittent POST issues.

 

I will try this method too , but please check my last comment maybe it will help too

[xXxSourcexXx]

I'd suggest that you try an update the BIOS using a DOS boot disk. Since, the laptop boots up some of the time, you can download the latest BIOS from Dell's support website and make a USB boot diskette (flash drive). 

 

Follow the instructions here: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN143196/EN

and here: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN284433/en 

 

I suspect the BIOS is failing its checksum causing intermittent POST issues.

 

The second link isn't working , and how am i suppose to update bios if the laptop isn't booting at all ?

[xXxSourcexXx]

are you using the charger that came with the laptop, if not then it might be a case where the charger you are using doesn't have the volts or amps needed to boot properly. or perhaps you are using the right charger and because it was being used without a battery over time the charger has died, i would recommend getting a battery so you can diagnose if the charger is good enough to recharge the battery whilst the laptop is on.

Edit: you will need a battery anyway simply because of the way laptops are designed.

 

Found the battery , the issue still remains

[ionbasa]

The second link isn't working , and how am i suppose to update bios if the laptop isn't booting at all ?

Ahh my bad. The link was: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN284433/EN

 

So, there may still be one more option. Most laptops have an failsafe were an FAT32 formatted usb flash drive (smaller than 2Gigs) can store just the BIOS ROM file and a small piece of bytecode that the chipset can read and try to overwrite the BIOS before the POST sequence. Most dell laptops use a Phoenix BIOS (get the refrence, never dying) that can recover even in the case of an catastrophe. This process is normally done by service techs as a last ditch effort.

 

Now, I'll need to extract the bios file from the DOS flasher and send it to you somehow.

[ionbasa]

Found the battery , the issue still remains

Ok, so here is the plan:

 

1. On another computer, download the latest BIOS file from Dell's website. It was named "3721A14.EXE" when I tried it
2. Using 7-ZIP, extract the contents of the .EXE to a folder. In that folder should be a file called "InsydeFlash.exe"
3. Open a command prompt and run the following command: 

4. InsydeFlash.exe VAW00X64.fd /g

5. The program should have extracted the recovery BIOS image in the folder.
6. Copy this over to a USB flash drive formatted as FAT32 and with nothing on it other than the VAW00X64.fd file we just created.
7. Disconnect the AC power adapter
8. Insert the USB flash drive into one of the USB ports on the computer. Some computers are finicky and will only accept a specific USB port for recovery, so if it doesn't work the first time, try the other ports as well.
9. With all power sources disconnected from the computer, hold down the ‘Windows’ key and the ‘B’ key. Do not release these keys.
10. Connect the AC power adapter to the computer.
11. Press the ‘Power’ button on the computer.
12. When the Power On LED’s illuminate, you may release the two keys
13. After about 10 seconds, the computer should start reading the flash drive. While searching for the file system, the computer may (should) beep for one second. The number of beeps can vary based on the capacity of the flash drive as well as the number of files on it. If the BIOS file is not found, the computer will reboot and try again.
14. If the file is found, the computer will load it. Give it at least 30 seconds.
15. After the computer is finished loading the BIOS file, it will start flashing the BIOS. During this process, the computer will beep every 2 seconds. Give it another 30 or so seconds. About 5 seconds after the flashing process has finished, the computer will shutdown. If the recovery process was successful, then the BIOS should work normally the next time you boot up the computer.

 

*NOTE: Not all devices will produce beeping sounds during the recovery process. The USB flash drive LED should still blink on and off while the computer is loading the BIOS image. If the loading process is successful, the computer should shut down within the next minute. For larger BIOS images, this may take longer.

 

Also, the keys <Win> + <B> may be different on your PC. It may even be <ESC> + Fn or even just holding down the <END> key. If you can't get it the first time around, try these other key combinations.

[xXxSourcexXx]

Ok, so here is the plan:

 

1. On another computer, download the latest BIOS file from Dell's website. It was named "3721A14.EXE" when I tried it
2. Using 7-ZIP, extract the contents of the .EXE to a folder. In that folder should be a file called "InsydeFlash.exe"
3. Open a command prompt and run the following command: 

4. InsydeFlash.exe VAW00X64.fd /g

5. The program should have extracted the recovery BIOS image in the folder.
6. Copy this over to a USB flash drive formatted as FAT32 and with nothing on it other than the VAW00X64.fd file we just created.
7. Disconnect the AC power adapter
8. Insert the USB flash drive into one of the USB ports on the computer. Some computers are finicky and will only accept a specific USB port for recovery, so if it doesn't work the first time, try the other ports as well.
9. With all power sources disconnected from the computer, hold down the ‘Windows’ key and the ‘B’ key. Do not release these keys.
10. Connect the AC power adapter to the computer.
11. Press the ‘Power’ button on the computer.
12. When the Power On LED’s illuminate, you may release the two keys
13. After about 10 seconds, the computer should start reading the flash drive. While searching for the file system, the computer may (should) beep for one second. The number of beeps can vary based on the capacity of the flash drive as well as the number of files on it. If the BIOS file is not found, the computer will reboot and try again.
14. If the file is found, the computer will load it. Give it at least 30 seconds.
15. After the computer is finished loading the BIOS file, it will start flashing the BIOS. During this process, the computer will beep every 2 seconds. Give it another 30 or so seconds. About 5 seconds after the flashing process has finished, the computer will shutdown. If the recovery process was successful, then the BIOS should work normally the next time you boot up the computer.

 

*NOTE: Not all devices will produce beeping sounds during the recovery process. The USB flash drive LED should still blink on and off while the computer is loading the BIOS image. If the loading process is successful, the computer should shut down within the next minute. For larger BIOS images, this may take longer.

 

Also, the keys <Win> + <B> may be different on your PC. It may even be <ESC> + Fn or even just holding down the <END> key. If you can't get it the first time around, try these other key combinations.

 

I will try and keep you posted , i really hope it will help , but thanks a lot for the trying to help out , and not ditching me , i am a computer tech so i would love to solve it myself

[xXxSourcexXx]

Ok, so here is the plan:

 

1. On another computer, download the latest BIOS file from Dell's website. It was named "3721A14.EXE" when I tried it
2. Using 7-ZIP, extract the contents of the .EXE to a folder. In that folder should be a file called "InsydeFlash.exe"
3. Open a command prompt and run the following command: 

4. InsydeFlash.exe VAW00X64.fd /g

5. The program should have extracted the recovery BIOS image in the folder.
6. Copy this over to a USB flash drive formatted as FAT32 and with nothing on it other than the VAW00X64.fd file we just created.
7. Disconnect the AC power adapter
8. Insert the USB flash drive into one of the USB ports on the computer. Some computers are finicky and will only accept a specific USB port for recovery, so if it doesn't work the first time, try the other ports as well.
9. With all power sources disconnected from the computer, hold down the ‘Windows’ key and the ‘B’ key. Do not release these keys.
10. Connect the AC power adapter to the computer.
11. Press the ‘Power’ button on the computer.
12. When the Power On LED’s illuminate, you may release the two keys
13. After about 10 seconds, the computer should start reading the flash drive. While searching for the file system, the computer may (should) beep for one second. The number of beeps can vary based on the capacity of the flash drive as well as the number of files on it. If the BIOS file is not found, the computer will reboot and try again.
14. If the file is found, the computer will load it. Give it at least 30 seconds.
15. After the computer is finished loading the BIOS file, it will start flashing the BIOS. During this process, the computer will beep every 2 seconds. Give it another 30 or so seconds. About 5 seconds after the flashing process has finished, the computer will shutdown. If the recovery process was successful, then the BIOS should work normally the next time you boot up the computer.

 

*NOTE: Not all devices will produce beeping sounds during the recovery process. The USB flash drive LED should still blink on and off while the computer is loading the BIOS image. If the loading process is successful, the computer should shut down within the next minute. For larger BIOS images, this may take longer.

 

Also, the keys <Win> + <B> may be different on your PC. It may even be <ESC> + Fn or even just holding down the <END> key. If you can't get it the first time around, try these other key combinations.

 

I am having a strange issue , the recovery bios that i am creating (after step 5) weights 0kb's , what am i doing wrong ? it says that Rom was read successfully....

[ionbasa]

I am having a strange issue , the recovery bios that i am creating (after step 5) weights 0kb's , what am i doing wrong ? it says that Rom was read successfully....

Interesting. I just tried it also and got the same thing. It should work, but you may be SOL. I can try later with a 3rd party utility. I'm away from home. I'll post when I'm back.

[xXxSourcexXx]

Interesting. I just tried it also and got the same thing. It should work, but you may be SOL. I can try later with a 3rd party utility. I'm away from home. I'll post when I'm back.

 

no problem , waiting take your time

[ionbasa]

no problem , waiting take your time

Just so you know, I've cross posted your issue on another forum (that I can't mention due to Code of Conduct).

This BIOS is an newer EFI type. It is possible it may not contain the recovery file needed or the procedure for this specific BIOS is different. I'm not sure why that would be, because I've used this method before. For now just wait it out for a bit until I can see whats up. I'll post back once I get an answer.

[xXxSourcexXx]

Just so you know, I've cross posted your issue on another forum (that I can't mention due to Code of Conduct).

This BIOS is an newer EFI type. It is possible it may not contain the recovery file needed or the procedure for this specific BIOS is different. I'm not sure why that would be, because I've used this method before. For now just wait it out for a bit until I can see whats up. I'll post back once I get an answer.

 

Thanks a lot for the effort i really appriciate it

[ionbasa]

Thanks a lot for the effort i really appriciate it

Finally managed to extract the raw image. I've left it here for you: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5aLOru16IUMSDE0VzJtalZkVDQ/view?usp=sharing

[xXxSourcexXx]

Finally managed to extract the raw image. I've left it here for you: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5aLOru16IUMSDE0VzJtalZkVDQ/view?usp=sharing

 

Thanks a lot , i will try to use it , hopefully it will help