Unable to pass post in Dimension E310

[Virr]

I have been trying to solve an error in Dell Dimension E310 since last month. When I restarted my system I came to know that the system is in ALERT CheckPoint WAKE! State. I thought that I will require an original DVD of Dell to solve this issue. But unfortunately DVDROM was not working so I replaced it with a new one. Still my DVDROM was not working so I formatted the harddrive. After that I reset the jumpers for the BIOS to allow me into setup. Sometimes my keyboard and mouse are not recognized. The BIOS is attempting to load the Floppy drive and hence I disabled that. The post used to interpret error linked to floppy drive. I am unable to enter the BIOS to setup USB Boot Sequence. Is this issue related to BIOS? Does anyone know how to flash the Bios? If yes please do the needful.

[Yitzchak909]

The issue that you have posted is complicated. I am software professional and I have less knowledge about hardware issues. I didn’t try to flash the Bios in my system till now this can be the reason I am not able to overcome your issue. Any issue related to software can be easily solved by me but to solve an issue related to hardware is almost impossible for me. So I won’t be able to give you the necessary suggestions that you need to overcome the issue. May be this someone else can help you out.

[pddaugusto]

According to me E310 makes use of SATA hard drives and also has an IDE controller for DVD / CD. As for hard drives, if you are attempting to install Windows XP then utilize the Windows XP reinstallation CD that came with your computer or you must go into system setup (F2 at POST after reboot) and put SATA controller to AutoDetect RAID / ATA. A standard installation CD of Windows XP has no drivers for AHCI mode, so you must configure the ATA mode to use the IDE drivers usually contained on that disk. For the IDE channel, only the main drive is bootable. A Dell is intended for utilizing in their collection of IDE cable to the main unit and it is plugged into the last connector of the ribbon. If you comprise two optical drives then it can boot the slave drive by turning the master (Drive 0) against the system configuration. If the system configuration page is working fine then it lets you to change the BIOS. I don’t think there is any problem in BIOS

[Virr]

I am very grateful to you for interacting with me to overcome the issue. The collection of CD’s given by Dell are really DVD’s. They are especially for this system and are in outstanding condition. I am certain these DVD's will assist me, but now I want to "setup" to overcome the issue. The "setup" looks to be more difficult to be used. I am setting the adjustments mentioned in your post and will report you about it. This issue is annoying me a lot. Are you aware about some other settings to overcome the issue? If yes then please do the needful.

[Howitzer]

To overcome the issue I would advise you to disconnect the power cord and take out any PCI cards from your PC. Check that the monitor, keyboard and mouse are connected to the system. After that restart you PC and evaluate, the sequence to the table titled Diagnostic Lights available in your service manual. Perform all the steps that has been mentioned and I think it will definitely solve your issue. Try this solution out and inform me about the consequences

[Virr]

Thanks a lot for all the responses and recommendation that you have given me to overcome the issue. Your suggestion helped me a lot. Previously I had discussed this issue with my colleagues but they could not help me to overcome the issue. You are the first person who supported and helped me. I performed all the steps that were specified by you but it didn’t work out. I think it is almost impossible to overcome such issues. Can you provide the solution for Floppy disk failure? If yes then please help me out.

[Howitzer]

You don’t have to be tensed about Floppy disk failure. This is the error that occurs due to resetting the BIOS to default. It automatically switches on the diskette controller. When you are not having a Floppy disk drive at that time you encounter such errors. To overcome such issues I would recommend you to turn off the diskette controller. After you switch off this controller you won’t face any errors related to floppy disk failure. Try this out and it will surely help you to solve the issue.