optiplex bios fried, can't boot

Jul 15, 2018
1
0
10
hello everyone,
i seem to have a corrupted bios. this is a Dell Optiplex 780 desktop PC and after the bios update process got interrupted it won't boot.
here's what i'm seeing:
initial status: power cord is plugged in, machine is off

press the turn-on button and:
- sound of a relay clicking
- fan starts running
- power lite goes amber
- diagnostic lites 1 & 3 come on

after about 250ms
- power light goes solid green
- disk activity lite and diagnostic lite 4 come on (manufacturer service manual has no info about code 1-3-4)
- status remains this way (green, DAL, 1, 3, 4) for about 7s, then:

- DAL goes off, then 3 more seconds pass, then

- sound of relay clicking, and
- power light and fan go off, 1, 3, 4 remain on

5s go by, then the whole cycle starts again and repeats, indefinitely, every 15s, until i hold the turn-on button for several seconds, then

- fan and power lite go off, and lites 1, 3, 4 remain on until capacitors run out

i would REALLY appreciate it if someone could help with this.

thanx, mike


 
Solution
usually a borked BIOS flash means a new board.
is the BIOS chip soldered to the motherboard? if so you may be able to swap just it. which usually means buying another motherboard to salvage the chip from (unlikely).

unless DELL has a BIOS recovery setup, I think the board is gone.
usually a borked BIOS flash means a new board.
is the BIOS chip soldered to the motherboard? if so you may be able to swap just it. which usually means buying another motherboard to salvage the chip from (unlikely).

unless DELL has a BIOS recovery setup, I think the board is gone.
 
Solution