DELL XPS 17 L702x - 8 Beeps at Startup with Black Screen

I've done some research but have yet to draw any conclusions.

The problem started one day when my computer went to sleep. I hit the power button to wake it and could hear the computer doing it's thing, but the monitor stayed black. I could see the backlight was emitting some light, but there was no image.

I turned it off and back on and the same issue. Could see the black light go on a few times but never had an image. I put the laptop away and planned to look at it when I wasn't so busy.

A couple days later I tried to boot up again. This time, nothing besides 8 loud beeps. Then a few second pause, then 8 loud beeps. This happened until I powered off. I could hear the fans turn on and a few things moving, but no backlight this time, and 8 beeps from the beginning with nothing else happening.

I plugged the HDMI cable into the back of the laptop and into the input of an external monitor. No change. I don't know if there's something else I need to do to force the laptop to output any display directly to the external monitor, but a simple plug and play was not sufficient in this case.

I've tried a few troubleshooting things that I've found online.

1. I've taken out the battery and disconnected the power cord and held down the power button for 30 seconds. Nothing but 8 beeps.

2. I removed both memory sticks and tried every combination of each stick into each slot. Nothing but 8 beeps.

3. I took apart the chassis of the laptop, removed the keyboard and then unplugged the monitor from the motherboard. I attempted to reseat the plug. Nothing but 8 beeps.

My next course of action is to take apart the LCD screen and check to see if the connection is secure in there. I also need to see if there is a way to force the laptop to use an external monitor directly from startup without the ability to use the computer beforehand to change settings.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated at this point. I'm running out of my own!

 

Apparently 8 beeps = a display failure but also heard it could be the gpu. Have you got warranty still?

 

No, unfortunately not. Warranty ran out in December.

I'm on my own for this one.

I looked up the codes and 8 beeps is "Display Failure"

What that actually entails, I don't know. The actual LCD is busted? Connection to LCD is busted? Card emitting signal to display is busted?

 

There arent any more display ports on the l702x are there? like vga etc as you could try one of them. Did you try more than one monitor via hdmi? You could try it with your laptop screen unplugged.

 

I have not tried with the laptop screen unplugged. I could try that. I just don't know how the computer would recognize to output video through HDMI without being told to do so.

And no, only HDMI. This model does not have a VGA output.

 

I find "display failure" to be a funny code error. Is it meant for people that are blind so they know that 8 beeps means their monitor isn't working because it's quite evident to me that my display is failing, haha.

 

I feel your pain, i did have a l702x but sold it a while back, is a awesome machine when working. Apart from trying it plugged into an external when your laptop screen is unplugged, not much more i can think of. You could try take the hard drive out to see if it will effect anything. Other than that you could try ring dell up and see if theres anything they can do, will be a cost though. You should be able to replace the screen or mobo with them but again depends on what you want to spend and how much they charge.

 

The biggest concern at this point is diagnosing the issue. I've read so many things from LCD issue to memory issue, to graphic card issue, etc.

After I figure out the problem, if I can solve it I will. If not, I'll determine whether or not the computer is worth sending in for repair since it's not under warranty.

 

And fwiw, I held down D while starting up once and I saw nothing.

 

If the LCD displays absolutely nothing when the power is on and D is held, what does this mean?

Is my LCD even being powered? What would it show to indicate that the LCD was broken? Since mine is showing nothing i'm imagining that the issue is within it even getting powered....

 

if its completely blank it must be a power issue, or then again it could be there is no data from a cable being sent to the screen or a mix of both. Im sorry i cant help you further but unless anyone else has any ideas, my last advice would be to ring dell.

 

Man this is disheartening reading as an L702X user, these machines are powerhouses but I've also had problems with my battery recently, seeing this makes me want to sell mine...

 

I disconnected the monitor from the motherboard and attempted to HDMI out the video signal, but still 8 beeps.

I will try to see what the connection is like within the LCD panel and then reconnect everything.

 

Well, it's fixed!

I guess through regular use, somehow the cable disconnected from the back of the LCD screen. I just can't believe how crappy of a connection it is. It is the thinnest ribbon and there is no snap connection. It's literally pushed directly into it with nothing keeping it secure besides a lame piece of tape.

It's all put back together and working.

The only issue I'm now having is my computer is saying that my AC Power adapter isn't compatible with my battery. Seems to be working anyway, but I get two beeps and an error message each time I boot up. Any ideas why?

 

Glad to see its working! If you look in your manual it should tell you what two beeps mean. Try plugging it in without the battery in regarding the power issue.