boot up problem

I have a xps m1210 in front of me that wont start up. The indicator lights come on and the harddrive starts spinning. The problem is the screen is dead and the fan for the cpu is not spinning. The cd rom still works so i know its getting power. My buddy said that he was on google earth looking at stuff and he went to back out and the laptop just shut off. It has not worked since. Thanks for the help guys!

 

If it sounds like the computer is running just no LCD, try hooking up any external monitor via VGA and then booting up. If this works, then you can isolate the problem and work from there. If not or if there are other issues, those will come after this hurdle.

 

Yes, try with an external monitor, also if you dont have an external monitor you can run diagnostics, to run diagnostics you will have to completely turn off the computer, then hold down the Fn button, press the Power button, and then release the Fn button, that should bring up diagnostics, if you hear a beep code of 3-3-3 it means that something is displayed but you do not see that. If you hear this sound, you can try to reseat the LCD cable, also try to flash Bios, if neither of this work, you will have to replace the LCD, or if you dont want to spend too much money on this, you can purchase only the LCD inverter which is the one that controls the backlight on the LCD. If you do not hear anything on diagnostics you probably have a bad motherboard, if you need more steps troubleshooting the motherboard, reply back.

 

I have already tried that i forgot to put that in the other post. The fan for the cpu never has come on and does not sound like its working.

 

Sorry did not see that other post before i finished mine. I tried to plug in the monitor and it did not work. I tired the diagnostic and i did not get any beeps but i did notice that the num lock light was blinking.

 

So the HDD sounds ok, lights ok, CPU fan is out. By chance, can you hear any CPU whine? May be a long shot but it may help. If nothing is coming up on the LCD and the cpu fan is not turning on, I would be tempted to say it is in fact the motherboard. And based upon some past experiences, it got too hot in the past and gave out. I hope this is not the case but on the bright side, the HDD can be recovered. And possibly a motherboard replacement can be purchased and installed. Good luck.

Edit: This does not sound to be a RAM issue, but have you tried some different ram anyways? Never know

 

I just got it tonight but my buddy said he changed out the HDD and still nothing. I have had experience working on and building computers. I kinda in the known of whats going on but i have never worked on a laptop. I figured its just like a desktop just smaller. I had a feeling it might be the motherboard but the cd rom and HDD working kinda threw me off.

 

I am still uncertain about that and you are right in your thinking. I have found alot of my desktop knowledge has translated nearly exactly to working with laptops. It does seem weird that the CD drive and HDD spin up. Have you cracked it open and taken a visual yet?

 

I wanted to do as much as i could before i started taking it apart. The next plan was to start taking it apart. Thank you very much for the help!

 

Video card is dead. Same thing has been happening to M1210's recently. Dell refuses to take responsibility. See any of my other posts, because this is the only reason I write on these boards: to inform people of the crap quality of the M1210.

If we stir up enough noise, maybe dell will recognize that the M1210 has faulty gpu's.