Hi everyone, I've been lurking around for awhile, enjoy the community, just really don't have much to offer as far as knowledge goes so I keep to myself and try and learn. Anyway, I've got a Dell Inspiron 17-5755 that's screen went out and doesn't seem to do anything really. It started acting up when a graphics driver was trying to update and it kept saying something to the effect that no driver found or made or something like that. I've been through all the Bios threads and I know the sexy thing is to say it's the bios or something, but I'm just not sure about that (of course it's very possible that its now the bios) . That's my attempt at humor, I'm pretty witty. But, for some reason I'm thinking it's a hardware issue, but I just don't know or really know how to test for it. Taking in for repair isn't an option since I'm currently trying to get back on my feet after a long vacation from work (unemployed). And of course it happened about a month after warranty expired, so, I'm hoping one of you guys or gals might be able or willing to hold my hand so to speak and walk me through some steps or scenarios.... Also, if you get it dark in the room and put a flashlight on it you can see a faint flash and it goes from greenish to black color. Very minuscule though almost impossible to see. BTW I'll take any suggestions, if it's the bios or whatever, I'm game to try and get this resolved. Sorry everyone, for the lack of information, I'm in a bit of a rush to get out the door, but wanted to post while it was fresh on my mind and will add more information in a bit or as needed..... Any ideas, suggestions, or tell me i'm an idiot, I'm all ears, cause this is frustrating me to no end. Thanks in advance, Hope to contribute one day. Chris General Information Service Tag 4H4DLC2 Express Service Code 9742406978 Computer Model Inspiron 5755 BIOS Vendor Dell Inc. BIOS Version A12 BIOS Date 8/30/2016 OS Version Microsoft Windows 10 Home Processor Manufacturer AMD A8-7410 APU with AMD Radeon R5 Graphics Clock Speed 2.2Ghz L2 Cache Size 2048 Memory Available Memory 40.29 % Page File Size 8,900.0MB Available Page File 98.90 % Virtual Memory 8,900.0MB Available Virtual Memory 32.27 % DIMM A 4,096.0MB DIMM B 4,096.0MB Network controller Adaptor Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller Adaptor Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI) Adaptor Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) Storage Drive C: Type 3 Drive Size 483.2GB Total Available Space 453.9GB Used Space 29.3GB Drive D: Type 5 Drive Size Total Available Space Used Space Drive E: Type 2 Drive Size Total Available Space Used Space Hardware Type Description DVD/CD-ROM Drives PLDS DVD+-RW DU-8A5LH Disk Drives TOSHIBA MQ01ABD100 SanDisk Cruzer Glide USB Device Display Adapters AMD Radeon R5 IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers Standard SATA AHCI Controller Keyboards,Mice & Pointing Devices HID-compliant mouse HID-compliant mouse Monitors Generic PnP Monitor Sound Devices Realtek High Definition Audio AMD High Definition Audio Device USB Controllers Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller AMD USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.0 (Microsoft)
First step does it display the bios when it first boots, before the other stuff starts if it does not Next step is to separate the graphics function from the display Do this by plugging in a monitor and switch to it using the function keys usually Fn F8 Do that, and then we'll talk aout where we go next ...T
@TheOldScout @tonto11 Hey guys sorry for being late checking in. Thanks for the replies. No to answer the first questions. Nothing at all not a bios screen or anything. Just what I thought was originally a blank, black screen till I barely noticed the flicker at startup and put the flashlight on it. @tonto11 no love with the extra monitor either. Stupid question guys but if that things plugged up for awhile even without coming on, shouldn't the battery get hot or warm at least? Power supply maybe? Replaced chord but guess it's possible the new ones no good?.?...
Good information Tonto, I had actually read a little about post and And no post a little while back. This things pretty basic, the only light is a solid white light that comes on for 2 -3 seconds then fades out on the front corner with the battery or charge icon next to it. While I've been messing with it the last couple of weeks I've seen it a solid amber color for awhile. I searched what the colors mean around the net awhile back but never really found an answer. From memory since Im not at the house just yet I thought the solid white stood for no post. Again I'll leave that for men and women smarter than me to say. Sounds like we're looking at a how and a prayer. Wonder how they time that for the warranty to expire right after.
Oh wow, I'm about 20?Minutes from the house but had to pull over to reply really quick. Don't tell me I looked everywhere but right in front of my face.
Ok, so I've read through the links, @tonto11 there's no sound now so, no beeps to follow. and looks more an more like the motherboard but one thing I thought about a little bit ago. There's a post somewhere in one of the bios threads where a poster said he thought his was bricked but a friend looked at it and found some bent pins in the cable ribbon ends. So I looked at mine and looks like a couple of them are bent pretty badly. Straighted them out the best I can, but still nothing. @LatinMcG you say you just fixed one very similar? You think there's any hope here or no? Is it unusual for the pins in those ribbons to be bent or is it expected to a degree? Is that something that would cause these symptoms in any of your experiences?
@tonto11 much appreciated follow ups. I'm going to get on this right now. In the meantime to answer quick questions first. - No, to my knowledge I never messed with the bios or they haven't been messed with by someone else. Just updates and things as requested by Dell or Microsoft through auto updates. - The overheating is questionable. IMO, yes, it got hot on more than one occassion, I'd shut it down and restart, but is that really hot? or is really hot where it crashes on its own? Problem is, that I never really ran tests or benchmarks or anything to see what the system was doing or performing. I really appreciate all the help, and that goes to everyone in the thread as well. Will report back in a bit Chris
I agree but he's got to do the tests to prove it, AMD processors IMHO do not like heat and in a graphics intensive gaming computer there's lots of heat The HP I fixed had a plug in cpu so I could change it , if the gpu had come unstuck I would have had a problem reflowing the solder on a cpu or gpu is not something for the faint of heart. ...T
To me it sounds like a bad inverter. Especially when he said if he puts a flashlight up to the screen he sees something. Unfortunately I don't know how to test for a bad inverter. You don't have a friend or a relative that you could borrow a monitor for a few hours? That would tell you if the motherboard is bad or maybe if you have a bad inverter.
you can test the inverter by getting an old working screen, pull out the LED/florescent tubes from the old (working) screen and plug those into the inverter on the laptop. If they light up, the inverter is good. Look for a burnt out LED/florescent lamp Edit: the voltages on the inverter are very high, so do not touch if it is powered on
He already said in post 4 that an external monitor didn't work so I guess we'll wait for him to do his thing ...T
Ok, Finally got back home from being called out. Quick update, did as tonto11 suggested. And finally, some noise. 2 loud beeps. So next step is to put memory in one at a time, and see what happens. Then we'll turn either left or right....... Chris