Hello all, My Dell T3400 workstation won't start up all of a sudden and I have no idea what happened. The green lights on the front are still operating as if there is nothing wrong with the computer & the fan is still running, but none of my monitors are coming on. I've had this computer for 6-7 years, so it is a bit old at this point, but it was working just fine for me. I wasn't making any changes to the system, so I'm not sure what happened. Any troubleshooting ideas? Buying a new computer is tempting given the age of my current one, but I don't really want to do that unless I absolutely have to. Thank you in advance,
I was told by an IT guy that if it was the power supply the lights on the front of the computer would be orange and not green. Mine are still green. Can anyone confirm that?
In addition older computers made, a ticking sound as it counted ram. The following link will provide you bios diagnostic codes. http://www.studynotes.net/Bios-Beep-Codes
Either the PSU, the video-card, your main monitor or the CPU have failed. Test using a different monitor as primary (and/or, test your primary monitor on another computer).
Not likely PSU, as you are getting lights and fans. I would go with video card. Can swap out video card to test it. Swap monitors as well (as was mentioned) -- if both monitors fail, more confirmation it is video card.
It's not clear from the OP whether the system will boot. I had a failure to boot at least twice: 1) dead power supply, and 2) dead motherboard & hard drive. Can you get the CMOS setup to appear? Will it boot from CD? One option you might consider is buying a used T3400 on ebay. There are currently several in the $115-130 range with shipping. If you move your hard drive over, it should look and feel like your current system. You could move other parts (video, memory) depending on how handy you are. But this level of maintenance isn't hard, and shops around here charge $75+ for service.
I had a similar problem recently after moving residences. Fan would come on high but no boot. Found a site that recommended removing and reinstalling the DIMM. Worked instantly! Hopefully you have an easy fix too!
Since nobody said it yet. Clean/vacuum the case and re-seat the video cards and memory. Carefully use an eraser to clean tarnished/corroded contacts. Google/Dell website obtain manual to identify the LED Light and beep codes. Swap out components one at a time to isolate any failed hardware. Getting a replacement and using this as a backup wouldn't be a bad idea either.