I have a Dell XPS M1530 running Windows Vista. When I go to start it up, the laptop shows that it has power but the screen is blank and doesn't even reach the Dell bios loading screen. It also sounds like the disk-drive is trying to read a disc even though there isn't anything in it. In order for it to work properly, I have to take the battery out and put it back in a multiple amount of times, then a few hours later it's back to the same condition. I tried reformatting the hard-drive, flashing the bios, running a system diagnostic, and updating the video drivers. The computer will be normal for a certain amount of time, but seems like once it sits in the off position or hibernation setting, it returns back to not working. So, I contacted the Dell Support via online chat. The dell assistant told me to remove one of the memory modules, RAM stick, and monitor the laptop for two days. This doesn't seem to make any sense to me, I do not see how the RAM could effect the startup process in that manner. Do you guys have any ideas, the full specifications of the laptop are listed below... CPU: Core 2 Duo T9300 @ 2.5GHz Memory: 3GB, 667Mhz DDR2 Hard-Drive: 160GB @ 7200RPM - SATA GPU: Nvidia 8600M 256MB OS: Windows Vista Home Premium
It's possible that the RAM could be screwing something up, but it sounds like a motherboard problem based on the power off issues. Dells usually have some good built in diagnostics that can test each individual part, it looks like you've done that already but who knows. Does it run without the battery installed?
