Dell optiplex gx270 series - need help!

dickwod1

Hi all,

My nieces Dell system Optiplex GX270 series BIOS version A04 wont turn on a error message reads ...

Alert! Previous attempts at booting this system have failed at checkpoint [PnPl] memory write/read failure at 5f790000, read 799767896, expecting 79967996 memory address line failure at 5f790000, read 79967996 expecting 86868686
keyboard failure

Anybody know what the story is with this?

Thanks
d

Alanstrainor

Very old machine there.

Unplug all USB devices and let it boot and see how you get on. It could be a whole host of things tbh. I'm surprised that machine even runs at all to be honest with you!

riclad

try this
http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&docid=DSN_A9E3A15597A04AFBB02EE16785D39C5C
or reboot,press delete ,or f2 key,
go to setup,
bios,
set FASTBOOT OFF.
or try reboot,press f8 ,for 11 seconds, wait for safe mode menu.

riclad

http://www.dell.com/support/Manuals/us/en/19/Product/optiplex-gx270
they sell those pcs in electronic recycling 30 euro,finglas.
NO hardrive installed,
do a diagnostic test on the memory.first.

riclad

Could be a faulty ram chip,
if pc cant be fixed,you could just put in the drive in identical dell,pc,gx270.and it would load up ,windows,programs as before.

dickwod1

Thanks all for your help, I'll pass the info on and see what happens.

riclad

You can run a custom test, from the diagnostic menu,try test memory, then test hardisk.Then run all the tests.
IF YOU cannot load windows xp,safe mode, vga mode,,its likely to be faulty ram,or motherboard problem,
or hardrive is not loading files for some reason.
Post back here if you need more detailed advice.

riclad

Theres probably 2 ram chips,in slot,1 and 2,
one chip could be faulty.
if you look at bios,loading, screen, it may show memory, eg 512,
or 1000meg ram.

HelpWithIT

riclad wrote: »

http://www.dell.com/support/Manuals/us/en/19/Product/optiplex-gx270
they sell those pcs in electronic recycling 30 euro,finglas.
NO hardrive installed,
do a diagnostic test on the memory.first.

Helpful???? How

riclad

If Memory looks faulty , take out ram chip from slot
2, then reboot,
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281284
touch pc case, side of power unit, water tap with your hand,
to get rid of static charge,
DO not touch lower ,edge ,gold part of ram chip, hold by
the top part.
pc will work on 1 ram chip ,if its slot 1.
motherboard has 4 slots,

in order,
1, 3, 2 ,4 .

ram should be in slot 1 and 2 .
do express test, then full test from menu

IT will work ok,on 1 ram chip.

Ciaran_84

Like the previous posts said, try using one stick of ram at a time as the error your getting is ram related.

We used to have about 500 of these machines in our job and the first thing we checked when we got a fault with a 270 was for bulging/leaking capacitors. This was a known issue with early GX270 motherboards(I think Dell gave extended warranties at the time because of this)

Run a google image search for "capacitor plaque", and you'll see what this looks like. On a 270 you might see this on the capacitors under the green plastic heatsink exhaust.

If any of the capacitors are blown or leaking, just have the machine recycled.

riclad

Swap in ram chip, from slot 2, into slot,1,
if tests show ram chip in slot 1 ,looks to be faulty ,or you get a test result at first,ram is faulty
Slot 1, MUST always have a ram chip in it,
otherwise pc could be DAMAGED.
slot,2,3,4 can be left empty ,if necessary.