Solved! I'm trying something new with hardware

Jan 21, 2019
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Hi, I'm always interested in learning more about how desktop and server hardware work. I want to pull POST codes from defective computers for the first time and I need a little help.

Little known fact: I figure if I have to use computers I might as well be the one that fixes them. That way my own computer always always works.
 
Solution
If you have systems that were taken apart and now don't work, especially by students, I would suspect broken CPU pins, RAM issues, damaged CPU, really could be anything. Error codes may tell you some general things, but you won't know if the CPU is bad or the socket for example if you get a CPU error code. And with nothing on the screen, there is really not much past physical issues that can cause that.

rgd1101

Don't
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what do you mean by pull post code from defective computers?
does it boot? read the manual?
 
Jan 21, 2019
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I'm an A+ instructor, yes i've read all the manuals.I have a group of Dells that don't show anything on the display on boot. They got that way from being disassembled/reassembled by students. The beep codes sound screwed up (I could not translate what I heard to what the manual says). So I figured it was time to get my first POST error capture card. My problem is that each POST card lists the different BIOS vendors it supports. The Dell manual and Dell BIOS don't list the vendor. I booted up a similar Dell into BIOS and the menus are generic without info on the BIOS software. None of the POST error cards specifically say that they support Dell. The computers are Optiplex 755s or similar.

Newegg lists one such card as "LCD PCI PC Diagnostic Analyzer Card Motherboard Post Tester"
That card supports:"AMI, Award & Phoenix"
I don't know if Dell uses any of those since it is not branded

Finally, I thought there is a possibility that I could use a standard PCI card then just intrerpret the codes using a table like the one available here that is Dell specific.

http://www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/dellbios.htm
 
Jan 21, 2019
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That's so funny
 
If you have systems that were taken apart and now don't work, especially by students, I would suspect broken CPU pins, RAM issues, damaged CPU, really could be anything. Error codes may tell you some general things, but you won't know if the CPU is bad or the socket for example if you get a CPU error code. And with nothing on the screen, there is really not much past physical issues that can cause that.
 
Solution