Question Very confusing intermittent NO-POST error

[John Doe 38]

Hi there. I have an Inspiron 13 7370 i7-8550U ultrabook which is under two years old. My device has had the following problem for quite some time now, however it seems to be getting worse. The laptop does not boot and the dell splash-screen does not show up. I have not noticed any specific error codes, beeps or sounds when this occurs. I then use the power key to turn the laptop on and try to switch it on again. Eventually after either a few tries or hours of trying the system boots up and into Windows 10. Once the laptop is on it is fully functional and works like a champ. I can keep it on the entire day with no problems, however if i turn it off again the problem recurs. Although my battery seems to be reaching the end of its usable life (as per hardware check) and I keep it plugged in most of the time, it still boots up with the power disconnected at the same frequency.

I have repeatedly run a full hardware test which did not reveal any faults. I have also updated the firmware previously to no avail. This morning I called Dell and the technician had me try and start up my laptop while holding the Fn key, and also while spamming F12. This did not make a difference. He also had me hold CTRL ESC while inserting the charger. The technician informed me that it is probably the motherboard at fault.

I also opened up the laptop by myself and disconnected the CMOS battery, the main battery and tried all sorts of combinations of powering the laptop up. Nothing seems to work however the laptop still works after enough tries and I am typing this using the laptop right now.

A tech-guy where I live said he strongly suspects that my laptop charge is faulty and causing an electrical overload of the circuit, however I am not sure I agree with this view as the battery has significant charge and enough to last an hour and the laptop does not boot even with the power disconnected. However, I am also confused that, if the laptop is failing the POST which would indicate a hardware problem, why does it still boot up sometimes and why does it work flawlessly once its actually in Windows?

Sorry for the long message but I would highly appreciate any advise. This has frustrated me greatly.

Many thanks.

 

[AlHuneke]

I had a similar problem recently and it was just a bad power switch. Is there a light associated with power and do you see that coming on even though it doesn't boot?

 

[John Doe 38]

I had a similar problem recently and it was just a bad power switch. Is there a light associated with power and do you see that coming on even though it doesn't boot?

Thank you for the reply. Yes my laptop charging light comes on as normal. The keyboard lights and fans also turn on.

 

[AlHuneke]

OK--Then it is not just the power switch. I don't buy the idea of an "electrical overload". That makes no technical sense to me. I don't know how you shutdown your machine when done, but try putting it in sleep mode rather than turning it off completely. In that mode it doesn't need to reboot to power back up. Hibernation mode is a reboot, so avoid that. As long as it is plugged in, you can configure the power setting to stay in sleep mode forever. Running off batteries in sleep mode it will eventually drain the battery but will take quite a while. I have my machines set to stay in sleep for a few hours and then hibernate. I rarely do a full power off.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but it maybe can help you get by. If you are still under warranty, I would send it back. Expect it to come back with the drive wiped though!

 

[rgd1101]

does it play the windows login sound?
ssd or hdd?