Indicators, Messages, and Codes

No electrical power is supplied to the system.

Connect the system to an electrical outlet. Ensure that the front-panel power indicator is on. If the power indicator is off, ensure that the system is connected to a working electrical outlet and then press the power button.

If the problem is still not resolved, see "Getting Help."

The system is in a normal off condition; the system is connected to an electrical outlet.

Press the power button to turn the system on.

If the system does not turn on, ensure that the front-panel power indicator is on. If the power indicator is off, ensure that the system is connected to a working electrical outlet and then press the power button.

If the problem is still not resolved, see "Getting Help."

The system is in a reduced power or "sleep" state.

Use one of the following methods to "wake up" the system:

• Press the power button
• Auto power on
• Move or click the mouse
• Type on the keyboard
• USB device activity
• Power management event

If the problem is not resolved and you are trying to wake the system with a USB mouse or keyboard, substitute the mouse or keyboard with a working PS/2 mouse or keyboard and then try to wake the system.

The BIOS is not executing.

Ensure that the processor is seated correctly and restart the system. See "Processor" in "Installing System Components."

If the problem is still not resolved, see "Getting Help."

A possible power supply or power cable failure has occurred.

See "Getting Help."

A possible system board failure has occurred.

See "Getting Help."

A processor and/or VRM mismatch exists.

See "Troubleshooting the Processors" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

A possible VRM 0 failure has occurred.

See "Getting Help."

A possible VRM 1 failure has occurred.

See "Troubleshooting the Processors" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

A possible VRM 0 and VRM 1 failure has occurred.

See "Getting Help."

A possible processor failure has occurred.

Reinstall the processor, see "Processor" in "Installing System Components" and restart the system.

Memory modules are detected, but a memory failure has occurred.

Remove and reinstall all memory modules. See "System Memory" in "Installing System Components." Ensure that the memory modules are proper installed. See "Memory Module Installation Guidelines." Ensure that all the connector tabs are locked.

Restart the system.

A possible expansion-card failure has occurred.

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

A possible video card failure has occurred.

Reinstall the video card. See "Expansion Cards" in "Installing System Components" and restart the system.

If the problem still exists, install a video card that you know works and restart the system.

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

A possible diskette or hard-drive failure has occurred.

Check all the power and data cable connections. See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" or the appropriate hard-drive troubleshooting procedure ("Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" or "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive") in "Troubleshooting Your System."

A possible USB failure has occurred.

Check cable connections, reinstall all USB devices, and restart the system.

No memory modules are detected.

Remove and reinstall all memory modules. See "System Memory" in "Installing System Components." Ensure that the memory modules are proper installed. See "Memory Module Installation Guidelines." Ensure that all the connector tabs are locked.

Restart the system.

A system board failure has occurred.

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

Memory modules are detected, but a memory configuration or compatibility error exists.

Ensure that memory modules are properly installed. See "Memory Module Installation Guidelines" in "Installing System Components."

Reinstall the memory modules and restart the system.

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

A possible system board resource and/or hardware failure has occurred.

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

If the problem persists, see "Troubleshooting the System Battery."

If the problem persists, see "Troubleshooting System Memory."

If the problem persists, see "IRQ Assignment Conflicts" in "Finding Software Solutions."

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

A possible expansion card failure has occurred.

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

If the problem persists, see "IRQ Assignment Conflicts" in "Finding Software Solutions."

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

Other failure has occurred.

Ensure that the cables are properly connected from the diskette drive, hard drive, CD drive, and DVD drive to the system board.

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

The system is in a normal operating condition after POST.

None.

Activity

Off

When off at the same time that the link indicator is off, the NIC is not connected to the network or the NIC is disabled in the System Setup screen. See "Using the System Setup Program" in the User's Guide.

Blinking

Indicates that network data is being sent or received.

Link

Off

When off at the same time that the activity indicator is off, the NIC is not connected to the network or the NIC is disabled in the System Setup screen. See "Using the System Setup Program" in the User's Guide.

Yellow

1000-Mbps connection

Orange

100-Mbps connection

Green

10-Mbps connection

A filename cannot contain any of the following characters:
\ / : * ? " < > |

Do not use these characters in filenames.

A required .DLL file was not found

The program that you are trying to open is missing an essential file.

Remove and then reinstall the program.

See the program documentation for installation instructions.

Alert! Card-cage fan failure.

The expansion card fan is faulty or the fan assembly is not installed correctly.

Ensure that the fan assembly is properly installed. See "Expansion Card Fan" in "Installing System Components."

Alert! Chipset heat sink not detected.

The chip set heat sink is not properly installed or is missing.

Ensure that the chip set heat sink is properly installed. See Figure A-3. If the heat sink is missing, see "Getting Help."

Alert! Cover was previously removed.

The system was opened.

Information only. To reset the chassis intrusion switch, see "Using the System Setup Program" in your User's Guide.

Alert! CPU 0 fan failure.

Alert! CPU 1 fan failure.

Specified fan is faulty or the fan assembly is not installed correctly.

Ensure that the processor cooling shroud is properly installed. See "Troubleshooting Fans" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Alert! Error initializing PCI Express slot n (or bridge).

The system encountered a problem while trying to configure a PCI Express expansion card

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Alert! OS Install Mode enabled. Amount of available memory limited to 256MB

The OS Install Mode option in the System Setup program is set to On. This limits the amount of available memory to 256 MB because some operating systems will not complete installation with more than 2 GB of system memory.

After the operating system is installed, enter the System Setup program and set the OS Install Mode option to Off. See your User's Guide for details.

Alert! Power supply fan failure

Faulty power supply.

Replace the power supply. See "Getting Help."

Alert! Previous fan failure.

The fan caused errors the last time the system was used.

Ensure that nothing is blocking the airflow vents and that all fans are properly installed and operating correctly.

Alert! Processor Cache size mismatch. Install like processors or one processor. System Halted!

Alert! Processor type mismatch. Install like processors or one processor. System halted!

Alert! Processor speed mismatch. Install like processors or one processor. System halted!

Alert! Unsupported processor type detected. System halted!

The installed processors are not identical.

Ensure that the processors are identical. See "Processor" in "Installing System Components."

Alert! Previous attempts at booting this system have failed at checkpoint [nnnn]. For help in resolving this problem, please note this checkpoint and contact Dell Technical Support

The system failed to complete the boot routine three consecutive times for the same error.

See "Getting Help."

Alert! Previous Processor Thermal Failure

The processor overheated the last time the system was used.

Ensure that nothing is blocking the airflow vents and that all fans are properly installed and operating correctly. Also, ensure that the processor heat sink is properly installed. See "Processor" in "Installing System Components."

Alert! Previous Shutdown Due to Thermal Event

The processor or hard drive overheated the last time the system was used.

Ensure that nothing is blocking the airflow vents and that all fans are working correctly. Also, ensure that the processor heat sink is properly installed. See "Processor" in "Installing System Components."

Alert! Previous Voltage Failure

Voltage used by the system either exceeded or fell below acceptable thresholds.

See "Troubleshooting the System Battery" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

Alert! System Battery Voltage is Low

The system battery is providing inadequate voltage.

See "Troubleshooting the System Battery" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Alert! Uncorrectable Memory Error Previously Detected

One or more memory modules might be improperly seated or faulty, or the system board may be faulty.

See "Troubleshooting System Memory" and "Troubleshooting Your System."

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

Attachment failed to respond

The diskette or hard-drive controller cannot send data to the associated drive.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" or "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Bad command or file name

Ensure that you have spelled the command correctly, have put spaces in the proper place, and have used the correct pathname.

Bad error-correction code (ECC) on disk read

The diskette or hard-drive controller detected an uncorrectable read error.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" or "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

bb/dd/f: Error allocating IRQ for PCI Device

bb/dd/f: Error allocating I/O Bar for PCI Device

bb/dd/f: Error allocating Mem BAR for PCI Device

bb/dd/f: Error allocating PMem BAR for PCI Device

bb/dd/f: Error allocating UMB for PCI Device

where bb is the bus number, dd is the device number, and f is the function number.

NOTE: bb, dd, and f are hexadecimal numbers.

The system encountered a problem while trying to configure an expansion card or integrated LegacySelect device.

If the device number points to an expansion card, the card can be removed. See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

If the device number points to a LegacySelect device, disable the device. See "Using the System Setup Program" in your User's Guide for details.

Controller has failed

The hard drive or the associated controller is defective.

See "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Data error

The diskette drive or hard drive cannot read the data.

For the operating system, run the appropriate utility to check the file structure of the diskette drive or hard drive.

See your operating system documentation for information on running these utilities.

Decreasing available memory

One or more memory modules might be faulty or improperly seated.

Reinstall the memory modules and, if necessary, replace them. See "System Memory" in "Installing System Components."

See "Troubleshooting System Memory" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Diskette drive 0 seek failure

A cable might be loose or the system configuration information might not match the hardware configuration.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Diskette read failure

The diskette might be defective, or a cable might be loose.

If the diskette-drive indicator turns on, try a different disk.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Diskette subsystem reset failed

The diskette drive controller might be faulty.

Run the system diagnostics. See "Running System Diagnostics."

Diskette write protected

The diskette is write-protected.

Slide the write-protect notch to the open position.

Drive not ready

No diskette is in the drive.

Put a diskette in the drive.

Error: Memory configured incorrectly

The memory modules are not installed in identical pairs, dual-ranked modules installed after single-ranked modules, dual-ranked modules installed in DIMM_5 and DIMM_6.

Ensure that the memory modules are properly installed. See "Memory Module Installation Guidelines" in "Installing System Components."

Gate A20 failure

Faulty keyboard controller (faulty system board).

See "Getting Help."

General failure

The operating system is unable to carry out the command.

This message is usually followed by specific information. Take the appropriate action to resolve the problem.

Hard-disk configuration error
Hard-disk controller failure
Hard-disk drive failure

The hard drive failed initialization.

Run the system diagnostics. See "Running System Diagnostics."

See "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Insert bootable media

The operating system is trying to boot from a nonbootable diskette or CD.

Insert a bootable diskette or CD.

Invalid configuration information - please run SETUP program

The system configuration information does not match the hardware configuration.

Enter the System Setup program and correct the system configuration information. See your User's Guide for details.

Keyboard Controller Failure

KeyBoard Stuck Key Failure

Keyboard failure

A cable or connector might be loose, or the keyboard or keyboard/mouse controller might be faulty.

See "Troubleshooting the Keyboard" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Memory address line failure at address, read value expecting value

A memory module might be faulty or improperly seated.

Reinstall the memory modules and, if necessary, replace them. See "Troubleshooting System Memory" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Memory allocation error

The software you are attempting to run is conflicting with the operating system, another program, or a utility.

Turn off the system, wait 30 seconds, restart the system, and then try to run the program again.

If the error message appears again, see the software documentation for additional troubleshooting suggestions.

Memory data line failure at address, read value expecting value

Memory double word logic failure at address, read value expecting value

Memory odd/even logic failure at address, read value expecting value

Memory write/read failure at address, read value expecting value

A memory module might be faulty or improperly seated.

Reinstall the memory modules and, if necessary, replace them. See "Troubleshooting System Memory" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Memory size in CMOS invalid

The amount of memory recorded in the system configuration information does not match the memory installed in the system.

Restart the system. If the error message appears again, see "Troubleshooting System Memory" in "Troubleshooting Your System." If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

No boot device available

The system cannot find the diskette or hard drive.

If the diskette drive is your boot device, ensure that a bootable disk is in the drive.

If the hard drive is your boot device, ensure that the hard drive is installed, properly seated, and partitioned as a boot device.

User's Guide for details.

No boot sector on hard-disk drive

The system configuration information in the System Setup program might be incorrect.

Enter the System Setup program and verify the system configuration information for the hard drive. See your User's Guide for details.

If the message continues to appear after verifying the information in the System Setup program, the operating system might have been corrupted. Reinstall the operating system. See your operating system documentation for reinstallation information.

No timer tick interrupt

A chip on the system board might be malfunctioning.

Run the system diagnostics. See "Running System Diagnostics."

Non-system disk or disk error

The diskette in the diskette drive or your hard drive does not have a bootable operating system installed on it.

Replace the diskette with one that has a bootable operating system or remove the diskette, and then restart the system.

If the problem persists, see the appropriate hard drive troubleshooting procedure: "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

Not a boot diskette

The operating system is trying to boot from a diskette that does not have a bootable operating system installed on it.

Insert a diskette that has a bootable operating system.

Not enough memory or resources. Close some programs and try again

You have too many programs open.

Close all windows and open the program that you want to use. In some cases, you might have to restart your system to restore system resources. If so, try opening the program that you want to use first

Operating system not found

See "Getting Help."

Read fault

The operating system cannot read from the diskette or hard drive, the system could not find a particular sector on the disk, or the requested sector is defective.

See "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Requested sector not found

The operating system cannot read from the diskette or hard drive, the system could not find a particular sector on the disk, or the requested sector is defective.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" or "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Reset failed

The disk reset operation failed.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" or "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Sector not found

Seek error

A faulty diskette drive or hard drive.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" or "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Shutdown failure

A chip on the system board might be malfunctioning.

Run the system diagnostics. See "Running System Diagnostics."

The file being copied is too large for the destination drive

The file that you are trying to copy is too large to fit on the disk.

Try copying the file to a blank diskette or using a larger capacity disk.

Time-of-day clock stopped

The battery might be dead.

See "Troubleshooting the System Battery" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Time-of-day not set

The time or date stored in the System Setup program does not match the system clock.

Enter the System Setup program and correct the Date and Time options. See your User's Guide for details. If the problem persists, see "Troubleshooting the System Battery" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Timer chip counter 2 failed

A chip on the system board might be malfunctioning.

Run the system diagnostics. See "Running System Diagnostics."

NOTICE: The [primary/secondary/primary serial] IDE [master/slave] hard drive SELF MONITORING SYSTEM has reported that a parameter has exceeded its normal operating range. Dell recommends that you back up your data regularly. A parameter out of range may or may not indicate a potential hard drive problem.

During initial start-up, the drive detected possible error conditions.

When your system finishes booting, immediately back up your data and replace your hard drive. See "Hard Drives" in "Installing drives."

If no replacement hard drive is immediately available and the drive is not the only bootable drive, enter the System Setup program and change the appropriate drive setting to Off. See your User's Guide for details. Then remove the hard drive from the system.

Write fault

The operating system cannot write to the diskette drive or hard drive.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" or "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Write fault on selected drive

The operating system cannot write to the diskette drive or hard drive.

See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" or "Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive" and "Troubleshooting a SCSI Hard Drive" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

x:\ is not accessible. The device is not ready

The diskette drive cannot read the diskette.

Insert a diskette into the drive and try again.

1-1-2

CPU register test failure

See "Troubleshooting the Processors" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

1-1-3

CMOS write/read failure; faulty system board

Faulty system board. See "Getting Help."

1-1-4

BIOS checksum failure

1-2-1

Programmable interval-timer failure; faulty system board

1-2-2

DMA initialization failure

See "Troubleshooting System Memory" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

1-2-3

DMA page register write/read failure

1-3-1

Main-memory refresh verification failure

1-3-2

No memory installed

1-3-3

Chip or data line failure in the first 64 KB of main memory

1-3-4

Odd/even logic failure in the first 64 KB of main memory

1-4-1

Address line failure in the first 64 KB of main memory

1-4-2

Parity failure in the first 64 KB of main memory

1-4-3

Fail-safe timer test failure

1-4-4

Software NMI port test failure

2-1-1 through
2-4-4

Bit failure in the first 64 KB of main memory

3-1-1

Slave DMA-register failure

Faulty system board. See "Getting Help."

3-1-2

Master DMA-register failure

3-1-3

Master interrupt-mask register failure

3-1-4

Slave interrupt-mask register failure

3-2-2

Interrupt vector loading failure

3-2-4

Keyboard-controller test failure

3-3-1

CMOS failure

3-3-2

System configuration check failure

3-3-3

Keyboard controller not detected

3-3-4

Video memory test failure

3-4-1

Screen initialization failure

3-4-2

Screen-retrace test failure

3-4-3

Video ROM search failure

4-2-1

No timer tick

4-2-2

Shutdown test failure

4-2-3

Gate A20 failure

4-2-4

Unexpected interrupt in protected mode

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

4-3-1

Improperly installed or faulty memory modules

See "Troubleshooting System Memory" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

4-3-2

No memory modules installed in the first memory module connector

Install a memory module in the first memory module connector. See "Installing a Memory Module" and "Memory Module Installation Guidelines" in "Installing System Components."

4-3-3

Faulty system board

Faulty system board. See "Getting Help."

4-3-4

Time-of-day clock stopped

See "Troubleshooting the System Battery" in "Troubleshooting Your System." If the problem persists, see "Getting Help."

4-4-1

Super I/O chip failure; faulty system board

Faulty system board. See "Getting Help."

4-4-4

Cache test failure; faulty processor

See "Troubleshooting the Processors" in "Troubleshooting Your System."