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A Reference Guide to Vostro Desktop Diagnostic Indicators

Summary: This article is a reference guide to the diagnostic LED indicators on Vostro Desktop and AIO (All in One) systems.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.

Instructions

Dell Vostro desktops have a long history of built-in diagnostic indicators. These can be audible beeps, power buttons that display different states and colors, specific diagnostics LEDs or a combination of them all. Indicating at which point during the Power On Self-Test (POST) a system is having issues.

The following article is a reference guide to the codes available on each model and what those codes mean. They change through the various models and years. These indicators are merely a starting point to narrow down any troubleshooting you carry out to identify the cause of your current issue. You can use this as a starting point to narrow down the proper troubleshooting guide you need. Alternatively, you can contact technical support for further help and they are looking for these indicators as well.


Table of Contents:

  1. Diagnostic LEDs for the Vostro Desktop series (2020 to Present)
  2. Diagnostic LEDs for the Vostro Desktop series (2014 to 2019)
  3. Diagnostic LEDs for the Vostro Desktop series (2011 to 2014)
  4. Diagnostic LEDs for the Vostro Desktop Series (2007 to 2011)
  5. Vostro Desktop Audible Beep Codes
  6. Glossary of Acronyms
  7. Diagnostic Indicator Guides

Note: For all the tables below, please remember that the diagnostic LEDs only serve as an indicator of the progress through the POST process. These LEDs do not indicate the problem that caused the POST routine to stop.
Note: Does your system complete POST without stopping on a particular error code and then shows a black screen? The most likely reason is that you are experiencing a No Boot issue and not a No POST issue at all.

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Diagnostic LEDs for the Vostro Desktop series (2020 to Present)

The tower systems that are currently being sold and supported has swapped over to an Amber blink code. This is common with Dell's notebook systems. The PLED is generally white.

SLN304426_en_US__27Vostro2020_prod_shot_BK01

Note: Click the title of the section you want to open below, in order to see the contents.
Power Button LED Status Power State Description
SLN304426_en_US__5Vostro_off_PLED_BK01 Off S4 or S5 Power is Off. LED is blank.
SLN304426_en_US__6Vostro_blink_amber_PLED_BK01 Blinking Amber - Initial State of LED at power up. Refer to the table below for Blinking Amber pattern diagnostic suggestions and possible failures.
SLN304426_en_US__7Vostro_amber_PLED_BK01 Solid Amber - The second state of the LED at power up indicates that the POWER_GOOD signal is active and it is likely that the power supply is fine.
SLN304426_en_US__25Vostro_blink_white_PLED_BK01 Blinking White S1 or S3 System is in a low power state, either S1 or S3. This does not indicate a fault condition.
SLN304426_en_US__13Vostro_white_PLED_BK01 Solid White S0 System is in S0 state. This is the normal power states of a functioning machine. The BIOS turns the LED to this state to indicate it has started fetching op-codes.
Note: You can customize the power-button behavior in Power Options. For more information, see Me and My Dell at www.dell.com/support/manuals.

Inspiron 5880, etc.

Note: The blinking patterns consists of 2 sets of numbers. They split into First Group(Amber Blinks), Second Group(Amber Blinks).
  • First Group: The Battery LED blinks in Amber up to 9 times then pauses for 1.5 seconds before running the second group.
  • Second Group: The Battery LED blinks in Amber up to 9 times then pauses for 3 seconds before running the first group again.

Example: No Memory detected (2,3), The Battery LED blinks two times amber followed by a pause, then blinks three times Amber, pause, etc. This pattern continues until the system is powered off.
LED Behavior Problem Description Next Steps
Amber Blink Code
1 2 Unrecoverable SPI Flash Failure
  • Contact Tech Support for further help
2 1 CPU Failure
  • Run the Intel CPU diagnostics tools
  • If problem persists contact Tech Support for further help
2 2 System Board: BIOS, ROM Failure
  • Flash BIOS to latest revision
  • If problem persists contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
2 3 No Memory or RAM detected
  • Confirm Memory installed
  • Troubleshoot memory further
2 4 Memory or RAM failure
  • Reseat the Memory
  • Troubleshoot the memory further
2 5 Invalid Memory Installed
  • Reseat the Memory
  • Troubleshoot the memory further
2 6 System board, Chipset Error
  • Flash BIOS to latest revision
  • Contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
3 1 CMOS battery failure
  • Troubleshoot the CMOS battery
  • If problem persists contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
3 2 PCI or Video card or chip failure
  • Contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
3 3 BIOS Recovery 1
  • Recovery Image not found
  • Contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
3 4 BIOS Recovery 2
  • Recovery image found but invalid
  • Contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
3 5 Power Rail Failure
  • Contact Tech Support for further help
3 6 Paid SPI Volume Error
  • Flash BIOS to latest revision
  • If problem persists contact Tech Support for further help
3 7 ME error
  • Contact Tech Support for further help
4 2 CPU Power cable connection issue
  • Reseat the Power cable
  • Troubleshoot the PSU BIST
  • If the problem persists contact Tech Support for further help

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Diagnostic LEDs for the Vostro Desktop series (2014 to 2019)

With the latest series, the diagnostics indicator Beeps have been removed from Tower systems but remains in All In One (AIO) systems. Instead, the Power Button state now gives a blink and color shift pattern to indicate where it had a problem.

SLN304426_en_US__20Vostro2014_prod_shot_BK01

Note: Click the title of the section you want to open below, to see the contents.
Power Button LED Status Power State Description
SLN304426_en_US__5Vostro_off_PLED_BK01 Off S4 or S5 Power is Off. LED is blank.
SLN304426_en_US__6Vostro_blink_amber_PLED_BK01 Blinking Amber - The Initial State of LED at power-up. Refer to the table below for Blinking Amber pattern diagnostic suggestions and possible failures.
SLN304426_en_US__7Vostro_amber_PLED_BK01 Solid Amber - The second state of the LED at power-up indicates that the POWER_GOOD signal is active and it is likely that the power supply is fine.
SLN304426_en_US__25Vostro_blink_white_PLED_BK01 Blinking White S1 or S3 The system is in a low power state, either S1 or S3. This does not indicate a fault condition.
SLN304426_en_US__13Vostro_white_PLED_BK01 Solid White S0 The system is in S0 state. This is the normal power states of a functioning machine. The BIOS turns the LED to this state to indicate it has started fetching op-codes.
Power LED Problem Description Suggested Resolution
1 Motherboard: BIOS ROM Failure Contact Technical Support
2 Memory Troubleshoot the Memory and Memory Slots
3 Motherboard: Chipset Contact Technical Support
4 Memory Troubleshoot the Memory and Memory Slots
5 RTC Power Failure Replace the CMOS Battery and Contact Technical Support if the issue persists
6 Video BIOS failure Contact Technical Support
7 CPU Contact Technical Support

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Diagnostic LEDs for the Vostro Desktop series (2011 to 2014)

This series used power button LED states. The power button is located on the front of the chassis. You could identify these models by their flat black front face and side panels or lids.

SLN304426_en_US__14Vostro2011_prod_shot_BK01

Note: Click the title of the section you want to open below, to see the contents.

Vostro 260s to 270s, 460s to 470s and 20 (3010)

LED Status System State Suggested Next Step
Off SLN304426_en_US__5Vostro_off_PLED_BK01 The computer is either turned off or is not receiving power Troubleshoot a No Power issue
Blinking Amber SLN304426_en_US__6Vostro_blink_amber_PLED_BK01 The computer is receiving power, a device might be faulty or incorrectly installed Troubleshoot a No POST issue
Solid Amber SLN304426_en_US__7Vostro_amber_PLED_BK01 The computer is in standby Press a key on the keyboard, move the mouse, or press the power button to resume normal operation. If the problem persists, listen for a beep code
Solid White SLN304426_en_US__13Vostro_white_PLED_BK01 The computer is on and working ok If the computer is not responding, troubleshoot a No Boot/No Video issue

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Diagnostic LEDs for the Vostro Desktop series (2007 to 2011)

This series used power button LED state and colors. The power button is located on the front of the chassis. You could identify these models by their flat black front face and side panels or lids.

SLN304426_en_US__3Vostro2007_prod_shot_BK01

Note: Click the title of the section you want to open below, to see the contents.

Vostro 200s to 230s, 400s to 430s

LED Status System State Suggested Next Step
Off SLN304426_en_US__5Vostro_off_PLED_BK01 The computer is either turned off or is not receiving power Troubleshoot a No Power issue
Blinking Amber SLN304426_en_US__6Vostro_blink_amber_PLED_BK01 The computer is receiving power, a device might be faulty or incorrectly installed Troubleshoot a No POST issue
Solid Amber SLN304426_en_US__7Vostro_amber_PLED_BK01 The computer is in a fault condition including the power supply Troubleshoot a No POST issue
Blinking Blue SLN304426_en_US__8Vostro_blink_blue_PLED_BK01 The computer is in Standby Press a key on the keyboard, move the mouse, or press the power button to resume normal operation. If the problem persists, listen for a beep code
Solid Blue SLN304426_en_US__9Vostro_blue_PLED_BK01 The computer is on and working ok If the computer is not responding, troubleshoot a No Boot/No Video issue

Vostro 320s to 360s

LED Status System State Suggested Next Step
Off SLN304426_en_US__5Vostro_off_PLED_BK01 The computer is either turned off or is not receiving power Troubleshoot a No Power issue
Blinking Amber SLN304426_en_US__6Vostro_blink_amber_PLED_BK01 The computer is receiving power, a device might be faulty or incorrectly installed Troubleshoot a No POST issue
Solid Amber SLN304426_en_US__7Vostro_amber_PLED_BK01 The computer is in standby Press a key on the keyboard, move the mouse, or press the power button to resume normal operation. If the problem persists, listen for a beep code
Solid White SLN304426_en_US__13Vostro_white_PLED_BK01 The computer is on and working ok If the computer is not responding, troubleshoot a No Boot/No Video issue

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Vostro Desktop audible Beep codes

In addition to the various types of diagnostics LEDs, there are many audible beep codes across some of the models of these systems.

These codes are recognized across manufacturers and have remained the same for some time.

The key to these codes is displayed in the table below.

Note: Click the title of the section you want to open below, to see the contents.
Diagnostic Beep Codes
Code Cause Suggested Resolution
1 BIOS ROM Checksum in progress or failure Contact Technical Support
2 No Memory Modules detected Troubleshoot the Memory and Memory Slots
3 Chipset Error
Time-of-day clock test failure
Gate A20 Failure
Super I/O chip Failure
Keyboard controller test failure
Contact Technical Support
4 RAM read/write error Troubleshoot the Memory and Memory Slots
5 Real-Time Clock Failure Replace the CMOS Battery, Contact Technical Support if the problem persists
6 Video BIOS test Failure Run the Dell Diagnostics
7 CPU Cache Test Failure Contact Technical Support

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Glossary of Acronyms:

Refer to the table for definitions of the acronyms within this article.

Acronym Definition
BIOS Basic Input/Output System
CFG Resource Configuration
CPU Central Processing Unit
DIMM Dual In-line Memory Module
DMA Direct Memory Access
EC Embedded Controller
HECI Host Embedded Controller Interface
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
LED Light Emitting Diode
MBF Motherboard Failure
MBIST Memory Built-in Self Test
ME Management Engine
MEM Memory
NVRAM Non-Volatile Random Access Memory
PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect
POV Post-video Activity
PRV Pre-video Activity
PSU Power Supply Unit
RAM Random Access Memory
RCM Recovery Mode
ROM Read Only Memory
RTC Real Time Clock
S0 System Power State S0 – This is the Working State, where your Windows PC is awake.
S1 System Power State S1 – In this sleep state, the CPU is stopped, and your computer is in standby mode.
S2 System Power State S2 – This state is similar to S1 except that the CPU and system cache are lost because the processor loses power.
S3 System Power State S3 – In this state, data is saved to RAM, hard drives, and other hardware are shut down.
S4 System Power State S4 – In this state, RAM and other data are saved to the hard disk.
S5 System Power State S5 - The System is off.
SBIOS Small Board Interface Operating System
SPI Serial Peripheral Interface
STD Boot Hand Off
STO Storage Device
TPM Trusted Platform Module
USB Universal Serial Bus
VID Video

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Note:
If you are seeing a recognizable code, please follow the instructions. If you have to contact your local support - please make sure you have the code information to hand. The technician needs this information to help you further.

If you are seeing an unrecognizable code, one that is not listed above - then please get in touch with your local support straight away.

If you require further assistance, please contact Dell Technical Support.

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Additional Information

Affected Products

Vostro
Article Properties
Article Number: 000132290
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 20 Dec 2023
Version:  8
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