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A Reference Guide to Vostro Desktop Diagnostic Indicators

Resumen: The following article is a reference guide to what the diagnostic Light Emitting Diode (LED) indicators mean on Vostro Desktop and All in One (AIO) computers.

Este artículo se aplica a Este artículo no se aplica a Este artículo no está vinculado a ningún producto específico. No se identifican todas las versiones del producto en este artículo.
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Instrucciones

Dell Vostro desktops have a long history of integrated 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 device is having problems.

The following article is a reference guide to the codes available for each model and what those codes mean. They change and improve through the various models and years. These indicators are a starting point to narrow down any troubleshooting you are carrying out to identify the cause of your problem. You can use these codes to narrow down which troubleshooting guide you must follow. Alternatively, you can contact technical support for further help and they are also looking for these indicators.

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 following tables, remember that the diagnostic LEDs only serve as an indicator of the computers progress through the POST process. These LEDs do not indicate the problem that caused the POST routine to stop.
Note: When your computer completes POST, without stopping on a particular error code and shows a black screen it is not booting to the operating system. (You must switch to a No Boot troubleshooting guide.)

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

The tower computers that Dell sells and supports have swapped over to an Amber blink code. This is common with Dell's laptops. The Power LED (PLED) is generally white.

SLN304426_en_US__27Vostro2020_prod_shot_BK01

Note: Click the title of the section that you want to open below, in order to see the contents.
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Power Button LED Status Power State Description
SLN304426_en_US__5Vostro_off_PLED_BK01 Off S4 or S5 The power is Off. The LED is blank.
SLN304426_en_US__6Vostro_blink_amber_PLED_BK01 Blinking Amber - This is the initial State of the LED when turning it on. See 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 when turning it on indicates that the POWER_GOOD signal is active. It is likely that the power supply is fine.
SLN304426_en_US__25Vostro_blink_white_PLED_BK01 Blinking White S1 or S3 The device 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 device is in the 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.

(For example: Vostro 5880, and so on.)

Note: The blinking pattern consists of two sets of numbers. They split into First Group (Amber Blinks), Second Group (Amber Blinks).
  • First Group: The Battery LED blinks in Amber up to nine times then pauses for one and a half seconds before running the second group.
  • Second Group: The Battery LED blinks in Amber up to nine times then pauses for three seconds before running the first group again.

(For example: No Memory detected (2,3), The Battery LED blinks two times amber followed by a pause, then blinks three times Amber, pause, and so on. This pattern continues until you turn the device off.)
LED Behavior Problem Description Next Steps
Amber Blink Code
1 2 Unrecoverable Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) Flash Failure
  • Contact Tech Support for further help
2 1 Central Processing Unit (CPU) Failure
  • Run the Intel CPU diagnostics tools
  • If the problem persists contact Tech Support for further help
2 2 Motherboard: Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), Read-Only Memory (ROM) Failure
  • Flash BIOS to latest revision
  • If the problem persists contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
2 3 No Memory or Random Access Memory (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 Motherboard, Chipset Error
  • Flash BIOS to latest revision
  • Contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
3 1 Complementary Metal-Oxide Semi-Conductor (CMOS) battery failure
  • Troubleshoot the CMOS battery
  • If the problem persists contact Tech Support for further troubleshooting
3 2 Peripheral Component Interconnect (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 the problem persists contact Tech Support for further help
3 7 Management Engine (ME) error
  • Contact Tech Support for further help
4 2 CPU Power cable connection issue
  • Reseat the power cable
  • Troubleshoot the Power Supply Unit (PSU) Built-In Self-Test (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 this series, the diagnostics indicator Beeps were removed from Tower computers but remained in All In One (AIO) devices. Instead, the Power Button state 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 that 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 The power is Off. The LED is blank.
SLN304426_en_US__6Vostro_blink_amber_PLED_BK01 Blinking Amber - This is the initial state of the LED when turning the device on. See 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. It is likely that the power supply is fine.
SLN304426_en_US__25Vostro_blink_white_PLED_BK01 Blinking White S1 or S3 The device 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 device is in the 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 Real-Time Clock (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 the power button LED states. The power button is located on the front of the chassis. You can 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 that 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, but 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 or No Video issue.

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

This series used the power button LED state and colors. The power button is located on the front of the chassis. You can 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 that 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, but 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 or 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, but 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 or 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 devices.

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 that 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
Failure of the Keyboard controller test		 Contact Technical Support.
4 RAM read and 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:

See the following table for definitions of the acronyms within this article.

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

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Note:
Follow the instructions if you are seeing a recognizable code. Ensure that you have the code information to hand if you have to contact your local support. The technician needs this information to help you further.

Get in touch with your local support straight away if you are seeing an unrecognizable code, one that is not listed above.

Contact Dell Technical Support if you require further assistance.

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Información adicional

Diagnostic Indicator Guides

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Productos afectados

Vostro
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Número del artículo: 000132290
Tipo de artículo: How To
Última modificación: 12 nov 2024
Versión:  9
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