Will Be Inactive for awhile

[JPG]

BEWARE the microsoft "S" versions. S is supposed to stand for simple. I have heard it referred to as standing for STUPID.

AIUI it is intended to make it simple for non-techies. Bottom line is it rejects all NON-microsoft applications(programs).

Dumbing down for the OS vendor's benefit.

My idea of a simple OS is one that merely functions as a controller of data traffic between the hardware. The software programs perform the human interface functions.

[dusty]

BEWARE the microsoft "S" versions. S is supposed to stand for simple. I have heard it referred to as standing for STUPID.

AIUI it is intended to make it simple for non-techies. Bottom line is it rejects all NON-microsoft applications(programs).

Dumbing down for the OS vendor's benefit.

My idea of a simple OS is one that merely functions as a controller of data traffic between the hardware. The software programs perform the human interface functions.

Once again we disagree. Microsoft has not caused my problem. I am not attempting to use any application that is non-Microsoft.

When I have recovered, hopefully whatever has caused this be obvious. Even now, I am running on Microsoft with the Surface.

Yup, the Microsoft Surface Pro has saved my day. With a couple of adaptations I now have a full screen display with a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse up on the internet. I do miss my dual screens though.

[Majones1]

I used to use a Surface 4 as my primary computer; they are sweet little machines. Being a support tech needing to remote into multiple servers and network computers, while monitoring network traffic logs, I needed much more screen space than that little tablet screen was even close to providing. I used an Anker docking station that cost a little under $100 and was able to connect my gigabit network cable, multiple USB devices (including wireless mouse and a wired ergonomic keyboard), a 24” wide screen monitor, and a 34” wide screen HD TV monitor. It was amazing. I also used the Surface display as a small third monitor. I could connect a single USB-3 cable to it and have all that.

So, you can easily have your dual monitors. I did not find the model I purchase 3or 4 years ago, but this link will take you to a similar device. It does not have the VGA or DVI video ports, but there are inexpensive adapters that will enable you to convert from either one of the HDMI or DP video ports or a USB port.

Anker Docking Station, PowerExpand 12-in-1 USB-C PD Media Dock, 60W Power Delivery, 4K HDMI and DP, 2 USB-C Charging Ports, 1 USB-C and 3 USB-A 3.0 Data Ports, SD and TF Slots, Gigabit Ethernet, Audio https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087R6W1VB/re ... 3W44A42MFK

[reible]

Since I have not seen that this problem is fixed I will offer another thing that causes odd behavior including not being able to boot up. That is the CMOS battery getting weak or loosing enough power to not work anymore. I don't know which pc you have but this is an example:

https://www.amazon.com/CMOS-Battery-DEL ... 466&sr=8-5

They can go bad as early as a couple of years but often will go for a long while. Since the machine is 4 years old it would be something that certain could be looked at.

I had a pc about a year ago that for all the world looked like it was dead. All the power and other things check out but still dead. Thought I would waste the $10 or what ever it was for a new battery and it is now back to a working machine. The only thing wrong was the battery. It was about 5 years old so I wasn't expecting it would be bad but I was wrong.

Ed

[dusty]

Since I have not seen that this problem is fixed I will offer another thing that causes odd behavior including not being able to boot up. That is the CMOS battery getting weak or loosing enough power to not work anymore. I don't know which pc you have but this is an example:

https://www.amazon.com/CMOS-Battery-DEL ... 466&sr=8-5

They can go bad as early as a couple of years but often will go for a long while. Since the machine is 4 years old it would be something that certain could be looked at.

I had a pc about a year ago that for all the world looked like it was dead. All the power and other things check out but still dead. Thought I would waste the $10 or what ever it was for a new battery and it is now back to a working machine. The only thing wrong was the battery. It was about 5 years old so I wasn't expecting it would be bad but I was wrong.

Ed

Thank You, Ed.

I suspect that what you have will not be compatible to my XPS 8930 Desktop but ypu have triggered a search for a lithium battery that will work. I did not change the battery but I did pull/reinsert the battery to refresh the bios. Before I tear it down, I'll put in a new battery.

In the way of an update, I believe I have narrowed my problem down to IO ports 1,2 and 3. I have finally learned the ins and outs of the Dell ePSA test.

These ports are built into the motherboard...bad news.

[dusty]

There has been some progress but vert little success. It still won't boot even though all of the built in tests declare "no problem found".

I've given some thought to wiping the hard drive clean and getting a new Windows 10 (maybe Window 11 this time). I've even thought about a new system board.

I do wish that I had extended my warranty. Without that, Dell leaves me on my own to recover. As a result, I have turned to the folks at tenforums.com for help.

[garys]

If "built-in" tests are working, that says your BIOS is alive and well. The boot process is for the BIOS to power up enough to seek out a drive with a boot sector to initiate the operating system.
I again suggest downloading a bootable copy of Linux and putting it on a thumb drive. If the BIOS finds that and boots, you simply have a corrupted hard drive Windows installation. That actually is the most common failure for a computer. As I stated earlier, the hardware is very reliable and has a low failure rate. The Windows installation on the drive is the unreliable part as software can be easily overwritten and become unusable. In that case, a simple reinstall fixes it.
A new system board is expensive and less likely to fix your problem than a free new installation of the operating system.

But, before trying the shotgun approach, determine the real problem, and a bootable thumb drive should pinpoint the problem.

[JPG]

Where does one get "a bootable copy of Linux"?

[garys]

Available here:
https://linuxmint.com/download.php
Once you have that file downloaded you need USB stick writer software to write it to a USB stick and have it bootable. Windows and Linux have that software and I'm betting Mac does too.
Or, you can write that file to a DVD using the correct software in Windows that writes a bootable image to the DVD.

Once you have it in either format, simply insert the DVD or USB stick in the ailing computer, go into BIOS and make sure that device is bootable, and power up.

[dusty]

This has been one of my frustrations. When I need Windows I can not.