Troubleshooting - Dell Vostro 3881 Service Manual

Table of Contents

Real-Time Clock (RTC Reset)

The Real Time Clock (RTC) reset function allows you or the service technician to recover Dell Inspiron, systems from No

POST/No Power/No Boot situations. The legacy jumper enabled RTC reset has been retired on these models.

Start the RTC reset with the system powered off and connected to AC power. Press and hold the power button for thirty (30)

seconds. The system RTC Reset occurs after you release the power button.

System diagnostic lights

Power-supply diagnostics light

Indicates the status of the power-supply in either of the two sates:

● Off: No Power

● On: Power is supplied.

Power button light

Table 4. Power button LED status

Power button LED state

Off

Solid White

Solid Amber

Blinking Amber/White

This platform relies on the Power button LED light blinking in an amber/white pattern to determine a failure as listed in the

following table:

NOTE:

The blinking patterns consists of two numbers (representing First Group: Amber blinks, Second Group: White blinks).

● First Group: The Power button LED light blinks Amber, 1 to 9 times followed by a short pause with LED off for a couple

of seconds.

● Second Group: The Power button LED light then blinks White, 1 to 9 times, followed by a longer pause before the next

cycle starts again after a short interval.

Example: No Memory detected (2,3). Power button LED blinks 2-times in Amber followed by a pause, and then blinks 3-times in

White. The Power button LED will pause for few seconds before the next cycle repeats itself again.

Table 5. Diagnostic LED status

Blinking pattern

Amber

White