Regarding cleaning:
Did you clean under the green processor shield? I've seen huge
accumulations there. Did you remove the front cover? Check out this
shot from my blog last month:
http://hughva.blogspot.com/2009/05/more-on-dirty-computers.html
On the right you see that the grill is almost completely blocked, and
the HD on this machine was dead.
Do you still get the blue screen at boot? Are any file names showing?
Typically, these machines are very reliable, but after 5 years it
wouldn't surprise me if you had a HD problem.
Try booting from the XP install CD to see if the HD is recognized. If,
a repair install may help.
Your IDE warning just indicates there was no CD in the optical drive,
so it couldn't be tested. I wouldn't worry about it, but you can run
a custom test on the CD if you really want.
You might consider running the long test on the HD as well.
On Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 6:21 PM, Donald DeWitt<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello Hugh,
>
> I think maybe we can rule out a heat problem. Both fans are running good and
> the computer is painstakingly cleaned out with a power air compressor two
> times a year.
>
> When I use the F12 key to go to the diagnostics page, I get a report saying
> “Utility Partition not Available” and the computer just keeps going back to
> the blue warning screen. I never gave it though to count the exact number of
> beeps when the computer first shut down, (A true amateur). I think there
> were at least four or five. The green and yellow lights on the back of the
> computer are showing the flowing: A=G, B=G, C=G and D=Y. The web site
> recommendation for that code sequence is to “Ensure that the cables are
> properly connected from the hard drive, CD d I've seen hugrive, and DVD drive to the
> system board.” I did that by removing all the connections and reinstalling
> them. I located the original Dell Utilities CD and ran all the diagnostics
> and that is telling me, “IDE device is blank or no media present in the
> optical drive.”
>
> Question: Just what is the IDE in my computer, is it replaceable and how
> hard would it be for me to replace?
>
> Don
>
>
>
> On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 9:53 AM, Antonio Figueroa <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Don Dewitt:
>>
>> Do the lights do any pattern?,Does it beep 5 times steady or does do 1 beep
>> then 3 beep then 1beep,here is what I found online,hope it helps.
>>
>> http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8400/SM/adtshoot.htm#wp1052933
>>
>> Best Regard,
>> Antonio Figueroa
>> --- On Fri, 6/5/09, Donald DeWitt <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> From: Donald DeWitt <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: [PCBUILD] Computer Problem
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Date: Friday, June 5, 2009, 2:22 PM
>>
>> Booted up computer today and it ran normal for about ˝ hr. and then
>> suddenly
>> shut down. First the screen went black, then there were 4 or 5 beeps coming
>> from the tower, and finally a sound like the hard drive was spinning out
>> control that lasted only a short time. Rebooting resulted in a blue screen
>> stating Windows was shutting the system down. Using the F12 key I entered
>> into a page that let me do a Hard Drive Diagnostic test. The results
>> revealed – “Pass”
>>
>>
>>
>> This computer is a 5 year old Dell 8400 running XP. I have not added any
>> new
>> software or hardware recently and I do a daily run with AVG and Super anti
>> spyware.
>>
>>
>>
>> Do you have any suggestions what the problem might be?
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank You,
>>
>>
>>
>> Don Dewitt
>>
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>>
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>
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> visit our download web page at:
> http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml
>
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