First of all, I’m sorry if this question is either too vague to get solicit any good answer, or too easily solved by searching any of several computer related websites (I couldn’t find anything useful on any computer problem website).
This morning I turned on my computer, and found that it refused to boot up. It ran through the first setup page (amount of RAM, system info stuff, checking my harddrives and cd/dvd drives). Then the it flashed a message that said something like “error event log- enter setup to view” (it was only on the screen for half a
second, so that might not be the exact wording). Then it went to a prompt and wouldn’t do anything.
So I reset, entered setup, and read the DMI event log. One event was logged there, saying, “Pre-boot error: keyboard not functional” This despite the fact that my keyboard was clearly functional, or I wouldn’t have been able to select the event log.
So that’s all I know. Does any of this sound familiar? Anyone have any suggestions? My computer is a Dell Dimension, running Win98. I tried running the Dell diagnostics disk, but nothing loaded from it.
The machine and most of the hardware in it are about five years old. Could it be that the motherboard or some other component has gone bad? By the way, I know it’s time to get a new computer, and I plan to soon, but I want to salvage the files on this one first.
No help for you, I’m afraid, since I’m on the way out the door. But I wanted to point out that you don’t need the old computer to work to salvage the files. It’s a simple enough procedure, in most cases, to pull the old drive out and install it temporarily as a slave or secondary master in the new system, and transfer the files out that way.
That’s probably what I’ll end up doing when I get my new computer. I think my worry was because I’ve experienced harddrive problems in the past (not with either of the two I currently use). I guess I just wanted reassurance that I’ve not had another harddrive crash on me, and that the problem is with something that I don’t need to keep like the motherboard.
Disconnect and reconnect the keyboard. Try a different keyboard. Try a USB keyboard instead of a PS2 one.
Also, you could try going to Dell’s website and getting a new version of the diagnostics utility. If you download it though, you’ll probably need to run it from floppy disks.