>be me
>order old dell precision 690 off eBay because why not
>shipment arrived
>graphics card has DMS-59 slot
>no adapter
>order new PCIE card for it
>meantime maybe use old PCI card from oldest desktop in home
>installed
>no post
>check connections, fans spinning
>remove card
>behaves the same without card installed - no onboard graphics but diagnostic lights the same
>check manual
>says could be ram issue if power light blinks amber
>powerlight solid green
>wtf.ogg
>assume PCIE is required for video to post
>ask /g/ anyway
tl;dr: can the precision 690 boot with a PCI graphics card or does it HAVE to be PCI-E?
Clear the bios
>>51665767
I tried. I took the power off, and the battery out for over 6hrs and let it sit. Placed the jumper off PSWD and on RSTCMS for that time too. Nothing...
>>51665783
Keyboard light up? if so mash the usual bios keys and hope for the best, or if it has a working install on it does it make any sounds with speakers plugged in?
>>51665842
Shipped without an OS. Has onboard speaker. No beeps. USB keyboard/mouse does nothing, PS/2 keyboard flashes, mouse has power. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Tried usual F2, 10, 12 mashing on PS/2... Same blank screen, fans whurring.
PCIE card is out for delivery. I guess I'll know before tomorrow if I got a lemon.
What do the BOIS error lights say, nigga?
>>51665910
They're just diagnostic lights. They don't "say" anything.
1&2 are off, 3&4 are lit green. Power is green and the "AUXPWR" LED in the board is solid amber.
>>51665588
>Be me
Try out every ram module, ecc runs hot as fuck (85-110c) in dell workstations.
8x2gb Ecc ddr2 667 in my t5400 runs around 95 load.
Probably ram shitting out.
>>51665940
My RAM test was inconclusive. I have 8x2Gb. I took them all out but one, same result. Swapped it for another one, same result so I put them back one at a time to see if anything would change, no luck.
>>51665957
I read also they needed to be installed in pairs, which was the same result also, I find it hard to believe that EVERY module failed at once.
>>51665930
Looks like you've got memory problems.
Is the RAM ECC? I'm 95% sure it needs to be ECC in order to boot.
>>51665588
>can the precision 690 boot with a PCI graphics card or does it HAVE to be PCI-E?
Does it post with the original card in? Did it ever post?
Also, did the seller claim it worked?
>>51666005
They're all matching pairs of ECC fully buffered. I guess I'll remove a pair at a time and see what happens.
>>51666019
Seller claimed it worked, yes. I don't know about the original card because I don't have an adapter for a DMS-59 port and one wasn't included. Instead of ordering that, I thought I'd upgrade the graphics anyway and order a new PCI-E card. My PCI card is an old 8400 GS I thought I'd try in the meantime to get the OS going until the new card came.
>>51666060
You can check the diagnostic lights with the original card.
>>51666070
I'm willing to bet it's PCI E only. I tried replacing the ram a pair at a time, then with the original card. Everything remains the same, but I can't see if the post screen is being pushed through the original card.
>>51666242
second this at this stage
There are a few LED-lit numbers next to the network LED.
Look at them and look up the combination in the service manual.
