Dell Dimension 3000 won't boot from HDD or setup CD

Hello, first post in this site. My friend has a problem with booting his computer - it won't. I tried to use my XP setup disk but no go. The HDD lights go on but no boot up, no boot up screens, nothing. The monitor goes to the brightness/contrast adjustment screen and cycles through the options ad infinitum, ad nauseum. When we tried to boot from the CD, the computer starts the drive but again nothing, the screen stays empty (except for the previously mentioned menu). Motherboard dead? Memory modules? Fixable? Thanks for any help.

Welcome to bleepingcomputer!

Of course it is fixable, but the expenses (if it really is serious) for a new motherboard and other things, it may not be worth it.

When the screen displays that, it means it's not finding a connection to the motherboard. I would assume the motherboard may be dead because the Dell Dimension 3000 has integrated graphics, unless your friend put in a graphics card. Dell is also notorious for using cheap parts, especially the motherboard.

First of all, have you tried resetting the cmos by taking the quarter-sized watch battery out for a few minutes? After it's been out, put it back in and try booting the computer up again.

The next easiest thing to do is make sure all the connections are tightly secured in their proper locations. Make sure the 20 or 24 pin motherboard plug from the power supply is connected. Also, make sure the cpu power plug, which is usually 4 pins, is connected to the motherboard.

After this, try one stick of ram at a time. If you have any spare ram that is compatible, try it.

The computer should still post, and you should get a display on your screen, even if the hard drive failed. I don't believe that to be an issue.