If you screen does not turn on, you may be tempted to this the LCD is dead or a cable has been cut. However, usually the problem is with something on the motherboard and often you can fix it yourself.
Below is a list of Dell flash codes that you can see on your computer, usually on or near the power button that will help you diagnose the issues.
| White Flash Count | Amber Flash Count | Failing Component | Failure Description |
| 1 | 2 | CPU | CPU failure |
| 1 | 3 | RTC power failure | CMOS battery failure |
| 2 | 2 | BIOS ROM failure | System board failure (included BIOS corruption or ROM error) |
| 2 | 3 | PCI/video | PCI or video card / chip failure |
| 3 | 2 | Memory | No memory/RAM detected |
| 3 | 3 | BIOS recovery 1 | Recovery image not found |
| 4 | 2 | Memory | Memory/RAM failure |
| 4 | 3 | BIOS recovery 2 | Recovery image found but invalid |
| 5 | 2 | Memory | Invalid memory installed |
| 5 | 3 | Power | Power sequencing Failure |
| 6 | 2 | Chipset | System board / chipset error |
| 6 | 3 | BIOS | Flash corruption detected by SBIOS |
| 7 | 2 | LCD | LCD failure |
| 7 | 3 | Board | Time out waiting on ME to reply to HECI message |
In my case I had a Dell Latitude 5300 2-in-1 with a flashing LED located at the very front of the laptop (just under the mouse track pad). It was flashing 4 white then a pause then 2 yellow in a rhythmic fashion over and over again. That code is a “4 and 2” or a “2 and 4” depending on how you look at it and that told me the memory was bad. I unscrewed the back of the laptop, pulled the back off, pulled the RAM and moved it to an open memory slot. This took about 4 minutes and all is well. In my case, I likely could just have used the same slot and simply reseated the RAM but it cost nothing to move it, so I did.
12 Comments
Paul Evans · December 9, 2024 at 12:43 pm
Dell desktop wouldn’t start, flashing amber 2/1. Bad Motherboard? Took lid off, wrestled CMOS out – meter said 0.4v. Put in new battery, seems to be OK, touch wood.
Frederick · January 30, 2024 at 1:29 am
Dell model: F5321 DW5560, won’t turn on caps lock LED blinks 1 short blink after +\- 13 seconds
Randy Stalnaker · October 6, 2023 at 7:21 am
On my P71G the keyboard light comes on but no screen. After about a min the keyboard light goes off and the two power lights light up just once and it shuts down.
Facundo · March 4, 2023 at 10:54 am
I get 2 white blinks and the last is also white and it shoots up the R10 but nothing on the monitor displays
Ronald BAGUMA · February 9, 2023 at 2:52 am
I’m having “2” and “7” on a Dell Vostro 3670, What could be the issue
Ian Matthews · February 11, 2023 at 6:22 pm
Hi Ronald;
Are you seeing 2 which flashes and then 7 yellow/amber or is it flashing twice, stopping and then flashing 7 more times?
Ian Matthews · February 11, 2023 at 6:27 pm
On the Dell Vostro line, 2 flashes mean the CPU has a problem and 7 flashes means ME error
Methadras · December 5, 2022 at 10:11 am
I’m getting 2 amber, 5 white, invalid memory installed. I’ve actually installed 10 separate sets of known good memory that the dell precision 7750 laptop actually uses and every time i get 2 amber, 5 white no matter what i do.
Greg · October 10, 2022 at 7:49 am
My daughter’s machine is flashing a 4-1 and I’m digging for what that means.
Ian Matthews · October 10, 2022 at 6:36 pm
Hi Greg;
That is one I don’t know. If it is a laptop I would pull the back/bottom off and disconnect the main battery and popout the CMOS battery for 5 minutes, then put it all back together to see what happens.
Paul · September 9, 2023 at 9:36 am
I’ve got 4 amber and 1 white which is not in the list above on my Dell vostro and it will not start
marty fenton · October 11, 2024 at 8:25 am
I’ve got the same thing Paul – 4 amber and 1 white. I replaced the thermal paste on my cpu but still getting the same. It was overheating before I did so. Did you find the fix for your problem?