I'm having a strange issue with my Precision T3500 workstation, which has 12GB of non-ECC RAM installed in slots 1, 2, and 3. This machine is primarily used by researchers, but it won't stay powered on consistently. At startup, it shows error codes 1-3. I've attempted to swap the RAM modules and remove them, yet the same error persists. Since DDR3 RAM is becoming harder to come by, I'm hesitant to replace the modules. I've never seen all three RAM slots fail at the same time. This problem started showing up recently, between Monday night and today. I also took out the graphics card to narrow down the issue, but now I'm getting error code 1-2 instead. Any advice on how to resolve this?
4 Answers
First off, try stripping the system down to just the essentials—remove everything except what you need to boot up and see if it changes anything.
Sometimes odd issues can stem from something subtle like a hairline fracture on the motherboard near the RAM slots. If you can, move the machine to a completely different room or environment and try booting it there.
DDR3 RAM isn't as rare as you might think—check out Amazon; they usually have some options available.
Have you considered the power supply? Given the age of the machine and the RAM type, it might be worth checking. Sometimes the BIOS battery dies and you lose configuration too, which could lead to weird issues. Just a thought!
Good point! It's possible that the Dell power supply has issues. The good news is that you can use a standard ATX power supply with this model if it comes to that.
I already tried that, but it's still showing error 1-3. Thanks for the suggestion!