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Dell Dimension 4550 won't run in normal mode, only in safe mode

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Anonymous User - Jan 12, 2017 at 02:08 AM
R2D2_WD Posts 3606 Registration date Monday September 1, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 20, 2017   - Jan 13, 2017 at 05:09 AM
Hello,
I have an old Dell Dimension 4550 that suffered a power cell failure. Up to that point, the PC and peripherals were working fine. I had the power cell replaced at a local shop but since then the PC will not run in standard mode. I get the Windows XP start up screen but before I get to the logon screen, the monitor flashes a message 'power save mode' and the monitor shuts down. Nothing works to reactivate it. I know its not a monitor problem because it works fine in safe mode.
Dell Dimension 4550
Windows XP Home Edition SP2
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40Ghz
2.39Ghz, 1GB RAM
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R2D2_WD Posts 3606 Registration date Monday September 1, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 20, 2017   155
Jan 12, 2017 at 04:13 AM
Hi Fcmckay,

It is a strange issue. Are there any performance issues while in Safe Mode? I would recommend you to reset BIOS to its default settings and check if the problem will be solved. Another thing to try is to backup all data and reinstall the OS. Some users report that it helps in similar situations. If none of this helps, you should seek assistance from a technician because you may need to have the hardware checked.

Hope this helps

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Anonymous User
Jan 12, 2017 at 09:54 AM
Performance as in speed, etc ... no, however a lot of my apps will not work properly. Two have failed saying there are registration issues with the product and they need to be re-registered. I can't connect to our LAN even tho a diagnostic says everything is working fine. I was hoping this was all due to being in safe mode.
The power save mode on startup is not a unique issue. I've found numerous threads where this has happened but have not found anything identifying the problem nor what the fix is. Usually it's the result of changing some hardware but I did not do this. Except to replace the power cell but it was replaced with a unit from another Dell D 4550.
I really don't want to have to reinstall. This pc is very old and I'm not sure I even have all the disks of original software. There's a particular application on this one that will not run on my new pc but is critical to some work I do. So this is why I'm trying to resolve this problem.
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R2D2_WD Posts 3606 Registration date Monday September 1, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 20, 2017   155 > Anonymous User
Jan 13, 2017 at 05:09 AM
You are right, most probably, those issues are Safe Mode related and they may not be usable if not booted normally. Since this is an old PC, I totally understand why you do not want to reinstall the OS. Have in mind that changing the power cell should not affect the performance of the operational systems. Problems may appear if changing hardware like a motherboard or a processor.
Do you have a Windows installation drive? Try booting from it and selecting the Repair option. This way you may be able to solve some minor issue while no data should be affected. Another thing to try is using a System Restore point. Before doing so, backup all important data. I leave you a link below with some more details:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-xp/bb457025(v=technet.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN
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