Precision 5510 + TB15. No Dell bios screen displayed when starting up?

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing similar behaviour.

Precision 5510 + Thunderbolt TB15 + U2713HM monitor.
I switch on the power (at the socket), click the on/off round button on the dock, and then I can never tell whether my laptop is booting up or not. Sometimes it goes to the Windows password screen, and sometimes the monitor stays blank. I can never tell if the laptop is / has booted up or not. The Dell bios screen is never displayed on the desktop monitor. I have to open the laptop lid to check - which is very annoying.

On my old system - Precision M6600 + PR02X Port replicator + U2713HM monitor - whenever I clicked the power button the dock it would light up to indicate it was on. And then I would see the Dell bios screen, and windows starting up.

Does anyone else NOT see the Dell bios starting up screen when you start up the laptop via the TB15 dock?

Thanks in advance.

 

Same issue here on our 5510's. I think I have seen the BIOS screen once or twice but normally it does not show.
Returned the TB15 because of other issues, but same thing happens with the WD15 dock.

 

Are you saying sometimes you never get a windows password screen? I get that on occasion, without a dock. If I unplug my AC adapter while in windows or in sleep. Next time I revisit my laptop (open lid [waking from sleep] or press power[normal boot up from dead stop]) I just get a blank screen (backlit and lit keyboard). A hard boot fixes it (holding power for 5 seconds- then powering on again). It doesn't always happen but is often enough that I don't worry too much when it does. Fix it Dell. I'm not complaining. Yes I am. Fix it

I believe it is related to when I unplug the AC adapter. Next time I boot or wake from sleep I get that. I experimented with some battery or power settings in BIOS and it seemed to fix it. But then I reset my bios and now I forgot what I did the first time. Could be though that it is still not resolved regardless of my BIOS settings and was placebo effect.

 

OK. So I'm told there's no way to see the Dell BIOS screen when starting up through the dock.

How can I tell the difference between

1. system has power and not starting up
2. system has power and is starting up

without opening the laptop lid?

Thanks in advance.

 

Just a question, did you install the latest BIOS?

My Dell rep working with me on the TB15 issues said that this *was* a known issue and was resolved in a BIOS update. (Pretty sure I saw it while the machine was running the latest BIOS, though... My TB15s are all gone now.)

Otherwise, there are no lights on the outside so there is no way to tell what the machine is doing pre-boot, without opening it. I guess maybe you could find a USB device to plug in that lights up when the system is on.

 

Hi Aaron,

Just checked my BIOS and it's on the latest - ie 01.02.00.

 

TB15 and WD15 here, both only output an image when Windows has started.