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DDR X - no video signal after CMOS battery replacement

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dmckayj

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Hi forum members, I have a DDR X arcade that was working just fine. One day, it showed a message that said the battery was low, so I replaced the CMOS battery on the motherboard of the Dell computer inside the arcade unit. Since then, it just has a message that says "no display content". I have tried connecting an external monitor directly to the Dell to see if I can reset the BIOS, but cannot get a video signal there either. Anyone have this issue and figure out a solution before? Any suggestions / help would be much appreciated.
 
Is the computer powering on alongside the machine when power is connected to it? Chances are replacing the battery erased the CMOS settings, which includes auto power on, and the computer is just off. Manually turn it on and re-enable that feature in the BIOS, hopefully you'll be good to go right after.
 
Thanks for your response. If everything is connected, the computer powers on. Among the connections to the DDR is an 8 pin connection (only 6 of which have wires). 5 of those wires go between the power supply in the computer and the DDR. One of those wires goes between the DDR and the 24 pin connector on the motherboard. If this is disconnected, the computer will not power on.
The power button on the computer appears to be non-functional. The computer is somehow circumventing that to power on whenever the DDR powers on.
I suspect the problem IS a reset of the BIOS. I just can't figure out how to get a video signal so that I can change the BIOS to the right settings. I've connected an external monitor to the VGA output. I tried connecting it to the DVI output (off the video card that connects to the DDR). I've tried removing the video card and rebooting to see if I could get the signal to the monitor through the VGA. Haven't managed to get any kind of signal.
Can't think of any other relevant facts.
 
Maybe the CMOS settings are corrupt. I would manually clear them by removing the battery and shorting the capacitor with a jumper. Look up the procedure when you find out the exact model of the motherboard.

Take out the computer from the cab and have it booting on your desk before putting it back in.

The y harness for the 24 pin connector can be removed and the power button can be reconnected. Normally the y harness that connects to the separate watchdog board turns on the computer.

Out of interest, what model Dell is it?
 
It's the same one that I have in Guitar Hero and Tokyo Drift. Should be easy enough to get going again.
 
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