Need assistance with the Dell Precision 3260 Compact? It doesn’t have a display but boots into Windows after unboxing.
Need assistance with the Dell Precision 3260 Compact? It doesn’t have a display but boots into Windows after unboxing.
Hey everyone,
I’m dealing with a pretty annoying problem with my Dell Precision 3260 Compact. I bought it used from China through Taobao via CSSBuy.
🔴 The Problem:
After assembling it and putting it together, I noticed the display flickered 2–3 times during initial tests. Everything looked normal at first—just a warning:
⚠️Another Odd Behavior: Auto Power-On Then Shutdown
Whenever I connect the adapter, the computer powers up automatically (the white LED lights up), but then shuts off after a few seconds. If I press the power button manually, it stays on. Still no display. WiFi is connected, CPU, RAM, and SSD are functioning properly, and the system seems to boot into Windows. But once it’s fully booted—no video output at all. It appears to start up in the background, but there’s no signal coming out.
✅ What I’ve Tried:
- Used multiple HDMI cables (including Ugreen active Dp to hdmi cable)
- Switched HDMI monitors and inputs; setup works on another PC
- Replaced BIOS battery
- Performed blind BIOS recovery using a renamed IMG_BIOS.RCV file on a 16GB Sandisk FAT32 USB drive (tested on both SS5 and SS10 ports)
- Downgraded the system (removed SSD, RAM, WiFi, and booted barebones)
- Attempted normal boot and BIOS recovery shortcuts (Ctrl+Esc, Ctrl+Fn+B, etc.)
- Checked SSD activity—Windows boots in the background
- Used a hdmi capture card with a USB camera for display sniffing—it showed a black screen
- Tried reflashing but couldn’t—seems like BIOS flash might have failed once and now won’t accept the same version (no display, blind flash = Ctrl+Esc)
❌ Seller and Warranty:
Unfortunately, I used CSSBuy and requested they discard original packaging to lower import duties. That means:
No official Dell warranty
The seller simply says: “PC turns on, it’s working fine” and then walks away.
🔧 What Should I Do?
Anyone have any ideas? Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks 😭
Is your Dell machine equipped with a separate graphics card, or is it relying on built-in video processing?
Consider using an alternative power source if possible, as the setup seems to match a typical Dell laptop power supply design.
👀 In the initial clip you'll notice the PC powering up but not showing on the screen.
👀 In this subsequent video you'll observe the SSD LED lighting up and the system beginning to boot, yet there is no display visible at all, while Wi-Fi connects after startup.
At the moment i possess just a single power supply unit. If feasible, i'll search for another one.