This is a quick article to share a bit of knowledge about the Dell XPS 15 Laptop and some of the options that are available for troubleshooting. We learned this after a very long call with the Dell support team to get service on an XPS 15 which has a problem with it's LCD Panel. Here are sa few notes on options for troubleshooting.
Diagnostics
The first option available is easy to find and that is the diagnostics screen. You enter the diagnostics screen by pressing F12 when you see the Dell Logo. This will give the following options:
- Windows Boot Manager
- Disgnostics
- Enter Setup
- Change Boot Mode Setting
Choosing 'Diagnostics' will run the Dell diagnostic routines. One of the features is a set of screens where is shows colored bars. It will flash a very quick vertical bar pattern and then also show a horizontal bar pattern. It stops at the horizontal bars which is nice for looking at any screen issues, but the vertical bars pass by quickly, so don't plan on doing any serious troubleshooting with the vertical bars.
Color Test
This is a test that we were not aware of, but is very useful for testing screen issues. If you hold down the 'D' key while you power on the XPS 15 and hold down the 'D' key it will boot into a mode where it shows a rotation of colors on the screen. Each screen is a solid color and the color stays on for a few seconds. After what appears to be twice through the rotation the machine will boot to it's operating System. The colors displayed are:
- White
- Red
- Green
- Blue
- Black
Note: You must be powered off to enter this mode. It will not enter form sleep mode.