Help with my computer

[nate379]

I have a Dell Inspiron desktop that I am having trouble with.

The computer is about 3 years old. Now I realize some people need the latest and greatest and that would be too "old" but it works great for me.
Quad core 2.4 GHz, 4GB Ram, 500Gb Hard drive, 512mb video card, etc.

The problem is a while back it wouldn't come out of sleep mode and would flash an orange light on the power button. After about 2 weeks of restarting it, the computer would no longer restart.

After messing with it for a bit I found that if I held the power button, unplugged it, waited for the orange light to stop flashing and then plug it back in while holding the button, it would boot up. It's been working fine like that for a few weeks, though it's a PITA as you can imagine.

I'm not sure if it's a problem with the power supply or something else? Any ideas?

 

[zer0cell]

Being that this is not a computer tech related forum, I think your best bet is to let it run for a while until your hard disk drive heats up and then shut it off. Next you'd unplug the hard drive from within the computer and use that baby to warm your nutsack on a chilly winter's night

Edit: Okay, I'm kidding... sorta. I'd check and see if your computer may have some sort of virus first.

Next I'd probably check the BIOS settings and make sure that the Power Managment settings are correct.

Next I'd check to see if the battery on the motherboard is still good and that all the wiring to the case is securely plugged in to the mother board.

I would also take the opportunity to make sure everything is properly connected and clean the dust out of the system.

If all else fails then yeah you could try switching out the power supply to see if it makes a difference. I suggest getting a decent one because if your motherboard is what is giving you the problem you might just want to upgrade and buy/build a new computer since yours is getting pretty outdated now anyway.

 

[Zebu Fellenz]

How comfortable are you working inside the computer? I've never heard of a problem like this before but my first move would be to unplug the power switch from the motherboard and use a screwdriver to jumper it. This would just eliminate the switch as a culprit.

Also do some google searching, it's probable that the orange flashing light is an error display that will lead right to the root problem.

Good Luck!

 

[48548]

Amber lights on power buttons on dells or at least optiplex almost always mean a bad power supply, especially a flashing amber light as well. I have worked on most dells for over 10 years and in the past 5-6 that has been the common problem. Also make sure you don't have any leaking caps on the motherboard as well.

 

[spencejm]

Amber lights on power buttons on dells or at least optiplex almost always mean a bad power supply, especially a flashing amber light as well. I have worked on most dells for over 10 years and in the past 5-6 that has been the common problem. Also make sure you don't have any leaking caps on the motherboard as well.

I agree completely. I'm a certified Dell tech but mainly work on the Optiplex models. A blinking amber light is almost always a power supply but could be a mother board. If it's the board you'll often see some capacitors oozing.

I'm not sure about the Inspiron systems but Dell usually doesn't use standard format power supplies. You may be able to temporarily install another PS if you've got a friend that will loan you one. That would at least verify the problem before spending any money.

One important note. Don't start up a power supply without at least connecting it to the motherboard. It needs a load or can potentially burn up.

Good luck.

Joe

 

[48548]

I think pc power and cooling would sell power supplies to work in dells if you don't want to get one from dell or best bet would be ebay.

 

[zer0cell]

I remember when I was working on a certain model of HP computers which was from about the same era if I remember correctly, as the op's computer I found a strange problem. Well actually some other techs noticed it first but like 1 out of every 10 computers power supply would explode upon being turned on. It was funny, you always felt a little scared whenever you plugged one in to test as the noise was loud and it would startle you, even if you were kinda ready for it. haha it was kinda funny to watch someone jump.

 

[nate379]

I pulled the cover off it when I first had the issue, cleaned it out (wasn't all that dusty) and verified all the connections were good. Didn't see any obvious damage to motherboard.

It's a Inspiron 518.

No problems to work on a computer, no different than putting together an engine, trans, diff, etc... I suspected the power supply but I didn't want to toss parts at it.

This??

http://www.discountelectronics.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=13852

 

[nate379]

No reason to upgrade, this one does everything I need it to do.

since yours is getting pretty outdated now anyway.

 

[48548]

Personally don't use the machine until you get the new power supply. I would want to risk doing more damage to the motherboard and or anything else.

 

[zer0cell]

I just meant if it turns out that it is not the power supply and is the motherboard instead, it might be worth getting a new computer instead of trying to buy an old, used, compatible dell one to fit in that particular chassis and with the current CPU and Memory. Computers can often have a relatively short life-cycle, especially since often times low quality parts are used in order to save money and since manufacturers expect you to update your system like every 5 years or so. Bad capacitors as someone mentioned are often one of the problems. Some manufacturers such as Gigabyte opt to use the higher quality solid capacitors on most of their boards which have a far longer life-cycle and are more reliable. There is no practical way to say how much more life you system has as it depends on many variables and how the computer was used. Just FYI. If your computer works and it does what you need then you are right, you don't need to upgrade but if the motherboard has gone bad, id recommend you just buy a new one at a discount. Even the bottom dollar ones at most stores like best buy/staples/office depot etc will perform better than what you currently have...

 

[48548]

I have a 5 year old precision workstation I run, with dual 3.6 gig xeons, and 7 gig of ram. It is old, but I think the optiplex and precisions along with the power edge stuff because they are all business models come with at least 3 year warranties if not longer are made with better stuff. My machine runs windows 7 x64 fine. But from the above post when I do have a problem I will be buying a new machine because it will not be worth putting any money into it.

 

[strnjss]

Ok, I don't know what everyone here is talking about power supplies for. I am a computer repair tech, and if I understand your problem correctly, your computer is getting stuck in standby mode.

That yellow light you see blinking means in most cases that your computer is just in standby mode.

Now in theory, moving your mouse, or pushing a button on your keyboard should bring it out of standby and back to your OS.

However, I've come across systems sometimes that it won't allow USB devices (your keyboard and mouse unless your have PS2 connections) to bring it out of standby.

Without seeing your system, it's hard to know the exact problem, as many could cause this, but the first thing to check would be the settings in your BIOS.

Since you don't seem to have much experience, I don't recommend you mess with your BIOS in any way. But if you have a friend or someone with more experience around, have them check the setting in there. There should be an option to not turn off USB power. Each BIOS is different, so I can't tell you exactly where it would be or what it would be called.

A work around I usually have my customers use when I don't work on their machines directly is to go into your Windows power management settings (in Control Panel).

In your Power Options, set "put the computer to sleep" to "never". Your monitor and everything will still go off to save power, but your system will be easily "wake-able" using your mouse or keyboard.

If you were having a physical power supply issue, you would be having things like random shutdowns and restarts more than likely. In my experience, it would not cause you to just get stuck in power savings mode.

 

[Davefr]

A PSU sounds like a likely culprit but there could be other factors.

The best way to debug a computer is to disconnect everything. (HD, peripherals and remove all memory except the bare minimum). If it POST's then start adding peripherals one at a time until it acts up again. That will narrow it down.

If it won't even POST in a bare minimum configuration then you need to look at swapping PSU, video, min. memory. If that doesn't work then it's likely the MB. It could also be something as simple as the BIOS not detecting the CPU fan spooling up to min. RPM. That could be due to dust or a connector coming loose.

If you can, try the Dell user forums. They can be a wealth of info. since problems can often be widespread.

 

[zer0cell]

I have a 5 year old precision workstation I run, with dual 3.6 gig xeons, and 7 gig of ram. It is old, but I think the optiplex and precisions along with the power edge stuff because they are all business models come with at least 3 year warranties if not longer are made with better stuff. My machine runs windows 7 x64 fine. But from the above post when I do have a problem I will be buying a new machine because it will not be worth putting any money into it.

In its day your computer was probably pretty sweet, and still isn't bad. Personally my computer "strategy" if you will, is to upgrade the parts as I see fit. For example; The case you see below I have had for at least 5 years, probably more like 7+ years and although it cost me over $130 at the time it was well worth it. It's made of thick aluminum (no plastic or other metal whatsoever except for screws) and is sturdy, heavy and well built. I also have a good power supply in there which I have had for a while as well.

The case has been with me through like 3 total computer rebuilds... saves on waste, not having to throw it away every time I need a more powerful PC and being that I like this chassis and it has been discontinued I see no reason to toss it whatsoever. I plan on building a new computer in like 2012, and all I need to do is change out the motherboard, CPU and RAM and keep all the other parts so the upgrade cost will be relatively low. Eventually I might upgrade my video card as needed. By piecing it together I get exactly what I want and I'll never buy a pre-built PC unless I have to as in the case of a laptop. I don't expect everyone to agree with this way of doing it but it makes me happy

Bad pic by the way, it looks much nicer in person.

 

[zer0cell]

I did recommend to check the BIOS settings first but if that did not work I suggested the Power supply could possibly be an issue from how I interpret the problem. I also suggested the motherboard could be having some sort of issue...

 

[nate379]

Yellow light only blinks when I push the power button. When it normally goes to sleep mode it would blink a blue light.

Even if I shut the computer down, it will just do the yellow blinking light unless I hold the power button, unplug the power supply, wait till it stops blinking, and then plug it back in. Then I get a blue light and it will fire back up.

Ok, I don't know what everyone here is talking about power supplies for. I am a computer repair tech, and if I understand your problem correctly, your computer is getting stuck in standby mode.

That yellow light you see blinking means in most cases that your computer is just in standby mode.

Now in theory, moving your mouse, or pushing a button on your keyboard should bring it out of standby and back to your OS.

However, I've come across systems sometimes that it won't allow USB devices (your keyboard and mouse unless your have PS2 connections) to bring it out of standby.

Without seeing your system, it's hard to know the exact problem, as many could cause this, but the first thing to check would be the settings in your BIOS.

Since you don't seem to have much experience, I don't recommend you mess with your BIOS in any way. But if you have a friend or someone with more experience around, have them check the setting in there. There should be an option to not turn off USB power. Each BIOS is different, so I can't tell you exactly where it would be or what it would be called.

A work around I usually have my customers use when I don't work on their machines directly is to go into your Windows power management settings (in Control Panel).

In your Power Options, set "put the computer to sleep" to "never". Your monitor and everything will still go off to save power, but your system will be easily "wake-able" using your mouse or keyboard.

If you were having a physical power supply issue, you would be having things like random shutdowns and restarts more than likely. In my experience, it would not cause you to just get stuck in power savings mode.

 

[bsaint]

could be a ton of stuff that's too much to list over the net.

 

[strnjss]

Yellow light only blinks when I push the power button. When it normally goes to sleep mode it would blink a blue light.

Even if I shut the computer down, it will just do the yellow blinking light unless I hold the power button, unplug the power supply, wait till it stops blinking, and then plug it back in. Then I get a blue light and it will fire back up.

oh that's different, i misunderstood. People here are right, it could easily be a power supply issue then.

If you're using your system, and don't mind the risk, I would create a bootable OS CD, something like Knoppix Live CD, and run that. See if you have similar issues running off of the CD when it goes into power savings mode. That way you can rule out Windows issues.

if you don't want to go through the trouble, it can't hurt to just replace the power supply anyway and go from there if you plan on keeping your system. They go for around $50 for a nice one.

When you get a replacement, make sure it's a high quality one. I'm not sure if your case accepts a standard ATX power supply or not. The cheap ones don't last very long, and can take your motherboard down with it.

I built a system a few years ago, and used the power supply that came with the cheap case I bought. It lasted for about a year and I started having all kinds of crazy problems. The power supply even tested fine on my power supply tester.

I replaced the crappy stock one with a really nice Ultra brand, and it fixed all my issues. Luckily the old one didn't do any damage.

They've got some decent deals on power supplys over at tigerdirect.com right now you might want to check out. Find out if you have a standard ATX power supply or not though.

 

[GreyOwl]

One other thing is to power down and remove and reseat the memory modules. They can cause all sorts of problems. Maybe even try with only one at a time if you have more than one.
Charles

 

[billymade]

Not a bad place to start; they have a tech manual you can download, chat with tech support and also discussion groups!
http://support.dell.com/support/top...=us&l=en&s=gen&~ck=mn&SystemID=INSP_DSKTP_518

replacement parts online:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=shop:1&source=og&sa=N&tab=wf