Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
41 Posts
0
26972
After upgrade to GTX 660, XPS 8500 won't boot (or POST)
I have a Dell XPS 8500 with Windows 7 Professional. It came with an AMD Radeon 7570 graphics card. I bought an EVGA Geforce GTX 660 card (model # 02G-P4-3069-KB). This is one of the ones listed as compatible in another Dell thread. There was no ATI software listed in Programs and Features, so I uninstalled the driver for the 7570 from Device Manager and deleted the driver software for the device. The screen went to VGA. I shut down and disconnected all the cables from the computer. A few hours later, I opened the case and removed the Radeon. I disconnected the front panel USB cable and the SATA data cables from the hard drive and optical drive motherboard ports to be able to install the new graphics card. I connected a 6-pin power cable to the card, reconnected the cables I disconnected before, checked everything, and reconnected the power, monitor, and keyboard and mouse cables. The computer won't boot. It won't even complete POST.
The power button is a solid amber, the power supply light is green, the mobo light is amber, and the power supply fan, CPU fan and graphics fan are all spinning. The optical drive door opens when I press the button. But there are no beeps, nothing on the monitor (it stays in amber power save mode). I rechecked all the connections, even removed the graphics card and reinstalled. Same thing. Thinking the card may be bad, I reinstalled the old Radeon card and even tried booting without a video card. No change. I disconnected the hard drive cable from the motherboard. I cleared CMOS with the jumper. I removed and reinserted the mobo battery. I even tried connecting the monitor to the VGA port in case clearing CMOS reset the system to use onboard video. The computer still won't boot (or POST) and no beeps.
Suspecting the power supply, I removed the 24-pin and 4-pin power connectors from the motherboard (fingers still hurt) and connected them to my power tester. I get the following readings:
| +5V: | 4.9 to 5.0 |
| +12V1: |
12.0 to 12.1 |
| +12V2: |
12.0 to 12.2 |
| -12V: |
11.8 to 11.9 |
| +3.3V: |
3.2 |
| +5VSB: |
5.0 |
| PG: |
HH (with an audible alarm) |
So it appears that the computer is not getting a Power Good signal, if my tester is accurate, and that all the other voltages are according to spec (at least when not under load).
Could the new graphics card have knocked out the PG circuitry in the power supply?
One odd anomaly: When I removed the motherboard coin-cell battery, I checked the voltage with my multimeter. It reads 4.78 volts. This seems awfully high for a 3-volt battery. This reading is not under load, but still. I did try booting without the battery unsuccessfully.
Where to go next?
Koeven
140 Posts
0
February 17th, 2015 20:00
I ran the same card for two years in my XPS 8500 with no problems and with the OEM power supply. I have two thoughts - you may have not correctly inserted the card and could be causing a short on the motherboard. You might try pulling it and reinserting it carefully. The other thought is that you may need to upgrade the Bios to version A12. have you tried either one of those?
jupitermoon
41 Posts
0
February 17th, 2015 22:00
It was an easy card to insert. The weight of the card makes it very easy to push into the slots. No gold contacts showing. And I did remove and reinsert it several times. It's not shorting something out because the problems continue even when I remove the card and reinstall the old card. It won't boot with the new card, the old card or even no card!
If Dell uses the Power Good signal in the power supply, it looks like that could be what is preventing it from booting. I don't have a spare power supply on hand to test, so I'd have to order one. But it seems like an odd coincidence that this would fail right after installing the new graphics card.
I did wonder about the BIOS version. I "think" I'm at A12, but I'm not sure. I can't get the computer to boot to check!
bajacrazy32
9 Posts
1
February 18th, 2015 11:00
I am guessing that the card being a 660 drew way to much power from the psu. That is a power hungry card. I would recommend trying a new psu of at least 500 plus watts
jupitermoon
41 Posts
0
February 18th, 2015 13:00
The poster above says he ran the same card for two years with the same power supply! Specs say requires a 450W or greater power supply with 24 amps on the +12V rail. The OEM supply is 460W and has 42 amps combined on +12VA, +12VB and +12VC and can supply 385W solely to the 12V rails. The 660 is quite power efficient and has a maximum draw of only 140W. In any case, running with the stock power supply shouldn't cause a boot problem.
Given the symptoms which I posted earlier, does anyone think this can be anything other than a power supply problem? I'm not convinced since all the fans are running. But now I can't boot with the original card either!
bajacrazy32
9 Posts
0
February 18th, 2015 15:00
It can pop a psu cap. Just because his is fine doesn't mine your could work the same. Every system is different mate.
jupitermoon
41 Posts
0
February 18th, 2015 17:00
Well, I can't argue with that! :emotion-1:
I'll just add that there are a lot of others using 660s, and even more powerful cards, with the stock OEM supply.
My system is not loaded and nowhere near the edge as far as pushing that power supply though so it would have to be a real cheapo, or just bad luck I guess, to pop a cap on first boot. But that would explain why I can no longer boot with or without the original video card.
jupitermoon
41 Posts
0
February 19th, 2015 16:00
Looks like I'm going to have to get a new power supply for testing. I have a question. The Dell OEM power supply has three 12-volt rails. Many of the better power supplies I've looked at only have a single 12-volt rail with more amps. In a separate thread, SpeedStep said: "...it is clear that on power supply units that are going to be using greater than 18A there needs to be multiple 12V rails." But I see others have upgraded their OEM power supply to one with a single 12-volt rail. I'd appreciate if someone could clarify this.
jupitermoon
41 Posts
0
February 19th, 2015 16:00
What is the difference between a SOLID amber light and a BLINKING amber light when you press the power button?