Dell Optiplex GX620 will not boot

Question

I have a dell optiplex GX620 and when booted up it shows dell logo and bios revision.  After POST it goes to blank screen with a blinking cursor in the top left corner. The are no indication lights on the front, and power light is green. The hard drive and DVD drive are both detected in bios. I have reset the bios to default and removed the CMOS battery. I removed the hard drive and the DVD drive, but still goes blank. I have tried everything I have read in the Internet. All capacitors are not bulging or damaged. I don't know what else to try, any suggestions will be appreciated.. Thanks in advance.

Philip_Yip · Accepted Answer

Try running full system diagnostics. To do this see Windows Reinstallation Guide/F12 Boot Diagnostics (page 374):

http://philipyip.wordpress.com/dell-community-forums/

If the diagnostics pass it is an OS issue. Likely it is a Windows XP system and you will have issues getting a Windows XP Reinstallation CD from Dell as its about to reach End of Life. If you really want Windows XP reinstalled you can look on eBay for a Reinstallation CD however I do not recommend installation of an obsolete Windows OS. For more information see:

End of Life - April 2014 (Microsoft)
White Paper Mitigating Risk: Why Sticking with Windows XP is a Bad Idea. (IDC Analyze the Future)

You should consider clean installation of Windows 7 or 8.1 32 Bit which will both work on this model providing more than 1 GB of RAM is installed. Instructions in how to do so are in Windows Reinstallation Guide/A Clean Install of Windows 7/8.1.

Ramez M. · Answer

Corrupt OS. You will need to wipe and reinstall your OS, and it'll come back to life.

Slayer567 · Answer

I used the hard drive in other computer and it booted fine, I'm not sure what is happening

Slayer567 · Answer

It worked fine in another computer. Anyways I dont have a repair disk nor a copy of windows. It was pre-installed. Is there anyway to fix it without either of those things?

Ramez M. · Answer

Unfortunately not.

Slayer567 · Answer

Unfortunately it only has 512mb of ram. I suppose I can buy more but I don't really think it is worth it since all of the hardware Is pretty dated. Thanks for the help.

Philip_Yip · Answer

You can buy the RAM for a 1 GB - 2 GB upgrade for second hand for pretty cheap from eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&Brand=Crucial&Form%2520Factor=DIMM%2520240%252Dpin&_nkw=DDR2%20PC2-6400&_dcat=170083&Number%2520of%2520Modules=2&rt=nc&_udlo=0&_udhi=20

However the price of a modern license is still going to be pricy.

Slayer567 · Answer

I'm am now really confused. I tested the hard drive in my hp and it booted up windows cap with no problems... I'm starting to think its Hardware

rdunnill · Answer

I'm am now really confused. I tested the hard drive in my hp and it booted up windows cap with no problems... I'm starting to think its Hardware

Have you tried cleaning out any accumulated dust and reseating the memory?

Other thoughts are a failing power supply, bad capacitors on the motherboard or other motherboard damage. You might try reflashing the BIOS for giggles, but if it fails, the board is bricked.

As for XP, as has been pointed out, it's end of life and Microsoft will soon drop support, after which computer criminals will likely unleash a torrent of zero-day exploit attacks for which patches will never become available. You missed a chance last year to upgrade to 8.0 for $40, but Windows 7 64-bit is regularly offered for $80. (Subscribe to Newegg's electronic deals if you're interested.)

Slayer567 · Answer

I have reseated the memory and checked for any bad capacitors and the PSU seemed to be working fine as it does everythong except hang after POST. i don't know if this matters but  my HDD has  windows xp home edition and not pro That is meant for

rdunnill · Answer

A relative's 5150's power supply 'seemed' to be in good working order, but in fact it was failing and caused stability issues. I'm not sure this is the issue in your case, though. The  version of Windows shouldn't matter.

Slayer567 · Answer

From what I have read online, a failing PSU has a blinking amber light on the power button but mine is solid green. Still I do not know if it is bad.

rdunnill · Answer

It's hard to say. The way I'd troubleshoot it is by swapping known good parts in.

Slayer567 · Answer

I don't have any power supplies with a 24-pin connector

Slayer567 · Answer

I don't have any 24 pin power supplies so I'm not sure How i could test it

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Dell Optiplex GX620 will not boot

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