Dim E510 boot and auto shutdown problem

Question

Hi On July 4th, my Dimension E510 started acting like never before. First it shut down on its own. Then it started and came up with the black screen. I tried all sorts of things, like hitting the f8 key while it tries to come up, trying Safe Mode, but now it has a fixed routine. I let it sit overnight and then it will boot up, going to Windows XP for about 5 minutes.  Then it automatically shuts down and begins to cycle on and off, sometimes showing the Dell bios screen, but never getting to Windows. It then shuts down to begin another 4 second cycle. So I pull the plug to end its misery.  Inside all is well with no dust, the fan running, and the battery at 3 volts.    What to do? Dell help has sent the replacement recovery discs since the Win XP came preloaded. But that may be a drastic and unnecessary way to go. Thanks for any comments, CR

AlanKS · Answer

Almost certain that a reload will not help because what you describe sounds like a thermal fault but where?

PSU would be my favorite so if you can get one try an alternative PSU.

Normally the CPU has an overheat protection system which means that it should throttle down and become very slow but in extreme circumstances it will just shut down altogether so check that you have good contact between the CPU and the heatsink. The best way I know of is to remove the heatsink, clean off the old compound, apply new and fit the heatsink back on, remove it and check the compound has spread out to a thin layer covering the whole contact area. Avoid the temptation to apply too much compound as a thin layer works best

flagmon · Answer

Dear Alan,

Thanks for your response. I too suspected the power supply, but it really didn’t show any symptoms beforehand. The machine has been faultless for 30 months and now that the warrantee is up it still gave no hints of trouble before its sudden demise last week. I have been running it with the side of the case removed and after its 4 or 5 minutes of running there is only a slight rise in the temperature of the heat sink.

Today I was able to hit F12 and to start the hard disk diagnostics, but it shut down after a minute of running them.

Based upon another note from this board I stopped wuauclt.exe from running, to no avail.

I do not have a spare PSU and the idea of taking out the heat sink out looks difficult to me. Besides the only “compounds” I have are WD40 and Vaseline.

Sincerely, CR

shesagordie · Answer

flagmon

Dimension 5150/E510 systems do not use a Dell proprietary power supply, you can install most generic ATX power supplies with either a 24-pin or 20+4-pin main motherboard power connector. As the D-5150/E510 has an open back panel, a power supply with or without the on/off switch can be used and can be purchased from most local or online computer stores.

A power supply with a minimum of two SATA power connectors is needed.

Bev.

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AlanKS · Answer

Bev has provided the important info regarding the PSU in that it has standard ATX connectors so any ATX PSU should fit from a clone PC provided it has a 24 pin mainboard primary connector and a 4 pin CPU power connector.

The PSU is definitely my favorite culprit in that has no logic built in so all it can do is ether work or not. It has a separate "power good" lead that if the supply rails go out of range it will stop the PC instantly with no half measures but when it cools down it will come back on again.

If you can borrow one to test the fix you can then buy one once you know it is the right option. Don't be tempted to buy the very high power PSUs as these tend to be a bit larger than the basic ATX spec and may not fit.

The CPU is a very second choice and the Dell web site has the technical manual which describes the removal quite clearly. Either side of the black shroud over the heat sink just behind the the fan are two screws that hold the shroud and heatsink down. When you undo them they are captive so they won't fall out and the whole thing is sprung to apply pressure on the CPU. The whole assembly tips back until it can be unhooked. Heatsink compound is a specific product, normally sold by electronics and computer accessory shops and is in either a small syringe or minature toothpaste tube.

flagmon · Answer

Dear Bev and Alan,

Thanks to you both. I really appreciate your answers and I am quite impressed with the expertise you demonstrate. I will feel confident in going ahead with your suggestions.

However, I have one more doubt. How does the hardware tell WinXP to shut down?

Maybe I have a software problem. I say that because for a couple of minuets XP does run; in fact it goes through part of the shut down cycle.

Here is a detailed account of today’s behavior with only the mouse, keyboard, and speakers connected:

9:49 start by connecting power cord and pushing the on button

Dell Win XP black background screen comes up. I touch nothing

9:50 Windows comes up as usual, but the clock is 3 minutes slower than my laptop.

9:52 Windows Win shows normal shut down screen.

App error message box shows ccSvcHst error and give two button choices. I hit the one for debug and black screen comes up immediately.

9:52 machine starts itself

9:53 Windows welcome screen appears but goes quickly to the logoff and saving settings screens

Machine then shuts off and begins cycling from green to amber on the control button.

9:54 I unplug to end the misery

So what is causing this hardware or software?

Thanks a million.

flagmon · Answer