Dimension 2350 powers off

Question

My Dimension computer all of the sudden powered off while I was away on vacation. I thought that maybe it was a power outage, but that was not the case as all the clocks are correct. I tried powering it up again and it gets to the Windows User sign on screen. I can let it sit there for about 30 - 60 seconds without entering anything and it will just power off. Any ideas what may be causing the problem?

RoHe · Accepted Answer

If the fans spin up when you turn it on, that should be sufficient for it to boot, at least before the CPU overheats. When you removed the battery and pressed the power button you reset BIOS to factory defaults, but that hasn't seemed to help.

What color are the diagnostic LEDs on rear of the tower when you start to boot up? Are they all green?

What happens if you boot from your Windows Reinstallation CD or some other bootable CD? Yours is the second system today with essentially identical symptoms, though that other one isn't a 2350. That user thinks they may have a boot sector virus, so that's why you should try booting from a CD, meaning is it something on the hard drive or just the length of time the system is on before it shuts down again.

Other things to check would be to make sure heat sink hasn't come loose from the CPU so check the latches. Other possibility might be a failing power supply or failing heat sink.

You may have to disconnect from the wall and strip it down to the bare minimum. Disconnect all peripherials and remove all PCI cards, except video card, disconnect all internal drives except hard drive, unplugging network connections etc. Remove both RAM modules and then reinstall one in slot 1. Once that's all done, remove the battery again and press/hold power button so BIOS is reset and it detects that all those components aren't connected. Now see if it boots with only mouse, monitor, keyboard connected. If it still doesn't run properly, shut down again and swap the RAM modules in slot 1 and try booting again.

Ron

RoHe · Answer

What color is the power button when it shuts down? Off/blinking, green/amber? If you use a surge protector or power strip, try connecting the PC directly to the wall.

Check to see that all the vents are clean and fans are working. Could be overheating. Use some canned air to blow out the dust.

Try resetting BIOs to factory defaults. After checking that fans work, power off and disconnect PC from the wall. Press/hold power button on the tower for ~15 sec. Remove the battery from the motherboard and press/hold power button again for ~30 sec. Reinstall the battery (right-side-up!) and see if it boots with only mouse, monitor and keyboard attached.

What happens if you boot in Safe Mode or from your XP Reinstallation CD?

Ron

MarkWGF27 · Answer

Here are some details in response to yur questions:

1. When it powers off the power button has no color, it just shuts down. It powers off after about 45 seconds on the Windows user sign on screen.

2. Cleaned out all the dirt in the vents and wiped down the grill by the fan and in the back of the unit.

3. I took out the battery and wiped down the contact and re-inserted it. I tried to re-set the bios to factory defaults when it powered down.

4. When I try booting in Safe Mode, it starts going through the sequence and then powers itself off in about the same amount of time that it powers off in regular mode.

Both fans are working, how can I tell if they are working correctly?

Mark

MarkWGF27 · Answer

It always pays to read the complete reply before doing anything.

"Other thisgs to check ..... "

I remember when I took off the green cover on the fan that one of the latches seemed to be loose. I checked it again now and the piece of plastic that is used to secure the latch was broken off so the heat sink was not seated properly. At least now I know what the problem is. I removed the plastic square that is used to secure the heat sink and I have to find a place to get a new one.

Does Dell sell that plastic piece?

Thanks Ron for very detailed and to the point help.

Mark

RoHe · Answer

I poked around and the piece you need may be Dell part #8T065, but be sure to confirm that with Dell Spare Parts before purchasing. And if Dell doesn't have it, I found that part here. Price seems a bit high so, depending on what Dell charges - and assuming they have it in stock, you may want to look on the net to see if you can get it any where for less.

Ron

RoHe · Answer

You're quite welcome. Glad you found the problem...

I don't know if Dell will sell just that piece to you. You can contact Dell Spare Parts from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm CST Monday through Friday at 1-800-357-3355. Have your service tag and/or model number handy.

If they can't help, you may have to find an after-market heat sink that will fit that uses some other method of latching down and/or take it to a PC shop for repair.

Good luck with the repairs.

Ron

RoHe · Answer

:emotion-21:

MarkWGF27 · Answer

Thanks for the extra effort. I did some searches last night and actually found someone local this morning who carried the part, bought it for $10, installed it and I am back in business.

Thanks again

Mark

sbgardne · Answer

Similar situation: I have a 2350 with only 256MB RAM and saw an opportunity for a performance boost by upgrading it. Since the case was visibly furry with dust, I unplugged it, took the cover off, and took it outside to blow out the case with canned air. I have worked on dozens of Dimensions, PowerEdge, and Latitudes, and was Dell certified years ago on Optiplex.

I installed a new DIMM, provided power, video, mouse, and keyboard, and pressed the power button. Nothing. I confirmed the power was good and tried again. I returned the old DIMM and tried again: nothing. After systematically inspecting, removing and reseating the DIMMs, CPU fan and shroud, and main power connector, the power switch began responding: brief light flash from CD and HD lights. I was starting to think I had a power supply issue, or an on-off switch issue.

Hours later, I got the 2350 to the point where it would power up, run for about 15-30 seconds, and shut down. I was able to inspect the BIOS (A01) and confirm that memory is accurately seen in multiple increments (256, 512, 768), but the 2350 always shut down before the OS could fully load. I was unable to run Dell diags because it shut down too soon. No beep codes, no LED codes on the back. CPU fan was running as long as the machine was running,

Since it would run and shut down, I suspected some thermal issue. Heat sink is passive, seated, with no broken retaining mounts or latches (per other suggestions in this thread). Capacitors all look normal. It would boot to CD or floppy, but always went black after 30 seconds or so.

Now, I'm back to nothing. No diagnostic LEDs, no response from pushing the power button, I'm back to suspecting power supply. I do have a working Dimension 3000 here that I can potentially use for troubleshooting/parts, but am looking for guidance on whether to start with power switch or power supply-- or somewhere else.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

steve g

UPDATE: Bad power supply. I bought a Dell-branded 250w to replace the original 200w and life is good.

rava21rob · Answer

all lights on the back and inside are green

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Dimension 2350 powers off

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