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83973
Inspiron 531 Won't Power-up. No Lights On Anywhere.
I can't power on my mini tower.
When plugged-in to known working outlet there is no green ( or any other color ) showing in light just below power socket on back, and no light from on/off button on front.
My daughter powered off with front on/off button after a browser window hung. Since the time she powered it off, the front on/off button has been unlit and unresponsive. as i began to explore the situation i noticed a green light lit, on the back just below the power cord socket. I unplugged the machine and the green light went out. Plugged it in again and now there are no lights on anyplace. no noises. nothin.
I tried unplugging all cords and holding the front power button for 20 seconds. didn't help.
Is the red "thing" on the back, between the power socket and the light, a breaker or switch of some kind?
I gather from reading other threads that the lack of a green light in the back means the PSU is not getting power. Is it likely that the PSU is dead and doesn't recognize that it IS getting power?
Thanks in advance for any and all guidance!
fairman14065
12 Posts
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January 17th, 2013 20:00
The power supply did the trick! Used a Cougar RSB400. Thanks to the forum participants for patience and helpful guidance! let me return the favor some time. Visit me and my homies at goldwingfacts.com for tips about serving a different sort of machine. Cheers!
DELL-Chinmay S
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January 12th, 2013 05:00
Hi fairman14065,
You can drain out the residual power by following the steps below:
You can check the voltage connector switch (in between power connector and the LED of power supply) on the rear of the system tower and make sure it is set to 110V. Another step you can try is to swap the monitor cable with the system power cable and see if it makes any difference.
In case the issue persists, power supply might have to be replaced. Please reply for further clarifications.
fairman14065
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January 12th, 2013 08:00
have followed all suggestions provided. none resulted in any change with system. no lights on anywhere. on/off button not doing anything.
shesagordie
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January 12th, 2013 10:00
If you are comfortable working around computers, you could try the following:
Note: The only 100% method of testing a PSU, is to install a known working power supply.
Unplug the cord from the power supply, hold the power button in for about 15/20 seconds, open the case, unplug the 24-pin power connector from the motherboard and jump the Green wire to one of the Black wires, reconnect the power cord and power the system on, if power supply, case fans and the hard drive run, then the PSU maybe be good.
Note: Do not remove any wires from the plug, use a small piece of wire or a paper clip as a jumper.
Power supply checks out and the system still does not work, again remove the power cord, hold the power button in for several seconds to discharge the residue power, reconnect the 24-pin connector to the motherboard.
Remove all the PCI cards, the video card [if applicable], memory, all peripherals, disconnect the data and power cables to all the drives, check that the front panel cable is connected to motherboard, with nothing else connected to the system, reconnect the power cable and power the system on.
If there is no difference in the diagnostic lights, 'Beep' codes and/or the LED indication of the power button, it would appear that the motherboard has died and/or maybe the processor.
Bev.
fairman14065
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January 12th, 2013 10:00
correction. i was not looking at the rear light from straight-on. it is green when the power supply is plugged-in, but no lights or response from the power button on the front.
fairman14065
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January 12th, 2013 12:00
Followed a variation on your instructions, and nothing happened. Not even the green light on the PSU comes on.
Unplugged the cord from the power supply, held the power button in for about 15/20 seconds, did not disconnect the 24-pin connector, simply jumpered the Green wire to one of the Black wires with connector in place, reconnected the power cord.
no fans, no lights front or back, no beeps. attempted to push to power button on front. no response.
is there anything other than a bad PSU possible?
I did not disconnect the 24-pin connector because it seems really stuck in place. Is there a trick or a tool needed to disconnect this?
shesagordie
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January 12th, 2013 13:00
fairman14065
Both the 24-pin and the square 4-pin motherboard power connectors have a latch on the side, that must released to remove the connectors from the their sockets, see the above image for details.
Bev.
fairman14065
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January 12th, 2013 14:00
Bev -
yes. i'd seen the latch and believe I'd released it far enough to disconnected the connector. time, age, heat, weak fingers, over worrying about damaging the board may all have contributed to the connector seeming a bit stuck. I found the 4-pin with it's release latch to be hard to remove too. good to know that i'm not missing some "special" tool for pulling connectors.
do my findings suggest that the next best thing to try is purchase a PSU?
would you have expected the LED on the PSU to go off with the jumper in place?
thanks for your follow up
shesagordie
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January 12th, 2013 15:00
fairman14065
Yep, personally the power supply would be the first part I would replace, as you need a 'Known' working power supply to check the motherboard.
No, I would not exect the LED on the back of the power supply to go off, as it only indicates power availability for power supply.
Generic standard ATX power supply units can be installed, with either a 24-pin or 20+4-pin main motherboard power connector, with or without the on/off switch.
You should be able to buy a compatible power supply from either a local or online computer store.
Note: You require a power supply with four SATA power connectors.
Bev.
fairman14065
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January 12th, 2013 16:00
excellent Bev.
i gather you still aren't putting full confidence on the PSU being the culprit? To confirm working PSU, is it sufficient to connect just the two motherboard connectors and plug in the PSU?
as a forum member since 2001, you've undoubtedly seen lots of repeat issues. in frequency, would you guess you've seen more failed motherboards or PSU?
got the old PSU out. had to take both sides of the enclosure off to get at the 24-pin connector from two sides. i've still got numb spots in my fingers from squeezing that lock tab.
it seems that my local _ry's and _iger_irect don't have the ATX options with 4 SATA connectors in stock. i guess this won't get done today.
thanks again. i'll make sure to update the forum if/when i get resolution.
shesagordie
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January 12th, 2013 18:00
fairman14065
Power supplies.
Unfortunately, while you can make an informed diagnosis, sometimes computer troubleshooting, is diagnostics by substitution.
Bev.
rdunnill
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January 12th, 2013 19:00
Yep. At least a power supply is cheaper than a motherboard, and easier to replace, too.
Fry's should have a compatible power supply; SATA has been the standard for nine years now, and old-fashioned ATA drives are specialty items now. Note that you don't need four SATA connectors; even if your power supply has no SATA connectors at all, you can use inexpensive Molex-to-SATA adapters to make the connectors compatible.
shesagordie
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January 17th, 2013 21:00
fairman14065
Happy to hear that replacing the power supply was the solution and thank you for the heads up.
Bev.