Startup issues with XPS 420

Hi Chris,

You can drain out the residual power by following the steps below:

• Power off the system from the power button or the wall jack.
• Disconnect the power cable from the wall jack and remove all the cables connected to the back of system tower including the power cable.
• Keep the power button of the system tower pressed for 30 seconds.
• This will release the surplus power from the system.
• Connect the power cable, keyboard cable and monitor cable only.
• Power on the system. 

Please check the status of power button light (blinking or solid) and also check if you hear any beeps from the system tower. If the power light is blinking blue, the computer is in standby mode. Press any key on the keyboard, move the mouse, or press the power button to resume normal operation. 

If you are comfortable opening the chassis, you can try re-seating the internal components of computer. You can find detailed information on re-seating system components from the Service Manual. Link for the manual is shared below:

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_xps_desktop/xps-420_owner%27s%20manual2_en-us.pdf

Note: Please ensure to follow the safety instructions mentioned in manual

Remove all the internal cards, drives, memory and other peripherals.  Only the power supply, motherboard and CPU should be connected. Power on the computer and check the status of power button. It should turn to blinking orange if these three components are working fine. If system powers on with blinking orange, shut down the computer, install memory and check the status again. 

If the status remains same, connect the hard drive and power on the computer. The system should boot to Windows. If the hard drive is fine. Once done after that, connect all the internal peripherals one by one and check status at each step. Whichever part causes the issue, you may have to replace it. 

Please share the findings. 

No luck.

Did the power down instructions as above but no change.  No beep either. No POST.

Power light is solid blue.

I removed all the memory and reseated it in turn in slot 1.  No change.

I'm thinking that the motherboard may be faulty.

Thanks...Chris

Hi Chris,

Did you try re-seating the other components and see if it makes any difference?

If the issue persists after performing the troubleshooting steps mentioned in previous post, it might be an issue with motherboard and need replacement.

Please reply for further clarifications.