XPS 8500 will not start, orange light on motherboard, will not boot, BIOS inaccessible, black screen

Paperclip test?

Then you have to try the paperclip test or a power supply tester.  The Green Light only means power input is available not that the power supply is ok.

http://support.antec.com/support/solutions/articles/1000015319-is-my-power-supply-dead-the-paperclip-test

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIABG95502625

Thanks for your reply to my post.

So the graphics card might be damaged? Any suggestions on how to debug?

I did disconnect (what I think is) the data line from the HD but no change. In what way should it show failure?

I have done the following actions so far to try and resolve the matter:

- Disconnect all externally attached devices except screen and key board

- Disconnect the DVD and HDD from motherboard

- Reset the CMOS by removing the motherboard internal battery for 10min

- replace the motherboard battery

None of these actions has made any differenece

Orange LED on motherboard means absolutely nothing.  It only indicates that 5VSB power is available.

Green and Yellow Lines indicate GPU fan failure and overheat damage.

Disconnect the Data Line for the hard drive and turn on.

It should show failure at that point.

If it does not there are other problems.

Thank you for the link. And thank you for assisting me in this matter @Speedstep ! I do hesitate a bit to put a paperclip into my computer as I don't really understand what I would be doing, but why not.

One question to be overly clear before proceeding with the test, there is clearly some power going through the system as the fan starts and the lights indicating existence of power are on, so my power supply is not dead as the heading on the link you posted suggests. Should I proceed anyway?

Disconnect the Hard Drive Data cable and see if it will POST with bad hard drive message.  You could also try the BIST button. Before you can tell what is wrong you have to be able to determine what is ok. You don't want to remove the hard drive power cable because this is a load that should always be there. A bad power supply may also be the issue.

Ok, thanks.

My power supply does not have the diagnostics button, only a green light

The power button is not flashing and is emitting a steady white light

I tried disconnecting the HDD cable(s) but unfortunately the screen is black. I don't think the key board or the screen is detected by the computer.

Paperclip test is not necessary if power comes on.  This doesnt rule out bad power supply.

Remove the video card and turn on.  It should beep.

You should find a known working video card and set legacy CSM on with Secure Boot OFF.

 Beep

If the power button is steady white, you might also suspect that the monitor failed.

Can you test this monitor on a different PC or a different monitor on this PC?  I'd do that before going any further.

I had a similar problem recently. My XPS 8500 shut down while I was using it and then would not restart. In my case the power light stayed orange when the PC turned on. You could hear the fans start up as the PC tried to start and then the PC would shut down again and attempt another start and so on. I tried a number of things including unplugging various components such as the HDD and graphics card, re-seating the memory, cleaning connectors, etc - none of which worked. I even had a new PSU and that didn't help.

What did work for me in the end was something I saw on a Youtube clip of someone diagnosing an orange light issue with a Dell PC - reset the BIOS. To do this simply take the cell battery out of the motherboard wait 30 seconds and put it back in. When I did this and restarted the computer it powered up properly. (Ironically in the video the guy trying to fix the Dell said that taking the battery out very rarely solved the problem but it did in his case - and mine.)

www.youtube.com/watch

Personally, I have been having a few issues with the PC shutting down unexpectedly - which a new PSU did not resolve. I assume that my motherboard is on the way out. The BIOS reset "fix" may have reset something that got the PC started again but I doubt it is a long term fix.

I think I solved to problem. In my case ot was the GPU that has failed. I am not sure what caused the faliure but I will go through the 24 pin motherboard power connector to make sure that is in order. Thank you all for your help!

Unfortunately things do fail from excessive heat, power surges, cheap components, etc etc.

Surprising your monitor didn't give a "No signal" or "Entering Power Saving Mode" or similar message if the GPU failed. But at least you got it sorted...