5150 Desktop not powering up! Any Help?

Hey it seems like we need to check lot of things let us try one by one..

For Blinking Amber on this computer the issue is "The power supply is receiving power from the source but is unable to properly distribute it to the components."

1. If the power cable from the tower  is connected to power surge remove it and directly connect it to wall outlet and see if it works then problem is with Power surge.

2. unplug the monitor power chord and swap it to the tower and see whether it is working. If it is working then the problem is with Power cable.

3. check whether you can hear a click sound (not the beep) if not the power button might have gone bad.

4. We need to check whether we are getting any beep sound.

5. Check the Diagnostics LED you will be having 1 2 3 4 lights glowing you need to tell which lights are glowing and which are not so that we can findout what has gone wrong/bad.

james2008mac

Try a different power supply.

If you are under warranty, contact Dell's Technical support for the replacement.

No warranty, as 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.

sorry forgot to add;

Yes the amber light still blinks when CPU fan/Ram/HD/DVD-WR & any PCI cards are unplugged from the power unit and mother board just leaving the two power connections connected to the mother board. If it is not the CMOS battery causing any problems why do you think by removing this and putting it back in results in a successful power up? When I do this the amber light blinks very fast goes off and the computer automatically powers up, then goes through the same steps as above...

Many thanks...

I tried these points out last night;

1. No joy, I tried several different power outlets around the house (All are good) with no chainge.

2. Already tried different power cables, still no luck.

3. The power button seems to work ok, it clicks when I press it and powers up the machine when the amber light is not blinking.

4. Haven't heard any beeping sounds coming from the machine at all.

The only way to power up the machine is to take the battery out and put back in. When the machine boots all the number lights flash on and off but the main sequence that stays on is 1,2,3 or 2,3. A black screen is displayed to boot up or set settings, I am assuming that this is because I have taken the battery out. If I boot as normal comp loads up as normal all number lights go out and it runs fine. Once the machine is on there is no problems in restarting it but if I shut it down and leave it for more than 10 minutes the blinking amber light comes back and I'm back in the same boat again...

what you think?

many thanks...

The Dell 5150 must definitely have a common defect. It amazes me that Dell doesn't have a recall on this model.  My mother-in-law's Dell 5150 had the exact same problem.  She brought to her work's IT group and they could not get it boot.  She was going to throw it away but I told her I would take it and maybe used it for parts.  I decided to see if I could get it to boot.  All the characteristic you describe on your 5150 is what I observed.  I took the battery out and put a new one end but no change until I found on a message board a message to reset the CMOS on the board with the jumper.  I tried it and it worked and booted up.  The problem, like yours, everytime you power down you have the repeat the same steps.  I stopping cutting the computer off and have to do it only when there is a power outage.   

The Dell 5150 must definitely have a common defect. It amazes me that Dell doesn't have a recall on this model.  My mother-in-law's Dell 5150 had the exact same problem.  She brought to her work's IT group and they could not get it boot.  She was going to throw it away but I told her I would take it and maybe used it for parts.  I decided to see if I could get it to boot.  All the characteristic you describe on your 5150 is what I observed.  I took the battery out and put a new one end but no change until I found on a message board a message to reset the CMOS on the board with the jumper.  I tried it and it worked and booted up.  The problem, like yours, everytime you power down you have the repeat the same steps.  I stopping cutting the computer off and have to do it only when there is a power outage.

THIS is Dell's answer to the Dimension 5150/E510 Blinking Amber LED [No power or No post] problem.

Bev.

Bev, or Shesagordie,

I looked at the link you provided.

I don't see any activity on that thread since mid-April.

Does that mean that no more 5150's or E510's are having this problem?

I just joined the forum today, as I am having just this problem with my E510.

Where would you suggest that I start with DELL in enlisting their support for resolving my E510's problem?

Thanks,

Craig

Re: 5150 Desktop not powering up! Any Help?

Bev, or Shesagordie,

I looked at the link you provided.

I don't see any activity on that thread since mid-April.

Does that mean that no more 5150's or E510's are having this problem?

I just joined the forum today, as I am having just this problem with my E510.

Where would you suggest that I start with DELL in enlisting their support for resolving my E510's problem?

Thanks,

Craig

Craig

No, it does not mean that, the e510/5150 systems are still have this problem, what it means, it's only post Dell submitted addressing the problem, with a possible solution.

If you have an blinking amber power button LED, it might worth spending a few $ and try a new power supply.

Unless you still have a warranty, Dell will charge for Technical Support and the parts.    :emotion-6:

Bev.

Bev,

Thanks.

I am out of warranty.  The last "support" I got from Dell (and for which I paid) was from a guy in India.  The support turned out to be quite incorrect, and led me down the wrong path.  I finally figured out how to boot my non-booting PC (this was a software problem not related to my current situation) from my Norton Ghost CD, and was able to reimage my disk to a previous state where things worked properly.

Regarding the PS, is it standard or should I contact Dell to get the proper replacement? 

My E510 has two hard drives in a RAID 1 configuration, and a digital display, so the configuration includes a PCI express 16 card with both digital and analog (I assume) connectors for the display.  I don't know if those two items change the power requirements.  There is a wattage sticker on the PS, though.

Thanks,

Craig

Craig.

There'a no need to buy the power supply from Dell, the 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.

You can use a power supply with higher wattage without a problem

There's no guarantee that replacing the power supply will fix the problem, but a blinking amber power button LED can indicate a failing PSU and cost less than a motherboard.

As you know, I've already posted Dell's solution, that says, basically, 'Replace Everything'.

Bev.

Hello all and a Happy New Year...

Been off line for a while since my machine was playing up, my comp is now fully working as normal. I ended up replacing the Dell 305w ATX unit for a new 'X-Power ATX 480w' power unit (with 2x SATA power connectors) as Bev suggested, its now kick the machine back to life with no boot problems! I got this from maplin.co.uk for around £25 and it seems much quieter than the old unit as well. Its been going strong for about a week now so hopefully this will keep running for the next few years...

Many thanks to all that helped...

I HAVE 3 5150'S ALL FAILED WITHIN ONE WEEK, DOING THE EXACT SAME THING... BLINKING YELLOW LIGHT ON THE POWER BUTTON,  I DID GET ONE TO REBOOT AND HAVE LEFT IT ON SINCE. THE OTHER TWO WILL NOT COME BACK UP.

I HAVE CALLED DELL "PAY SUPPORT" AND THEY SAY THERE IS NO PROBLEM, THE ANSWER IS TO START REPLACING PARTS. I HAVE CONFIMED THE POWER ARE GOOD.

I WILL TRY THE BATTERY TRICK AND HOPE TO GET ONE OF THE 2 BACK UP,, WE ARE A BUSINESS WITH MANY DELL COMPUTERS, PRINTERS AND SWITCHES, AND HAVE NOT HAD ISSUES LIKE THIS IN THE PAST WITH ANY OF OUR SYSTEMS, BUT THIS ONE IS VERY FRUSTRATING, BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF SUPPORT.

ANY HELP WOULD GREATLY BE APPRECIATED.

Hello all and a Happy New Year... Been off line for a while since my machine was playing up, my comp is now fully working as normal. I ended up replacing the Dell 305w ATX unit for a new 'X-Power ATX 480w' power unit (with 2x SATA power connectors) as Bev suggested, its now kick the machine back to life with no boot problems! I got this from maplin.co.uk for around £25 and it seems much quieter than the old unit as well. Its been going strong for about a week now so hopefully this will keep running for the next few years... Many thanks to all that helped...

Happy to hear the problem is resolved by replacing the power supply.

Bev.

I HAVE 3 5150'S ALL FAILED WITHIN ONE WEEK, DOING THE EXACT SAME THING... BLINKING YELLOW LIGHT ON THE POWER BUTTON,  I DID GET ONE TO REBOOT AND HAVE LEFT IT ON SINCE. THE OTHER TWO WILL NOT COME BACK UP. I HAVE CALLED DELL "PAY SUPPORT" AND THEY SAY THERE IS NO PROBLEM, THE ANSWER IS TO START REPLACING PARTS. I HAVE CONFIMED THE POWER ARE GOOD. I WILL TRY THE BATTERY TRICK AND HOPE TO GET ONE OF THE 2 BACK UP,, WE ARE A BUSINESS WITH MANY DELL COMPUTERS, PRINTERS AND SWITCHES, AND HAVE NOT HAD ISSUES LIKE THIS IN THE PAST WITH ANY OF OUR SYSTEMS, BUT THIS ONE IS VERY FRUSTRATING, BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF SUPPORT. ANY HELP WOULD GREATLY BE APPRECIATED.

RDN-EBS

I love that expression of Dell's techie, 'THERE IS NO PROBLEM'.

I expect that you have read THIS post on the parts Dell recommends to replace, personally I would check the price of replacing the parts, against buying a new computer without the monitor.

Bev.