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Tommy-LE

21 Posts

9006

February 19th, 2004 03:00

GX150 Tower: No Power, Amber Lights blinking

System just decided to not power up a few weeks ago.  The LED in the middle of the board flashes Yellow.  The built-in network jack has two lights flashing on it (one amber, the other yellow).  Since then...

  1. Local tech replaced the motherboard (sent direct from Dell; did not work, returned)
  2. Unplugged everything
  3. I changed Power Supply (sent direct from Dell; did not work, still have)
  4. Pulled off front cover, switches appear functional with soldered connections, nothing loose
  5. Reseated everything (memory, CPU, all removable cables
  6. Replaced processor (used Celeron 800, normally a P3-933 - Tech support said this processor would work on the Socket 370 M/B)
  7. Attempted suicide, but amber light on gun just lit up and flashed at me

What am I missing?  Do I dare start the process over or trash this otherwise phenomenal machine.  The only step I didn't personally do was step 1.  The Tech does have an attitude about Dell's proprietary status; could he have fleeced me on what he allegedly did (he did want to sell me a different PC)?

Anybody have any ideas?  Hopefully Dell's forum users can figure out the blinking lights before the Smith & Wesson users can figure out the message I left there about their blinking lights.  LOL

jwark

267 Posts

February 19th, 2004 04:00

points more towards the power supply. It means the power good state has not been achieved. It does not mean, however, that something else isn't shorting it out. First check the voltage toggle and make sure it's on 115. Then strip the system down to only motherboard, power supply, and control and i/o panels. It should be solid amber not blinking with just motherboard and power supply. If it's still blinking amber it possibly could be that control panel assembly or the cables to it. But if it's not then just add one thing at a time until it starts blinking amber and that will tell you what's causing it. Make sure you unplug peripherals too. Also, you did try another power source and power cord?

Tommy-LE

21 Posts

February 21st, 2004 14:00

I followed your instructions (as I suspected, the technician I hired apparently did not).

Now that I did that, I found that the problem appears to be the chassis I/O panel (the part that holds the USB and front audio jack).  When I pulled that cable off the motherboard, the light went solid as you claimed it would.  I went to that module and systematically pulled all of the connections off one at a time - none of them stopped the power indicator from blinking, so I presume it is the module itself (please let me know if that is a wrong conclusion).  I also went to the front panel and disconnected the power switch cable, just to be redundantly sure.

I know where I can pick up a used I/O chassis for under $20.

I'm excited.  I own three Dells now - I am tickled with the help provided in the forum.

Thanks Josh!  Your a good teacher - you explained it in a way I understood exactly what it was that we were trying to accomplish.

jwark

267 Posts

February 23rd, 2004 14:00

Well, I guess you're talking about the light on the motherboard. To be honest, I'm not sure if that works the same way as the power light on the front. But without the control panel cable connected to the motherboard, you can not power the system on so you can't check that. But it would be a good place to start. You can call dell spare parts and they will sell you these parts. I would get the i/o panel, the control panel, and the 2 cables that connect them together and to the motherboard.

ITWhippingBoy

9 Posts

September 21st, 2006 19:00

I see this is an old thread but for what it's worth I just encountered this problem
on an old GX150 and went through the entire exercise of disconnecting everything
one by one with no success. Then I found a new, generic Antec p/w to try but
discovered it does not fit in the chassis but I hooked it up outside anyway and
the mobo and system came up in a snap. So, word to the wise, before you try anything
try the p/s 1st.

BTW: this GX150 was working fine when I pulled it from one of our satellite offices
about one month ago. I just plugged it up now and got the ACB (amber coma blink).

IT Whipping Boy

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