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70998
Inspiron 531 will NOT boot
pushed the power button on CPU, monitor stays black, power button turns white, can hear hard drive start up, cabinet blower stops after about 1 minute, NO beeps after powering on.. Any help is needed. thanks. Undeer
jsktx
729 Posts
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February 14th, 2011 13:00
Well before you sell it, try replacing the CMOS battery. This is a shot in the dark, but it's less than $5 and worth a shot. Look for a CR2032 at any drug store or Walmart. Otherwise you are probably talking about a failed motherboard.
Bodenwear
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November 24th, 2009 10:00
Having a similar problem with the Inspiron 530. Turn on, screen remains black and then there follows 4 high pitched bleeps, can't get through to an online technician, computer only 11 months old and mostle used for internet access and itunes etc. Appreciate any help, have removed all cabling and all peripheries and still no joy!
RoHe
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November 24th, 2009 12:00
Bodenwear - Four beeps on the 530 means a RAM (memory) problem. Power off and disconnect the PC from the wall. Press/hold power button for ~15 sec. Open the case and carefully reseat the RAM modules in their slots. Close the case and see if it boots with only mouse, monitor and keyboard attached.
If that doesn't solve the problem, power off, unplug etc. and remove all RAM modules except for the one in slot 1. If it boots with just that one, power off, etc. and test all of the modules in slot 1 until you ID a bum module.
Undeer - Are you saying the power button goes off, and isn't either blue or amber? That might suggest a power supply problem.
Ron
Undeer
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November 24th, 2009 13:00
Ron I get an amber light but no blue light. I don't get any beeps either. I tryed a power supply out of a working computer and did the same thing. Undeer
RoHe
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November 24th, 2009 16:00
Undeer-
From the manual: <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
If the power light is steady amber, there may be a power problem or an internal device malfunction.
Ensure that all power cables are securely connected to the system board (see System Board Components).
Ensure that the main power cable and front panel cable are securely connected to the system board (see System Board Components).
If the power light is blinking amber, the computer is receiving electrical power, a device might be malfunctioning or incorrectly installed.
Remove and then reinstall the memory modules (see Memory).
Remove and then reinstall any cards (see Cards).
Remove and then reinstall the graphics card, if applicable (see Cards).
You may have to strip it down to bare essentials (hard drive, video card and RAM modules) and see if you can get it to boot with only mouse, monitor and keyboard attached.
Ron
a1biggen1
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February 11th, 2011 00:00
The monitor power button is blue until i push power button on cpu, then turns amber, can hear hard drive start up, seems like it is going through the boot up, NO beeps after powering on.
jsktx
729 Posts
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February 11th, 2011 04:00
What color is the power button on your Inspiron 531 (cpu), solid blue, blinking blue, solid amber or blinking amber?
jsktx
729 Posts
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February 13th, 2011 08:00
Most likely a power supply (PSU) failure. If the computer is still under warranty contact Dell for a replacement. If not and you're comfortable around computers you can try the test in this thread to verify. Any ATX PSU will fit in a 531.
a1biggen1
6 Posts
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February 13th, 2011 08:00
Solid Blue
a1biggen1
6 Posts
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February 14th, 2011 04:00
JXKTX
Thank you for your quick response.
I tried another power supply and same results i forgot to metion the monitor has a message that reads somthing like going in power mode something like that, getting frustrated.
RoHe
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February 14th, 2011 11:00
Check the cable between monitor and video output on the PC. Also, can you test this monitor on different PC? Or another monitor on this PC?
Failed video card?
Ron
a1biggen1
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February 14th, 2011 12:00
I put a new pci express card in it tried new vga and digi cable still says sme thing anybody want to buy a dell 531 2....................................
RoHe
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February 14th, 2011 18:00
Did you try Safe Mode after you installed the new video card, in case the old video driver isn't compatible with the new card?
Did you try a different monitor?
Did you disconnect all peripherals except mouse, monitor and keyboard?
Did you perhaps leave a non-bootable disk in a floppy or optical drive, or leave a USB memory stick plugged in?
Before you even buy a new battery, try clearing BIOS setup:
Power off and unplug
Press/hold power button for ~15 sec
Open the case and remove the motherboard battery
Press/hold power button again for ~30 sec
Reinstall the battery (right-side-up!) and reboot with only mouse, monitor and keyboard connected.
Ron
a1biggen1
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February 17th, 2011 16:00
Ron
I have done everything you have suggested above and some the message i am getting that appears on the screen is entering power save mode on three monitors.
RoHe
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February 17th, 2011 18:00
Guess it's time to consider a motherboard failure.
One more thing to try:
Strip it down to barest essentials. Disconnect all peripherals, including network/modem cable. Remove all PCI cards except video, disconnect all drives except boot hard drive, remove all RAM modules except the one in slot 1. Do the "battery thing" (see my previous post) and see if it'll boot with only mouse, monitor and keyboard.
If no go... :emotion-9:
Ron