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Laptop powering up...inconsistent
I've got an interesting problem with my Dell Inspiron 1520. If I shut it off completely I have to beg it to come back on. I have to keep pressing the power button, sometimes it will take 15-20 times before it will come on. Sometimes I have to press the power button and keep doing it---upwards of 40 to 50 times. If it doesn't power up I leave it be for about 1 hour and try my luck again. When it does come on the Laptop runs like an absolute champ. If I reboot it, it will go through the reboot no problem at all. I did a fresh XP install with zero trouble; its just when I shut it down completely. On the many failed attempts when I press the power button the power light on the right side will briefly light and go out.
Hard drive is good, memory seems to be working perfectly fine. I ordered a power button w/the ribbon to try and see if it is just the power button failing. I am actually typing this email from my laptop. I can leave the thing on for weeks at a time with no troubles, just need to keep the battery going, but once I hit shutdown forget about it. I've taken out the cmos battery and memory modules, let it sit with no battery. *Even without a battery plugged in running off the adapter I have this issue. I have a genuine dell AC adapter and a brand new one, both give the same results.
With my experience if it was bad memory it would shut the laptop off indefinitely by abruptly freezing or shutting off (due to voltage surge/spikes and what not). In addition, I would most likely be getting the beeps at boot up to acknowledge the bad RAM.
I have been monitoring the system for a little while now and nothing is out of range as far as temperature is concerned.
If anyone has any ideas, feel free; I am trying to avoid replacing the motherboard due to the fact that I don't have the issue 100% ironed out. My biggest fear is me replacing the board and trying to boot only to encounter the same problem, $120 for nothing!
DELL-Roshan L
4.4K Posts
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March 9th, 2012 03:00
Hi Travis_McRoy,
Looks like you've tried almost everything to diagnose the issue. Replacing power button eliminates the mechanical failure on power button.You have also reinstalled the windows so there shouldn't be any software issue as well.
Have you tried running the Onboard diagnostics to check for hardware failure? To run diagnostics hold down the " Fn key ", while holding down the Fn key press power button to start the system.
If the hardware diagnostics passes without any error,you can also consider updating the BIOS using the link below:
(Note: Updating BIOS may result in motherboard failure at times,so updating BIOS would be at your own risk)
www.dell.com/.../DriverFileFormats
Hope this helps,
Thank You
Roshan.
Travis_McRoy
3 Posts
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March 9th, 2012 07:00
I lost my dell diagnostics partition when I reformatted the hard drive. It was one of those situations where you delete the partitions and don't realize what you've done until you need to use the dell recovery options. I was reading about that step, when I press the Fn key and power (while the system is off) all 3 lights will come on and shut right off. Now, from what I understand I have to press F12 (when the system boots) to look at the diagnostic results. All in all, I think its a lost cause for the diagnostics test.
It crossed my mind updating the BIOS but just like you mentioned it runs the risk of causing more harm than help.
I think what I will do is swap the power button and see if it resolves the issue. This one has me a stumped at the moment and I've got quite the experience with troubleshooting advanced problems such as these. If it were any hardware failure, during the weeks I have it running I would encounter some type of error or an out of nowhere reboot. It been up and running since March 1st. One thing I've learned with dealing with such problems, start with the small things!
I truly appreciate the response and your suggestions.
DELL-Roshan L
4.4K Posts
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March 9th, 2012 23:00
Hi,
Even if the recovery partion is deleted,you should be able to run the the basic diagnostics that's PSA (Pre-Boot System Assesment).
There are two ways to run this:
1> Hold down the Fn key and turn on the system while holding down Fn key till the PSA starts running.
2>Restart system at the Dell logo,keep tapping F12,At the One Time Boot menu, press the arrow key to highlight Diagnostics, then press to begin PSA.
If the above steps do not work,if you have the Resource CD,you can boot from the Resource cd and run diagnostics.
Hope this helps.
Thank You
Roshan.
Travis_McRoy
3 Posts
0
March 26th, 2012 06:00
I tried the above step, nothing out of the ordinary posted. It seems that the issue may be power related with regards to the motherboard. It seems like it is the actual power jack connected to the motherboard that is failing. The laptop is a few years old (6 years old) and I decided to stop dumping money into it and made it a personal home server. I tucked it away and made sure it has proper cooling and has been running for the last 16 days no issues (occasional reboot after updates install). I appreciate the responses and the suggestions. If I muster up the time to actually put in a new power jack I will post the results in case others are having this problem.