N5030 not firing up

Question

I wonder if someone can advise me, please?

I have an Inspiron N5030 which has been doing a great job for a long time and is [was!] in daily use.

It powers up for about 4 seconds, during which time the CPU fan fires briefly and the DVD player spins up, and then the white power LED goes out and it shuts down. Pressing start again repeats the process.These responses are quite normal but the device isn't running long enough to get to a diagnostic stage.

Clearing residual power with the PSU and battery removed and holding down the power button for 15 seconds has had no effect.

I have checked the 2 RAM modules for seating, the SSD has been substituted and the CR2032 data retention battery checked [ a replacement was tried ] All wiring and connectors appear OK but I am stuck.

I wonder if there are any other options left?

Wise guidance will always be greatly appreciated!

ejn63 · Accepted Answer

About the only thing left is a bad system board -- which is going to cost more to replace than the system is worth. Time to recycle and replace the system.

JOcean · Accepted Answer

To reset the system hold the power button down for 30 seconds not 15 with the adapter and battery removed. When you installed a CMOS battery, was it a brand new recently purchased battery and did you leave the old battery out of the system for 15 minutes before installing the new one (assuming it was brand new)? Do you hear any beeps at all during the boot? Try pulling the RAM out and then boot the system, you should hear beeps or see diagnostic lights. Have you tried another adapter? It is possible the adapter has not been charging the battery and the battery is now basically dead. That is a 13 year old system and it may be the battery is long past due for replacement and could be part of the problem.

In the end after trying all of this it is possible the problem is with the MB. At 13 years old the system has long ago paid for itself.

EDIT: @ejn63 types faster and is more succinct than this wordy old tech.

EnTee · Accepted Answer

I'm running on PSU only for these tests. The CMOS battery was out overnight and I tried the 30 second power button hold but no change. Got the 2 beeps when the RAM was removed as expected. I'm guessing this is a scrapper!

I think I have a mindset problem coming through from the original IBM PC through to more modern equipment as an early adopter paying a fortune for new kit. It always seems a shame to dump something that performs adequately for its limited use. [ Wife use it for web browsing and email only ]

Manky thanks for kindly taking the time to advise.

JOcean · Accepted Answer

Happy to help out!

EnTee · Answer

Yes, I fear you might be right! Many thanks for your advice.

Inspiron

N5030 not firing up

Was this post helpful?