Inspiron 7459 screen goes blank, power button remains solid amber

It could still be the power adapter itself.

Next time you recover, open the Windows Event Viewer and see if any error(s) was logged at the time of the crash, aside from a "Kernel 41" error.

Any signs of overheating? Can you hear the fan running?  Reboot and tap F12 when you see the Dell splash screen. When the F12 menu opens, look for option to run diagnostics and run the fan test, if it's offered.

This sounds like a case of, "the power brick is dying" to try replacing it and see if the issue goes away.

Thanks for the reply;

I did run a diagnosis with F12 and got a fan not responding error (2000-0511)

After rebooting and running Event Viewer, a Kernel-Power (41) error had been recorded at the time the computer froze.

Get used to it.  I bought this about 1.5 years ago.  Had the freeze amber power light issue right out of the box.  They sent me a replacement, same problem.  Sent me a third PC.. and I kid you not, same problem.  It is very infrequent but happens at the worst times.  Load/heat/etc does not seem to be the cause.  I have seen it happen when the computer has been idle for hours... 

I have the same model and have had this exact same issue ever since owning.  I was thinking it could be the power brick. Every once in a while when booting up it complains there isn't enough power.  Turning off / on and it boots fine.  So I was thinking the two were possibly linked but never wanted to invest in a new power brick just to see that wasn't the problem.  Been too lazy to spend the time to troubleshoot and have just dealt with the annoyance.  Most of the time it doesn't happen when actually using the PC.  It's when I leave it on standby and go to use it at some point the power button is amber and it is frozen.  Only way to get it to boot is to unplug power and reboot.  My other thought is there is a bad capacitor or incorrectly spec'd capacitor somewhere and it is tripping some kind of hardware protection ... i.e. when you unplug the capacitor drains and everything resets. I have zero electrical background just know a little bit from tinkering.  So this could be entirely off base.  If I spend the time to troubleshoot I will pass along anything I learn.

@heatvent  What version of Windows?

If you're using a power strip, surge protector or UPS, remove them and plug PC directly into the wall outlet and see if that helps.

If it won't wake after inactivity, eg from sleep or hibernation, that could be a Windows Power plan settings issue:

Reboot PC and open Device Manager. Expand list under USB. Double-click each USB entry and click its Power Management tab, if it has one. Uncheck the box "Allow PC to turn off...". Repeat for all USB entries. Now repeat for all Human Interface Devices with a Power Management listed in Device Manager. Then exit Device Manager.

Next, open the Windows Power & Sleep screen. Click Additional Power Settings. On next screen identify the active Power plan and click Change Plan Settings. On next screen, click Change Advanced Power Settings.

On that last screen, disable Hibernation, Hybrid Sleep, USB Selective Suspend, and PCI Express Link State Management. Save the changes to the power plan and reboot.

See if that helps...

@RoHe​ I’ve had all these same nightmarish issues with this computer. Boot up takes 10 minutes, Word 5 minutes, simple instructions the same. It is now totally unusable and it wasn’t cheap. Is the fan replacement really the solution? I thought others on this thread said they replaced the fan and still had problems. I’m no technical wiz, but when I look at the base unit’s design, I don’t see enough open ventilation area for even a Turbo fan jet engine to cool it off. It always seems to be warm or even hot even when idle. 

@Dellfannot​ - We need more details: 

1. Exact PC model and version of Windows
2. Version of BIOS installed?
3. Are all drivers up-to-date?
4. What CPU?
5. How much RAM is installed?
6. Add-in AMD or NVidia video card, or only onboard Intel Graphics?
7. Which, if any, of the suggestions posted in this thread have you tried? 
8. Have you rebooted, tapped F12 to open the menu and selected the option to run the diagnostics?  Make note of error messages, if any...

1. Exact PC model and version of Windows -  

   Inspiron 7459, Windows 10

2. Version of BIOS installed? - sorry, no idea - it isn't specified on the order
3. Are all drivers up-to-date? Yes, I updated those whenever it was recommended 
4. What CPU?  Intel Core i7-6700HQ
5. How much RAM is installed? - 4GB GDDR3
6. Add-in AMD or NVidia video card, or only onboard Intel Graphics? - only on board
7. Which, if any, of the suggestions posted in this thread have you tried? - since this computer ground to a halt and was virtually unusable for months because even the simplest commands took so long for it to execute, i haven't been able to try any.  I looked up this forum to see if others had experienced the same issues, and was hoping for a simple fix like replacing a certain part, like the processor
8. Have you rebooted, tapped F12 to open the menu and selected the option to run the - no 

These are all the relevant details of the order:

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on how to salvage this before I give it a Vikings funeral.

@Dellfannot - You have DDR4 RAM and a total of 12 GB, according to your factory specs.  Are you saying only 4 GB is actually installed or only 4 GB is actually working?  4 GB of RAM would be painfully slow for running Win 10.

You may want to open the case and install fresh motherboard battery and reseat the RAM modules in the slots. Read/follow instructions carefully, and be sure to put screen "face-down" on soft cloth so it doesn't get scratched it while you're working inside.

Then boot up and run the diagnostics from the F12 menu.

@RoHe sorry for the confusion. I have 12GB of Ram (line 4 of the order) andy possibly 4 more (line 6).   That should have been plenty for running WIndows10 the basic Office apps I was using it for, and like many of the other folks who complained about this computer, it got steadily slower over time until it became unusable, so I'm not sure it's a RAM issue, though you're clearly more knowledgeable.  I'm just curious as to how much you think it would cost to do the things you mentioned, and if I have to replace the RAM, or the fan, what are we talking about, ballpark?  On one hand I'd like to not have to trash it, but i also don't want to throw good money after bad.

Line 6 is for the video card which has 6 GB of video RAM. This can't be replaced because it's on the video card and the video card is likely hardwired to the motherboard.

System RAM for this system is inexpensive. Amazon has 8GB modules of Crucial RAM for $18 each. That's the exact module Crucial recommends for this system. So don't buy different modules, from Crucial or elsewhere because there could be compatibility issues. 

A new motherboard battery would be ~$7 because this one has wires and a motherboard connector attached to it.  Don't know which fan you'd need or how much it would cost. 

Also don't know your skills and if this is a DIY project for you, or if you have to factor in repair shop costs, unless you have a geeky buddy who can help...

I'd clear BIOS and get the motherboard battery replaced and then try running the diagnostics from the F12 menu before you go throwing parts at it. 

You should also rule out possible software problems by reinstalling Windows etc....