Amber Light Blinking - New PSU does not work

Question

I have an amber light blinking problem (can't make it boot when that happens) No diagnostic lights turn on. This is a Dimension E510 (bought 2 years ago) with the infamous A00 revision 305w power supply

When I reset the MOBO with everything external disconnected and power the computer up, the power button blinks amber for a few seconds then it becomes green and then it reboots. However if I connect the keyboard (with the power off) I get the blinking amber again and have to reset. I can even connect the keyboard with the computer on and I can boot, however when I turn it off and on again I get the blinking again. I read a ton of threads about this problem in the forum, so I changed the battery and checked all USB ports and cables,... Didn't help.

Yesterday I installed an Antec Smartpower 2.0 (500w) PSU that was working perfectly in another computer and now the E510 is dead, I only get the green light on the MOBO but no light on the power button. When I push the power button nothing happens, any idea how can I solve this?

Tony510 · Answer

Thanks for your answer. The PSU is an Antec SmartPower 2.0, 500w, that was working on another computer. The weird thing is that with the original Dell PSU at least I got the amber light blinking and I was able to boot it up without anything external connected to the ports (as suggested elseware in this forum). With the new PSU the computer is completely dead,... any ideas before I buy another computer??

fireberd · Answer

See my response to the post just below yours about the same problem with an E510.   Click Me

fireberd · Answer

Check the 24 pin connector and make sure it's fully connected as that is where the front panel power switch is routed to the power supply.

Also, since you were into it, check the ribbon cable from the front panel to the motherboard, in case it was accidentally removed.

baiguim · Answer

ya...don't buy another dell ;)

Tony510 · Answer

Thanks again. Checked everything and couldn't make it work so I reinstalled the old Dell PSU. I'm using now the temporary solution recomended elsewere in this forum: Open the case, discontect everything, reset with the jumper, close the case, power, reconect everuthing and never turn it off. This have some 'inconveniences' as you can guess. I want to try taking the batery out (I guess that would reset the computer every time I power it off and seems to have worked for some people in the forum). If that works, are there any consequences other that having to reset the time/date evrytime I boot?

baiguim · Answer

Should only have to do that each time your pc loses power. im working on this same issue for another person i know and we are not alone...there seems to be a known flaw in the motherboard (and or BIOS) that locks up the PC when it loses power. this happens if the pc is on or off. not sure why. to get it back up the cmos has to be reset. pull the power and cmos battery out till the green light on the board turns off. hold the power button and plug in the power cord then battery and light should be flashing faster then turn green then off.let go of the power button when this happens it should powerup normally (or as close to normal Dell can get :/) the only way i have to seen to avoid this problem is to get a UPS or some type of backup system so the PC doesnt lose power. after seeing this issue im not so sure i should be recommending dell to people any more :/

Tony510 · Answer

It seems that there are variation of this problem. In my case I have the problem whenever I turn off the computer (even if the computer didn't loose power). In fact I have always had a UPS. In my case I have to do all the process described if I turn it off!

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Amber Light Blinking - New PSU does not work

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