I picked up a used graphics card from a junked computer, HIS Radeon HD 6850, to test if the graphics card is the root cause. Once I swapped the graphics card, the old computer is live again. Now, know for sure the old graphics card is dead. I was a little bit worried about if the existing PSU (360W) has enough power for HIS Radeon HD 6850. After running for a while, seems it is OK. Very glad the old machine is working again.
Thank you all for your help. Really appreciated for your quick response.
When the computer did not boot, what, if anything, was displayed on the monitor? Did you get the Dell logo? Did you see the Windows spinning dots? Can you enter the BIOS?
Normally, my 435MT boots without any beep error code - does yours beep during boot and if so how many times?
Is the light on the power button solid (meaning doesn't blink) white?
At the bottom of the vertical "grill" that the power button is at the top of there's a disk activity light. It's very dim and you may need to turn down the lights to see it (on my machine, it's actually easier to see the light by peering through the left side front grill (when facing the front of the PC). Does this light flash - indicating activity - during boot? If so, for how long after boot does it continue to flash?
This may be a graphics card issue. Can you temporarily replace with another card for testing purposes? Can you boot and see the Dell Logo with the other card?
What kind/model of keyboard do you have and how is it connected to the PC? If you have a "laser" mouse (that lights up desk surface red to detect motion) and you flip it over during boot does it light up? If connected through USB at front panel does anything change if keyboard/mouse is connected to back USB ports?
The light on the power button is yellow initially, but quickly changes to white and then stay solid white.
Right after power button is pushed, I can see the hard drive symbol light in white at the bottom of the vertical "grill" for a short time, then it disappeared. No flashing at all after that.
Will try to find another graphic card to test it out.
It is a Dell keyboard connecting to the machine using USB port. I connect a laser mouse to front and back USB port and saw no light when flipped it over. Tried to connect keyboard and mouse to front and back USB ports and it is the same.
On my 435MT, the mouse doesn't light up until a second or so after the Dell Logo shows up. I'm thinking there's likely nothing wrong with USB power there, it's just that boot isn't getting that far. Also, generally if the 435MT detects a power problem the power button is orange and the system shuts down rather quickly to protect itself. So, I don't think you have a power supply problem, although this isn't definitive.
When was the last time you replaced the CMOS coin battery on the motherboard? If long ago or never, that might be worth replacing. While replacing it with the battery out and unplugged from A/C I'd press/hold power button several times for 30 seconds or so to drain any "flea power" and help reset CMOS.
I replaced coin battery on motherboard. Now, every time when I turn on the machine, I can hear beep several times, but still nothing displayed on monitor. I believe the beep is due to the need to reset CMOS after replacing battery. I also replaced OS hard drive with the backup clone, still the same. Looks like all the lights inside and outside are all on once the machine is powered on. That might indicate power supply is OK. Will try to swap out graphic card to test later.
The machine currently has ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics card. Do you know what graphics card can be used for the old machine without causing any problem to power supplier and cooling system?
If you want to keep power around ~100W or less there's a listing of new cards here which shows video card ranking including Power in Watts and performance. I'd pick something from the range of Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4GB to Nvidia GeForce GT 1030.
As a reference, the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5, model 11200-00-20G, I'm running in mine (on original 360W PSU) is near the edge of maximum wattage for the 435MT, which is why I chose it. Power usage of HD 7850's at reference clock is around 106W for the card and 256W / 289W for system they tested. I specifically chose this model since it was NOT Over-Clocked by default and instead ran at reference 860 MHz core clock (I've never OC'd it in the 435MT). It also physically fits in the 435MT without any mods.
I'd just find any "non-hefty" PCIe video card for testing.
Given the age of this system its likely time for new drive and reinstall of windows 10 since 7 goes end of life in less than 4 months JAN 2019.
You install with the "I don't have a key option" then enter the WIN7 COA key to activate. Either home or pro. Doesn't really matter because the media is the same for both home and pro.
One, it helps to read the first post in thread where OP is running Windows 10 before pointlessly suggesting upgrading to it.
Two, the 1650 and 1660 are GTX series, not RTX series - so any conjecture that RTX series wouldn't work doesn't apply.
Three, suggesting that to go beyond the GT 1030 and it's minute 30W power usage requires more than the existing 360W power supply is absurd. The power usage on the GTX 1650 is like 75W - I'm running a 106W card with no issues (and I've deliberately simultaneously run GPU and CPU stress tests on my unit so I know it's stable under stress). Even MSI's higher end GeForce GTX 1650 GAMING X 4G which has a spec'ed power consumption of 85W lists the recommended PSU as 300W.
Below is the hit count of number of benchmarks on userbenchmark.com for various combos of recent graphic cards with power requirements under 100W and circa 2009 X58 chipset Dell computer systems, including the 435MT. All of the Dell systems are non-UEFI, Legacy BIOS systems. I've also added the count of all systems with a i7-920 processor (which is I believe the most common X58 CPU) to give a larger representation of Legacy BIOS systems plus count of i7-6700 to represent UEFI systems for comparison. Note this debunks the idea that the AMD RX series does not work on Legacy BIOS systems.
What the above doesn't show is how well the graphic cards work in the system, if there are problems requiring workarounds, whether a specific manufacturer/model number works, etc.
Shawn Zhu
8 Posts
0
October 26th, 2019 04:00
I picked up a used graphics card from a junked computer, HIS Radeon HD 6850, to test if the graphics card is the root cause. Once I swapped the graphics card, the old computer is live again. Now, know for sure the old graphics card is dead. I was a little bit worried about if the existing PSU (360W) has enough power for HIS Radeon HD 6850. After running for a while, seems it is OK. Very glad the old machine is working again.
Thank you all for your help. Really appreciated for your quick response.
Vic384
4 Operator
•
3.2K Posts
0
October 20th, 2019 07:00
When the computer did not boot, what, if anything, was displayed on the monitor? Did you get the Dell logo? Did you see the Windows spinning dots? Can you enter the BIOS?
Techgee
2 Intern
•
623 Posts
0
October 20th, 2019 08:00
Normally, my 435MT boots without any beep error code - does yours beep during boot and if so how many times?
Is the light on the power button solid (meaning doesn't blink) white?
At the bottom of the vertical "grill" that the power button is at the top of there's a disk activity light. It's very dim and you may need to turn down the lights to see it (on my machine, it's actually easier to see the light by peering through the left side front grill (when facing the front of the PC). Does this light flash - indicating activity - during boot? If so, for how long after boot does it continue to flash?
This may be a graphics card issue. Can you temporarily replace with another card for testing purposes? Can you boot and see the Dell Logo with the other card?
What kind/model of keyboard do you have and how is it connected to the PC? If you have a "laser" mouse (that lights up desk surface red to detect motion) and you flip it over during boot does it light up? If connected through USB at front panel does anything change if keyboard/mouse is connected to back USB ports?
Shawn Zhu
8 Posts
0
October 20th, 2019 11:00
After I pushed power button, it turns yellow and then white. However, nothing got displayed on monitor, no Dell logo, No Windows.
Shawn Zhu
8 Posts
0
October 20th, 2019 12:00
No beep when the machine gets powered on.
The light on the power button is yellow initially, but quickly changes to white and then stay solid white.
Right after power button is pushed, I can see the hard drive symbol light in white at the bottom of the vertical "grill" for a short time, then it disappeared. No flashing at all after that.
Will try to find another graphic card to test it out.
It is a Dell keyboard connecting to the machine using USB port. I connect a laser mouse to front and back USB port and saw no light when flipped it over. Tried to connect keyboard and mouse to front and back USB ports and it is the same.
Techgee
2 Intern
•
623 Posts
0
October 20th, 2019 14:00
On my 435MT, the mouse doesn't light up until a second or so after the Dell Logo shows up. I'm thinking there's likely nothing wrong with USB power there, it's just that boot isn't getting that far. Also, generally if the 435MT detects a power problem the power button is orange and the system shuts down rather quickly to protect itself. So, I don't think you have a power supply problem, although this isn't definitive.
When was the last time you replaced the CMOS coin battery on the motherboard? If long ago or never, that might be worth replacing. While replacing it with the battery out and unplugged from A/C I'd press/hold power button several times for 30 seconds or so to drain any "flea power" and help reset CMOS.
Shawn Zhu
8 Posts
0
October 20th, 2019 18:00
I replaced coin battery on motherboard. Now, every time when I turn on the machine, I can hear beep several times, but still nothing displayed on monitor. I believe the beep is due to the need to reset CMOS after replacing battery. I also replaced OS hard drive with the backup clone, still the same. Looks like all the lights inside and outside are all on once the machine is powered on. That might indicate power supply is OK. Will try to swap out graphic card to test later.
Shawn Zhu
8 Posts
0
October 20th, 2019 19:00
By the way, the power supplier has capacity of 360W.
Shawn Zhu
8 Posts
0
October 20th, 2019 19:00
The machine currently has ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics card. Do you know what graphics card can be used for the old machine without causing any problem to power supplier and cooling system?
Techgee
2 Intern
•
623 Posts
0
October 21st, 2019 07:00
If you want to keep power around ~100W or less there's a listing of new cards here which shows video card ranking including Power in Watts and performance. I'd pick something from the range of Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4GB to Nvidia GeForce GT 1030.
Techgee
2 Intern
•
623 Posts
0
October 21st, 2019 07:00
As a reference, the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5, model 11200-00-20G, I'm running in mine (on original 360W PSU) is near the edge of maximum wattage for the 435MT, which is why I chose it. Power usage of HD 7850's at reference clock is around 106W for the card and 256W / 289W for system they tested. I specifically chose this model since it was NOT Over-Clocked by default and instead ran at reference 860 MHz core clock (I've never OC'd it in the 435MT). It also physically fits in the 435MT without any mods.
I'd just find any "non-hefty" PCIe video card for testing.
speedstep
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
0
October 21st, 2019 07:00
GT1030 works fine.
Given the age of this system its likely time for new drive and reinstall of windows 10 since 7 goes end of life in less than 4 months JAN 2019.
You install with the "I don't have a key option" then enter the WIN7 COA key to activate. Either home or pro. Doesn't really matter because the media is the same for both home and pro.
https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/msi-gt-1030-2g-lp-oc-graphic-card-2-gb-gddr5-pcie-30-x16-low-profile-hdmi-displayport/apd/aa362018/graphic-video-cards
https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/pny-geforce-gt-1030-graphics-card-2-gb-gddr5-low-profile/apd/a9763687/graphic-video-cards
https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-home-64-bit-installation-recovery-disc-only-no-license-key-included/p/N82E16832350237
https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-pro-64-bit-reinstall-recovery-disc-only-no-license-key-included/p/N82E16832350238
speedstep
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
0
October 21st, 2019 08:00
RX Series Cards from ATI and RTX series cards from NVIDIA require UEFI bios that the 435 does not have. So 1650 or 1660 is not working.
Pascal based cards up to 1080TI work in older Dells but cards past GT 1030 need updated power supply.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa9b0TkTsLM
The system in the video is 2006 XPS 400.
Techgee
2 Intern
•
623 Posts
0
October 21st, 2019 12:00
One, it helps to read the first post in thread where OP is running Windows 10 before pointlessly suggesting upgrading to it.
Two, the 1650 and 1660 are GTX series, not RTX series - so any conjecture that RTX series wouldn't work doesn't apply.
Three, suggesting that to go beyond the GT 1030 and it's minute 30W power usage requires more than the existing 360W power supply is absurd. The power usage on the GTX 1650 is like 75W - I'm running a 106W card with no issues (and I've deliberately simultaneously run GPU and CPU stress tests on my unit so I know it's stable under stress). Even MSI's higher end GeForce GTX 1650 GAMING X 4G which has a spec'ed power consumption of 85W lists the recommended PSU as 300W.
Techgee
2 Intern
•
623 Posts
0
October 21st, 2019 14:00
Below is the hit count of number of benchmarks on userbenchmark.com for various combos of recent graphic cards with power requirements under 100W and circa 2009 X58 chipset Dell computer systems, including the 435MT. All of the Dell systems are non-UEFI, Legacy BIOS systems. I've also added the count of all systems with a i7-920 processor (which is I believe the most common X58 CPU) to give a larger representation of Legacy BIOS systems plus count of i7-6700 to represent UEFI systems for comparison. Note this debunks the idea that the AMD RX series does not work on Legacy BIOS systems.
Alienware Aurora / Aurora ALX
AMD Radeon RX 560-B [14 Compute Units]
AMD Radeon RX 560 [16 Compute Units]
What the above doesn't show is how well the graphic cards work in the system, if there are problems requiring workarounds, whether a specific manufacturer/model number works, etc.