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E310 Dead
I have a Dimension E310. The power button is solid amber and I have all 4 diagnostic lights lit. I can hear and feel the harddrive startup when initially powering up system. Monitor is black screen and has no input (also has amber light). I went thru and reseated memory, processor, modem card, all cables. I went thru and checked power supply (all voltages are correct.). How can I know whether it is the motherboard or the processor that is bad? Or is there other tests that can be performed?
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Posted October 7th, 2011 14:00
Wouldn't happen to have any old compatible processors laying around? Sounds like you have done a pretty exhaustive testing on the hardware to isolate the problem to the motherboard. I would say buy a used cheap working processor before diving into a new mobo purchase. However a E310 mobo can be had for only 30ish bucks.
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Posted October 7th, 2011 16:00
I have a Dimension E310. The power button is solid amber and I have all 4 diagnostic lights lit. I can hear and feel the harddrive startup when initially powering up system. Monitor is black screen and has no input (also has amber light). I went thru and reseated memory, processor, modem card, all cables. I went thru and checked power supply (all voltages are correct.). How can I know whether it is the motherboard or the processor that is bad? Or is there other tests that can be performed?
rbatt97What is the sequence of the four diagnostic lights?Are there any 'Beeps'?
If you are comfortable working around computers, you could try the following:
Note: The only 100% method of testing a PSU, is to install a known working power supply.
Unplug the cord from the power supply, hold the power button in for about 15/20 seconds, open the case, unplug the 24-pin power connector from the motherboard and jump the Green wire to one of the Black wires, reconnect the power cord and power the system on, if power supply's fan and the hard drive run, then the PSU should be good.
Note: Do not remove any wires from the plug, use a small piece of wire or a paper clip as a jumper.Power supply checks out and the system still does not work, again remove the power cord, hold the power button in for several seconds to discharge the residue power, reconnect the 24-pin connector to the motherboard.
Remove all the PCI cards, the video card [if applicable], memory, all peripherals, disconnect the data and power cables to all the drives, check that the front panel cable is connected to motherboard, with nothing else connected to the system, reconnect the power cable and power the system on.
If you do not get any beep codes and/or there is no change in the diagnostic lights, it would appear that the motherboard and/or the processor has died.Note: The only method I know to check the processor for failure, is to install it a compatible working PC, or use a known working processor.
Bev.
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Posted October 7th, 2011 16:00
According to the manual, with an E310 with amber power button and 4 green LEDs, you should:
1. Unplug the power supply and check the 4-pin processor power cable connection - (and check that the cable isn't damaged)
2. Reseat the processor (You'll have to remove the heatsink, then carefully reseat the processor. Then remove the old thermal paste from both CPU and heatsink and apply thin coat of fresh paste (eg, Arctic Silver) before reattaching the heatsink.
While you're in there, check the motherboard for any bulging or leaking capacitors. Capacitors should all be perfectly round "cans" with perfectly flat tops. If any capacitors are damaged, you'll need a new motherboard.
EDIT: Bev always types faster than I do, of course!
rbatt97
2 Posts
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Posted October 6th, 2011 16:00
I have also replaced battery on motherboard.