After taking out the graphics card, does the power light go amber when it freezes?

 

If not, then the problem could be the old graphics card.  Reseating it might solve the problem.  The freezing might be solved by getting a new driver for the onboard graphics.

 

If so, then you still have a problem.   Solid amber generally indicates a motherboard related issues.

 

I would run the extended diagnostics and also check the PSU (you can use a voltmeter to measure the voltages while it is running, or swap in a known good one or have a shop test it).

 

Peter 

The computer still freezes after taking out the graphics card but the light still stays green. I attempted to update my video driver though the download page (http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?os=WW1&osl=EN&catid=6&impid=-1&servicetag=&SystemID=DIMENSION+5150%2FE510&hidos=WW1&hidlang=en) but it appears that I have an up to date driver (I tried the Intel 945G graphics options)..I'm not sure if I'm looking in the right place though for driver updates,can someone please direct me? Sorry I'm not the most tech savvy guy on these forums

 

It only seems to freeze when doing semi intensive app activities like opening a bunch of tabs, youtube videos, AVG downloads etc.

I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again

To find the right driver... Go to Start>Run and box appears. type devmgmt.msc and Device Manager window appears. While you are here, check to see if any drivers are not working (yellow icon). then get the name of the driver you want to replace see if this page Upper Right "Support" link has an update for that driver.

That can also be memory.  I would check reseat the memory and run an extensive test.

 

Peter 

Thanks Peter, unfortunately I tried this already when the problem first started and the extensive memory test looked fine. Is this yet another E510 that is starting its journey towards the light?

update....now it won't boot at all with a steady green power light and diagnostic lights 2 and 3 lit up. man oh man i think its about time to bury this  thing. any thoughts?

This is what Dell says about that code:

A possible floppy or hard drive failure has occurred. Reseat all power and data cables and restart the computer.

 

Peter

I too have a E510 that has a steady amber light on when plugged in. My problem started after a storm, I came home to find all my phones not working and the computer would not boot up. I removed the phone line from the computer and my phone worked again but the computer would not turn on, no lights at all!!

I removed the modem from the pc and it booted up to the xp load screen then froze. I booted to safe mode with out a problem and uninstalled the modem. I then rebooted and got to the desktop and it froze after a few minutes. I tried removing all sorts of drivers and cleared the start up to the bare minimum. I could not get it to stop locking up. I finally tried a known good power supply and it froze at the xp load screen again. I reinstalled the old power supply and after trying unsuccessfully to fix the problem I started to get a code 23 hard drive/Floppy not detected. At that point it would boot after the code went away then a short while later I got nothing but the cpu fan running and a steady amber power light.

 

I figure that the motherboard got damaged and died a slow death. My question to you all is; can I swap out the motherboard with an asus to spare me the over price cost of a new mobo from dell? I realize the front control panel is wired through a ribbon cable. Does anyone know where I can get the break down on the terminals at the switch so I can wire it to th asus board?? All information is greatly appreciated, Thanks for your time.  :smileyhappy: