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another Dimension 5100c won't restart - need clarification how to test, please
Hi, just yesterday I shut down my 4.5 year old Dimension 5100c for a few minutes, remembered I left a CD in the drive and tried to restart it to no avail. I left it unplugged all day, came back and tried again. Unplugged everything not screwed down in the case, tried again...no dice. Left it unplugged to everything overnight...still no luck...but as I had already read previous forum posts regarding this problem, I have already grown pessimistic.
Green motherboard light is on, steady.
Amber light on start button is blinking.
Oh- one very odd thing doesn't fit in this= diagnostic light #4 was lit for about a second on the third or fourth attempt- and only light number 4. There is not a diagnostic code for only the fourth light so I don't know if this is significant or just a fluke. I was not able to duplicate this and on other attempts no lights at all came to.
Other posts indicate this is probably a power supply problem but I'm a little wary after reading a few posts that said that replacing the power supply unit with the same problem did not help. I want to troubleshoot the power supply and started to try what was suggested in these threads- http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19053521/19176507.aspx#19176507 and http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19317806.aspx but I am not following what green wire where to what black wire where? :emotion-9: I don't have a spare power supply to test so if there is another method or perhaps clearer directions on this, I am keen to try, if only to rule out that it isn't a motherboard failure.
Thanks!
shesagordie
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August 8th, 2010 21:00
floraisadora
There should only be one green wire in the P1 24-pin connector, [pin 16] this can be jumped to any black wire.
Note: Sometimes Dell substitutes a blue wire for the green wire, not very smart, because then there two blue wires connected to the connector.
Detail of the 24-pin ATX Molex power connector pinouts are HERE
If you are not comfortable with using the 'jumper' method of testing a power supply, a PSU tester similar to THIS can be used
Bev.
floraisadora
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August 9th, 2010 10:00
Hi Bev,
Thanks for responding. Will this work for a cheap PSU tester? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180488579924&rvr_id=122269229503&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=WXF%3F&GUID=57b6af9012a0a0aad3d61e56ff08a03d&itemid=180488579924&ff4=263602_263622 It says 24 pin, and I don't want to spend a lot of money on something I'll only use probably once- so a $5 one will hurt a lot less, particularly if I need to buy a new PSU or (heaven forbid) a brand new computer.
shesagordie
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August 9th, 2010 13:00
floraisadora
Yes, it should work.
But, I've the most reliable way to check a power supply, is to use a 'Know' working PSU.
Bev.
floraisadora
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August 16th, 2010 19:00
Well...all the LEDs lit up except for the one indicating -5v. Does that mean the power supply unit is bad or just that one pin?
floraisadora
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August 16th, 2010 19:00
...or does this mean it's not the power supply?
P.S. I also tested the four pin with the motherboard 24 pin...all good there.
shesagordie
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August 16th, 2010 20:00
floraisadora
i would suggest that you try a different power supply.
Bev.
floraisadora
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August 17th, 2010 00:00
As I said originally, I don't have one. As I might not have said originally, I'm broke so.
Crispin.Whitwam
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January 12th, 2011 16:00
It's very valuable, Many thanks to your description! Now I got it.