Dell blinking amber

[signature7]

Hey folks,

I have a dell dimension pc that is blinking amber when I press the power button. Google sources says it's most likely motherboard, or another thing, I can't really remember at the moment. Majority of the house uses Macs, however, we have this dell (which is hardly used but still very good) just in case software is incapable with macs ect.

Question. Is anyone familiar with this problem? Secondly, can someone help me fix it. Pm me for compensation and details regarding this further.

I tried to use the beyond sponsor but they haven't gotten back to me, and this was three weeks ago.

Thanks.

[gqmw]

Is it starting up? Can your programs run fine?

Does it blink amber and then turn on? Or does it blink amber and does not turn on?

[torob]

More info on exactly happens would help.
Does the thing just blink? Does it turn on, you're just concerned about it blinking? Fans turn on but no video? Any beeps heard? ..
Like i said, more info the easier it is to help

[Zero102]

The yellow blink can mean 2-3 different things depending on the exact model number of the system, but most of the time it is a bad power supply. Grab the model number and look it up on the dell support site, or if you can't find the codes there then post the model number here and I'll look

[signature7]

Hey,

sorry for the vague posts. I posted really late at night, which I am again doing tonight. I am out of town but I think the model is Dimension E520 and to clarify when I press the power button it blinks amber and does not turn on.

Sorry for the non-clarity.

Thanks for the help folks.

[signature7]

Can anyone help me out? Compensation can be discussed :D

[nissanK]

Generally it's a faulty power supply. had the same thing happen on a Dell GX755. I checked all the connections and pulled the CMOS battery. No luck. Chances are you have the same issue.

[Zero102]

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dime520/en/SM_EN/adtshoot.htm#wp1054146




Power Lights

CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in the Product Information Guide.
The power button light located on the front of the computer illuminates and blinks or remains solid to indicate different states:

If the power light is green and the computer is not responding:

Ensure the display is connected and powered on.

If the display is connected and powered on see Diagnostic Lights.

If the power light is blinking green, the computer is in standby mode. Press a key on the keyboard, move the mouse, or press the power button to resume normal operation.

If the power light is off, the computer is either turned off or is not receiving power.

Reseat the power cable in the power connector on the back of the computer and the electrical outlet.

If the computer is plugged into a power strip, ensure that the power strip is plugged into an electrical outlet and that the power strip is turned on. Also, bypass power protection devices, power strips, and power extension cables to verify that the computer turns on properly.

Ensure that the electrical outlet is working by testing it with another device, such as a lamp.

Ensure that the main power cable and front panel cable are securely connected to the system board (see System Board Components).

If the power light is blinking amber, the computer is receiving electrical power, but an internal power problem might exist.

Ensure that the voltage selection switch is set to match the AC power at your location (if applicable).

If the power light is steady amber, a device might be malfunctioning or incorrectly installed.

Remove and then reinstall the memory modules (see Memory).

Remove and then reinstall any cards (see Cards).

Remove and then reinstall the graphics card, if applicable (see Cards).

Ensure that all power cables are securely connected to the system board (see System Board Components).


Also check the diagnostic lights bit, if they are lit it may help, but from what I can tell on the Dell site, power supply is toast and needs to be replaced (since it is a tower machine it should be a standard power supply)


**EDIT**
This is also worth a try, unplug the power cord from the back of the machine and wait a couple minutes for the power supply to completely discharge before plugging it back in. We had one old dell that would randomly start blinking orange and this would fix it. It was bad caps in the power supply and they eventually blew up, but it bought us some extra life out of that power supply for some reason.

[TorqueDog]

I JUST dealt with this specific issue for a client.

It was a Dell Optiplex GX-something, older unit. I checked the motherboard and found three caps bulging/cracked open. I bet if you look closely on the motherboard you'll find some busted capacitors. The ones on the machine I looked at were near the RAM slots - apparently it is a common occurance on them.

[Grogador]

Bad PSU

[BigMass]

Originally posted by TorqueDog
I JUST dealt with this specific issue for a client.

It was a Dell Optiplex GX-something, older unit. I checked the motherboard and found three caps bulging/cracked open. I bet if you look closely on the motherboard you'll find some busted capacitors. The ones on the machine I looked at were near the RAM slots - apparently it is a common occurance on them.

bingo, shitty Chinese caps. Most MBs now are higher end Japanese caps that last. It's either the PS or the MB but i'm going with the MB like TorqueDog says

[Zero102]

Originally posted by TorqueDog
I JUST dealt with this specific issue for a client.

It was a Dell Optiplex GX-something, older unit. I checked the motherboard and found three caps bulging/cracked open. I bet if you look closely on the motherboard you'll find some busted capacitors. The ones on the machine I looked at were near the RAM slots - apparently it is a common occurance on them.

You didn't deal with this specific issue, you dealt with a similar one. The OP has a Dell Dimension E520, not an optiplex GX270/280 which are the ones with the exploding caps. There is actually a lawsuit against Dell right now for those specific machines.

I worked in an office where we had ~1000 of the GX270's, and we were having about 1 a day fail due to exploding caps. It was exciting but shitty, nobody knew when their computer would go BANG and shut down.

As for the E520's, it is somewhat common to see power supply failures with this series. Inspect the caps on the motherboard just to make sure you don't waste money, but most of the time you have to replace the power supply and not the motherboard.

[torob]

+1 as said above...

For me personally i've had more power supplies fail on me than mobos + caps... and i've used some old comps that still run to this day

But it doesn't hurt to just do a scan of the motherboard, see if you find any blown caps... if not then either grab a friends psu and see if it fixes it... your symptoms lead to it