I have a Dell Dimension E510 that as of yesterday, won't power up anymore. The power light blinks orange and the computer does nothing when the power button is pushed or held in. It's about 16 months old and is out of warranty, so I'm trying to diagnose the problem myself.
I did some searching on the internet and found that this seems to be a common issue on these Dells, sort of a long term infant mortality issue. The most common causes seem to be a bad PSU, MOBO or a shorted USB input.
I've done some diagnostic checks/testing so far and am now stuck. Here's what I know.
- The USB ports don't appear to be shorted. I also disconnected the connector for the USB (which includes the power switch ) and it doesn't change any of the results that follow.
- I removed the power supply and jumped Power On (terminal 14, green wire) of the main ATX connector to ground. The fan comes on and all voltages (3.3, 5 and 12v)check out, including around 5.35v at Power Good (terminal 8, gray wire).
- With the power supply back in and everything connected, there is only 3.3mv at Power Good. As I understand it, this would normaly point to a bad power supply; however, all of the voltages check out when the unit is disconnected from everything.
Is is still possible that the power supply is bad, or is it more likely (or definitely) that the MOBO is the culprit.
Any help, including suggestions for additional testing is greatly appreciated.
Gary
I did some searching on the internet and found that this seems to be a common issue on these Dells, sort of a long term infant mortality issue. The most common causes seem to be a bad PSU, MOBO or a shorted USB input.
I've done some diagnostic checks/testing so far and am now stuck. Here's what I know.
- The USB ports don't appear to be shorted. I also disconnected the connector for the USB (which includes the power switch ) and it doesn't change any of the results that follow.
- I removed the power supply and jumped Power On (terminal 14, green wire) of the main ATX connector to ground. The fan comes on and all voltages (3.3, 5 and 12v)check out, including around 5.35v at Power Good (terminal 8, gray wire).
- With the power supply back in and everything connected, there is only 3.3mv at Power Good. As I understand it, this would normaly point to a bad power supply; however, all of the voltages check out when the unit is disconnected from everything.
Is is still possible that the power supply is bad, or is it more likely (or definitely) that the MOBO is the culprit.
Any help, including suggestions for additional testing is greatly appreciated.
Gary