Dell wont power up

**opiate** · April 9th, 2009, 09:38 PM

I'm working on a Dell Precision Workstation 360....nothing happens after pushing the power putton. All the obvious has been checked, new power supply, it's plugged in, the switch on the back of the power supply is on, every thing has been reseated...etc. The LED power indicator light on the MB is on....it just won't do anything. And suggestions?

sorry if posted in wrong place

**Platypus** · April 9th, 2009, 10:19 PM

Dell PSU? Some Dells had a proprietary pinout on the ATX power plug.

Except for not being a Dell, we had same symptoms at work yesterday. PSU went out, no start at all with a new one. Unplugged things until it started, turned out PSU failure had also spiked the hard drive. Fortunately it was only a shorted protection diode on the drive's control PCB, removed that and it's operating.

**opiate** · April 9th, 2009, 10:28 PM

Originally Posted by Platypus

Dell PSU? Some Dells had a proprietary pinout on the ATX power plug.

Except for not being a Dell, we had same symptoms at work yesterday. PSU went out, no start at all with a new one. Unplugged things until it started, turned out PSU failure had also spiked the hard drive. Fortunately it was only a shorted protection diode on the drive's control PCB, removed that and it's operating.

Huh?

**Platypus** · April 9th, 2009, 10:34 PM

??

**MobilePCPhysician** · April 10th, 2009, 12:12 AM

Short the power switch leads on the motherboard. The push button may be bad.

**opiate** · April 10th, 2009, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by MobilePCPhysician

Short the power switch leads on the motherboard. The push button may be bad.

I ran a screwdriver across the leads and nothing happened....now what? The switch has a 7 pin cable that connects from the switch to the mb. I ran the screwdriver at the mb leads where the cable connects....

what else you got?

**Platypus** · April 10th, 2009, 04:02 AM

I assume you're indicating you tried my suggestions without result? Have you tried clearing the CMOS?

**Draggar** · April 10th, 2009, 06:14 AM

Get yourself a Dell power supply tester - it saves a lot of work and stress. (Dell part# FT295 - it tests the power supply connections, HDD connectors, 3.5": floppy connector, and SATA power cables).

Now - when you push the power button - by "nothing happening" you mean none of the fans spin, no BIOS beep, no lights, etc..

You checked the power button. Check the reset switch (if the PC has one) - it could be stuck. (no need to short - just disconnect)

Other than clearing the BIOS - disconnect ALL peripherals (all drives etc..). Remove the video card (if it has a separate one), clean off the contacts (dry lint free cloth), and re-seat the card (AGP slots are tricky and cards can wiggle out a little). Do this with the RAM, too. Remove the processor and then re-seat. If the PC boots up w/ no drives attached (well, it won't boot but it will run) - connect the primary HDD and then test again. Continue to do this until it doesn't power on anymore.

**opiate** · April 10th, 2009, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Draggar

Get yourself a Dell power supply tester - it saves a lot of work and stress. (Dell part# FT295 - it tests the power supply connections, HDD connectors, 3.5": floppy connector, and SATA power cables).

Now - when you push the power button - by "nothing happening" you mean none of the fans spin, no BIOS beep, no lights, etc..

You checked the power button. Check the reset switch (if the PC has one) - it could be stuck. (no need to short - just disconnect)

Other than clearing the BIOS - disconnect ALL peripherals (all drives etc..). Remove the video card (if it has a separate one), clean off the contacts (dry lint free cloth), and re-seat the card (AGP slots are tricky and cards can wiggle out a little). Do this with the RAM, too. Remove the processor and then re-seat. If the PC boots up w/ no drives attached (well, it won't boot but it will run) - connect the primary HDD and then test again. Continue to do this until it doesn't power on anymore.

Great info...I will try. And Yes, no post screen, no fans, no lights...etc.

**opiate** · April 10th, 2009, 04:18 PM

Still nothing....I can't get any power.....the only indication is the tiny PWR LED light on the MB. Nothing, notta, ziltch.....arrrg

**Platypus** · April 10th, 2009, 06:45 PM

So it won't start up with everything disconnected from the motherboard except the CPU? You still haven't indicated if the replacement PSU is a Dell part. A generic PSU may not work as a substitute in some Dells, and the Dell online service info for that model doesn't give a pinout for the ATX connector to tell us if it's standard or not.

The little LED on the board indicates standby power, and is a reminder not to remove or fit anything like memory while it's lit, or something could be damaged.

**Draggar** · April 11th, 2009, 07:19 AM

So the motherboard is getting power - but no POST, fans, boops, or other lights.

Disconnect the power and make sure that the light goes off (may take a few seconds).
Disconnect the reset switch.
Remove the AGP video card (if it has one).
Remove all the RAM (remember which stick went where).
Remove the processor.

Make sure all contacts, on both ends, seem clean.

Install the processor - make sure it is in well.
Install the ram - I'd say only do 2 sticks in the primary slots.
Install the AGP video card - make sure it is 100% of the way in (if AGP cards are not in all the way, even a millimeter off, it would cause exactly what you're experiencing - its a fail-safe for improperly installed AGP cards). Processors and RAM can cause this, too.

**Guts3d** · April 11th, 2009, 10:29 AM

Swap out the cpu if possible as well to eliminate that as a culprit. Also, I have seen some Dells that won't do squat unless it senses a fan on the cpu fan terminals, so make sure that you have one connected. Good luck!

**MobilePCPhysician** · April 11th, 2009, 10:36 AM

Reset the bios.

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...de.htm#1105089

Bottom of page.

**slgrieb** · April 11th, 2009, 12:08 PM

Opiate, I think it's safe to say that you either have, in order of probability, 1. a bad power supply, 2. a bad mainboard, 3. a bad CPU, or 4. all of the above.

When I read your posts, it isn't very clear to me what suggestions from other forum members you've actually tried. Your first goal has to be determining whether or not your power supply is good. So, getting a tester would be a good place to start. You should be able to find one locally if you want to buy one. You want a tester that has and LCD display that shows all the voltages from the power supply and gives you an alarm any are off. I use one of these. Alternatively, if you know a good shop in your area, you could take the PSU in, ask them to test it, and buy a replacement if it's bad. Your Dell uses a standard PSU, so any decent off the shelf brand will work. Just don't buy a really cheap, crappy power supply.

Just because you get a lit LED on the motherboard doesn't meant the power supply is OK, so you've got to check that first. Chances are, a new power supply will fix you right up. If it doesn't, then the motherboard is probably bad. Hopefully, that's not the case.