Computer will not turn on - blinking yellow light on the on/off button

Hello,

I am also having an issue where my Dell's yellow power light on the front of the tower is blinking when I try to start up.

It was working fine 20min ago, it froze up (explorer.exe I believe) then I had to manually restart.  After the restart it windows wouldnt start so I manually restarted again, this time it wouldnt turn on at all.  Just blinking yellow light.  I tried changing my power chord's power surge and flipped the switch next to the power chord but no luck.  I held the power button down for 30sec to drain the power with another restart but still nothing.  It's like its dead.

I have a Dell Dimension E510

Windows XP Home Ed. 

Any help is appreciated.  Thank you.

Kumabo

kumabo 

A blinking amber power button LED usually indicates a power supply failure, it can also indicate a motherboard issue.

Are any of the diagnostic lights on the front panel

<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

 lite?

Try connecting the power cord directly into a different outlet.

Does the power supply run?

Bev.

There are no diagnostic lights on the front, only the power buttons 'amber' light.

I tried connecting to a different outlet and got the same result.

I will consult my owner's manual ><

Any other recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Correction: there are diagnostic lights behind the front panel but none of them were on.

I saw another forum suggested taking out the mobo battery for 30 sec and plug it back in.  I did this carefully and now it doesnt even blink amber when I hit power.  

I see a green light on the mobo lit solid so I assume the power supply is still getting power from the outlet.

Any thoughts?

kumabo

The LED Standby Power Light [aka Flea power] on the motherboard only indicates the it's receiving some power, not that the power supply has not failed.

If you are comfortable working around computers, you could try the following:

Note: The only 100% method of testing a PSU, is to install a known working power supply.

Unplug the cord from the power supply, hold the power button in for about 15/20 seconds, open the case, unplug the 24-pin power connector from the motherboard and jump the Green wire to one of the Black wires, reconnect the power cord and power the system on, if power supply, case fans and the hard drive run, then the PSU should be good.

Note: Do not remove any wires from the plug, use a small piece of wire or a paper clip as a jumper.

Personally. I would try installing a know working power supply.

5150/E510 PC's do not use Dell proprietary power supplies, you can install most generic ATX power supplies with either a 24-pin or 20+4-pin main motherboard power connector.

As the 5150/E510 has an open back panel, a power supply with or without the on/off switch can be used and can be purchased from most local or online computer stores.

A power supply with two SATA power connectors is needed.

Bev.

Hi and thanks again for all your help.

I think I would be best off trying a generic atx power supply  I am not familiar with watt-age etc. but I am hoping to find one I can use at frys electronics tomorrow (to avoid waiting for delivery).

I will post the results tomorrow as well.

Cheers.

kumabo

As you are buying a new ATX PSU, look for a 500w unit.

Bev.

Ok, will do.  Thanks.

I bought a generic 350w atx psu and everything is back on, and back to normal.

*Except for some reason the usb ports dont seem to be recognized once windows starts up.

In BIOS the keyboard was working fine and I reset the date/time OK.  But, as soon as windows started up and I could see my desktop I noticed both the keyboard and mouse are not being detected.

Thanks for all you help Bev.  If you have any other thoughts regarding the usb issue please let me know!

kumabo

Happy to hear that replacing the power supply resolved the issue and thank you for the heads up.  :emotion-21:

Bev.

False alarm!  

The usb (mouse/keyboard are working ok)  I guess they needed extra time to be recognized.

Also, I didnt get a 500w only because the store I went to was sold out of the rebate ones.  I might upgrade it later since I got a rain check.

Thanks again!!!

Hello I have a STUDIO XPS 435MT and I get the blinking power light when trying to turn on the computer. Computer does not turn on. Help please.

FRKNlo

A blinking amber power button LED usually indicates either, a power supply or motherboard failure has occurred.

First try using the troubleshooting procedures, I posted for Kumabo.

Bev.

OK, jumped the green wire to the black wire and the case fans and hard drive turn on.

I also reseated all the components then tried to start normally got the same condition.

Then I jumped wires again and the fans and hard drive turn on.

Looks like its a motherboard failure. Is there anything else I can check?

Should I be looking into a new computer or motherboard?