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Orange Flashing on Power
Hi, I have a Dell Dimension 5150/E510 running Windows Xp which will, while I'm using it, shut down, and the power button will start flashing orange, I know it isn't overheating, I checked all that, Can anyone help me?
RoHe
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March 25th, 2009 15:00
There's really no set time to replace the battery. These days, motherboard batteries only seem to last ~2-3 years. They typically cost ~$2 -$3 at places like Walmart, Target, etc, so it might be worthwhile replacing it before considering a new motherboard or a new PC.
The fact that you can leave it unplugged for 24 hours and then it boots, suggests that the motherboard may still be ok, but something else is going on. Leaving it unplugged will drain the residual current from CMOS which holds BIOS settings, and make them reset to factory defaults. So that suggests BIOS settings may be getting scrambled causing it to fail.
Ron
RoHe
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March 23rd, 2009 17:00
According to the manual, an amber blinking power button means:
"A power supply or system board failure has occurred"
Will it reboot right away or do you have to wait a while before it can be rebooted? What color are the 4 diagnostic LEDs on the front of the tower? Look up error codes here.
Ron
sampa64
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March 23rd, 2009 19:00
I just tested it, and it works fine, It did have a lot of problems but showed fine, I do know it had the motherboard and power supply replaced. There are no error messeges, and only the power light flashes amber. I've been unplugging it for 24 hours, and then booting it up, but it is very annoying. Thanks, Sam
shesagordie
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March 23rd, 2009 19:00
sampa64
Are the diagnostic lights on the front panel lite and does the power supply fan run?
Are there any error messages?
If you are handy around computers, you could test the power supply, first unplugging the power cord and hold the power button in for about 15/20 seconds, open the case, unplug the 24 pin connector from the motherboard and jumping the Green wire to one of the Black wires, reconnect the power cord and if power supply fan and 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.
If the power supply is fine, try removing all the PCI cards, the video card and memory, reconnect the 24-pin power connector, disconnect the data and power cables to all the drives, then check that the front panel cable is connected to motherboard, with nothing else connected to the system, except the power cable to the power supply, power the system on.
If you do not get any beep codes or diagnostic lights on the front panel, then it would appear that motherboard has died.
Bev.
sampa64
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March 23rd, 2009 19:00
It would be the system board, even though I had it replaced, you have to wait 24 hours while the computer is unplugged before it reboots. Thanks, Sam
RoHe
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March 24th, 2009 13:00
Sort of a very long shot, but when was last time you replaced the battery on the motherboard?
Ron
sampa64
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March 25th, 2009 15:00
Never, The system is only 3 years old, I thought you were supposed to do it every 5 years. Sam
sampa64
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March 26th, 2009 05:00
Thanks! Sam
RoHe
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March 26th, 2009 12:00
Sam,
You're welcome. Do I assume that a new battery solved the problem? :emotion-1:
Ron
sampa64
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March 26th, 2009 20:00
I'm not sure yet, the issue hasn't occured, and if it does, it will be in a few weeks. Sam