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August 1st, 2018 17:00

Optiplex 9010 Does not turn on. Blinking orange light

I unplugged all peripherals and pressed the button in the back. When that button is pressed the led turns green and stays on for as long as I press it. I tried testing out a graphics card (750 TI) but it didn't work so I just closed it up and it did not turn on. I also unplugged internal wires that connected to the power supply but nothing changed. Do i have to toss the device or is this fixable?

Moderator

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16.9K Posts

August 2nd, 2018 05:00

Adding Video for No POST - Details still below

echojohn,

Refer to the chart below for troubleshooting the blinking amber sequence to determine the problem.

A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. NOTE:

Amber LED blinking pattern : The pattern is 2 or 3 blinks followed by a short pause then X number of blinks up to 7.

The repeated pattern has a long pause inserted in the middle.
Example 2,3 = 2 amber blinks, short pause, 3 amber blinks followed by long pause then repeats.

The following table depicts the amber blinking patterns with possible troubleshooting resolution:

State State Name Power Light :
Amber Blinking
Amber Blinking Pattern Problem Description Suggested Resolution
- - 2, 1 2 blinks followed by a short pause, 1 blink, long pause, then repeats Bad Motherboard Replace the motherboard
- - 2, 2 2 blinks followed by a short pause, 2 blinks, long pause, then repeats Bad Motherboard, Power Supply or Power Supply cabling If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue with PSU BIST Test, reseat cable.
If nothing works, replace the motherboard, power supply or cabling
- - 2, 3 2 blinks followed by a short pause, 3 blinks, long pause, then repeats Bad Motherboard, Memory or Processor If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by reseating memory and swapping a known good memory if available.
If nothing works, replace the motherboard, memory or processor
- - 2, 4 2 blinks followed by a short pause, 4 blinks, long pause, then repeats Bad coin cell battery If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by swapping a known good coin cell battery if available.
If nothing works, replace the coin cell battery
S1 RCM 2, 5 2 blinks followed by a short pause, 5 blinks, long pause, then repeats BIOS Checksum Failure

System is in Recovery Mode.

Flash latest BIOS version. If problem persists, replace the motherboard

S2 CPU 2, 6 2 blinks followed by a short pause, 6 blinks, long pause, then repeats Bad Processor CPU configuration activity is in progress or a CPU failure was detected.
Replace the processor
S3 MEM 2, 7 2 blinks followed by a short pause, 7 blinks, long pause, then repeats Memory failures Memory subsystem configuration activity is in progress. Appropriate memory modules were detected but a memory failure has occurred.
If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue with reseating memory and swapping a known good memory if available.
If nothing works, replace the memory.
S4 PCI 3, 1 3 blinks followed by a short pause, 1 blink, long pause, then repeats PCI Device or Video subsystem failures PCI device configuration activity is in progress or PCI device failure was detected.
If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by reseating PCI card and removing one by one to determine which card failed.
If identified the PCI card failed, replace the PCI Card.
If none of the PCI Cards failed, replace the motherboard.
S5 VID 3, 2 3 blinks followed by a short pause, 2 blinks, long pause, then repeats Video Subsystem failure Video subsystem configuration activity in progress or video subsystem failure.
If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing one by one to determine which card failed.
If identified the card failed, replace the card.
If none of the card failed, replace the motherboard.
S6 STO 3, 3 3 blinks followed by a short pause, 3 blinks, long pause, then repeats No Memory detected If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing one by one memory to determine which one failed and swapping to a known good memory if available to confirm.
If identified the memory failed, replace the memory.
If none of the memory failed, replace the motherboard.
S7 USB 3, 4 3 blinks followed by a short pause, 4 blinks, long pause, then repeats Storage Subsystem failure Possible storage device configuration in progress or storage subsystem failure.
If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing one by one storages on motherboard to determine which one failed.
If identified the storage failed, replace the storage.
If none of the storage failed, replace the motherboard.
S8 MEM 3, 5 3 blinks followed by a short pause, 5 blinks, long pause, then repeats Memory configuration or incompatible error Memory subsystem configuration activity is in progress. No memory modules were detected.
If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing one by one the memory on motherboard to determine which one failed. Also, combining the configuration to validate appropriate combination.
If identified the component failed, replace the component.
If none of the component failed, replace the motherboard.
S9 MBF 3, 6 3 blinks followed by a short pause, 6 blinks, long pause, then repeats System board failure Fatal system board failure detected.
If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing one by one the component on motherboard to determine which one failed.
If identified any of the component failed, replace the component.
If none of the component failed, replace the motherboard.
S10 MEM 3, 7 3 blinks followed by a short pause, 7 blinks, long pause, then repeats Possible memory failure Memory subsystem configuration activity is in progress. Memory modules have been detected but appear to be incompatible or in an invalid configuration.
If customer can assist to troubleshoot, narrow down the issue by removing one by one the memory on motherboard to determine which one failed.
If identified the memory failed, replace the memory.
If else, replace the motherboard.

 

You may also use the "Get Help Now" option at the bottom right to chat with a Dell technician right away.

DellRamanS_0-1647634539580.png

 

(edited)

2 Posts

August 2nd, 2018 07:00

Seems to be the motherboard that is the problem just needed confirmation. The light blinks 2,2 I know  the power supply works and so do the cables. The form factor is DT and it looks like the motherboard is ATX. Do I have to look for a specific brand or would any brand work fine? All components are stock except the graphics card and I don't plan on changing them unless I have to.

January 6th, 2020 20:00

I had the 2-3 blinks, solution states that Processor, RAM or Motherboard is in fault.

SOLUTION for me:

I did the jumper reset on the motherboard and that fixed the issue.  I didn’t have any parts changed prior to the error, hope this helps to anyone.

 

 

January 7th, 2020 15:00

This is why I buy Dell. I had 3 then 2 yellow blinks went through and reseated all the memory cured problem.

8 Wizard

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17K Posts

January 7th, 2020 16:00


@Maynard Shooter wrote:

This is why I buy Dell. I had 3 then 2 yellow blinks went through and re-seated all the memory cured problem.

 


Good trouble-shooting.

It is just a theory, and I know there are more important reasons why (like board-space and guaranteed compatibility)...

But I think this is just another reason why a lot of machines have soldered-in memory now. 

1 Message

February 20th, 2020 08:00

I had this issue today - Solid Amber Power button, and blinking 2, 3, 4 (blinking on and off).

I removed the USB devices, but that didn't resolve the issue. I also "hard" powered it off twice, and that didn't resolve the issue, either.

I then unplugged the power cord from the back, waited 10 seconds, and that resolved the issue - at least for now.

2.5K Posts

February 20th, 2020 09:00

so the RTC coin cell is bad,  and will repeat

resetting the CMOS , only hid the problem.

why do you run PC with old battery, , why?

 

less than 2.9vdc is no good... 3.3vdc is fresh and new, make it so..

ALSO THE LONG HARD RESET WORKS TOO,  AC power cord  removed,

push power button until all fans stop twitching then and all LED stop glowing or flashing, 

then put back AC cord and turn it on

this is called a hard reset. and works many many times,

18 Posts

March 1st, 2020 23:00

I have an Optiplex 9020 I7 mini tower. I have also had the yellow flashes on the power button.

I have not as yet found a solution to it and I never turn the Optiplex off if I can help it. We had a long power outage today that was longer than my UPS could sustain. When I got home the Optiplex would not start. I removed all cables, reseated the ram, and blew all the dust out of the Optiplex with compressed air. It would still not fire up.

Then as has happened previously it booted up. I then reconnected all peripherals and after a bit of trial and error it booted up and I am now typing on it.

When it booted, there was 2 quick flashes followed by a long flash indicating motherboard but it was running fine. I put it into stand by and when it awoke the power button was illuminated normally again. After the last episode like this the Optiplex ran faultlessly for 3 or 4 months. you can put it in standby, restart, windows updates, all no problem as long as it does not get turned off. If anyone has any insight, I would love to know how to rectify this.

Baz

2.5K Posts

March 2nd, 2020 11:00

what OS is this,? I can not guess OS.

w10 (64bit)??

But sure if the F2 or F12 key is dead

or the splash screen dead we fix that first.

 

RTC COIN CELL TOP OF LIST

8 YEARS OLD IS TOO OLD FOR THE COIN CELL BATTERY. OK?

2.5K Posts

March 2nd, 2020 11:00

bad RTC coin cell. replace it for a buck.

if the UPS is bad move PC power cord to wall power,  now UPS is not in the pictures,

UPS batteries can fail very very easy. later we test the UPS, ask

do the long hard AC power reset any time any PC fails to turn on.

there are other tests I have a list of 14 but, nobody likes to test , only guess..

18 Posts

March 2nd, 2020 12:00

Hi, Thanks for the reply.

Optimax is running Win 10 64. UPS is Powershield Defender 1600VA 

When you typed "USB battery", did you mean UPS battery? The UPS battery is 14 months old.

Not sure how old RTC battery is, but seems to remember it's setting once bootup is started.

Can I change the RTC battery while the PC is running?

The UPS would have kept the PC running for around 3 hours before it ran out of power and the PC turned off.

If I turn the PC off, it is unlikely to start again as per the description in my first post which is why I never turn it off. I do however put it in standby which shuts down hard drives, fans and just about everything when not in use. Not sure what you mean by "bad ac power"? We always have between 230 and 250v available and I have not problems with any other PC on the same supply.

Not sure about F2 F12 as the PC will not start at all when this problem happens. If I push the button on the power supply to test the Optiplex power supply, the fan starts and the lights come on, but no response from the start button.

Thanks for your help.

Baz

 

18 Posts

March 2nd, 2020 13:00

I have replaced the CMOS battery, but will not shutdown in case it will not start while it is running well.

Hopefully it will restart next time there is a power outage that exhausts my UPS.

BTW, old battery was showing 3.02v so not flat, but I have seen plenty of coincell batteries that showed 3v and would not work. I assume the voltage would drop severely under load making the battery useless.

 

Baz

18 Posts

March 12th, 2020 22:00

my grandaughter pushed the power button today and the Optiplex would not restart.

I tired all sorts of techniques but it started when I held the power button and then plugged in the IEC lead. It would seem the cmos battery did not fix the problem. Could this be some kind of power supply issue. It always runs fine once running and has run faultlessly since my last post. Any help much appreciated.

2.5K Posts

March 13th, 2020 12:00

i guess your PSU is no good. (in the PC)

bad AC power means.. (ask Tesla ,?)

  • low voltage , brown outs.
  • surges,  (as seen common with windows air-conditioner on the same circuit feed as PC) or utility caused
  • lightning hits.
  • bad power strips using those and those cheap ones are junk,  bad means defective.. in many ways.(bypass it, , dont use it now...)
  • The UPS can be bypassed,  all you do is plug in the the PC to wall power, if PC runs now the UPS is bad.
  • bad UPS is 99% bad batteries,(end of life, dead, or worse, there is no limits on worse for sure here)
  • the PSU can be bench tested 75% , i can do 100% but you do not have my load banks.. but is effective.
  • ask

18 Posts

March 13th, 2020 13:00

Thanks for the reply.

I am pretty sure we can rule out anything to do with power as I have removed the Optiplex and plugged it into another power source with no peripherals connected and it does the same thing. If the power supply is bad is it possible to work perfectly once it is running? The only problem is getting the PC to power on, once it has powered on it never shuts off by itself, only when the power is removed. It wakes from standby with no problems. The power supply starts for a second or so when the test button is pushed and the cpu fan starts, but it will not respond from the start button. The only thing that happens is the yellow flashes.

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