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Inspiron Desktop Tower Won't Turn On/Boot Up
Hello, my name is Quynh. I have a Dell Inspiron desktop. Yesterday, I turned off the computer normally by going into Start > Shut down. Today, when i pressed the Power button on the tower, it didn't "click", it just felt like i was pushing nothing because usually there's a slight 'click' and the white light comes on, then the tower would boot up. Today, the power button light did not come on, i didn't hear fans running, and there was no light on the in the back of the tower as if the power plug isn't plugged in. When i turn on the monitor it says "Entering Power Save Mode".
I have had this problem before with my tower and called Dell, the guy told me to turn off my outlet surge, unplug the power cord from the tower, and hold the power button down for 15 seconds; when I did this the last time it worked. This time, when I did it, a green light in the back of the tower turned on after I plugged in the power cord, but when i press the power button, still, nothing turns on and the green light in the back of the tower also turns off.
Does anyone have a clue of what might be the problem or know any posible solutions? Thank you so much for your help!
shesagordie
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July 22nd, 2011 13:00
qnguyen0394
Yes, theTFX 250w power supply shown in your link, will work fine in the Inspiron 537s.
Bev.
shesagordie
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July 21st, 2011 12:00
qnguyen0394
Dell makes several different Inspiron models, please post the exact computer model and the version of windows that's installed.
Bev.
qnguyen0394
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July 21st, 2011 13:00
The computer model is 537s and Windows Vista.
-Quynh
shesagordie
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July 21st, 2011 15:00
qnguyen0394
As the power supply button is not lite and the fans do not work, it could be a possible power supply issue.
Does the power supply fan run?
Are there any 'Beeps'?
Try connecting the power cord directly into a different outlet, without the surge protector and see if it makes a difference.
No difference and 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's fan 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.
Power supply checks out and the system still does not work, again remove the power cord, hold the power button in for several seconds to discharge the residue power, reconnect the 24-pin connector to the motherboard.
Remove all the PCI cards, the video card [if applicable], memory, all peripherals, disconnect the data and power cables to all the drives, check that the front panel cable is connected to motherboard, with nothing else connected to the system, reconnect the power cable and power the system on.
If you do not get any beep codes, it would appear that the motherboard has died.
The Inspiron 537s supports a standard TFX power supply
Bev.
qnguyen0394
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July 21st, 2011 16:00
Thank you for replying. No the power supply fan does not run and there are no beeps. Just awhile ago, I unplugged the printer and left only the monitor, keyboard and mouse connected to the tower.Then, I unplugged the power cord and held the power button down for 15 seconds. When I plugged the power plug back on, the green light in the back of the tower came on again and this time, when I pressed the power button, the green light did not shut off and the computer turned on normally and very quickly. The computer was on for about 2-3 minutes before the screen suddenly went blank and said it was entering power save mode. When I checked the tower, there was no light in the power button and the green light in the back of the tower also turned off.
I plugged the power cord into a different outlet as suggested and performed the same routine (holding down power button for 15 seconds, so on) and when I plugged the power cord in the tower, the green light in the back of the tower turned on, but shuts off the instant i press the power button. Since the CPU suddenly turned off when it was on, I'm guessing it probably is a power supply issue. I would like to try those methods you suggested but am not very comfortable when it comes to unfolding a computer since I do not know the parts well :(
Judging from the information I have so far, does it lean more towards a power supply problem? Since when it did turn on, everything on the system was perfectly fine until it shut off all of a sudden as if someone pulled the power plug. Thank you!
qnguyen0394
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July 21st, 2011 17:00
In addition, it seems the little green light that comes on in the back of the tower every time I plug the power cord back into the tower is there to indicate that the tower is receiving power. When ever I press the Power Button, the green light shuts off as if the power there is no power source being provided to the tower at all. The green light will only turn on again if the power cord is unplugged and the power button is pressed down for 15 seconds and the power cord is replugged. Whenever I replug it, i here a small "click" sound, like a spark of electricity and the green light, lights up.
shesagordie
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July 22nd, 2011 09:00
qnguyen0394
I assume that you don't have a Dell warranty in effect.
As you are not comfortable working inside the computer case, I would suggest taking the system to a local computer repair shop, but prior to this, as it seems to be a power supply issue, you could first try replacing the TFX unit and see if this makes a difference.
The procedure for replacing the Inspiron 537s power suppy, are HERE
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
Bev.
qnguyen0394
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July 22nd, 2011 12:00
Yes, my warranty expired last year. Thank you, I will try replacing the unit first. I looked around the dell site, can I order this as a replacement?
Thank you so much for your help!