3 Year Old Dell Shutting down due to Thermal Event

[starwars7]

Ok, so my friends old Dell is Shutting down the second it tries to enter into windows. Seems to be the hard drive so I'm installing one of my spares.

Its a Dell so the Bios gave me no informaiton on Temps or anything useful, but the error message it provides is:

Alert! Previous Shutdown Due to Thermal Event. So I'm pretty sure its the HD.

How could I get it operational again to help her get the data off it?

 

[bruceb]

That error usually means the CPU Fan is not working
Thermal events are usually not HDD related

And if by chance, it is the hard drive, remove it from
her computer and slave it into another one. Salvage
whatever you need to and if you can make an Image
with Ghost or Acronis TruImage ... then if the drive
does need to be replaced, just restore the image to
the new drive and you should be good to go.

 

[starwars7]

Oh, ok, so is there a cheap Pentium 4 CPU fan that you might recommend? Something I could pick up at a local shop?

 

[bruceb]

Since I do not the Dell model I can not say exactly.

Check here: http://www.centrix-intl.com/

They usually have OEM replacement fans and other
parts for Dell and other makers. If you do not use a
Dell cpu fan, then even though it will run, the BIOS
will not see the RPM Signal and will still give an error
message. Dell does not sense the RPM in the same
manner that everyone else does.

Note: Some research about that error message indicates that the
system may have suffered what Dell calls "thermtrip" and which
they usually refer to as a catastrophic failure ... possibly the
power supply went bad .. maybe more

 

[Lemon law]

You could boot to dos---or something like a knoppix cd--anything that gives you access to your drives--and see what you can do to transfer data.

But if the alarm shut off is in the bios it may shut down anyway.

But is it even established yet that the fan for the cpu is not running--or running up to speed?

 

[starwars7]

Well, you were right Bruce, it wasn't the HD, however, the CPU fan is fully functional.

Maybe it is the PSU

 

[A5]

Open it up and blow out the dust with some compressed air. After that, leave it open when booting and see if the fan is working.

 

[Varun]

Thermal Event failures on Dells are almost always a motherboard failure

We run hundred of them at work and almost all of them have had this error. A few years ago Dell had some Motherboards made with some poor caps. When the caps go, you get this error.

It's easy to check - open the PC and look for swolen/exploded caps. Generall the bad ones are those with a plus sign (+) and the good ones have a K.

If you are still under warranty, call Dell and they will replace it. If not, you can try and solder some new caps in if you are handy with a soldering iron.

 

[starwars7]

Hummmm well here is a pic of the caps, they aren't busted, but I did notice that several have this brownish material on top, not sure if its corrosion or what.

Any guesses if this could be the culprit?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/Serrinon/Caps1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/Serrinon/Caps3.jpg

EDIT: And here is the Dell Model number Optiplex GX270

 

[tyanni]

Thats definitely leaking caps.. Varun is correct, a lot of Dells had this issue and Dell will definitely replace them without much hassle if the pc is still under warranty.

 

[Rubycon]

We had a brand new Optiplex (3.6G 2MB) that was doing this. It ran Windows fine and what was unusual about it was the fan was running very fast and noticeably loud which is unusual for a Dell. As soon as you ran any program that loaded the cpu it died in a few seconds. Pulled it open and sure enough the massive heat pipe cooler was jarred from the mounting hold-down. Re-securing this made it silent and no problems with thermal shutdown events.

The caps in those pics with the brown paste looking stuff on the top (where the vent is) are toast. It's probably out of warranty but it can be re-capped. Check out http://www.badcaps.net for more information.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: starwars7
Hummmm well here is a pic of the caps, they aren't busted, but I did notice that several have this brownish material on top, not sure if its corrosion or what.

Any guesses if this could be the culprit?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/Serrinon/Caps1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/Serrinon/Caps3.jpg

EDIT: And here is the Dell Model number Optiplex GX270

Yeah, that?s definitely the problem. It's actually the contents of the caps "blowing" their way out the vent of the cap; it's not corrosion at all.

 

[bruceb]

Go to this link at Dell:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/..._info/en/details?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Enter the Service Tag Number that is on the computer ... This page will be able to tell you if it is still under Warranty
or not

 

[starwars7]

Thank you all for the help, of course the warrenty ran out this August Looks like I get to learn how to replace these little buggers myself

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: starwars7
Thank you all for the help, of course the warrenty ran out this August Looks like I get to learn how to replace these little buggers myself

We had a computer at one of our sites that had the same thing happen to it. Dell had an extended warranty that covered a motherboard replacement for it.
Might want to call customer service and find out.

 

[thirdlegstump]

Ask for an extension on the warranty. The GX270 was notorious for doing this. They should have no problems helping you out.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: deathkoba
Ask for an extension on the warranty. The GX270 was notorious for doing this. They should have no problems helping you out.

If the above doesn't work out.
Contact Topcat at badcaps.net. He *might* have a Dell board he can exchange with you.
He has recapped several hundreds of Dell mainboards.


...Galvanized

 

[starwars7]

wow! thanks guys! I'll try that

 

[bruceb]

If you want to try and replace them yourself you will need:

1): An antistatic work surface to work on

2): New capacitors of the proper values (Digikey has good ones)

3): A very small tip Grounded or Line Isolated Soldering Iron

4): Sharp, small diagonal cutters

5): Needle nose pliers

6): A very good work lamp, preferably with a Magnifier

The easiest way is to cut the old capacitor off leaving as much lead as you can.
Make a small Loop in the leads & make a Hook on the leads of the new part.
Crimp with needle nose and solder ... try not make the wires any longer than
needed, watch the Polarity and be sure the new parts do not physically interfere
with any other components or plug in modules.