Dell Optiplex only turns on for a few seconds then shuts off

[tgferg67]

Hi,
I have a Dell Optiplex GX-270 computer that only turns on for a few seconds and then shuts off when I try to turn it on. Any suggestions, power supply maybe??
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[montag451]

Hi,
It could be down to many things.

Firstly, Have you played around with what was in the case? Has it ever worked? Is it still under warranty?

 

[tgferg67]

Yes it worked for some time.
I bought it from a local college and used it for 2 or 3 times for maybe an hour or two each time. Then the computer sat for about 3 months and when I went to use it this problem surfaced. I have another Dell Optiplex which is the previous model so I was thinking about swapping out power supplies. I was also going to open up the case and check that all the fans run when the power does come on initially. Then maybe reseating memory and removing/unplugging everything to a core level and try to do a start up.
Any other tips would be appreciated.

 

[montag451]

I think you are doing the right thing.
Firstly, I would start with a BIOS reset. I don't know why, but this seems to clear up quite a few random non startup issues when compared to the time it takes to try it.

 

[TheKub]

Well one thing to check is the capacitors on the motherboard at my old job we bought Optiplexs and we had like a 60% failure rate on the 270s due to bad caps. If you look at the light on the power button after you try to turn it on does it flash yellow?

*edit*

My mistake maybe it was the 280s.

Badcaps.net is pleased to announce that we now have premade kits for those ever-so-popular Dell GX280 and SX280 systems. There has been a lot of demand for them recently, and since I had a few of them in the shop for repair, I figured this was a good time to tally up what is needed to make a complete recap kit for them

 

[Lemodular]

Originally posted by: tgferg67
Yes it worked for some time.
I bought it from a local college and used it for 2 or 3 times for maybe an hour or two each time. Then the computer sat for about 3 months and when I went to use it this problem surfaced. I have another Dell Optiplex which is the previous model so I was thinking about swapping out power supplies. I was also going to open up the case and check that all the fans run when the power does come on initially. Then maybe reseating memory and removing/unplugging everything to a core level and try to do a start up.
Any other tips would be appreciated.

My irst impression reading your post is that it is a (over)heating issue; whether from the PSU or CPU. It could be from build up of dust or just malfunctioning fans.

I would do as you plan and open up the case and clean and reseat all components before doing a PSU transplant. I have personally replaced two CPU fans on these Dells.

 

[Lanyap]

Originally posted by: TheKub
Well one thing to check is the capacitors on the motherboard at my old job we bought Optiplexs and we had like a 60% failure rate on the 270s due to bad caps. If you look at the light on the power button after you try to turn it on does it flash yellow?

*edit*

My mistake maybe it was the 280s.

Badcaps.net is pleased to announce that we now have premade kits for those ever-so-popular Dell GX280 and SX280 systems. There has been a lot of demand for them recently, and since I had a few of them in the shop for repair, I figured this was a good time to tally up what is needed to make a complete recap kit for them

It was both GX270s and GX280s that had the bad caps. We had a large number of GX270s that failed in my office.
http://news.cnet.com/PCs-plagu...00-1041_3-5942647.html

As mentioned previously, it could also be a bad PSU. I had a Dell 4600 that did the same type of thing and when I replaced the PSU the problem went away.