edit: now I need help from you ATOT geniuses

[silverpig]

I've only had one mobo die on me and 6 PSUs...

That being said, don't skimp on the replacement one (if dell doesn't give you a new one free).

 

[psiu]

updatetity-bumpity-posty

 

[psiu]

dell proprietary psu.....how old is the comp?

http://www.hardwareguys.com/dellwarn.html

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=3301

 

[shimsham]

ive had a ps that all the fans, drives, and the led mobo light all came on. i borrowed a buddies comp to swap cpu, mem, and stil the same problem. so i decided to swap the ps. lo and behold it worked, so i thought, ok, its the ps. i put my ps back in so it wouldnt just be laying around until i could pick up a new one. for the hell of it, i hooked it up and it worked!😕

so i figured maybe there was a short and i fixed it unknowingly when swapping all the parts. comp was good for 2 days, until i turned it off. the next time it tried to turn it on: same problem. so since my old ps worked after the swap, i thought it couldnt be that. i bought a new mobo, no go. new cpu, no go. borrowed a stick of ram, no go. finally broke down and bought a new ps, and havent had a problem since.

now i always swap the ps first and advise everyone else to also when they have those symptoms. it just threw me off when i put the ps back in, and then the comp worked. ps can be a tricky lot.

 

[Stark]

here's how your call will go:

[thick indian accent] hello, this is Fred (not real name), thank you for calling Dell technical support, how may i assist you today
[you] um, i think i have a bad power supply

[thick indian accent] thank you for that information, can i please have your express service tag number?
[you] bbzzdd123

[thick indian accent] thank you for that information, Is your computer plugged in?
[you] yes

[thick indian accent] thank you for checking that, Can you please try a different outlet?
[you] i made sure the outlet works

[thick indian accent] thank you for checking that, Is the cord plugged into the back of the power supply?
[you] yes

[thick indian accent] thank you for checking that, have you pressed the power button on the computer?
[you] yes

[thick indian accent] thank you for checking that, I have determinded that you may have a defective power supply, please hold while i get authorization to send you a replacement part...
[you] (wait 20-30 minutes)

[thick indian accent] thank you for waiting... your part is on its way, please give me a good survey... did you receive good service today?
[you] (still screwed until part arrives next week)

😀

I had to do this for someone a few weeks ago. have fun.

 

[EyeMWing]

If you can't get the PSU to power on with the jumpering method, IT DOES NOT WORK. I repeat - IT DOES NOT WORK. It may be supplying the proper standby voltages to the mobo to make the lights come on, BUT the PSU itself is not recieving the signal (simulated by jumpering those two pins together) to exit standby mode. The PSU is bad.

If the Dell was manufactured post-2002, go ahead and attach a regular PSU to it. Worst you can do is fubar it more. Do not, under ANY conditions, attach a sh!tty Dell PSU to any of your equipment. They're just THAT poorly made.

--Wing, administrator of 90 lameass Dellerons

 

[silverpig]

Ha, another great one for dell.

My bro ordered an inspiron 8600 at 1.8 GHz three days ago. Got a bonus deal on an external hard drive... 120 gig for $100 cdn (for me).

His user agreement came via email yesterday, and he's getting a 1.4. He's spent a few hours now to find out his sales rep isn't gonna be back in until after the new year. And the external hard drive came today... 80 gigs 😛

 

[DrPizza]

Update:
The Dell guy in India seemed exceptionally knowledgeable..
or at least could identify me as not being a typical dell customer...

His instructions: "open the case, disconnect the power supply from everything but the motherboard, remove the ram, and all the PCI cards..."
The initial instructions were "does the monitor work"... a little miscommunication between us at first, then I realized he just wanted me to swap the power cables - "that was the first thing I checked, just on the off chance. Everything is disconnected at this point, all I have is the tower and power cord. Fan doesn't come on in the power supply, no lights on."

Unfortunately, his diagnosis was incorrect... He told me the motherboard was shot.. Parts warranty is up too.
I figured "what the heck.." Connected my power supply to the computer and lo and behold, it started right up. Well, as much as could start up... not much left inside it.

So, it's a power supply problem. If I had known the parts warranty was expired, I wouldn't have bothered with customer service... I was just afraid of voiding any warranties. (since it was a gift to my kids from their grandfather and I believe he had 1 year on-site)

Time to order a new power supply.