Bad power supply?

[raoul5788]

Trying to help a friend with his Dell Inspiron 519. The small indicator light on the back is lit, but I get nothing when I hit the power button on the front. Sounds like a power supply, yes?

 

[lnbchris]

It could be a bad power supply or a bad motherboard. Without knowing more, I suspect it to be the motherboard, but it could also be the PS. Since the PS light is on, I would suspect no sign of activity at all to be a motherboard problem (easiest answer).

A dead motherboard may not boot, but it would help to test the voltages coming from the PS as you try to boot, so you know for sure.

The power supply light is often just an idiot light wired to the output side that indicates the PS is putting out power. I have had faulty power supplies that still light up though, the culprits being worn out or faulty filter capacitors on the secondary side transformer in the PS.

 

[mike123abc]

I have had far more power supplies go out than motherboards. I would definitely try another power supply.

 

[raoul5788]

I assume testing it is as easy as removing it and checking voltage with a VOM. What should the voltage be?

 

[88isgreat]

There are typically multiple voltages on a PC power supply. A Google search on the power supply model should provide the voltages and pin outs. There may also be documentation on a label on the power supply.


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[raoul5788]

Thanks for the answers everybody. I'll probably rip it apart tomorrow.

 

[bigjohnok]

power supply is cheaper and easier to swap out than a motherboard.
if its a motherboard might as well get a new computer unless the cpu and other parts in are pretty up to date.

and since its a dell dont they use some kind of proprietary form factor?

 

[. Raine]

Does the light around the pwr button flash amber? Is there a LED indicator on the motherboard?
Look on the motherboard and see if you see any loose plugs, etc, or any caps that the tops are swelled up on. If any caps are swelled up, change them. Check that the power switch is good and not stuck or bad, check it with a meter or momentarily jump it.
Unhook hard drives, cd drives and try it without them hooked up, in case one has a cooked board.
Pull all add in cards and external stuff [mouse and keyboard too] and see if it starts.
Re-seat memory and processor, while you have the processor and mem out, try to start it, [will just beep, not boot, of course]
Try swapping out the power supply.

Hope it's not the motherboard, Chip!

 

[lnbchris]

Thanks for the answers everybody. I'll probably rip it apart tomorrow.

Emphasis on testing the power supply with it under load, ie. still connected to the motherboard. A failed supply can sometimes deceive you and put out the correct voltage under no load.

 

[lnbchris]

P.S. I found an image of a bad capacitor. It is more likely you will see something like this happen inside the PS than on the motherboard.

 

[mike123abc]

A failed motherboard pretty much needs a whole new computer. You probably would require a new windows license since they tend to be tied to the motherboard. I assume it is out of warranty.

 

[lnbchris]

A failed motherboard pretty much needs a whole new computer. You probably would require a new windows license since they tend to be tied to the motherboard. I assume it is out of warranty.

I'm still using XP on a P4 laptop and Duocore Quad-core desktop machines, so unless there was a change in the way machines are licensed with Vista/7/8, then it should still be possible. If it is anything like XP which just needed to be "validated" online, he should be able to change it over to at least one other machine. As far as replacing motherboards, I have gone through many computers myself and have ordered older generation motherboards for as low as $20-$50 on Ebay. Not sure how old the machine in this thread is. If an identical MB part number is substituted, it may not even be necessary to reload the OS.

 

[. Raine]

I've seen failed caps on many, many, motherboards and have repaired them, it is rather common.

 

[lnbchris]

I've seen failed caps on many, many, motherboards and have repaired them, it is rather common.

Must have been torture...

 

[bigjohnok]

A failed motherboard pretty much needs a whole new computer. You probably would require a new windows license since they tend to be tied to the motherboard. I assume it is out of warranty.

you can actually call MS and they will reactivate it on a new computer if you did some major hardware changes one or twice
at least they used to I dont know if they still do though.

 

[FaT Air]

I really doubt that M$ will do that for Xp as it's past EOL. (Boot the Linux Mint Cinnamon edition DVD. If Cinnamon crashes, try the Mate edition DVD. [boots full OS for testing w/ option to install] I've got Mate edition running on an old Dell 2400. It's faster than what Xp was at any time.)

 

[raoul5788]

Turns out it was a bad power supply. I replaced it and all is well.

 

[Foxbat]

Our old Computer Tech had a little gizmo that had the ATX Power 22(?) and 4-pin connectors on it. It would simulate a PC load and report any voltage anomalies. I don't remember where he said he got it. It came in real handy to answer the P/S good/bad question!

The problem with using a volt meter is you need to jumper two pins on the connector to power-up the P/S, and as inbchris said, it isn't under load.