Dell XPS 600 will not boot up?

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Dell XPS600
Pentium D Processer 830 with Dual Core @ 3.0GGHz, 800FSB
Vista Ultimate
GeForce 8400 GS 512 MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card
Sound Card: SoundBlaster X-FI XtreamMusic
Memory 3GB
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)

I got a BSOD and powered it down, when it restarted my power button is solid amber and the Diag Lite is green on #2.

I had remove and reseated the memory, graphic and sound card. With everything off when I plugged in my power cord the power button turned solid amber and #4 Diag lite is green. Reveiwing the diag lite table it does not show #4 on by its self so with that light on can you tell me what the problem might be ?

Checked and all the fans are working OK. With the Power Switch in the off position and when I plugged in the power cord the power button goes solid amber and the #4 diag lite is green. Power off using the power button the fans turn off but #4 diag lite still stays on.
Any ideas would be greatly appericated,,,,,,,,,,,,,,cloys1
 
A bad power supply... Just because you have some fans and lights working, this doesn't mean that the power supply is good
 
I'll second Tmagic650 on that one... Heavy load with what you have, and that is a 305 watt Dell power supply in it now, right?
 
Yes Raybay,
I have work on a lot of these Beastly Dell XPS computers... Don't really like them either
 
Thanks for your input...........I had a Tech check the power supply and it measured correctly for the output voltage for the m/board, hard drive and DVD/CD.......Pretty much concluded that it is the motherboard....
 
A "tech" hey :rolleyes:

Well if a tech checked it then it must be true. I know because I'm a tech as well
And the fault you mentioned is 99% of the time faulty Power Supply that may not work under load (outside the tolerance levels etc)
Sometimes its also CPU (I even had a faulty CPU fan cause it)

Sadly it can also be the Motherboard, but I'd probably benchtest the Motherboard before confirming this
Actually as a "tech" I probably would have swapped the Power Supply first, even before "testing" it. The best test for Power Supplies is to test by using a known working one
I wonder why your tech didn't just do that :confused: Are you sure he's a tech?
 
The Tech had a special meter which he could plug in all the cables from the power supply one by one and measure the voltage supplied for each plug. That is why we feel the Motherboard or CPU had taken a dump.
My question was why the power button went amber and the diag #4 lite went green without pressing the power button when the power was plugged in. I Powered it off with the button and all the fans, etc shut down but the diag lite stayed on.
Thanks again...cloys1
 
The Tech had a special meter which he could plug in all the cables from the power supply one by one and measure the voltage supplied for each plug. That is why we feel the Motherboard or CPU had taken a dump.
I don't trust this test, as its not under load
The best test is to replace with a known working Power Supply
Any tech will tell you that ;)
 
It should say the wattage on a label attached to the side of the supply. Possibly 305 Watts... And any switching power supply needs to be verified good under load. I would try another supply before replacing the motherboard
 
Power supplies are cheaper to replace than motherboards, if you don't buy any replacement parts from Dell
 
Thanks for your input..........Based on what we have discussed a power supply may be the problem? My question is what does the diag lite #4 on mean? Bad PSU...I see a led lit on the motherboard but because everything is disc and not under a load and incorrect voltage is reduced which will cause it not to boot? Should the system give you the audio beeps too when booting up? I get no beeps.......

Also looking at the PSU which is located on the bottom of the tower is the replacement the entire bottom piece or can the PSU be replaced only?
I am looking for the cheapest way to repair this XPS.
 
Yes, try with a known working Power Supply
It may not even be the fix (ie possible motherboard issue) but it is the cheapest method

I usually borrow one ;) from another working computer, before purchasing one, just to test
But if you are unsure how to mount a new Power Supply then you may need a tech
 
The lite means merely that there is power to the machine... but reports nothing about how much power, or which rails, or anything else... it merely means the power cord is plugged into the wall.

No, that model should not normally give you beeps or sounds other than the whirring of the CPU cooler fan and the power supply fan.

The boot power feeds the CPU, the CPU fan, the hard drive, the motherboard, sound card or chip, video graphics chips or video graphics card, ethernet chip or card... and so on...
Remember that the power supply has three units... The combined power may be only 160 watts of needed power for converting the household current down to 20 amps or so... to the 3.3V, 5V, and 12V lines... But the computer doesn't enjoy the power dips as it struggles to supply all components.
Power could be adequate to any two of the three, and the safety system would shut down because there is nothing to the third.
There are better explanations you will find with a Gurgle search.

As Kimsland and others have stated, it is a simple test to try any other power supply that has those 20 or 24 plubs and the four line power to the motherboard...
If you use any other power supply that is known good, and you have the same result as before, then the problem is elsewhere...
Not likely to be the CPU, but could be one memory module, hard drive, power switch, cpu cooler fan... and a odd one I find common more and more on Dells... the motherboard battery (CS2032 3Volt)... if it is bad or going bad, all other results can be unpredictable.
 
Tested power supply

Hello all I tested the power supply myself with a meter at each pin on the psu. Looking at a standard wireing diagram I recieve the correct vdc at each pin. I dont think it is my power supply in this case. What I am wondering is if there is a way to test the Mb or the Processor before I start throwing parts at it? Any help would be great. Thanks
 
Multimeter

Hey thanks for responding. I used a multimeter measuring at 20vdc I was reading pretty much right on target aroun 3.8 vdc 5.3 vdc and 12.4 vdc in that area. I took another power source that I also believe to be bad (we just had a pretty bad electircal storm and havnt had a chance to replace surge protectors yet) That one definatly measured below on all voltaged by about 1 volt. The 12 volt output was actually producing 13.6 volts. For what little I know that one is going to be replaced I am going to head out to buy a new one here in a minute. However the PSU for this Dell XPS 600 is almost going to be impossible to replace as it is not normal size. At least I think so I havnt yet began to look as I have kinda given up on the xps and just staying with my ALienware laptop
 
Yes the older Dell XPS series use smaller ATX power supplies, and it is wise to get Dell approved supplies for these XPS series computers. Newegg sells them. Never buy spare parts from Dell. They are horribly over-priced
 
PSU

I found a tested psu on Ebay for around 50 30 day money back. Do you think I should risk buying a new one? I am looking into a mobo right now
 
There are huge numbers of failures of Dell XPS 400, 403, and 600 due to faulty motherboard... easily damaged when new memory modules are installed...
The only cure is to replace the motherboard, and that is as much as $140 on ebay... you can get refurbished ones from Dell for about $129.

Otherwise, but a new power supply... anything over 400 to 500 watts from any good supplier such as Directron, NewEgg, ZipZoomFly, Frys, Tech Depot, and so on.
 
Changed Psu

So I had to buy a new psu for the other comp that I was worried about and before I installed it I put it in the Dell Xps and still got the same thing board appears to power on solid amber light This was with just the mobo powered on.....Soo Guess it is time to find a replacement
 
The XPS 600 is definitely an odd ball... a great computer when working, but sudden failures of the motherboard have been its doom... and the boards on eBay are still too high to justify the cost.
We have way too many clients with the XPS 400, 401, 402, 403, and 600 series...

We suspect the boards are too susceptible to heat. The failures we see are in systems filled with lint and dust, or have memory failures of one or two sockets first.
 
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