Dead Computer - Power Supply or Motherboard?

[Curt Christianson]

Hi Bill,

Bear in mind what Philo said--Dell's power supply *was* propriety at one
time, which therefore made the mobo the same. Worse yet, you can't simply
tell by looking, rather than with a voltmeter. You just can trust
pin-outs.

That being said, they (Dell) must haven't gotten enough flak that they went
back to a more standard design.

Be extra careful my friend.

--
HTH,

Curt

http://dundats.mvps.org/
http://www.aumha.org/


"Bill in Co." <not_really_here@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:OxnqQGCpIHA.4884@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Thanks Philo. I may try that, although it's an old Dell power supply
> with its own unique connector wiring.
>
> I found this out after the fact a normal ATX replacement power supply
> will NOT work in these old Dells, and, in fact, can and will damage the
> MB. I've been reading some horror stories about it too. Nice, really
> nice...
>
> Which is where I am at now. :-(
>
> I'm feeling pretty sure its the MB at this point, because when I put in
> the new PS, nothing happened (dead computer), and when I put back my old
> power supply, nothing works anymore either (evidently no power to
> anything, no disk noises, no lights, no monitor screen, nothing)
>
> If I were a betting man, I'd bet the MB has been hosed now (so there is no
> PS_ON signal), so I'm not getting power to the MB anymore. I guess it
> wouldn't matter if I did, because I'm pretty sure the MB has been "taken
> out" at this point.
>
> Thanks, Dell (for your proprietary connector wiring)
>
>
> philo wrote:
>> "Bill in Co." <not_really_here@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>> news:uobPc4$oIHA.5096@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>> Is there any simple test to eliminate one of those possibilities (for a
>>> completely dead computer - no lights, no fans, no hard disk activity,
>>> nothing)?
>>>
>>> I have read that it is possible to check the power supply by temporarily
>>> shorting two pins together, but I don't know which two pins, and I don't
>>> know if that will work without any load on the power supply. I do
>>> have a
>>> voltmeter, however.
>>>
>>>
>> I assume it's an ATX you are asking about.
>> If it's an ATX supply just touch the green wire to the chassis.
>>
>> I advise keeping one harddrive connected to it since it's a 'switching'
>> type
>> supply and may require
>> some load to run.
>>
>> If it does not even turn on or power a HD it's dead of course...
>> but even if it powers the drive...I'd still check the other voltages as
>> it
>> could still be defective of course.
>>
>> BTW: If the PSU smells burned or if there's a capacitor rattling around
>> inside...
>> you need not go any further <G>
>
>

 

[Bill in Co.]

Fortunately, it is all resolved now. I had to replace the motherboard.
But at least I could still find one! So now it's back up and running.


Curt Christianson wrote:
> Hi Bill,
>
> Bear in mind what Philo said--Dell's power supply *was* propriety at one
> time, which therefore made the mobo the same. Worse yet, you can't
> simply
> tell by looking, rather than with a voltmeter. You just can trust
> pin-outs.
>
> That being said, they (Dell) must haven't gotten enough flak that they
> went
> back to a more standard design.
>
> Be extra careful my friend.
>
> --
> HTH,
>
> Curt
>
> http://dundats.mvps.org/
> http://www.aumha.org/
>
>
> "Bill in Co." <not_really_here@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:OxnqQGCpIHA.4884@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> Thanks Philo. I may try that, although it's an old Dell power supply
>> with its own unique connector wiring.
>>
>> I found this out after the fact a normal ATX replacement power supply
>> will NOT work in these old Dells, and, in fact, can and will damage the
>> MB. I've been reading some horror stories about it too. Nice, really
>> nice...
>>
>> Which is where I am at now. :-(
>>
>> I'm feeling pretty sure its the MB at this point, because when I put in
>> the new PS, nothing happened (dead computer), and when I put back my old
>> power supply, nothing works anymore either (evidently no power to
>> anything, no disk noises, no lights, no monitor screen, nothing)
>>
>> If I were a betting man, I'd bet the MB has been hosed now (so there is
>> no
>> PS_ON signal), so I'm not getting power to the MB anymore. I guess it
>> wouldn't matter if I did, because I'm pretty sure the MB has been "taken
>> out" at this point.
>>
>> Thanks, Dell (for your proprietary connector wiring)
>>
>>
>> philo wrote:
>>> "Bill in Co." <not_really_here@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>>> news:uobPc4$oIHA.5096@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>>>> Is there any simple test to eliminate one of those possibilities (for a
>>>> completely dead computer - no lights, no fans, no hard disk activity,
>>>> nothing)?
>>>>
>>>> I have read that it is possible to check the power supply by
>>>> temporarily
>>>> shorting two pins together, but I don't know which two pins, and I
>>>> don't
>>>> know if that will work without any load on the power supply. I do
>>>> have a
>>>> voltmeter, however.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I assume it's an ATX you are asking about.
>>> If it's an ATX supply just touch the green wire to the chassis.
>>>
>>> I advise keeping one harddrive connected to it since it's a 'switching'
>>> type
>>> supply and may require
>>> some load to run.
>>>
>>> If it does not even turn on or power a HD it's dead of course...
>>> but even if it powers the drive...I'd still check the other voltages as
>>> it
>>> could still be defective of course.
>>>
>>> BTW: If the PSU smells burned or if there's a capacitor rattling around
>>> inside...
>>> you need not go any further <G>