Any way to tell if the CPU is good. I would hate to replace the motherboard and have the CPU gone bad. Problem is that I do not have another system that I could put the cpu in.
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Dell 4700 power light blinks amber...nothing else
I have a Dell 4700 and all of a sudden the power light just blinks the amber color. I disconnected everything but the systemboard from the power supply. Still the system won't boot, and the fans don't spin. I took another PS froma working system and connected it. Still the very same thing. I also removed the memory, still the same. But there is a little green light lite on the systemboard during all this. Is there a problem with the system board or CPU? Any way to tell?
Thanks
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Answers
Just wanted to verify thast the known good psu was poweful enough and given the specs of the mpro it should have been. Its very rare when a cpu goes bad. In the years i worked at dell i had never seen a blinking amber power led caused by a bad cpu most of the time it was a PSU, others a bad motherboard, and a couple that were caused by overloading the psu. In this case with with the steps you have taken i would say it was a bad motherboard.
http://support.dell.com/su
If the power light is blinking amber, the computer is receiving electrical power, but an internal power problem might exist.
Ensure that the voltage selection switch is set to match the AC power at your location (if applicable). See your Owners Manual for more information.
Ensure that the processor power cable is securely connected to the system board. See your Owners Manual for more information.
http://support.dell.com/su
CHECK THE DIAGNOSTIC LIGHTS!!
cf101
if you have still warrany on the desktop system, just contact the dell support:
an easy, stupid and effective solution, because if you try to deassemble the cpu out of the motherboard to check out,
whether pins are OK, or physical damages on the chips case are visible- you'll definitely loose the warranty on your desktop pc. . .
surely all of the former suggestions point in the right direction, so if you want to study the problem , do as the other experts advise you and afterthat compare your conclusions on the cause of the problem with these from dell's technical report.
Wish you good luck!
mwnnj
I want to pull my hair out since the issue started. The motherboard did NOT fix the problem. The really stupid thing is it's a Pentium 4 socket 775 so I can't easily swap out with chips (have plenty of 775 core 2 duo and pentium d's but not supported).
I have a Dell Inspiron 4700 with the same issue, except I've installed a new mobo.
I've also tried bridging the pw switch with a flathead thinking it was a switch issue. No post.
I've tried new psu. no post
I've tried new RAM. no post
just to confirm I've reset bios, no post
and I still don't get back led's from the motherboard diagostics labeled a-d. PSU doesn't light up. no post.
Power supply can test fine and still cause amber light to flash... even though dells says and I've read standard ATX power supply's work, I have not found one. Still get amber flashing light. Just swapped a power supply from another E510, NO AMBER LIGHT! Don't let this fool you into buying a motherboard or CPU... most likely power supply.
The strangest thing is that you can get the machines to operate by removing cmos battery or using clear cmos jumper. After that machine will run fine unless you turn it off for more than a few minutes. Beats paying dell 300 for a power supply...
I think they built a "check engine light" into those I/O control panel's(board in front with diagnostic lights, USB ports, and power button) that make you spend money for no good reason.
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by: jamietonerPosted on 2006-09-21 at 06:18:48ID: 17568775
A flashing amber power led is usually indicates a bad power supply some times motherboard. Where you have tryed with a known good psu i would say you need to replace the mothertboard.