Member Avatar for Indalo

Two days ago my EIZO FlatScreen Monitor shuts down from one moment to the other without working on the PC. Normally the Monitor switches to a screensaver mode, but never shuts down. Anyway I would restart the process by typing the keyboard or moving the mouse. Nothing. Then I restart the monitor offlin with the powerswitch and then I see, that the screen shos the 40 second test flash "Test analogue, Test digital, ...". I have to kill the power by the poweroff button, and I tried to restart the PC. The as before: The Monitor shows the test flash and after a while he moved to sleep. Again and agin I tried to reboot, but nothing was possible. Also not with the special bootdisk from DELL and not with the Original CD "XP Pro" from Miicrosoft.

Then I looked the Internet for similar cases. I found some cases with similar problems, but not really logical hints to solve the problem. Then I gone to bed and early in the morning I was looking for a new machine. Shure no more a DELL, because I had allways troubles with it and very poor support. I'm friendly, when I say, that the problems I have similar as many other DELL users have it, I had it only with DELL Computers since more than 10 years. And only DELL let the Users sit in the shit. I never had such adventures with HP, IBM, Comapac, DEC and last but not least the new brand Lenovo over near 30 years!

Well this morning I would demonstrate my collegue the phenomen and whow, the Box boots up as normal ... I'm perplex and had no idea what wizard sits in my box. After one hour approx. I look on my PC and I see the same as yesterday night. But very new is now, that the power off button does nothing also. I can push or I can press a while. the PC runs, the CD-, and the DVD con be opened, the HD lamp light is on, the power light is on, also the USB lights are on, the fans blow, the HD turns. I have to unplug the power cord to stop the machine.

Then I opened my machine to check, what I can check by looking alone. The light on the mainboard is on. I changed also the 3V Battery, I clean the not very dusty inside with a small vaporcleaner and now I have the very big problem, that my power on/off is totally manually: I have to plug in the power and the machine starts to turn the drives and fans, but does not boot and has no possibility to shutdown with the hot master poweroff button. Now I have computerized DELL fans for more than 4000 Swiss Francs (I payd in the year 2002, today an equvalent of 4000U$).

Maybe in the community of Dani's Web is a DELL guru who knows whats going on. I hope so, because I have some important small programs installed on the box what I need to use on my daywork.

Thanks in advance for every real hint, I will follow every veryficationable idea.
Indalo, Switzerland

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Dani AI

Generated

A short, practical diagnostic and rescue guide tied to the posts by , and — aimed at the exact symptoms described (intermittent video, monitor showing its self‑test pattern, occasional successful boot, and a case power button that later stops responding so the machine must be unplugged).

Start with quick isolation

  • Confirm the monitor/cable: try the EIZO and cable on a different PC, and try the Dimension with a known working monitor or the motherboard video (if present). The monitor's "test" flash normally means it is not receiving a valid video signal.
  • Remove nonessential cards and drives: take out the graphics card, extra PCI cards, optical drives and all but one RAM stick. Attempt POST with minimal hardware.
  • Reseat and inspect: power down, unplug mains, ground yourself, reseat the GPU, RAM, power connectors and CMOS battery. Visually inspect the motherboard and add‑in cards for bulging or leaking capacitors.
  • PSU and front panel checks: swap in a known good PSU if available. Verify the case power switch/header wiring; if comfortable and cautious, momentarily short the power pins on the motherboard to rule out a faulty case switch (power off and unplug before changing connectors).

When the power button will not shut the system down

  • If the system runs but ignores the front switch, look at both hardware and software layers: a stuck power switch or a shorted front‑panel header can hold the chassis on; ACPI/OS shutdown settings (or a kernel hang) can prevent a controlled shutdown once the OS is running. Test by booting to a live environment or removing the OS drive and observing behavior.

Data rescue and next steps

  • If access to files is the priority, remove the hard disk and attach it to another machine or a USB‑SATA adapter to copy important data. If minimal‑hardware POST works without the GPU installed, a failing graphics card is a likely culprit (as later found). Replace the card with a compatible model and keep backups once restored.

Safety note: always unplug mains before touching components, use basic ESD precautions, and avoid probing voltages unless experienced.

Member Avatar for Jermaine Brown

I have the same problem. Does anyone kow what the solution is

Member Avatar for Indalo

I have the same problem. Does anyone kow what the solution is

It's long long since my query (April 2008!).
But I can tell you FREE, what the reason of the problem was. I payd for an other DELL 4500 (secondhand), to rescue my datas from the harddisk (300 Swissfrancs). So I changed the disk and get the datas without any problems. Then I've seen that the grafic card (nvidia) on my original 4500 was a better model, and I would change it to the second hand box.

Whow, the card was not funcional (defect). Then I put the other grafic card (also a nVidia) to my old 4500 and HEUREKA. The machine runs as new!

ERGO: The problem was the grafic card. I installed a new grafic card (good nVidia model) and have now TWO DELL 4500. Look for another (compatible) grafic card and all will see ass before. I hope for you.

Regards
Indalo, Switzerland

Member Avatar for Digipics

I just wanted to say that i have owned 3 Dells and i have always been impressed with the support that I received.

Member Avatar for Indalo

Congratulations!
You are a lucky man on the other channel side with three DELL's and still happy with the support. I think the support cannot be sooo good after reading and remarks the problem explained above.

THINNK!
Indalo

Member Avatar for Indalo

Congratulations!
You are a lucky man on the other channel side with three DELL's and still happy with the support. I think the support cannot be sooo good after reading and remarks the problem explained above.

THINNK!
Indalo

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