Member Avatar for Densen250

I reveiw the previous posts and none could help me figure this out.

AC power light is on when plugged in. After pushing the power button I here the the drive attempt to spin, then nothing else. The power light stays on but to movement could be heard inside the machine. No Video, no fan.

I pulled the battery and the same thing. I connected an external monitor, Nothing.

It seems that it starts that it wants to start then stops. Power goes to the HD. I'm leaning toward CPU problems.

Any help or suggestions is appreciated.

  • 2 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 90 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by BeastOverlordH6

Dani AI

Generated

Building on the troubleshooting already posted by and the diagnostic suggestions from , here is a practical, low-risk sequence to narrow the fault to a replaceable part or a failing motherboard/power subsystem.

Start with the adapter and DC-in. Verify the adapter’s rated voltage on its label and, if possible, measure its output with a multimeter while the laptop is powered. If the voltage collapses as the system tries to spin drives or the jack wiggles, the adapter or the DC jack/solder joint is suspect. Trying a known-good, same-spec Dell adapter is the quickest check.

Move to a minimal-boot test on a workbench: remove all nonessential peripherals (HDD, CD, cards, optical bay modules) and run on AC only with a single RAM module in one slot. Try each module in each slot if you have more than one. If the machine produces POST beeps or stays on reliably in minimal configuration, the fault is likely one of the removed parts; if it still dies quickly, the problem is at board-level or with primary power delivery.

Do a careful visual inspection. Look for bulging or leaking capacitors, burn marks, cracked solder joints at the DC jack, or a loose/heavily corroded fan/heatsink mounting. Reseating the heatsink and refreshing thermal paste can rule out immediate thermal trips, but avoid removing a soldered CPU unless certain it is socketed. If the unit powers briefly then shuts off, that behavior commonly points to a power-rail collapse or a protection circuit detecting a short; measuring main board rail voltages is the definitive test but requires a meter and some experience.

If those checks point to motherboard-level faults or you are uncomfortable probing voltages, consider a shop diagnosis or sourcing a donor board. Always remove the HDD for data recovery before major surgery. These steps will separate adapter/DC-jack issues, memory/intermittent peripheral faults, and true board failures so informed repair or replacement decisions can be made.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for Densen250

Update to dead 1150
Removed keyboard and found fan uplugged. Plugged it in. Now I hear the start up also. It runs for about 20 secs and teh fans tunrs off. I put a bootable CD in the drive and the computer attempts to to read to. It seems like it does but after 20 sec it stops and then the fan stops. The machine does not boot to the cdrom. (I thought I had it)

Member Avatar for BeastOverlordH6

This is likely:

1.) Dead motherboard
2.) Loose heatsink
3.) Insufficient power
4.) Dead processor
5.) Corrupt RAM

I ordered these in likelihood, as motherboards are known to die if they're not provided with safe power. Heatsink is easily fixable with another heatsink or properly mounting the original (caused by shorting; anything metal touching a motherboard, frontside or back, is never good... excluding the mounts, of course). Power would regard enough wattage and voltage to get the computer to run, and if this is a manufacturer's build, I wouldn't mind this too much unless you got a new video card or something. Dead processors are rare, and are the result of power issues like surges caused by current. It's difficult to do, but RAM can get corrupted.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.