My Dell desktop Series 500 doesn't turn on...

Hello, would someone know why and how to fix my Dell desktop Series 500 not turning on?

I read about the matter in a few Dell articles and followed all their suggestions as follows:

1. Verified my wall outlets work well.
2. Verified the 2 cable wires of the computer are intact.
3. Removed all plugs, including the USBs for board & mouse.
4. Pressed/held the LED power button on back for 20 seconds with no result.
5. Followed another suggestion to press/hold for 2 minutes and no result.

Then they suggested to go to their FB and Twitter to PM them my Service Tag and Express Service but I couldn't find where to type these. After almost all morning of searching I decided to come to good old faithful tenforums.com to beg for help. My desktop is old but working very well until now.

I anticipate my big thanks for any help. :) Adela

Brink said:

Hello Adela, In addition, verify that the switch on the back of the PSU is turned on.

Thank you Brink, maybe I didn't explain the problem correctly. When I opened the computer and it didn't turn on automatically as usual, I then tried opening it by pressing the switch on the back of the PSU. When I pressed it, the light came out for only 3 seconds during which I heard a little movement inside, but, only for 3 seconds. Prior to this I checked that the wall outlets and the power cords were working okay. It looks as if he power of the computer is not working.

I was wondering if there's anything else I can do to get the power back? Or do you think something else is causing the power not to work?

Thanks again. :)

D3LL said:

Does any power go to it? Like to the LEDS turn on...? If not - it could be the PSU. If it powers on but doesn't load Windows, this could be caused either by a faulty Motherboard, CPU or Ram/Ram slot.

Thank you D3ll, as I explained to Brink, I can't really say that it power on because when I press the little light on the switch on the back of the PSU, the light comes on only for 3 seconds (even if I keep pressing for 2 minutes). If the cause of this is any (or all) of the possibilities you mention, how would you go about finding out which one(s)? Do you happen to know what signs to look for too?

Thanks again. :)

Just to verify, did you flip the on/off switch on the back of the PSU to make sure it's turned on? It wouldn't be a button to press.

Hi again Brink and thank you for clarifying things for me. But I owe you and D3ll an apology as the button for powering on, I have it in the front of the PSU and not the back as I said. But I went to the back with a flashlight to see if I could find an on/off switch but I don't seem to have one on the back. It seems the power in this machine has a button, it's in the front of the PSU, and the light appears on top of the button then quickly goes a little below and stays there...when it works!

Are you getting error numbers or beeps from the motherboard while it's briefly powered up?

No. Nothing. Just a hardly audible little murmur-like only the 3 seconds of the light.

Have you done anything to the desktop case before this happened? For example: moved, bumped, made any changes inside

No, I haven't done anything to it inside or outside, but I did move it though not bumped it. However I moved it before and it worked properly afterward.

You might double check the power connectors and CPU fan cable connections.

Yes, I did check very carefully the 2 power connectors and the wall outlets. They're fine.

If you have another PSU, or can borrow one from a friend, you could replace your PSU to test if it may be bad.

It would help I'm sure but they have only laptops (I'm the only one still using an antiquity LOL! But I just bought a laptop knowing that my computer is old and would be needing one. Can I use my laptop for testing? Probably not...

Thanks again so much! Adela

P.S. Forgot to answer to "Double check.....CPU fan cable connections". I don't know what the "fan cables" are so I don't know if I have them.....Are they actual wires like the power wires?

The service tag on a Dell computer is generally located on the bottom or side of the device.

Dell Tech Support phone is: 800-624-9897

kipper said:

The service tag on a Dell computer is generally located on the bottom or side of the device.
Dell Tech Support phone is: 800-624-9897

Thank you kipper I'll call Dell tomorrow if they're open. But I had referred to the space in their FB when I said I didn't find where to type my Service Tag... Thanks again. Adela