[SOLVED] My Computer doesn't power up upon pressing power button

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far11ven

Mar 25, 2019
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I've got 10 years old DELL Inspiron 535s slim tower with following config:

Processor: Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz
Ram : 4GB DDR2
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
PCIe: possibly version 2.0

It was working fine until one day it just didn't start up. I thought it has PSU issue the fan wasn't rotating after pressing power button.

So I tested it with Paper Clip method as shown here,
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixcWCrYpw3Y

When I did so, the fan powered up and when I connected power pin to DVD writer that also got powered up, also it seems my hard disk is also working. So I guess issue isn't really related to PSU.

Which leads me to believe that the issue is either with power button or motherboard. How can I determine which is it?
 
Solution
Barty1884
Looks like this is your motherboard?
53b452802ab53_324543b.jpg


If so, it uses a standard ATX PSU - and it's just the form factor that was adjusted to fit into your case.

I assume you don't have another PSU on hand?
Ideally you'd connect a known working PSU to this board (24pin at the top of this image, 4 pin EPS/CPU at the bottom left) and see if it would successfully post at that point.
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The 'paperclip' test only verifies the PSU can turn on, not that it can adequately power a given system.
Similarly, a DVD drive etc uses relatively minimal power, compared to that of an entire system.

Is this the original 535S PSU?

If it were an issue with the power button itself, you could short the pins with a screwdriver or similar - but a power button to just 'go bad' would be pretty rare.
 
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Barty1884 said:
The 'paperclip' test only verifies the PSU can turn on, not that it can adequately power a given system.
Similarly, a DVD drive etc uses relatively minimal power, compared to that of an entire system.

Is this the original 535S PSU?

If it were an issue with the power button itself, you could short the pins with a screwdriver or similar - but a power button to just 'go bad' would be pretty rare.
Click to expand...


Hi,

Yes it is the original 535S PSU.
 
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Delta unit, 204W max on the 12V rail..... when new.
Add 10 years degradation to it.... I wouldn't be surprised if the PSU has just had it's day.
https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=22875

Equally though, a blown/leaking capacitor wouldn't be unheard of either.

IF it were the PSU, it's a non-standard layout, and an OEM replacement is easily ~$50.... Motherboard would likely be similar to replace...
Not a particularly viable amount of money to invest in such dated hardware..
 
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Barty1884 said:
Delta unit, 204W max on the 12V rail..... when new.
Add 10 years degradation to it.... I wouldn't be surprised if the PSU has just had it's day.
https://www.parts-people.com/index.php?action=item&id=22875

Equally though, a blown/leaking capacitor wouldn't be unheard of either.

IF it were the PSU, it's a non-standard layout, and an OEM replacement is easily ~$50.... Motherboard would likely be similar to replace...
Not a particularly viable amount of money to invest in such dated hardware..
Click to expand...


I've a 9 Pin connector attached to Motherboard, do you think I should short it with method shown here?:
http://support.antec.com/support/solutions/articles/1000046605-how-to-test-the-power-button
 
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On a DELL OEM system, that's not surprising. From Dell's perspective, they were never really intended to be user serviceable.

That 9 pin layout may apply, or may not - Dell have used proprietary layouts in the past, and it was more prevalent around the era of this system.
You won't damage anything, but you may have to attempt to short any variety of the pins to attempt to boot. Starting with the 2 pins as labelled on Antec's page would be a good place to start - with any luck, they used a standardized pinout..... But I wouldn't hold my breath.
 
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Barty1884 said:
On a DELL OEM system, that's not surprising. From Dell's perspective, they were never really intended to be user serviceable.

That 9 pin layout may apply, or may not - Dell have used proprietary layouts in the past, and it was more prevalent around the era of this system.
You won't damage anything, but you may have to attempt to short any variety of the pins to attempt to boot. Starting with the 2 pins as labelled on Antec's page would be a good place to start - with any luck, they used a standardized pinout..... But I wouldn't hold my breath.
Click to expand...

I tried with different pin combinations, but it didn't work 🙁 what's my best options here?
 
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Looks like this is your motherboard?
53b452802ab53_324543b.jpg


If so, it uses a standard ATX PSU - and it's just the form factor that was adjusted to fit into your case.

I assume you don't have another PSU on hand?
Ideally you'd connect a known working PSU to this board (24pin at the top of this image, 4 pin EPS/CPU at the bottom left) and see if it would successfully post at that point.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Barty1884 said:
Looks like this is your motherboard?


If so, it uses a standard ATX PSU - and it's just the form factor that was adjusted to fit into your case.

I assume you don't have another PSU on hand?
Ideally you'd connect a known working PSU to this board (24pin at the top of this image, 4 pin EPS/CPU at the bottom left) and see if it would successfully post at that point.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is my motherboard indeed, I don't have an identical PSU at the moment as they are rare to find, but I'll try with another one and then let you know . Just last question couldn't it be any issue related to motherboard? Thanks a lot.
 
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Doesn't have to be identical at this stage - an ATX PSU won't likely fit in your case, but has the same ATX and EPS connectors that will allow you to test.

It certainly could be an issue with the motherboard, yes. There will likely be some obvious physical damage though, if the MB is the culprit.
Inspect the board, look for bulging or leaking capacitors.... or anything else that looks 'wrong'... Burn marks etc.


main-qimg-82dea8c0370734e3fc019dabf5cbfb63.webp
close-up.jpg
capblown_6.jpg
 
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Barty1884 said:
Doesn't have to be identical at this stage - an ATX PSU won't likely fit in your case, but has the same ATX and EPS connectors that will allow you to test.

It certainly could be an issue with the motherboard, yes. There will likely be some obvious physical damage though, if the MB is the culprit.
Inspect the board, look for bulging or leaking capacitors.... or anything else that looks 'wrong'... Burn marks etc.
Click to expand...

All the capacitors look fine, will try with a working PSU, then see what happens. Thanks a lot really for your help. 👍
 
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