Troubles with my DELL

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

I have a several years old DELL desktop, an OptiPlex GX270.

Almost from the beginning it showed some problem when starting it up. It would start, show something on the monitor, then just turn off. But not really turn off; I can still hear the HD going, and I have to press the Power button for some 30 seconds to turn it really off.

Then I start it again, it goes a little bit further, starting Windows, then turns off again. This happens some 4 or 5 times, then it will completely start up Windows.

Recently it has become worse; yesterday I needed almost 20 times until it could start Windows completely.

What I did then was to unplug it, open it up, and blow out any dust that may have accumulated. It was actually very little.

Then the second problem happened. When I tried to start it again it gave an error, saying the system clock was not set. I had to set it manually, then it would start up (after a number of tries).

This last thing indicates to me that the battery may be dead. But the multiple start attempts - what could that be?

P.S. after the Internet connection problem was fixed this morning, I decided that it would be a good time to call DELL about this problem. They didn't know what the problem is, but said they will probably need to replace the motherboard. Really?

[catgate]

I have a box that had W98SE in it, then a few months ago I put ito it a new MB and SATA HD and loaded it with Ununtu 8.04.

When it had Windows in it there was a problem with boot up, in as much as it would fire up and beep once then stop. After a couple of seconds, and some time several more, it would continue and boot up fully, and would be no more trouble until the next time it was booted, when the same thing would occur.

Since changing the MB, HD and OS it is still doing the same. So I have it down as a PSU problem of some sort because I can not see it being the push switch on the box front.

[Boris]

This last thing indicates to me that the battery may be dead. But the multiple start attempts - what could that be?

It sounds as if the BIOS is not remembering what is installed ?

Replacing the motherboard battery is simple to do yourself and cheap - it is usually a CR2032 lithium cell.

You need to change the battery, then check (and reset anyything that needs doing) in the BIOS.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Thanks for the replies; I will first try to replace the battery, then - if I can find out how - the PSU. If that doesn't fix it, I will look at DELL's offer for a new motherboard.

[catgate]

then - if I can find out how - the PSU.

You should have no problem with taking out and replacing, if it is an industry standard type, providing you own a screwdriver.

Some manufacturers seem to like to plough their own furrow and you may have difficulty in finding one, depending on the age of the machine.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

I am finally going to town and buy a new PSU (HP-U2106F3, looks like this) and a new battery.

I was able to remove the battery, but I have no idea how to remove the PSU. I removed all screws that I could reach, but the thing doesn't move! Any idea how to proceed?

(I am really not good at hardware.)

[Boris]

I have no idea how to remove the PSU. I removed all screws that I could reach, but the thing doesn't move! Any idea how to proceed?

Button on the bottom

http://support.ap.dell.com/support/edocs/s.../EN/pwrsply.htm :)

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Thank you Boris; these are very clear instructions!

However, at the end I couldn't find a place that sells a Dell PSU, and it appears as if I have to send the computer to Dell for the replacement.

Anyway, I have achieved the battery replacement - that's already quite something for me... B)

[fmw]

What you describe is a hardware problem, not a software one. Software problems are usually consistent. Hardware problems are often intermittent. Here's how we handle it. Strip the computer down to the bare essentials - mainboard, processor, memory, graphics card, monitor, mouse and keyboard. Unplug everything else. Make sure the CPU fan is running. An overheated CPU can behave like you describe. They will burn themselves up in no time without proper cooling. Assuming the cooling is working and the machine still won't boot, then the problem can only be mainboard, processor, memory or graphics card. I would then sub them out (first video, then memory, then processor) until I find the culprit. If it does boot, then plug in the hard drive and go again. If that fails then you know the hard drive is the culprit. Keep putting things back in until you find the problem. That's basic troubleshooting on a PC.

PC's will run for a long time. At some point, however, they start to become victims of heat. Mainboards can develop cracks across the circuit traces as an example. Hard drives all have finite life span. Every single one will crash at some point in time. Just troubleshoot as I describe and you'll figure it out.