# dell xps 410 has no power light



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

Hi,

I was trying to perform a password reset (inside computer) and when I tried to turn it on it was blinking green. Manual said to check power connecter Opened it back up, checked power cable , I pulled it out, the PS2 connector reconnected it and tried to power computer back on, no green light at all!! Anyone please HELP!! TY in advanceray:


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

They meant check the plug at the wall

By PS2 connector do you mean the Keyboard connector or a power cable on the motherboard?


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

I took out the PS2 inside on the motherboard..black and yellow cables..now nothing. Why no power? Help!!:4-dontkno I replaced it and checked all other cables. Had power before I did the password reset..


----------



## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

if your not seeing any light on the motherboard when you turn on the system then probably the psu is dead.

when they mean check the cable, they meant the one that goes from the wall into the back of the power supply


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Ah the P2 4pin CPU power connector, make sure it is fully plugged back into the motherboard socket, Did you have the power supply unplugged when you were inside the case unplugging wires?

Unplug the power cord and check that the front panel header connector is fully seated, along with the 4 pin CPU and 24 pin main power connectors are fully seated.


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

I did unplug the power supply before, the P2 4pin should be in correct, black on top and yellow on bottom, never did anythng to the 24 pin main supply connector,mother board has a yellow light when powe supply is connected but computer itself does not power on:sigh:


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Clear the CMOS if you have any custom Bios settings you'll need to reset them afterwards.
Unplug, Press and hold the power button a couple of times, Move the CMOS jumper cap from the password jumper to the CMOS pins wait 10 seconds and move it back, Replug and see if it powers on.


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> Clear the CMOS if you have any custom Bios settings you'll need to reset them afterwards.
> Unplug, Press and hold the power button a couple of times, Move the CMOS jumper cap from the password jumper to the CMOS pins wait 10 seconds and move it back, Replug and see if it powers on.


Ok not to sund stupid but you mean to unplug power supply to computer before I do this? I amso frustrated so please forgive me for the questirayns


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Unplug the power cord from the wall only.


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> Unplug the power cord from the wall only.


Unfortunatly, no power!!..All plugs are in tig ht, did what you said and nothing. This is crazy, and of course the warranty has expired!.. Any other suggestions because I am without m compuer, useing hubbys work computer so it's not available all the time. thanks:upset:


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

There are 4 lights on the front numbered 1-4 on the left side of the front of the case are any of those lit up?

Check that the front panel connector is fully seated into the motherboard #4 in the image below


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> There are 4 lights on the front numbered 1-4 on the left side of the front of the case are any of those lit up?
> 
> Check that the front panel connector is fully seated into the motherboard #4 in the image below


 T
Connector is FULLY in, only light is a yellow bulb on the motherboard, no other lights lit!! Is this bad? :4-dontkno This has never happened to me before...lease do not tell me my computer is fried!! It was working this mornig..I am at a loss and do need help...thanks


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I'm at a loss if all the connectors are tight, the PC is plugged in and any power strips are on and not tripped(If you have it on a power strip try plugging directly into the wall).

Do you have access to a digital voltmeter to test with?


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> I'm at a loss if all the connectors are tight, the PC is plugged in and any power strips are on and not tripped(If you have it on a power strip try plugging directly into the wall).
> 
> Do you have access to a digital voltmeter to test with?


I did try plugging into the wall(bypass power strip) monitor power goes on power strip and wall..All I did was do what the manual said to do, began with simple password clearing, then green light on front of computer was flashing green so I did the power reset, do you think my pwer supply unit is gone even if was working before all this? help needed


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

May be a dumb question but what was the reason for the Bios password clear? I.E. was it acting funny?


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> May be a dumb question but what was the reason for the Bios password clear? I.E. was it acting funny?


Not a dumb question, never had a passwod on computer but whwn I started it up this morning it asked me for one. Even when I tried to do a restore to factory settings it would not let me without a password. went into system setup(F2) no passwords said it was set to none so I set one to see if I could so system restore, once I did this it would not let me get into my system with my password...this was the start for me getting inside my computer to do the reset !!..Frustrated....please if you have any answer help is needed..thanks..:upset:


----------



## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

does anyone have access to the computer who may have been fiddling about with it. i.e kids?

it maybe that the psu needs replaced but you won't loose any data if you replace it.

The yellow light indicates some power but it doesn't mean it is getting full power.


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

greenbrucelee said:


> does anyone have access to the computer who may have been fiddling about with it. i.e kids?
> 
> it maybe that the psu needs replaced but you won't loose any data if you replace it.
> 
> The yellow light indicates some power but it doesn't mean it is getting full power.


Yes, my son does go on this computer, he was on it last night playing kids games, I shut it down as usual with no problem. Put it on this morning and it had the username(me) with password need..I was dumbfounded as I did not use password to access my computer. I went into F2 to put in password, thinking this would get me so I could at leaqst do factory system restore and it would not accept my password, beeped and halted my system so I did what manual told me to do to openmy computer and do the password reset and now I have no power to computer:upset:


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Unfortunately a Bios level password is not the same as a windows log on password, the Bios level which can be cleared the way you did it, will stop the boot before you see any windows loading screen, If it was a Bios password and not a windows user password there may be more going here then it first appeared, A windows password is a software issue, a bios level password(especially one that was not set) could be a hardware issue.


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> Unfortunately a Bios level password is not the same as a windows log on password, the Bios level which can be cleared the way you did it, will stop the boot before you see any windows loading screen, If it was a Bios password and not a windows user password there may be more going here then it first appeared, A windows password is a software issue, a bios level password(especially one that was not set) could be a hardware issue.


I did not know that so I didn't need to setup a password from the BIOS! I did uninstall MacAfee Antivirus and downloaded BitDefender Antiirus, could that have made it ask me for a windows password(which I never set one)? Istill dont understand why my computer will not turn on, I am frustrated. Sould I take it to someplace who does computers? It is only 21/2 yrs old, never had a problem before. Any more advice? ray:


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

It should not have made windows ask for a password, As long as it was windows asking for a password and not the Bios then I really think something may have been knocked loose inside the PC when you were trying to remove the jumper. 

Is the jumper on or off of the password pins now?


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> It should not have made windows ask for a password, As long as it was windows asking for a password and not the Bios then I really think something may have been knocked loose inside the PC when you were trying to remove the jumper.
> 
> Is the jumper on or off of the password pins now?


It is on the pins......All I did was remove the jumper off thepins then plugged it back in, it flashed green(power light) and then when I put it back on and plugged it in again, no power at all..:4-dontkno Did I do something wrong..I really want mypc back on...:sigh: thanks for responding, it helps


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

That's the way it is supposed to clear it, I don't see where you did anything wrong.


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> That's the way it is supposed to clear it, I don't see where you did anything wrong.


Do you think my psu or motherboard is gone? I only have the one light on the motherboard, not sure how to test to see what is wrong. Maybe I had staticon my hands when I did the reset? Would that do it, any answers would help and thank you.:4-dontkno


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The next thing to do would be to test the supply with a digital voltmeter, do you have access to one?


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

When you press the power button, do you hear any signs of activity at the rear from the power supply?


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> The next thing to do would be to test the supply with a digital voltmeter, do you have access to one?


No I don't have one, where do I get? Is ita good thing to do myself? thanks


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> When you press the power button, do you hear any signs of activity at the rear from the power supply?


I don't hear anything when power button ispressed, no activity at all, just the one yellow light inside computer when power supply is connected. Rightnow it is sitting ontop of my desk attached to nothing..any helpis apprecated


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

The next thing to do is try a new power supply. .


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

You don't have the extended warranty on this do you?


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> The next thing to do is try a new power supply. .


I tried 2 power supplies, used my monitor one(monitor powers up) nothing on pc..any other suggestions?ray:


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> You don't have the extended warranty on this do you?


Unfortuatly I do not, wish I did but never had a problem before with my other dells without an exended warranty..I do not want to call their Tech support, costs money and hard to speak to someone who speaks english..any other suggestions or should I take it to a Computer Tech in my area, or buy a multimeterto test power...as you can see I am not sure what else to do! any help is so appreciated


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

If you have a local repair shop, they can trouble shoot it for a nominal charge


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> If you have a local repair shop, they can trouble shoot it for a nominal charge


I have never had to take a computer to get fixed, can they retrieve info from my hard drive that may be critical?


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

If you want them to . . but you issue is more than likely a failed PowerSupply . . and they can replace it easily


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> If you want them to . . but you issue is more than likely a failed PowerSupply . . and they can replace it easily


Since it is a DELL do they usually have the replacements there? As I said never took my computers to a shop so wondering.


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

That model uses a ATX Power Supply . . they should have many


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> That model uses a ATX Power Supply . . they should have many


Do they usually test the Power supply first to make sure? Don't want to give them money for nothing..


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

They should . . but if the new power supply works then that was the problem


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> They should . . but if the new power supply works then that was the problem


I guess I need to call and get a price quote for this, I usually do all computer related things myself but have never had to deal with the power issue..have you installed a new power supply and if you have isit "not complicated"?


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

I install a ton of them . . if you are comfortable inside the case, it is not difficult at all. Just note what goes where. If you get one yourself, be sure to get a quality one. please look at our Power Supply Selection posting:


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> I install a ton of them . . if you are comfortable inside the case, it is not difficult at all. Just note what goes where. If you get one yourself, be sure to get a quality one. please look at our Power Supply Selection posting:


Do you know the one I need for my Dell xps 410? Looked them up and saw 300w and 500w..am conncerned if it could be antoher problem if it is not that but you seem to think its power supply


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

Well . . you have to start somewhere and the powersupply is the easiest to solve. It could be the motherboard, but until you test with a good P/S you can't rule that out. a 500 or 550W Seasonic or Corsair should do nicely

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151092


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> Well . . you have to start somewhere and the powersupply is the easiest to solve. It could be the motherboard, but until you test with a good P/S you can't rule that out. a 500 or 550W Seasonic or Corsair should do nicely
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151092


I so appreciate your input on this, can a person that had installed everything but a power supply and mother board do this? Any special tools to take out the old pwer supply if I choose to do this myself?? More questions from me I know but need to know all I can ..thanks again


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

No special tools needed just a Philips screwdriver the wires all just unplug and plug back in.


----------



## Old Rich (May 31, 2007)

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/362


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

simpswr said:


> http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/362


It doesn't look too complicated, (I think,LOL). Wish I new for sure if it is the psu that is the problem, don't have a meter to test and kind of leary to try if I , chance of getting electricuted kind of scares me! Do you know a good website for my brand that isn't too expensive? Thanks


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

What City are you shopping in.


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> What City are you shopping in.


Tampa, Florida


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

This would be your best bet, it's a higher wattage then you currently have which will last longer and deliver stable power to the PC.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151092


Back the snow shoveling I go


----------



## justbeingme (Aug 8, 2004)

wrench97 said:


> This would be your best bet, it's a higher wattage then you currently have which will last longer and deliver stable power to the PC.
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151092
> 
> 
> Back the snow shoveling I go


I appreciate your help, sorry about you having to shovel snow, dealt with that stuff for a long time, thats why I live in the south.. :grin:


----------

