# Can I "jump start" my Dell Dimension 8200?



## archeometer (Nov 12, 2007)

Hi there. To make a long story short, I have a Dell Dimension 8200, the power button stopped working. The power supply is fine and all connections are fine. I got a case from another dead Dimension 8200, and installed the guts of my old 8200 in this case. Still no good -- power button does nothing. Maybe it had the same problem.

The LED on the motherboard does light up, so I guess this is not a power supply issue. It seems to be a power button issue.

The 9 pins that lead from the front panel board to the motherboard are like this ...... ... Can I connect some of these pins with a screwdriver to start the computer? It's not like other computers where you just connect 2 pins. Also there are 15 pins like this :::::::. that lead from the power button to the front panel circuit board.

Any other suggestions? Thanks!


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## Rashiki (Sep 29, 2005)

Does the power button have two leads coming off it to the front panel connector on the motherboard? If so, these would be the two you'd hotwire.


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## archeometer (Nov 12, 2007)

Hi and thanks for responding. The power button is connected to the front panel circuit board by a flat cable that looks like a smaller version of a hard driver interface cable, with 15 pins at each end that look like this :::::::.

Then a cable consisting of 6 wires together connects the front panel circuitboard to the motherboard. At each end of this cable there are 9 pins that look like this ...... ...

Any ideas? Thank you!


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

can you track the 2 wires from the button down to the m/b


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## archeometer (Nov 12, 2007)

Well, there doesn't seem to be just 2 wires. There is a tape-style cable with 9 pins leading from the button to the front panel circuitboard, then a cable with 6 wires and 15 pins leading from the front panel circuitboard to the motherboard.

So there are a lot of pins here. Any idea which ones I should connect to "hotwire" it?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

can you access the 2 wires at the button and touch them together for a fraction of a second
just because the m/b lights and the fans spin does not mean it's not the psu


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## archeometer (Nov 12, 2007)

Thanks, this is a good idea. I actually took the power button apart and found the three metal contact points (not wires) that are connected when it's pressed. Connecting these with a screwdriver did nothing.

The m/b light comes on when it's plugged in, but no fan, nothing else happens. So this could be several different things? the psu? a dead motherboard?

(Note: I think this is a power button issue because when the computer still worked, I had to press and wiggle the power button repeatedly to get it to turn on. This became more and more difficult. Finally it wouldn't start at all, that's when I took it apart. But then, when I put it in another case with a new power button, it won't start. Same problem with both cases perhaps?)


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

use a multi meter to check which are the wires


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## archeometer (Nov 12, 2007)

Thanks, I will give this a try


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