No sign of output from computer

Hi randomperson1,

Sure I have done that. Please perform the steps and let us know the results so we can advise you further if required. You can easily check the warranty on your system by visiting the link below:

Support Dell

And, if the system is out of warranty then you contact our Expired Warranty Support at the link below:

http://dell.to/12LmNBq

If you have any further queries please feel free to contact us.

I unplugged all the things you told me to and the light still stayed amber. I reseated the ATX cable and the light stayed amber after this as well. I found our old dinosaur of a computer in our attic. I booted it up and it runs, so I am going to disconnect the PSU from it and plug it into the other one. It's obviously way to big to fit inside so I will have to get a new PSU if this does work. The voltages seem similar so I don't think it will harm anything right? Anyway, I hope this works.

Edit:
Never mind, after about 45 minutes of trying to get those ATX cables out and getting the whole PSU out of the dinosaur system I realized that they are different sizes... So I'm guessing I just get a new one?

randomperson1 said:

I unplugged all the things you told me to and the light still stayed amber. I reseated the ATX cable and the light stayed amber after this as well. I found our old dinosaur of a computer in our attic. I booted it up and it runs, so I am going to disconnect the PSU from it and plug it into the other one. It's obviously way to big to fit inside so I will have to get a new PSU if this does work. The voltages seem similar so I don't think it will harm anything right? Anyway, I hope this works.

Edit:
Never mind, after about 45 minutes of trying to get those ATX cables out and getting the whole PSU out of the dinosaur system I realized that they are different sizes... So I'm guessing I just get a new one?

Hi randomperson1,

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate the time and effort that you took to troubleshoot the issue.

Amber light normally indicates it would be a failure with the power supply or the motherboard of the system.

And PSU is much cheaper than the motherboard so best would be to check with a different PSU on the system.

Please check it and let us know how it goes. Keep us posted with the results so we can advise you further.

So I was about to take the PSU out in preparation for when the new one comes in when I noticed a random screw laying next to the MB. I know it isn't from the panel as I have kept those screws separated. I have found the place where I think it goes in the MB. I will replace it and turn it on and see what happens. If that was the problem all along I am going to be really mad at myself. (Though I really hope it is this easy of a fix.)

Edit: I replaced the screw (I have no clue how it came out) and now upon turning on, the power button turns white right away, but still no display. I currently have the memory, pci card, HD, and optical drive all unplugged/out. Shouldn't something show up on the display at least now? Would it still be the PSU? Should I cancel the order?

I know you mentioned resetting the CMOS. There is something in the service manual about a CMOS jumper. Should I try anything with that?

Edit #2: I looked up the CMOS jumper and I guess it's another way of doing what we did before with the battery except this time there are two options: 'reset cmos' and 'normal (default)'. I did both.

Now it stays amber again. So confusing...

Well mate if the on board graphics was ok then yes i guess yo should have some output , and did you test the PSU? to save me ploughing back through the posts??

Now you need a digital multimeter they are really cheap and you just need to unplug the 24 pin plug and insert a paper clip into the green socket and one of the black ones (see below ref) - there is one next to the green.
This will start the PSU up and then you just test every socket on that plug using the black meter lead to a black cabled one and the the red lead to the orange red and yellow leads look at this and the other link to see the volts for the colours yellow is 12v red is 5v and orange is 3.3v. Don't worry too much about the blue or grey at this point. You also test any other leads like thr CPU ATX plug and any GPU leads
https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/86648-psu-jump-start.html
for volts refrence
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-specifications-atx-reference,3061-2.html
this will show the colours better in the pics but please and I do not want to frighten you from trying but DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE APART THAT PSU CASE

No mate you will be ok leave the PSU in situ and yes you will need to plug it in just test the elads I only say that because if you go taking the PSU apart it can be very dangerous. An analogue is oj depends on how fine a measurement it will do. Usually you can pick up digitals for just a few dollars - I mean around $10 to $15 should be adequate for this. It is also useful for measuring resistance too and if wall sockets are live or not bt if you do that be careful. One good thing about digital is that if you connect them the wrong way round (polarity) it will tell you and not wreck the device:)