Dell Inspiron 518 Rebuild

abice

abice

abice

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Joined
9 Jun 2013
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26
Hey everyone I'm trying to rebuild a 2007 Dell Inspiron 518.

It's in pretty good shape, I took it all apart and cleaned all the dust out, it was pretty dusty, the motherboard looks like it's in pretty good shape, I think the processor is fine, I guess the problem with it is that it hasn't been able to turn on. I checked the power button connections and they weren't frayed or anything.

My first plan of attack is to upgrade the power supply with a modular one.

The green power light comes on in the back and the yellow motherboard light also comes on. But we have had no way of booting it up.
 
Why can't you boot it up?

If it's just a dead PSU then it's worth fixing. If it's anything more serious then it's basically junk. A socket 775 platform with DDR2 memory isn't a good place to be spending money.
 
Well I'm thinking it either had to do with the power supply or the power button cables itself, however, nothing looked frayed. When I press the power button on the front nothing happens no lights no click no boot up noise nothing happens.

There has to be power flowing to it though because the green light on the back of the power supply is on and the motherboard light is on also so power is making its way to somewhere but I can't understand when It won't boot up and I removed the faceplate and pushed the button manually but nothing happened either
 
If you do replace the PSU make sure that the new one will fit in the case. Dell have been known to use non standard size components in the past which can make replacing broken components difficult.
 
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Yeah I was just looking that up actually I'm going to measure the dimensions of the old power supply to make sure I find a match.

My next question is do you think a store like best buy would carry a replacement? The replacement parts I've found so far including motherboard and ram are really inexpensive like between 30-50 dollars which isn't bad at all. this computer is from 07 or 08 did they use ATX back then? or am I looking for a different type of power supply?
 
what are ways to tell if the motherboard is shot? are there any tell tale signs to look for on the motherboard? I noticed like a 3v watch battery on the motherboard, what is that for and why is a battery like that on the motherboard? If i replace the motherboard which I found a replacement for like 40 dollars, can I take the CPU out like newer technology or are these soldered on?
 
acme15 said:
Remember that used parts of this era are cheap too, so whatever single part it is, it would still be worth fixing IMO.
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This is what I have found I think it is worth it IMO too. I'm trying to get it working for my gf brother who lives with us and he doesn't have anything to use so a 30 or 40 dollar replacement or upgrade part is like a brand new computer for him, and I nice little 100 dollar graphics card upgrade for his birthday or xmas is a perfect little PC for the games he plays
 
abice said:
what are ways to tell if the motherboard is shot? are there any tell tale signs to look for on the motherboard? I noticed like a 3v watch battery on the motherboard, what is that for and why is a battery like that on the motherboard? If i replace the motherboard which I found a replacement for like 40 dollars, can I take the CPU out like newer technology or are these soldered on?
Click to expand...

Just some friendly advice, from what you posted here, just leave it :D You'll end up with lots of spare parts and will still likely have a non functioning PC...

On the other hand you can rule out the PSU easily enough, assuming you have a working PC. Just hook it up, even outside of the case, and see if it powers the Dell. I probably won't, then you'd be looking at parts swapping
 
Well the PC doesn't boot up so I really have no way of telling I think I need to start by jumping the motherboard or the power supply. I know how to do that with the motherboard out of the case but not the power supply alone
 
Replaced the power supply with a new dynex power supply, reset the CPU cooler with some new thermal compound, cleaned up all the dust and fans, plugged it in and she worked like a charm, we will see how the progress is over the next couple days. We tried to replace the CPU Cooler with an aftermarket but the pins weren't lining up in the holes so we said screw it, jeez the non-modular power supplies are a mess, basically just found an area to stuff them, modular psus and cases with cable management are such a revolution compared to the older stuff.
 
So I tried to install an aftermarket CPU Cooler, it's a push pin design for the Intel LGA 775, I had to uninstall the factory CPU cooler, but it was a screw in design with a backplate, I tried to install the push pin design but it didn't fit, how do I remove the factory backplate?

I'm afraid to start yanking on it from the back, because there looks like there is little rubber pads holding it down from the topside, Has anyone experienced unistalling a factory CPU Cooler with a backplate like this?
 
Even if you do manage to change the cooler there's a chance that the fan won't be compatible. Check the wiring before you go too far as it could be a complete waste of time.

Why do you want to change the cooler anyway? I can't imagine that Dell have included any overclocking options in the bios, so there can't be much to be gained.
 
I don't need to change the cooler, it's just that the heatsink was packed with dust, it's really old and have been sitting, I did check the fan and it is no different. really what my question is: how do I remove the factory backplate, it looks like it is just pressed in from the back of the motherboard, do I just yank it out or pull or pry, those methods seem extreme I think it should be easier than that but correct me if I'm wrong.
 
As far as I can remember the backing plate comes with the motherboard and isn't designed to be a removable service part.

It's only going to be glue, or more likely double sided tape, holding it in place so it should come off with some effort. Gentle heat from a hair drier could help to soften whatever the adhesive is.

Just make sure you don't scratch anything, even minor damage around the CPU socket could kill the board permanently.

Personally I wouldn't bother. The OEM heatsink, once cleaned, will be fine.
 
Yeah I ran out of the duster I was using, I'll give it a shot, I do think there are four small squares of two sided tape on the top side that are holding it in place, I think I found a 30 dollar board, maybe I will just buy a new board for xmas for him then the new CPU cooler will work perfectly, the CPU isn't soldered in or anything like that right? How old do you have to go back find the soldered on CPUs?
 
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