PC turns on for two seconds

Leigh K · 6 Jan 2009 at 09:17

Hi Guys,

I have a spare Dell Dimension 5150 and each time i press the power button it only turns on for two seconds and turns it’s self off. During these two seconds i get a quick flash on my monitor screen.

So far i have replaced the motherboard, tested the CPU and tested the power supply, all of these work fine.

I have run out of ideas of why it’s doing this, any suggestions?

Thanks,

misterPK · 6 Jan 2009 at 09:22

Have you tried turning it on by using a screwdriver to short the power on pins on the motherboard rather than using the on switch? It could be the switch sticking if everything else is working.

PK!

Leigh K · 6 Jan 2009 at 09:46

Not tried that yet so i'll try it when i get home, if its not that is their anything else i can try?

ConTRo13R · 6 Jan 2009 at 09:48

Could it be shorting out on the case?

I had this porblem a few years back, turned out it was a damaged sata power cable

Firestar_3x · 6 Jan 2009 at 09:53

Check that the CPU fan is connected to the correct MB header, some motherboards will power up then shutdown after a few seconds if the CPU fan isn't drawing current.

misterPK · 6 Jan 2009 at 10:15

Did it randomly start doing this or was it after you'd done something to your setup?

PK!

Leigh K · 6 Jan 2009 at 11:13

It starting doing this all of a sudden, i only use the pc for downloading so it never gets updated.

SiD the Turtle · 6 Jan 2009 at 13:10

Does the power light go to amber and start blinking? If so it may be a known issue with that model: http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/18835915/19102710.aspx#19102710

If not you may have a series of lights on the front flash in a certain order, which is Dell's way of reporting errors, check out this page: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim5150/en/sm/tshoot1.htm#wp1120147

We had this issue on a Dell desktop box here, but I can't remember if it was a 5150 exactly.

Leigh K · 6 Jan 2009 at 16:49

Just checked the CPU fan and it is connected and its showing 3 green lights and one not lit which means possible cable failure. At the moment my pc just has the PSU connected and 1 memory stick in.

But just before the self test ends i get the last two lights showing green which means memory failure but i have two memory stick so surly both shoulden't fail at the same time? I have tested both of these sticks to make sure and i still get the same error code.

Also not getting no beep warnings when powering on,

Thanks,

:Forgot to mention how can i try using a screwdriver as dell connect their power button facia via an IDE cable?