Dell PC not working

redrobbo7

Hi,

I have a 8 year old Dell PC but now have a keyboard and/or monitor problem. The PC starts up and comes on but there are no lights on the USB keyboard or the USB mouse and i cannot get the monitor to come out of stand by mode. The monitor is working because when i use the buttons on it it tells me that it is in standby mode. I thought maybe the keyboard was broke so I got a loan of a different Dell keyboard (not USB) and tried it and the lights on this one did not light up either and it would not bring the PC out of stand by mode.

Anybody got any ideas,

Regards,

RR7

Firblog

Could be one of several issues

You need to remove any modem/sound/wireless card etc that has been installed in the machine and try to boot again. If multiple sticks of RAM installed then you should remove all but one stick.

Then try booting again, if it fails again, change the RAM with a different one into a different slot; and try again.

If that fails then most likely a prob with the PSU or motherboard.

redrobbo7

Hi Firblog,

I am not very technically minded so please bear with me if I sound a little dim here. How would I go about removing any programs installed modem/sound etc., will I not need the monitor working to see what I am doing? Also how would I change RAM for new one or is this a job for someone with a good knowledge of the workings of computers.

Regards,

RR7

Skerries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS58eZlqXrg

you will need to take those parts out, modem/sound/wireless card, memory ram and reseat them

Firblog

Skip to about the 4 min mark on the above video, all parts I'm talking about would be installed in the PCI slots mentioned in the video. (You can stop watching @ 6mins)

Nothingbetter2d

redrobbo7 wrote: »

Hi,

I have a 8 year old Dell PC but now have a keyboard and/or monitor problem. The PC starts up and comes on but there are no lights on the USB keyboard or the USB mouse and i cannot get the monitor to come out of stand by mode. The monitor is working because when i use the buttons on it it tells me that it is in standby mode. I thought maybe the keyboard was broke so I got a loan of a different Dell keyboard (not USB) and tried it and the lights on this one did not light up either and it would not bring the PC out of stand by mode.

Anybody got any ideas,

Regards,

RR7

post your service tag number so we can look up the specs.

yoyo

Many old Dells have bad capacitor problems. If your getting stalling on the post screen/windows loading screen etc I suspect its this. Open up the machine and look at the capacitors, any leaking/bulging, see:


(The slotted top should be flat and not leaking.)
If there are, you could get someone to replace the caps (probably not worth it for such and old machine) or get a new one.

Nick

redrobbo7

Thanks Firblog, Skerries & Yoyo for your replies and help I have a go over the weekend and let you know the outcome.
Nothingbetter2d, where will I find the service tag number, will repost when I find it.

Regards,

RR7