PC Won't Start After Power Outage.

Hi Mike,

Have you called Dell's tech support.  If it's under warranty, maybe you'll get a replacement part.  Make a note of the PC's ID number to have ready if you call. 

I know you've probably done some of this stuff--since you say that monitor light is on, but I have to suggest it anyway because even experienced people forget these things from time to time.  Check the easy stuff first:  loose VGA cable.  Try swapping the monitor with a known-good one. 

Inside the case, you can also check for loose cables--particularly the power cables going from the supply to the motherboard. 

The power supply power supply could cause the failure and it's a fairly good bet since it took the brunt of hit when the outage occurred.  I would guess that a voltage going to the CPU died while the other voltages are still good since you have fans and some LEDs.  If the power supply is a standard one, you should be able to swap it without too much expense and trouble.  If it's a proprietary unit, you'll have to get a replacement from Dell. 

The power supply isn't the only suspect, though.  The CPU, the motherboard, or the VGA card can cause the same symptoms if one of those is defective.  The most common way to debug any of them is by swapping with known-good parts. 

Good luck,
Jan

My first guess would be the PS (since this was post electrical problem)
Second guess would be the motherboard

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but more than likely, it's the motherboard.

Depending upon which model Dell you have, it should have four LEDs on the back. If you turn it on and it doesn't beep and all four LEDs light up, it should boot. If one or more LEDs don't light up, you can determine roughly what the problem is, depending upon which LEDs aren't lighting.

You haven't heard any beeping sounds when it starts, and you don't hear the hard drive ramping up to speed, do you?

Do you have a battery backup (UPS)? Most UPS manufacturers offer a "guarantee", and will pay to get your machine fixed if the surge got past their device. That said, I've seen more surges come in through the Internet access cable, through the router, and into the motherboard via the Ethernet card. The UPS manufacturer doesn't cover that, unless your UPS supports those connections.

Hopefully, most of the Dell's LEDs are lit, and it's just a power supply. If it is though, you'll still have to get a power supply from Dell, since most of them are custom sizes. They're not much more expensive than off-the-shelf parts, but they're not quite as quiet or powerful.

Update:

Turns out it was the monitor.
I first tried her's on my desktop PC and it didn't work.
Then I hooked my monitor up to her PC and BINGO.

Just ordered a 20" Acer from Newegg for $119.
And she also learned to not leave her PC running 24/7.

Mike 

Mike: glad you got it resolved without having to call Dell. If their "tech support" is anything like eMachines, "pfffffffft", as Cheeto says, would be putting it mildly.
No, my DAW is not an eMachines!! The eMachines is my mom's. Their "tech support" chat person did not know anything more technical than "run a factory restore"...

There is problem with power cable.You can check and replugged monitor powercable and datacable. And then check motherboard all power supply. And then you can try to open your computer.

Don't ya love it when people don't read the posts?


I never leave my computers on all day. I turn them off when I am finished. I heard some people say in the past that doing that wears out the electronics with that inrush of current on startup.... but leaving it on also has it dealing with heat, surges, and if it's net connected..... all the crap out there trying to get in..... so yeah I always shut it off. I also run it ALL the time on a UPS with powerchute software that automatically shuts it down properly.