I have a Dell Dimension e510. For the last few weeks, it's been randomly restarting, usually if it's been idle for a while. This morning I turned it on, and it restarted itself after a few minutes. It did this a few times, until the length of time it was actually up and running dwindled down to me pushing the button to turn it on, it lighting up for a few seconds, and then dying again.
Everything else seems to work just fine, I've hooked everything up to my old hard drive.
E510?
Whats that under the old naming scheme - a 5150?
I have a 5150 which i think is the same, just under the old naming scheme and it had MAJOR overheating issues. It used to get hot and reboot but one time it overheated so bad that it fried the CPU.
Also, it could be the power supply. Mine died after 2 months.
Yeah, that's the same model.
I pulled it out of the little area under my desk where it lives, and when I did that, it stayed on a little longer. If I fried the CPU, does that mean everything is gone?
Please tell me you didnt cover the side vents by putting it in the little slot in your desk.
The dimesntion 5150 needs a whopping 6" clearance from each side vent and 8" at the rear to achieve proper circulation, according to dell. Even then mine has huge heating issues (and i live in a cold region).
What do you mean by a little longer - how long?
When it turns on please tell me what numbers of lights flash on the front (look carefully, between the usb and headphone ports at the bottom of the black bit)
Sounds like a dead CPU but it may potentially be the Power supply or something else on the motherboard. Im not ruling it out.
If you did indeed fry the CPU then you will be looking at a big cost (probably same to get a new pc) but unless it massively overheated, you aught to able to take the hard disk out and put it in another PC in order to get at your data
It's under my desk, but it's an open area.
I just turned it on for the first time since yesterday and it seemed like it was going to boot up normally. I don't have the monitor or anything plugged into it right now so I shut it down. The numbers 1234 showed up, not all at once - I think it went 1 and 4 and then 2 and 3, then 2 3 4. There was also a little green cylinder that blinked a few times.
Yeah thats ok thats normal, its just that if any of the numbers remain lit, that indicates an error (different combinations for different things)
Plug in the monitor etc.... and see if it works again. Maybe it just needed some time to cool off. Keep it well ventilated.
Okay, thanks for your help. I'm going to buy a new fan incase.
yeah just beware that the dell cases are custom. many fans etc... wont fit on them (there kinda complex inside, the CPU is covered in a pipe to the side vents)
Okay, I'll check out the ones on Dell's website, then find it cheaper somewhere else :)
If my current fan is dead, would the computer be starting? I don't hear anything.
it would be starting, it just wouldnt stay up for very long. The dell is usually pretty silent anyway (it has a huge heatsink and a slow fan). Best was is to stick your hand in the vent and see if you can feel that its slightly cooler
I have a Dell Dimension e510. For the last few weeks, it's been randomly restarting, usually if it's been idle for a while. This morning I turned it on, and it restarted itself after a few minutes. It did this a few times, until the length of time it was actually up and running dwindled down to me pushing the button to turn it on, it lighting up for a few seconds, and then dying again.
Everything else seems to work just fine, I've hooked everything up to my old hard drive.
Hello,
My name is Richard; I am part of Dell’s Online Community Outreach group. How long has this issue been occurring with your computer? Is there anything that was installed software or hardware, on the computer before this problem began?
Try the Windows System restore; select a date before the problem began.
Finally, what does "I've hooked everything up to my old hard drive", mean? How did you hook it up to this computer?
Regards,
Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach
Updating post.
It'd been happening for a few weeks before I posted the original post and then it was fine. My computer is now dead again. When it tries to start up, the 1,3,4 and the cylinder light up, then it dies.
I'm using my old computer, hooked everything that was hooked up to my Dell and things are working, so I think it's something to do with the hard drive.
what do you mean dies?
i dont think its the hard disk, usually if the hdd is dead it still boots past the BIOS and then gives you a "No System Disk or Disk Error"
Everything lights up, it cuts out, stops for a second, and then tries to restart itself.
Okay, so I ran some diagnostic tests and everything seems to be functioning properly. It's apparently a software bug. Can I fix it without using System Restore?
Anyone?
Depends which software is wrong. Windows, driver or application software?
Windows software (if corrupted) can be restored from your windows cd, and drivers/apps can be reinstalled
First port of call in any case is Microsoft Update
Okay, computer is still dead. I've installed a new PSU. Windows won't even start, the computer dies before it will even load.
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