Computer issues...maybe Power Supply??

My dad has a Dell of some kind that he is bring by my house tonight.
He said that the computer does not boot up. It seems like it is going to start and then it just does nothing. No fans, no startup, nothing.

He said there is a green LED on the motherboard that is lit, but when it is lit up, the computer will do nothing. If he unplugs everything the LED goes out. Then he plugs everything back in and attempts to boot up. It tries the LED comes back on but the computer does nothing. He tries to boot up again and it doesn’t even attempt to do it with the motherboard LED lit.

I suspect a bad power supply…anyone have any ideas?

I also heard that Dell uses a proprietary power connector to the mobo. I have a spare power supply but if that is the case then it won’t work.

yea most of the dells use their own power supply

there should be some jumpers on the mother board. one says pwd one might say something else… I dunno, if you move the jumper, hit the power nothing should happen but when you move the jumper back you may see some results… I dunno give it a shot.

Any idea what model Dell it is?

A majority of dell desktops have a green LED on the motherboard to indicate it’s ready to power on.

Things I would suggest trying
-Make sure the P4 connector is attached properly (if applicable)
-Try shorting the jumper for the power switch to see if it powers on
-Clear the CMOS by pulling the battery & power
-Reseat the CPU

Usually the most Dell’s are properitary in the sense that you can’t bolt a power supply to the case. The connectors are almost always wired in the conventional way.

^^ just to add to that the dell power supplies we use dont work unless they are clipped in the box. You cant just plug them in to test them. Makes it a pita to troubleshoot.

No, I have no idea. I told my dad to let me build him a computer…but he couldn’t wait.