Please help troubleshoot this dell

J

jordan12

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Dec 29, 2000
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Guys,

This is a friends machine that was hit by lightning. No post, no video, no anything. But I do get power to the system. I mean lights and shit come on.

I swapped out the VC, and same issue. I also cleared the CMOS. Same issue.

A different friend thinks that he would count on it being the MB or CPU.

I am looking for opinions. It is a Dimension XPS2.

Not sure of the specific parts.

Any suggestions?
 
I hate to be vague, but if it really got electrically zapped, it could be anything.

But the fact that lights come on if you turn on the power suggests that the motherboard is OK, and the power supply is OK, but something else got fried, since the power switch and lights run off the motherboard... if the motherboard was a total loss, pushing the power switch would cause nothing to happen. A different video card not making it work rules that out. That pretty much leaves the CPU or the memory, though the mobo might still be the culprit if it only got slightly blown up.
 
Many Dells have 4 diagnostic LEDs on the back. Look up XPS service guide on dell.com and you will be able to decode the error to narrow down the problem.

Like with all dead system troubleshooting, start by stripping it down: remove all cards except the video card, remove extra memory, unplug the drives, etc.
 
If it was hit by lightning tell him to call his insurance company, get them to cut a check for replacement value of the system and buy a new one and move on. I've fixed too many lightning struck computers only to have them come back a month or 2 later with wierd issues or other components dying out.
 
I agree with you TunaHead, the town that I live in suffers from bad lightning storms, and power surges. And the issue with computers coming back 1 to 2 months later with odd things going on afterwards, I was able to eliminate that issue by always replacing the motherboard, even if everything seems to be fine after the initial repair.
 
The procedure to process a insurance claim is to contact a computer repair shop to have a damage estimate done on the system. If the system is a total loss, then direct the shop to create a invoice showing the estimated value of the system and a letter stating that the system is a total loss.
Then submit the paperwork along with the claim to the insurance company.

While they are chewing on the claim, you start budgeting for a good UPS. Not one of the 50 buck walmart specials, i'm talking about the big 150-250 dollar Tripp-Lite or APC models that are actually designed to take a beating.

When you get your system put back together and is running nornally, make a note to yourself to completely unplug and isolate the system when and if powerline conditions get unstable.

Not much else one can do when a PC gets slapped upside it's microchips by mum nature.
 
try a new psu?

i say that because dells at work have been dropping like flies (10 dead psus in 18 month old gx260s in the past month)
 
Have you taken out or installed memory lately?

Do you hear any beeps when you turn on the computer?
 
Im my experience with comps getting nuked by electricity, it really can be anything that's in the case causing the problems. And even if the components test out ok, they might fail later on because they are crippled.

If you have the means, take each piece out and test it in another box. This should also be a box that you wouldn't care if it died. This is because if the piece you put in there has something melted or the contacts are crossed, it could kill something else in the new box.

On another note. Was the computer on when this happened? If it was, see the above. If it wasen't, then I would guess its the PSU and/or the mobo.

Good luck. And tell your buddy to get a battery back up, or at least a surge protector.
 
I would think its the mobo... If you try to boot a machine without a processor or ram itll beep like crazy... seeing as how you havent said anything about it beeping im assuming its not. If it is beeping and you just havent said anything than look at the mobo manual and see what the code is saying. also testing the video card and other componants as some of the other guys have said would be a good idea too...
 
I worked on a dell that would get power but no POST turned out to be bad ram. Where i work i work on alot of dell desktop's and laptops alot of the time.
 
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