Dell Inspiron 660 (I5-3550) Won't Power On

[UnderPantKnome]

Hi,


My friend accidentally pull the power cord while his Dell Inspiron desktop was running and now it won't power on.... it's completely dead.
I remove all unnecessary components but no luck

When I try the Dell PSU on a spare (socket 775) computer it powers on perfectly fine.

What are the chance the motherboard is damaged ?
Are there any other troubleshooting tips ?

Thanks

 

[SamirD]

Try removing the cmos battery and resetting the bios. Does the cpu fan even turn on?

 

[UnderPantKnome]

Hi Samir,

Can't access the bios.

CPU fan doesn't turn on. No light or sound from the motherboard.
Removed the cmos battery but still doesn't power on.

 

[SamirD]

Ouch--probably a dead motherboard then since you confirmed the power supply is okay.

But what I would do to completely make sure is take the power supply from that spare computer and see if it can power the Dell. If the mb is truly dead, nothing will change.

 

[UnderPantKnome]

Yep, spare PSU doesn't power the Dell.
Can't believe an accident like that can kill a motherboard but then again the dell psu is an unknown brand.


Thanks again for your help.
Just want to make sure i'd cover every step before telling him to get a new computer.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I bought a Dell Inspiron 15 for like $230 last year. I upgraded it with more ram, M.2 SSD, and replaced the keyboard with a backlit one by essentially destroying the old one. =P

When you disassemble the lower end of the laptop, you basically flip it over and remove 20+ small screws. The power connector plugs into a socket that goes into the charging circuit of the laptop. You have to think of a laptop as a DC device that's running off battery all the time.

I know this is an old post, but initially, I would have tried holding the power button down for 10+ seconds to see if it's powered on still...to give it the kill signal. Then press it again to see if it powers on. After that, remove the battery and reseat it. Plug in the power cable and see if you have any change.

If the cable pulled out of the socket hard, it may have bent pins. The outside of those connectors are usually ground and the positive is usually inside. I would check the ground contact, which is usually a brush and see if a pick tool can bend it out to make better contact.

After that, I'd remove all the screws on the bottom and see if you can trace the power cable from the socket to the charging circuit. You can use a multimeter to test that you have voltage coming in, but you gotta be careful not to fry anything. My guess is that the socket is the issue and you may be able to solve it without disassembly....unless you just need to replace it altogether.