Power

[tase2]

Hello
Here is the current problem.
The other day we shutdown the PC the normal way and then noticed we heard an intermittent fan type noise. When I got closer you could tell that the fan would run for 5 seconds and then stop then maybe a minute later it would do it again. After several days of this, the PC would no longer start up (press the on button-nothing) I tried a replacement power chord-no difference. Then out of the blue (after several hours of nothing) that intermittent fan thing started happening again. Well somewhere in the middle of this fan thing I pressed the power button and the PC started up. As long as it stays on-no problems at all. But as soon as it is shutdown - we again hear the fan noise. If you do nothing the fan noise thing stops and again nothing will happen when you press the power switch. And if you have enough patience or a good ear that fan noise will start up again and if you catch it right, the PC will start up. The only thing I really fiddled with is the little red lever directly below where you plug the power chord into. Sometimes if you slide it back and forth it will cause the fan thing to happen, but not even close to 100% of the time maybe 5%. It could be a coincidence. The only other pertinent info is that if I open up the cover while unable to startup, I do notice 1 green light is on inside the PC. If I unplug the chord the light will go off in approx. 10 seconds. Then when I plug it in, the light comes back on. So I guess power it going into the PC.

Thanks
Mark

 

[bcastner]

Many PCs have a feature called Wake on LAN, so the machine for that feature alone is never completely off.

The little red thing you have been moving back and forth is a switch to tell the power supply whether you have 220 or 120 volt service. If it is in the wrong position for the mains voltage you receive, the power supply will run hot, and many will activate their fans with a thermal switch.

 

[franklin97355]

STOP NOW!! Get some one that knows what they are doing before you turn this computer on again. What you are doing could destroy the computer. Someone needs to find out what is making the noise (possibly the hard drive) The "little red lever should be set and not touched! GET PROFESSIONAL HELP!

 

[paparazi]

Well yes! lol
Flicking between the 110/115volt and 220/230volt settings in the UK would have resulted in an instant BANG! in the UK, I suspect the fact that it hasn't done so already is down to your supply being the lower of the two? DO NOT TOUCH THIS BUTTON!

Anyway, it sounds like a faulty power supply to me and thats what I would try first.

Martin



We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[tase2]

Thanks guys.
Point taken.
Don't mess with the red thing.

Thie following is the response I received from the Dell Tech.

Since the previous e-mail agent is not available today, I am replying to
your message so that we can solve your problem as quickly as possible.

I have gone through your e-mail & understand that your issue is still
unresolved. I apologize for the inconveniences caused by the issues you
are experiencing.

Mr. Tendler, your issue is related to the processor fan. Please follow
the steps mentioned below to resolve your issue.

Clear NVRAM

To clear the NVRAM on Dimension XPS, 8300, 8250, 8200, 8100, 4600C,
4600, 4590T, 4550, 4500S, 4300, and 2200 Systems -
Step 1: Restart your computer
Step 2: At the first text on the screen or at the Dell logo, press the
F2 key every three seconds until the message Entering Setup appears
Step 3: The System Setup screen appears
Step 4: Press the Caps Lock key, the Scroll Lock key, and the Num Lock
key to light up all three lights on the keyboard
Step 5: Press the Alt and E keys at the same time
NOTE: The system will emit a beep tone to indicate that NVRAM has been
cleared
Step 6: Press the Esc key, and then press the Enter key to save the
changes and reboot the system

Reset to the factory system set up settings.

To reset the original factory system setup settings, perform the
following steps:

Restart your computer.

At the first text on the screen, or when the Dell logo appears, press
the [F2] key once every second until the message Entering Setup appears.

When the System Setup screen appears, turn on the 3 lights on the
keyboard, namely [Num Lock], [Caps Lock], [Scroll Lock] keys.

Press the [Alt] + [E] keys at the same time to clear NVRAM.

Press the [Alt] + [F] keys at the same time to load the factory
defaults.
A beep sounds to indicate the defaults have been loaded.

Check and, if necessary, reset the time, date, and year.

Change the Secondary Drive 0 setting to Auto.
Change USB Legacy Support to Enabled.

Press the [Alt] + keys at the same time to save changes and reboot.

Proceed with the installation or troubleshooting that you were
attempting.



2 questions-has anyone ever heard of that process?
And more importantly does you thing resetting to factory defaults will cause the loss of all the data and documents and doownloads currently on the hard drive?

Thanks
Mark

 

[FlammerDylis]

yes , i've already heard of the nvram, but i'm quite surprised that it may affect fans..

and the reset of the settings of your computer won't affect your data on your hard disk, but affect what you could have do to the bios