SubscribeYesterday morning I plugged in my computer. I reached for the power button on my Dell Dimension 8400, but then noticed that the tower’s power light was flashing orange. Hmm, deja vu.
Thankfully, after the last incident with orange lights I had decided to keep my Dell manual right next to my tower. I found the section about power light signals and read:
If the power light is blinking amber - The computer is receiving electrical power, but an internal power problem might exist.
Ensure that the voltage selection switch is set to match the AC power at your location (if applicable).
Ensure that the processor power cable is securely connected to the system board (see page 73).
Well, I was sure that the voltage selection switch was in the right place. And I found it highly unlikely that the processor power cable would suddenly unseat itself. Ugh.
Then I had an idea. I flipped off the surge protector and then flipped it back on.
Tada! No more orange lights. Weird.
The moral of the story: try the simple stuff first.
(Whew, for a moment there I thought there would be The Mystery of the Orange Light Part 4!)
Margo responded on 07 Jul 2006 at 1:38 pm #
John,
You make a good point with the simple-fix method for your Dell Dimension. I’m glad to here your system is up and running.
Please let me know if I can do anything for you. You can reach me at the e-mail address below.
Thank you,
Margo
customer_advocate@dell.com
Nicola responded on 17 Jul 2006 at 9:40 am #
John,
cheers for that. Worked a treat, quick and simple
Thanks, Nicola
John Lamansky » Blog Archive » Blogosphere Trend: Customer Service Comments responded on 20 Jul 2006 at 9:51 pm #
[…] It seems that it’s becoming more and more common for company representatives to post comments on blog posts related to that company or its products. For example, so far on this blog I’ve had comments from FeedBurner, Dell, and Microsoft employees, plus a comment from the CEO of FeedBlitz; the comments were in reply to various blog posts I wrote that were related to those companies. […]
andrew responded on 23 Feb 2007 at 2:09 pm #
I’m suffering a blinky orange power button problem, and I’ve been engaged (not waiting, but live) in chat with dell for 30 minutes. So far all we’ve gotten to is “press check if the power button is not broken. Also that its rightly pressed.” and of course lots of thanking me for my patience.
I work on PCs for a living, and much like your Dell tech, I don’t buy a Dell anymore without at least a 3-year warranty.
I also won’t buy any more Dimensions because they don’t offer Gold Support which gets an English speaker in the US.
You have to buy a “business model” like the Optiplex for that. Which is practically the same machine in parts and performance, but one gets support in English if you pick the right option, and the other gets “May I know the status of the power button?”
Zzz.
William Volk responded on 03 Mar 2007 at 3:10 pm #
Thank you got posting this. We just had a power-outage and the GF’s Dell would not boot after power came back.
You saved the day.
manuel pastene responded on 20 Mar 2007 at 4:17 pm #
I have the same problem with the orange light, the computers works good for a few minutes and after like 20 min it turns off with the orange light….
It’s driving me crazy… any idea what I can do?? maybe buy another power supply/??
simon rayfield responded on 18 Aug 2007 at 1:48 am #
i have this problem now also. Had powercut last night and the have removed he surge protection but still blinking orange light. No good still wont fire up.
HELP !!!
damn responded on 24 Aug 2007 at 9:48 am #
My computer is blinking that orange light, i checked the power surge, turned it off and on, still nothing. Fustrated,,,,,
Jerther responded on 27 Nov 2007 at 4:52 pm #
I’ve had this problem here with a dell computer. turns out that the computer doesn’t like some self powered USB devices that are hooked to it.
Just unplug the usb devices, start the computer and when the led turns green, plug them back in.
Very strange and… might be annoying for some.
Tolu responded on 07 Dec 2007 at 9:42 am #
That worked like a charm!! Thanks for sharing this
gctech responded on 07 Dec 2007 at 12:02 pm #
CHECK FOR LEAKY CAPACITORS!!
doris responded on 10 Dec 2007 at 8:50 am #
My orange blinking light is driving my nuts. I do not know what started it. I do need a new battery, and have for some time, but since I am not transporting it around, I can use the wall outlet (whatever it is called). I really like my Dell, but am annoyed that they do not have a manual with “trouble shooting”. I am very glad to have found this website.
What and were is the “surge protector”?? Also, the “USB device”??
Thanks for your help!! “D”
Jerther responded on 11 Dec 2007 at 9:00 pm #
USB Device: Mine was an external hard drive plugged into a USB plug on the back of the computer. The external drive was powered by an external power supply which sends voltage into the USB cord, even when off (bad design?). That screwed the computer’s internal power and made its orange led blink
Zach responded on 12 Dec 2007 at 9:25 am #
i had a similar problem, turned out to be the hard drive, put into another computer to slave and get some data off it, did the same thing to the other computer, same orange flashing light, went to the original and booted with out the hdd, sure enough turned right on..
Bernard J. Kennedy IV responded on 14 Dec 2007 at 10:50 pm #
I had one of these issues when I re-set up my computer tonight after returning home from college for winter break. I turned it on and instead of green light I got a solid orange light and the PC’s Fan started to go and continue to keep going like a jet engine
This happened a few times, I moved the tower around and it seemed to temporarily cure the issue
I thought it was the room temperature or something possibly. My dorm room is very hot like 70 or 80 degree’s w the window open, while my basement is cold and less than 35 degrees I suspect
What could be the issue of this and I hope I can get things taken care of before I go back to college, I have allot on my PC, (thankfully all backed up on a external HD) but I enjoy this computer and I hope it’s not a serious issue
Any Help is Appreciated!
Nick responded on 15 Dec 2007 at 7:01 am #
Thanks all who posted with regards to powered usb.
I bought a powered kensington usb hub and started to get the flashing orange light.
After unplugging the hub, all is well. (except my hub is now an expensive paperweight!)
Joseph responded on 18 Dec 2007 at 1:05 pm #
I also have been having this problem with my dell
I have four USB ports in the back and have not figured out which one is doing it but unplugging the USB ports fixed the problem with the on switch blinking orange and keeping my computer from booting.
Thanks for everyone’s help!
Jan responded on 21 Dec 2007 at 12:45 pm #
I have a Dell Dimension 8200 (for it about 4yrs) and I can’t get it to turn on. The power button is flashing a faint yellow/orange. I can turn it off but when I turn it back on I get nothing but this flashing light, no noise, no picture, nothing. I have tried all the suggestions in the previous posts and nothing has worked. Could this be the power supply gone bad or is it just dead? I am not very computer savvy but would like to avoid a costly repair bill if I can figure this out on my own. This is the first time I have ever had a computer “break” so not real sure where to start. Really hoping I don’t have to go out and buy an new computer tomorrow.
Thanks!!
-Jan
Ian responded on 25 Dec 2007 at 6:31 pm #
I had the same problem with the orange flashing light. Then I came across the recommendation to check the USB ports for damage. I knew this computer (Dimension 5150) had a broken port. I saw some of the pins bent inside the port. Once I fixed them, the computer powered back on as normal! Small fix for big problem. So don’t just go and run for a new MOBO or Power Supply!!!
Brandon responded on 27 Dec 2007 at 10:22 pm #
Brilliant idea to check usb pins. Sure enough I had a bent pin, once I straightened it out the computer turned right back on, no more flashing orange led.
JERMAINE responded on 28 Dec 2007 at 11:45 am #
WAT IS A surge protector AND WHERE CAN I FIND IT ON MY PC I CHECKD THE VOLTAGE SWICHT ON THE BACK ITS ON THE RIGHTS PLACE THE PLUG IS IN RIGHT AND I STILL CANT GET THE ORANGE BLINKING LIGHT TO STOP
JERMAINE responded on 28 Dec 2007 at 11:46 am #
SOME 1 HELP ME PLEASE EMAIL IS jjizzlejohnson@yahoo.com
josh responded on 01 Jan 2008 at 9:23 pm #
jermaine the surge protector/suppressor is the power strip you plug into the wall that you plug the computers power cord into, it is not part of the computer itself. if your plug goes from the wall to the computer you do not have a surge protector and i would recommend getting one.
John Lamansky responded on 01 Jan 2008 at 9:30 pm #
@Ian: Great suggestion — thanks for sharing!
@Jermaine: If you don’t have a power strip (a.k.a. surge protector), then simply unplugging your computer from the wall outlet should have the same effect.
@Josh: I agree, anyone without a surge protector should get one, unless you happen to live somewhere on the planet that doesn’t have any lightning!
fransulo responded on 03 Jan 2008 at 5:30 pm #
Like many others my Dell Dimension 5150 won’t boot. Amber light on front keeps flashing. As suggested above checked all USB ports. On one port the pins where bent. Fixed pins and my P.C. boots fine.
Was about to go down the expensive road ( New Power Supply, Mother Board )
Always the simple things.
Cheers again everyone
Frank
matt responded on 04 Jan 2008 at 11:16 am #
thank you soooo much. My warranty ran out months ago, I called Dell for help and they tried to charge me $50 (which I refused) just for information on fixing my problem! I spent $1200 on this hunk of metal and a year later they won’t even tell me that all I needed to do is reset my surge protector. John, I owe you $50. Thank you.
John Lamansky responded on 07 Jan 2008 at 10:55 am #
@Matt: No problem. Glad I could help.
Sheila responded on 07 Jan 2008 at 3:32 pm #
All of you are so helpful. Sacramento just had a horrible hurricane-like storm that unfortunately ended with my computer (dell desktop) having a blinking orange light on the hard drive. I haven’t tried checking the USB ports but I’ll definitely do that as soon as I get home. If that doesn’t do the trick, do you have any other trouble-shooting tips that may work?
Beth responded on 08 Jan 2008 at 8:47 pm #
I have an orange blinking power light on my dell dimension 5150. I replaced the CMOS battery and it worked for about 30 minutes until I had to move it. I removed the CMOS Battery and put it back in. The power light flashed quickly and then the computer booted. It worked for a day until the power went out. I figure if I remove the battery it will start working again. Any suggestions? I checked all of the other stuff above.
Ash responded on 11 Jan 2008 at 7:11 am #
I have just developed this problem after upgrading my power supply and graphic card, any ideas what it could be as I have ran out of troubleshooting ideas.
Matt Jeppsen responded on 13 Jan 2008 at 12:52 pm #
Just a related tip for others that might find this page…I had the same power light issue on a Dell Dimension 3000 desktop: power light would blink orange or amber, and the hard drive light was lit green. Power supply fan came on, but the computer never booted.
Per some of the commenters here, I was checking my USB ports on the front and back to see if any pins were bent. All the pins were fine, but I noted a lot of dust on the front panel USB ports. A shot of canned air, and the computer now boots without any issues.
Thanks to all who took the time to post what worked, you just saved me $$$ and a lot of frustration!
Matt Jeppsen
FreshDV.com
ted responded on 15 Jan 2008 at 8:32 am #
I’ve got an interesting variation on this problem. When i press the power button on my wife’s 18-month-old Dell 5150, the amber light blinks for a while (30 seconds or so), then it tries to power up (green lights go on, fans start) and it dies. Once it dies, I press the button again and it starts right up. Everytime
Nothing new on the computer (i added a firewire card a year ago). I blew it out (it was very clean), checked connections (all seated), looked at USB ports (no problem i can see), disconnected the surge protection (no change).
Anyone have any ideas? Very frustrating — and I’ve bought a lot of Dells and never had a problem before
Dave responded on 17 Jan 2008 at 8:59 am #
I just had similar on 650 Workstation, bought second-hand to act as a like for like standby for an installed system. The power button would flash for 30 seconds and lights a and c were on and orange. The Troubleshooting Guide indicated either the wrong memory fitted (swapped with known good, no change) or a mismatch between the CPU and the voltage regulator module (not apparently fitted).
Poking about I noticed the CPU heatsink was’nt well held by its plastic shroud and when I approached, it and the CPU came off in my hand.
A quick squirt of heat transfer compound and a careful re-assembly and the beauty burst back into life.
Now I must wait to see if my heat transfer compound spreading skills are good enough to stop melt down.
Mike C responded on 21 Jan 2008 at 10:44 pm #
I have a Dimension 8200 and just came back home after 3 days away to a blinking orange light. Like someone else already posted here, I have to wonder if it isn’t a result of temperature changes. Typically I leave my PC on all of the time, but I unplugged it before I left town thinking that would protect it help incase there was a lightning storm or power outage. But it got cold here over the weekend. So I toggled the surge protector on and off, and I checked the USB ports for dust / bent pins but they are fine. Now the thing won’t even show the orange blinking light, I get nothing when I press the power button. There’s still a green light on the motherboard, though. I’m out of ideas. Time for a new case, I guess.
fud18 responded on 22 Jan 2008 at 11:35 am #
I had the same problem on a Dell Optiplex GX150. I finally used canned air to blow out the USB ports, then I used the canned air to get the fan started and then I noticed that the CD ROM was stuck so once I unstuck it it powered right up…Thanks for all the suggestions to everyone that posted.
Costa Rica Kid responded on 25 Jan 2008 at 9:00 pm #
I am an expert on the Dell Blinking Orange Light problem. Seriously this has happened to me three different times in the last 2 months and each time I had to do something different to get it to work.
The first time it was my wireless USB Microsoft mouse. I love the mouse itself, but it somehow effects the power on the Dell Dimensions. I disconnected the mouse, plugged the CPU back in and it started like a charm.
The second time the “disconnect the USB devices” trick failed me. So I read about the rebooting of the surge protector (or trying a different wall outlet) and that new trick brought me success…I beat the damn blinking light for the second time!
And tonight I thought it finally had me. The USB trick failed, the reboot surge protector failed, then I tried the compressed air trick…nothing, then I tried screwing with the pins on the USB ports….nothing. I had waged my best battle and lost…and then as I was putting the case cover back on, a relection off that stupid 3V round battery on the motherboard caught my eye, I thought no way, but just for the hell of it I changed the 3V battery and success.
Scoreboard
Costa Rica Kid 3 Blinking Orange Light 0
Curt responded on 30 Jan 2008 at 10:17 am #
Thanks for all the tips. This seems to be the best location on the net for information on this problem. I just wanted to say that one of my users had this problem arrise on Friday and after trying all of the things suggested I had to replace the power supply to solve the issue.
Curt
David responded on 30 Jan 2008 at 4:42 pm #
Thanks for this informative thread! I had an old Dell OptiPlex GX150 that hadd the same flashing orange power button and a once-over all the ports and vents with compressed air solved it (at least for now).
Eladio responded on 31 Jan 2008 at 12:54 am #
I´ve tried all the tricks mentioned here and nothing happended.. But when I checked the usb ports, one of them has damaged, 2 pins touching each other, I fixed them but the ambar flashing light is still there. I have unppluged and plugged eveything, maybe the last thing I need to try is change the 3v batery. Any other suggestion?? thanks..
Jeannie responded on 31 Jan 2008 at 7:49 pm #
Hi everyone……I have the blinking light too………and all this has been very helpful. But how do I tell if USBport pins are bent and how do I fix them? Please help!!!
Chirs responded on 03 Feb 2008 at 12:38 am #
Want to thank everyone who posted useful info here. After searching this page and many others trying to fix the “amber light of death” on my Dell I’ve come to this conclusion.
It’s a hardware problem with the possibility of infinite causes. If you get the “amber light of death” you should start with the simplest solutions then work towards the harder solutions.
plug you PC directly into a different outlet than it’s current outlet.
flip the orange switch located on the back of the PC near where the power plug attaches.
examine all your USB ports (front & back) for pins that are bent or pushed in and fix any that are bent.
open up your PC and remove and reconnect any plugs & devices you feel comfortable removing. (ie. ram, video/network cards, power cords to cd drives & hard drives)
Swap the power supply in from another PC. (Dell claims the power supply is the #1 solution to this problem.)
Replace the 3v battery on the motherboard.
If the problem isn’t fixed after trying these, chances are some bit of hardware on the motherboard are loose or touching something it shouldn’t; and this could be a bitch to figure out where the problem is. (ie. heatsink, PCU, BIOS, CPU/Processor) Not sure if it would be worth having a tech look at your PC at this point since it is not guaranteed that the tech would find a solution.
And lastly it could be your Motherboard that needs to be replaced.
In the end, my “amber light of death” was caused by a dead power supply. Again, Dell says this the the most common solution to the problem. Please copy the list above and add to it or rearrange it since I am no expert and just trying to give my opinion on how to fix this damned problem.
Vish responded on 05 Feb 2008 at 3:31 pm #
hi everyone,
I am working as a Tech Support at my university at Michigan, and I have the same problem. The orange light blinks. I have tried all the options mentioned above..but none of them worked. It is a Dell desktop. Any other suggestions…Please help!!!
Thanks & Regards,
Vish
Grant responded on 06 Feb 2008 at 8:58 am #
Hey all,
This is a great post - I really appreciate you that took the time to share your solutions.
I ran into this at work today on an Opti GX620, perhaps a year and a half old. Blinking amber light, no turn of the fans at all. I have tried all of the above solutions: USB ports, re-seat battery, canned air, misc changes in the power source (surge protection), etc.
I haven’t found a solution. I noted that when I plug in the power cable in the back, the orange blinking light comes on IMMEDIATELY. No chance for the machine to detect anything. I say this only because that may be an indication that it’s the power supply. With the other issues (above), does the error light come on the second you plug in the computer?
I will receive a new power supply from Dell within the next couple days. That should solve the issue, but if it doesn’t I will try to drop by and let everyone know. Good luck out there…
Jerther responded on 08 Feb 2008 at 7:28 pm #
Hello again!
I posted the Powered USB trick previously.
Now I have another blinking orange light problem and this time, it happens to be the internal Power Supply.
I had everything unplugged from the motherboard, even memory sticks, and still had the problem.
I switched the Dell Power supply to on of our Safe Power and voilà, back to life. That’s a chance that the plug that goes to the mother board is 24 pins standard…
Nate responded on 10 Feb 2008 at 2:31 pm #
I’ve just encountered the blinking orange light of death (came on the instant I plugged in the computer). So far I’ve tried all of the suggestions here with the exception of replacing the 3V CMOS battery and getting a new power supply. (Though I’ll probably get a replacement 3V soon since that’s fairly easy.)
Grant, if you check back here, could you post if the new power supply fixes the problem?
Morgan responded on 11 Feb 2008 at 9:32 pm #
help! The last couple of day the orange light has been blinking but it usually starts up after a while. but i have been working with it all day and nothing.. I just have NO idea where the usb drives are
Jerther responded on 15 Feb 2008 at 8:47 pm #
Morgan
Simply check if you have USB devices attached that are powered with an external power source (wall adaptor) and be sure to check if the pins in the USB plugs are okay (not bent)
Jimbo responded on 18 Feb 2008 at 2:52 pm #
I have just had the same problem. Replaced the CMOS battery and everything started working again.
Wierd
Jimbo
Hanna responded on 19 Feb 2008 at 4:38 pm #
I had the same problem, replaced the power supply and now the damned diagnostic lights are on (YYYG) and I have no idea what to do!!! Does anyone know what it means if the battery light on the front panel is yellow as well??
Jerther responded on 22 Feb 2008 at 8:21 pm #
Hanna, check Chirs’ post up there.
Michael responded on 26 Feb 2008 at 8:04 am #
After encountering the dreaded Dell flashing yellow light i was greatly relieved to find this little oasis of useful information.
This Dell GX270 would boot and run for hours on some occasions and on others would only show the flashing yellow light. The situation was worst when the machine had not been properly shutdown.
After trying all of above, i plugged in another power supply and problem was immediately solved. Used just a standard ATX power supply to test, but this would not fit in the case without some cutting of the case. Ended up using a power supply from HP Pavilion.
Good luck to anyone encountering the dreaded amber lights!
Jerther responded on 27 Feb 2008 at 5:22 pm #
“Used just a standard ATX power supply to test, but this would not fit in the case without some cutting of the case. ”
I’ve been able to use a standard ATX as replacement here…
Fred responded on 29 Feb 2008 at 11:50 pm #
Hi Guys,
I have THE solution.
I have an Inspirion 8100 with the YYYYG flashy disease. I also have earned a living from working with computer systems for the past 30 years. This old Dell has been running for years without a problem. BUT recently I was provided with a new Toshiba by work and after removing Vista, I have been using that for the last 4 months. I bought a larger disk for the 8100 so that my daughter could use it and before I could even put it in I thought I should check for any remaining stuff on the HD. I turned it on, after 4 months, and 10 mins later it turned off. I turned it on and 5 mins later it turned off. Now it won’t turn on. I have stripped the whole thing down. I have checked connections and voltages on everything. All looks good. It just continues with the YYYYG flashy message.
So I stopped and had a beer. As is often the case after a beer (or two) life suddenly makes sense. Y = I am p***** off and G = jealous. Now it is obvious, Dell computers get jealous and will sit and yell it at you if you understand the YYYYG message. I have obviously been….. unfaithful.
So I am taking my 8100 away for a nice weekend. The Toshiba can stay at home and hopefully I can sweet talk the 8100 into taking me back. This is about the only thing I haven’t tried yet, so it is worth a shot.
Thanks for the effort in this page (disappointing Dell can’t do similar). This one has me stumped.
By the way, if the weekend away doesn’t work I think I will try to teach the 8100 to fly.
Fred
J Faulkner responded on 05 Mar 2008 at 12:10 pm #
I hate Pcs…..I had the same issue, was on hold with Dell India for hours…..I got mad and kicked the computer down. I took the cover off, cussed it out and….viola green light comes on and now works fine. Im guessing the drive was frozen. I suggest trying this before paying the 50$ to dell. I feel like tommy boy, its a gaurenteed piece of crap……
Jerther responded on 07 Mar 2008 at 7:32 pm #
Looks like ALL hardware problems will make the led flash orange, unlike home brewed PCs as they will behave differently depending on the trouble.
Maybe it’s a way for Dell to keep their support team profitable.. who knows
Ricky responded on 11 Mar 2008 at 6:11 am #
Hi, i’ve worked in IT for the past 5 months and seem to cope with most things that get thrown at me. There is one thing that bugs me though.
I’ve got a flashy orange light on a Dell Optiplex GX270
Only seems to happen when it’s shutdown in the normal manner. As time is precious in the morning to me at work i’ve come up with the following solutions.
Holding the power button down till it goes away.
Taking the plug out the back counting to five and then plugging it in again.
Swearing under my breath.
After a lot of holding the power button down and taking the plug out and putting it back in again it seems to go green.
The other posts seem to give a wide spectrum of answers though.
Cheers
C.Opwis responded on 16 Mar 2008 at 7:42 am #
Hi all,
i’ve been very happy to find this site, it gave me lots of hints on the way to fix the problem on a Dell Optiplex GX machine. None of it solved the problem though, so I had to open the chassis, disassembled and removed HD, cooling unit, speaker and fans etc to view how the surface of the board and its components look like (besides, I’m kinda recreation electronics). For my case, user ‘gctech’ was right (entry at dec’07), there were leaky capacitors! They looked like they got hot, there was a tiny bulb on top of them. I carefully changed two of them (both 6,3V 2200µF), assembled all together again, connected power, pushed the power switch and…. YESSS!!!
cu CO
James responded on 19 Mar 2008 at 8:47 am #
Well, what can I say?
I have checked absolutely everything on this site, picked it apart with a fine toothed comb, and still this damn light.
I thought I had beaten it when I replaced the 3V battery, untill I pushed the power button in, then the blinking started again. I began to feel like it was mocking me.
Just to have a look, I wondered if the processor had been fried, although no signs were shown upon first opening the cover (burning smell, black around the heatsink), this was untill I carefully unclipped the housing holding the processor down, and gently removed it from it’s slot. This is where I realised what the problem was, there was a severe lack of pins on the underside of the processor, they were all still nice and neatly in their seperate slots on the motherboard!
I have no idea how this would have happened, but thought I’d like to share it with everyone, who may have tried everything and getting nowhere, but I really do hope that this isn’t your problem.
Dave responded on 19 Mar 2008 at 11:18 am #
One of the strangest issues I’ve run across. My problem ended up being the 3V battery. I replaced it and it works fine now.
Thanks for the help!
Beasley responded on 21 Mar 2008 at 10:49 pm #
I unplugged my Dimension 8200 from it’s monitor, keyboard and mouse in order to work on a new Optiplex GX280. I simply wanted to use the Dimensions hardware to install XP on the new GX280.
Well after that, I tried restarting the 8200 after I plugged in it’s peripherals and it wouldn’t start up…. all I got was the amber (orange) light.
It was pretty dirty so I gave it a run through with the air compressor and what do you know, that did it. It was just too dirty and didn’t want to start.
Just posting so that others should start with something so simply.
This is such an informative site that I just had to post my mini-ordeal with this issue. Thanks to all for all the info!
james responded on 25 Mar 2008 at 4:30 pm #
i too had the orange blinking light problem on a dimension 5150… i was able to get the computer to “reset” itself by unplugging all of the usb devices, but leaving the power cord plugged in for about a minute or two… the computer would boot up but, the orange blinking light would eventually come back… since i had 2 of these computers i was able to replace the components in the bad computer with those that i knew worked fine in my other… it turned out the power supply was the culprit & had to be replaced… i purchased a new one from BestBuy for $60, and replaced it myself… i have had no problems since then…
Jerther responded on 25 Mar 2008 at 7:11 pm #
Interresting info James, thank you!
Amanda responded on 25 Mar 2008 at 8:49 pm #
I love you all. I was in a panic until I found this blog post and subsequent comments.
Wade responded on 26 Mar 2008 at 12:23 am #
Thank you all. Just got back from a 4 day hiatus. Got the orange blinking light syndrome. Follow the power supply and the self powered USB devices,which I have 2, unplugged all including power cord and turned off power supply. Restarted the computer and everything is fine.
I never had this problem before I have shutdown and rebooted before, but never left it off for that many days.
The two powered devices I have are external hard drive and a Realtors key card for lockboxes.
Thanks for all help you probable saved me countless hours of time with tech support.
Uri responded on 28 Mar 2008 at 10:47 am #
I got the same problem. Disconnected all USB devices and the computer booted normally.
If the issue comes up again - what kind of PSU (as specific as possible, please)should I be looking for?
I have a Dell Dimension 5100.
Thank you all.