Desktops forum: Flashing Amber light in power button??

If this system has the power supply(psu) with the leds present on its case. What do they remain lit as, that code should explain if any power issues are at fault. Goto the Dell upport website and find that code listing and determine that. See, if you can enter the bios at all upon power-up, use the key sequence for that model(F1, F2, F10?). Open case and see if anything is loose. Inspect indes for burnt or broken(blown) caps, etc.. Further, unplug all devices and see if it gets further in boot-up. try all that...

tada -----Willy

How the heck can they expect you to fix a PC with a locked case - What planet do these people come from...? - Do they drive Volvos...?

The general results of some searches say 'Power Supply' but try this Dell link...
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/tree?c=us&l=en&s=gen&journalid=30C0EDE11ABE11DBB6E67134E3193C20&treeid=F77732647D038194E030030ABD6206A1
I couldn't got any further because I don't know which case you have.

I'm in the UK and if I want a Mouse off the shelf in the stores, and I can't reach it by about 6 inches... I have to get a woman, out of the office, to stop work and get it for me because she has taken a course in climbing step ladders... huh.... I am on the local Cave Rescue team and do regular indoor climbing as well but I'm not allowed to use a step ladder. Stop the Planet... I want to get off....

FLASHING AMBER LIGHT FIX. This maybe in fact a motherboard issue, but actually its a bit more. You can and should replace the power supply with a more powerfull one as it will help overall, but the issue is Really the front USB ports and 2 issues concerning them, 1 some devices pluged into them have boot sequences of their own, (remember your boot seq goesfrom,USB,CD,ARRAY)etc.
So if the device isnt design with its own OS, the mis-boot will get stuck Hence the Flashing light. and 2. the front USB ports dont supply alot of power upon bootup. and the devices pluged into them will again cause a mis-boot. Simply unplug everything from the FRONT usb ports. You may have to shut the computer off and unplug the machine for about *15* minutes.
Enough to get the motherboard to downpower completely.
with the front usb ports clear, and the power cord unpluged, hold down the power button and plug in the machine. should boot no problem. So to sum things up. The motherboard is fine, it just not happy with so many usb ports (power wise). A larger power supply is a good idea but wont entirly fix the issue, Unplug front usb devices as they may have some form of bootup. This problem isnt solely dell either. But dell has made a major blunder in setting up overseas tech support. never could understand why prospering corporations with a good track record decide to play it cheap, moving operations oversea's only to find theyre product suck tech support is worst and loyal buyers moving elsewhere. you hear the same stories over and over. Greed.

the computer in question was fixed today(by som1 w/ more security clearance). the mobo had to be replaced...personally i think that was overkill...but hey! it doesnt come outta my paycheck. thanks all for your help