Re: Dell Optiplex GX280 shuts down randomly after moving...

On 10/15/2007 9:54 PM PT, Ben Myers typed:

The motherboard chipsets are different between GX270 and GX280. The GX270 uses
an Intel 865 chipset and the GX280 either a 915 or 925, I forget which. When
installed in the GX270, Windows got really confused and would not boot. When
installed back in the GX280, who knows what would happen. You may need to
reinstall Windows on the hard drive in the GX280, if the entire system proves to
work reliably.

Even safe mode won't work? Dang. I thought the machines were identical.


The possible causes of the problem are heat, failure of a piece of hardware in
the GX280, or maybe damage caused by the move. So...

1. Do both cooling fans (in power supply and attached to back of chassis) turn
freely and they are free of dust and dirt?

Where exactly is the chassis? I did feel the power supply fan. It feels blowing, but it's light. Not blowing hard. I can't remember if it was like that before. I really wished the system had sensors. I don't think it is heat because how come the system doesn't power on anymore even after turning it off for like 15 minutes? I will try again tomorrow. The system is off at the moment (unplugged). I forgot to mention even with the yellow blinking light, I couldn't turn off the system unless I pull the power plug.


2. Is the hard drive free of any defects per the drive manufacturer's
diagnostics?

Don't know. I noticed sometimes the motherboard (on both systems) didn't see the SATA HDD at all (primary 0 or something?).


3. Are all the connectors for power can cables attached securely?

They appear to be.


4. Are the DDR DIMM modules are secure and in place?

They appear to be.


5. Are the CPU and its heat sink attached securely?

I will have to check.


On Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:21:15 -0700, Ant <ANTant@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi all.

I have a Dell Optiplex GX280 machine that was moved last week, not by me -- movers, to another building. It was working just fine (no problems before the move). Today, I rehooked it up, powered on, and started using it and left it idled. The system was shutting itself off(?) [DVI video signal loss too] without any errors (even checked event logs in Windows XP Pro. SP2 (all updates) and CMOS (nothing weird). Back of the case showed yellow B and all other letters green. Manual doesn't have this one listed so I don't know what it means.

At first, I thought it was the APC UPS and power management because I noticed my front case light is orange (manual says yellow -- whatever). This happened like three times and randomly (can be 15/30 minutes to three hours). According to the manual, this means a system/hardware issue. I doubt it is a heat issue because I wasn't using the machine agressively (e.g., typing in Outlook 2003, filling out forms in XP Pro. SP2's IE6.0 SP2, idled with a light 2D screen saver).

A coworker and I tried looking inside the computer case, and found nothing odd. No weird burning odor, no blown capticators, nose loose hardwares, etc. that we could see. Then, turning on the sytem, then blue screens during Windows XP's boot up. Checked again in the case, put it back, etc. SATA HDD not found. Checked again, especially the HDD connection, then it is fine. But my machine shut off again for its third time!

Then, coworker and I decided to try another Dell machine (not the same exact model -- GX270). For some reason, Windows XP Pro. SP2 wouldn't boot up (saw BIOS and CMOS) and showed a video signal loss again! I even tried safe mode, and same thing. I actually got in safe mode ONCE, but my USB keyboard and mouse didn't respond and I had to hold down power button for five seconds to shutdown manually.

I was wondering if my monitor and cable were bad. I tried another LCD monitor with another DVI cable, and same thing. So, I doubt it is a video issue (note different computer with another video card in it).

For kicks, I thought maybe the HDD was going bad, which made no sense but whatever. I couldn't run Ghost 2003 (DOS; ghost.exe) from a bootable CD. It kept crashing(?) and showing video signal loss again! Remember, this is a GX270 machine not GX280. I just wanted to copy my old datas to another HDD.

So, I put my HDD back into the GX280 machine and now my machine doesn't boot up anymore. I get a blinking orange light which is system board failure or something in the manual. Back lights show no letter lighted up.

Any ideas on what the problem is and what to try tomorrow?
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