DELL DIMENSION 9100 FAILS TO BOOT

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ANDREW - Oct 25, 2008 at 02:36 PM
 Ducci - Sep 18, 2014 at 07:34 AM
Hello,

I wonder whether anyone can help? Recently my Dell Dimension 9100 has failed to boot consistently - that is to say, it sometimes boots properly but it often does not. When it does not boot properly, the on/off button flashes amber (rather than coming on green). When this happens, I can only seem to get it to boot properly by leaving it switched off for fifteen minutes and trying again. And even more recently the computer has started to switch itself off while I'm using it (generally on-line).

Many thanks for any help offered,
Andrew
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5 responses

This sounds similar to a problem I had with a Dimension E310. The problem with it was a broken USB connector on the front of the machine. Check to be sure none are damaged and if they are, be sure the pins are not touching the metal casing around it. That will cause a short in the system. Hope its something that simple.
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Thanks for the usb tip it helped me out.
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Thanks very much bagit this solved my problem. The plastic plate inside the USB socket had broken a long time ago exposing the pins. A recent attempt to plug something in must have bent two of the pins so that they were touching the metal case of the USB socket. Bent them back with a screwdriver and tapped over the socket to prevent it happening again. Incredible to think that something as insignificant as a fragile USB socket could prevent the machine from booting.
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It Did worked for me too bro... thanks
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I have a Dell Dimension 9100 and I too have the orange blinking light when you push the power button. I also have a blinking 2 and 3 on the front panel. Does anyone know what this means? I looked at the USB ports, didn't notice any damage such as bent pins.

Any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated!

CT
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xpcman Posts 19530 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 1,826
Oct 25, 2008 at 02:56 PM
A blinking orange power light typically means a hardware failure that interrupted the boot sequence. It could be the power supply, or it could be the motherboard or even your hard drive. Try unplugging your hard drive and see if the PC turns on.
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"A possible floppy drive or hard drive failure has occurred."

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim9150/en/sm/adtshoot.htm#wp1054184
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my dell dimension starts up and then will shut down and blink orange. It sometimes stays running for hours. Its not the heating system. Any ideas?
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Have you ever figured out what the problem was? I also have a Dimension 8400 that sometimes starts up fine but other times upon powering up and before it actually gets to the desktop it will automatically shut down. Both fans are running fine in the back. I have watched the lights in the back (a,b,c,d) and when it starts up all are green and continue to be green even upon this automatic shutdown. I have totally cleaned out the inside of the case. It still mystifies me why sometimes it powers up fine, while other times it shuts down immediately after turning on. Any help you can give me will save $500 on a new computer. PLZ.. Thanks.. Marti
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