Strangest power issue - I'm about to start crying

[drjones]

Had a very similar issue with a 3020; ended up being a USB printer plugged in causing system not to power on (w/flashing power light). Removed printer, system powered on OK.

Good call.

Some more info:

- I'm 95% sure that when I plugged the system in yesterday, I only connected the power, monitor, keyboard & mouse. I would NOT have connected the printers, as I had downloaded, but not yet installed, drivers for them yet.

- The mouse & keyboard were both brand new units that came with the original Optiplex. Factory Dell USB keyboards.

 

[FremontPC]

Swap mouse and keyboard out from another model in the office? How about the monitor?

Beyond that, I'll jump on the UPS bandwagon, no matter what the electrician says.

I saw some posts on the 790's that had a rash of bad supplies, one guy said he'd get the flashing orange if a heater or mini-fridge happened to be on the same line.

 

[drjones]

Swap mouse and keyboard out from another model in the office? How about the monitor?

Beyond that, I'll jump on the UPS bandwagon, no matter what the electrician says.

I saw some posts on the 790's that had a rash of bad supplies, one guy said he'd get the flashing orange if a heater or mini-fridge happened to be on the same line.

*IF* I get another call from this client on this issue, I will certainly take a brand-new APC there & install it.

Again what's really odd is her OLD custom-built box was running perfectly fine in the exact same location & with all the same cables/peripherals.

 

[bl4ckj4ck777]

Even if the wall power and the UPS are checking out okay, it might not be a bad idea to try using a surge protector with a battery backup to protect from surges and from drops, some PSU's can be pretty picky. The fact that the thing works fine in your office and not in his is obviously suspect, and points to the power at his office being the culprit. The fact that it happens on an irregular timeline also points to this. With surges and drops constantly happening, any PSU will stress, especially over time. It could easily be that the old machine had a sturdier PSU for this circumstance.

I work in an arcade that constantly screws up machines even with surge protectors, sometimes the trick is just bulking up what protection you already have in place.

I also kind of wonder if there isn't an external medical machine causing some emf interference in the office at certain times. Maybe an MRI close by?

 

[RedFoxComp]

Just to add, I've also seen bad front USB ports cause this issue. When something is plugged in there is enough pressure to trigger a short and it will not boot, boot intermittently or reset on it's own.

There was a rash of cases (coolermaster comes to mind esp.) with this problem. The solution was to apply electrical tape in the right spot to prevent the short.

 

[drjones]

Just to add, I've also seen bad front USB ports cause this issue. When something is plugged in there is enough pressure to trigger a short and it will not boot, boot intermittently or reset on it's own.

There was a rash of cases (coolermaster comes to mind esp.) with this problem. The solution was to apply electrical tape in the right spot to prevent the short.

Thanks, but on TWO different, brand-new factory Dell OptiPlex??

I realize all sorts of stuff can cause the problems we're having but I think it's pretty clear it's something *inside* that office....whether it's a peripheral or sketchy power.

In any case, pray for me this week....if I get a call from her that the PC won't boot......argh......wow........

Next step will be to install an APC UPS, like you guys suggest.

Again what makes this extra-weird is that her old PC ran perfectly fine - totally flawless.

 

[tek9]

Thanks, but on TWO different, brand-new factory Dell OptiPlex??

I realize all sorts of stuff can cause the problems we're having but I think it's pretty clear it's something *inside* that office....whether it's a peripheral or sketchy power.

In any case, pray for me this week....if I get a call from her that the PC won't boot......argh......wow........

Next step will be to install an APC UPS, like you guys suggest.

Again what makes this extra-weird is that her old PC ran perfectly fine - totally flawless.

The old PC probably had a PSU that was not as sensitive to the power issues in the building as the new Dell PSUs. Or some other difference in the PSU specs. (Similar to bad network wiring that would work for Fast Ethernet but not for Gigabit. I've had this before where the old computers would get an IP address but the newer ones that were Gigabit Ethernet would not.)

 

[drjones]

Well.....I just got "the call".....it's not booting.

I have an APC UPS here that I am going to take down there now.

HOWEVER, it's an ES550 - are those PFC or whatever fancy crap these Dells like?

Will keep you guys updated.

 

[drjones]

This thread has got me worried now. Supplied a Optiplex 3020 a few months ago and the customer has exactly the same problem. Dell are making an onsite visit next week, but they haven't specified what they are going to replace yet (I'm guessing Mobo/PSU).

It seems the recent Optiplex PSUs are overly sensitive?

I dunno WTF to think....last several months I've been pushing all my biz clients to OptiPlex for new workstations....NEVER had any issues whatsoever. This is the first major issue I've had.

Oddly enough though, I received another identical Opti 9020 for another client - and it wouldn't boot right out of the box. It was stuck in manufacturing mode. Seems to be a simple software issue, and a clean install of Windows did the trick, but I was disappointed to say the least.

These are some of Dell's best machines; around $1500 with an SSD for boot + 1TB for storage, dedicated graphics card, 16GB RAM,.....very nice PCs. Not really "bargain basement."

 

[lan101]

I dunno WTF to think....last several months I've been pushing all my biz clients to OptiPlex for new workstations....NEVER had any issues whatsoever. This is the first major issue I've had.

Oddly enough though, I received another identical Opti 9020 for another client - and it wouldn't boot right out of the box. It was stuck in manufacturing mode. Seems to be a simple software issue, and a clean install of Windows did the trick, but I was disappointed to say the least.

These are some of Dell's best machines; around $1500 with an SSD for boot + 1TB for storage, dedicated graphics card, 16GB RAM,.....very nice PCs. Not really "bargain basement."

Strange. I've had several of the 3020's low end series for people with no issues except for one. The hard drive would be unrecognizable at times and was extremely slow, so just exchanged it out.

 

[drjones]

Strange. I've had several of the 3020's low end series for people with no issues except for one. The hard drive would be unrecognizable at times and was extremely slow, so just exchanged it out.

Same here; most of the Opti's we sell are the 3020 - they're flawless.

Then you go & spend double the cost on a 9020 and this is what we get??

 

[nlinecomputers]

Same here; most of the Opti's we sell are the 3020 - they're flawless.

Then you go & spend double the cost on a 9020 and this is what we get??

I still think you are blaming the PC for what is a power problem onsite.

 

[drjones]

I still think you are blaming the PC for what is a power problem onsite.

Possibly....probably.....we'll see after I install the APC......

 

[drjones]

No dice. Installed the APC, it would cycle a few times, but then stopped turning on & the power light started blinking orange again.

The question is, does the APC I installed - a basic ES550 - support PFC?

I thought you had to get at least a $500+ unit to do PFC. In other words, without this PFC, does the APC make any difference whatsoever?

Moved the PC into another office down the hall and it booted just fine.

 

[nlinecomputers]

And when it doesn't boot what is plugged into it. List EVERYTHING. Different room means at least two items are different. Power and network.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Oh and when it doesn't boot what ABCD codes are being displayed?

 

[drjones]

I *THINK* we might have kicked this.

We moved the power strip from the top plug/outlet, to the bottom.

No further issues.

Must be a faulty wall outlet.......this is a first, but at least now I know it can happen.......we will see......hope I'm not jinxing myself...

 

[drjones]

And when it doesn't boot what is plugged into it. List EVERYTHING. Different room means at least two items are different. Power and network.

When it did it just now, I had only connected the monitor - NO other peripherals, not even mouse & keyboard.

As I said in my prior post, looks like it was the wall outlet that is bad........

 

[nlinecomputers]

Scratch my post about ABCD code errors. This unit doesn't do that.

Have you tested the outlet with a DVM? And if you are using a UPS why are you using a Surge Protector?

 

[tek9]

I *THINK* we might have kicked this.

We moved the power strip from the top plug/outlet, to the bottom.

No further issues.

Must be a faulty wall outlet.......this is a first, but at least now I know it can happen.......we will see......hope I'm not jinxing myself...

And the electrician didn't see that?