2005 Dell XPS 400 upgrades

The power supply on my ancient Dell started sounding like they reference tornadoes in trailer parks; obnoxiously loud to say the least. It also had only the 1G of RAM it came with. I decided to replace the power supply. I found one called the Silencer or something similar. That power supply was sold out and discontinued, so I found another one. I also ordered 4G of RAM. I installed it all today. I know I should have done one at a time, but I didn't. I can't look up what I ordered, because all the order info is on the hard drive of the one being upgraded and now it won't work. Power comes on. The green LED on the mother board is lit. The power switch is a steady amber light. Dell support says this could mean the RAM is installed incorrectly or malfunctioning. At this point, I'm giving up for the night. So, if anyone can point me to a solution to get this thing back online, I'd appreciate it. I'm currently typing this from my laptop. I have the old RAM and can put that back in if that would help. At first I thought I had installed the RAM incorrectly, but it only fits one way... the reverse won't click in to seat it. Also, the power supply had extra connectors (just like the original, and one new one. I plugged everything back in correctly... I think. Feeling kinda tired and stupid right now. Thanx.

L

 

For those playing along at home...

I'll remove the new RAM, put back the old, and see if I can get a boot. Could be the PS is installed wrong. If I get the green LED on the motherboard and the amber light on the power switch, the PS must be installed correctly?

 

Hi,

I suggest first of all that you check over the power supply connections again, just to be on the safe side. Make sure all the accessories in the computer are plugged back in. You will notice a 20/24-pin connection for the motherboard, but there is also a 4/8 pin connector for the processor which is normally near the top of the motherboard. This must also be plugged in for the system to work.

Could you provide the make/model of the computer please, as well as the type and speed of the RAM you have purchased?

 

Yeah... I found the service manual on the Dell site and need to recheck stuff. The 20/24 pin connector on the new PS is split into two parts with arrows that match up where they plug in; next to each other. Don't remember the 4/8 pin, but I think I connected that. Got home late last night and went right to bed. Hopefully tonight.

Here's what I got:
1GB RAM Memory Upgrade for the Dell Dimension 9100, 9150, 9200C Systems (DDR2-667, PC2-5300) X 4
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030V8WFG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00)

Genuine Enlight® 500W PCIe SATA ATX 12V Computer Power Supply for Intel P4 12V/ i5/i7 8pin 12V PC. Upgrade Replacement PS for Dell PowerEdge, Dimension, XPS, Studio Systems ...
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EE00W2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00)

My Dell XPS 400 (9150) was listed as compatible for both. This computer was stock (processor, RAM, etc) until I replaced these items.

 

OK, just thought I would check as some people accidentally buy incorrect parts. Not in this case though - everything should work properly.

Recheck everything and get back to us if there is still a problem.

 

I worked for IBM/Loral/Lockheed Martin for 30 years. Started working on PCs when the 1st IBM versions came out. My 1st power supply, however. Most people would just buy a new machine and leave me with their old one. I have a ton of old CPUs in the basement in various states of disrepair. Seems like the newer models are far easier to work on than the older ones. I still have an old IBM 720c that I tried to "upgrade" and ended up making it not want to boot! Hopefully I just forgot to replug something... we shall see tonight.

Thanx

L

 

IT IS FIXED!

Research revealed I had failed to connect the 4 pin processor power connector. It then booted and only showed 3GB of RAM and no floppy... and it would give me the blue screen of death. Opened it back up, reseated all the DIMMs and plugged in the IDE (or whatever) multipin connector to the floppy. Rebooted and BOOM! It's like a new machine! Super quiet power supply and quite a bit faster on most stuff. I even replaced the CR2032 battery. I may be able to put off buying a new computer for quite a while now!

On to fix the problems I have with my Inspiron 1720 laptop.

Thanx for all the responses.

L

 

Almost

Left it running last night when I went to bed. Figured that way it would run all the stuff I have scheduled to run over night (anti-virus scan, SpyBot scan, back up, etc.). Woke up this morning and when I turned the monitor on, blue screen... no writing, just a blue screen... Had to shut off the power to reboot. As it came up, I got the CHKDSK screen because I had a dirty volume. It ran all the checks and came up clean; no bad sectors. It then brought up Windows normally. As it was catching up from the stuff it didn't run, I was stopping stuff so I could do stuff. Shortly, there was a click and I got the blue screen of death stating something about PAGE_FAULT (didn't write it down). Power off and on... it came up quicker. Worked for about 15 minutes, then click and blue screen of death; something about LESS_THAN (once again, didn't write it down). Power off / on... it came up quickly and I could get on and do stuff. I finished checking mail and such, then just left it running to catch up. Got home from work and it was still running fine... in fact, a little faster. Not a problem since (I'm using it for this post). Not sure what all that means. Hopefully next time, I'll have the presence of mind to record the BSoD messages... it was early and I don't do well mornings... ;-)

 

It just never ends....

Came home today... blue screen again... no white message.. nothing... just the beautiful blue background. Got some dmp files and it requested to send info to Microsoft. The only thing I could do was power off and on. It came up fine and appeared to work. I left for a few hours. Came back... blue screen again. WTF?

 

Well... not another failure since my last post. Weird. Anything I can do to troubleshoot this or just wait until it fails again?

 

Im no expert by any means...but make sure all your drivers are up to date!!