Dell wont boot, amber blinking light

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jay23

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Aug 28, 2014
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I have a dell optiplex 745 .
I press the power button and most of the time I get a amber blinking light but sometimes it will turn on and run like normal, but that will only last from about 2 hours to five minutes until it will just shut off for no reason and every time I turn it back on the running time gets shorter until you just get a blinking amber light again. I suspect it is either the PSU or the motherboard because on most sights ive been on say the PSU is screwed but if i take the yellow and black prossesor cord out of the motherboard and turn it on the fans, harddrive and dvd burner all work perfectley.
So i was wondering if its the motherboard or psu that is broken? And if i can fix it myself that would be prefered over buying a new part ?
 
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More than likely, the problem probably the PSU. The Optiplex 745 is rather notorious for bad PSU.

The test equipment you would need to identify the problem would cost more than replacing the PSU.

Dell is also notorious for non-standard components and it appears the Optiplex 745 is non-standard, meaning you have to get that exact PSU and not an off-the-shelf unit. You can probably get one from ebay or Amazon.

Considering the above, it could still be the motherboard. Look for damaged capacitors. This link shows you what to look for: Damaged Capacitors

If that is the problem, you can repair it if you are good with a soldering iron. If you don't have a soldering iron, you can buy one fairly cheaply but then you need to find...
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thx1138v2

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Jun 18, 2011
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More than likely, the problem probably the PSU. The Optiplex 745 is rather notorious for bad PSU.

The test equipment you would need to identify the problem would cost more than replacing the PSU.

Dell is also notorious for non-standard components and it appears the Optiplex 745 is non-standard, meaning you have to get that exact PSU and not an off-the-shelf unit. You can probably get one from ebay or Amazon.

Considering the above, it could still be the motherboard. Look for damaged capacitors. This link shows you what to look for: Damaged Capacitors

If that is the problem, you can repair it if you are good with a soldering iron. If you don't have a soldering iron, you can buy one fairly cheaply but then you need to find capacitors with the same voltage and capacitance ratings and the same pin spacing. They should be relatively cheap. The ratings are probably printed on the capacitor.

On the other hand, this machine is probably 6 to 8 years old and something else might break after repairing these items. It's time to think about buying a new machine.
 
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