did the cpu break?

hylomantis1

Prominent
Sep 3, 2017
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i am not the most technical when it comes to some components from computers. i found a old computer that someone threw away. i might install windows 10 on to it and sell it for not so much. its an dell optiplex gx620. but the thing is when i turn it on the power button turns orange and a led light on the motherboard turns orange as well. and the pc won't start up normally and show nothing on the monitor. but the fan that cools the cpu starts blowing really hard all the time. and continues this for less than a minute and then the pc shuts down. after re-trying to start up the pc several times, i noticed that the cooling element ontop of the cpu get really hot. it actually gets too hot to touch. does this mean the cpu does not work anymore and is overheating? i have another cpu laying around, some intel dual core cpu. could i see if it fits and then turn it on? it wouldn't be terrible if it breaks too.
 
Solution
Those boards are infamous for bad caps, which cause the issue you describe and is probably why it was thrown away. Pretty easy fix though, and definitely good to practice on as it's not too valuable.

Caps are the shortest-lived component and once you get good at replacing them, you'll be able to fix all sorts of electronics like TVs.