Dell XPS 600 Dead

I suspect a bad power supply.
I am not familiar with Dell's diagnostic lights.

I have the same problem! Just happened 2 days ago. Was yours flashing amber or solid amber before it went dark? In my case the amber light flashes and only the #4 light is lit. I figure it is either the power supply, motherboard, or both. Some people said that a solid amber favors a bad component and a flashing amber favors a power supply problem. Others said that the undocumented diagnostic light combination could imply a motherboard problem.

Have you called dell tech support? I've found their XPS support line to be excellent, even if the item is out of warranty.

(make sure it's the XPS support line though - the standard support is miserable...)

No, I haven't called Dell T/S yet. But, I think I have to bite the bullet and do so. Thanks for the response.

Just called Dell XPS T/S and they determined both the mobo and p/s are dead. The system has great components otherwise. Any suggestion on a new mobo, case, p/s and possibly a processor for this 3-year old system?

I would check ebay, you may find direct replacements for the motherboard and cpu. If so, it may save you an operating system install.

I'll do that. Thanks.

I think the XPS gaming line uses standard components, and I think a standard ATX motherboard and PSU from newegg should work. That may not be true with the 600 though, as it is an older model, and your best bet is to look on ebay, as sfpc said.

According to Dell t/s, the mobo is standard but the p/s is not. If true, this means I can use the case and shop for a mobo. I'm stuck with buying the p/s from Dell, though.

Use Craigslist find the part , local , pay the guy an extra $10 bucks to deliver and install. if part is fried , dont pay and use the part as an anchor

I had a XPS 600 blow a few days ago, and was scouring for info on it.

Specifically I had two tall caps to the lower right of the ram slots blow out the top and a wire coiled inducter right next to them get charred. Ive found several other rports of this same thing from others.

Two weeks ago I had a no boot out of the BLUE when I woke up, I blew out the case dust with an air compressor, took out all the ram and started reseating them one by one, and magically it turned back on.

Obviously with the current state of the board the PC id down for the count.

The third party vendor boards are now selling foor 299.95 + shipping....most reports of this nature have dell diagnosing the board AND PSU unit as failed. The propietary PSU unit is 220 + shipping. Now we're at $500....jsut to save a stupid Dell case.

I'll pass....that Pentium D Dual core isnt all that great anyway.

Funny thing is i HAD that MOBO replaced under warranty once already!!! i KNOW they know there is a problem with it. they've RMA'd a TON of them. Thats why they dont build them anymore.

I just dropped $310 at NewEgg. That would probably be what I would spend on the Dell replacement board witrh shipping. Except I got a AMD 64 x2, new case, top line PSU, and motherboard....new system. I'll reuse my Dell drives and memory, and try to grab a few bucks off ebay for the processor, heat sink and mass quantities of 80mm fans.

I spent 2 days researching alternatives and bottom line is, I could have salvaged the CPU and saved about $50 and come in with a new case, MOBO and Power Supply at a LOWER cost than replacing the Dell MOBO. But why not spend the extra $50 to come home with a newer upgradable faster machine...

Im so looking forward to not having to lug that monster of a case up and down my stairs anymore!

This is the first prebuilt Ive bought in 13 years - it lasted 3 years....Friends dont let friends buy DELL.