(no subject)

[rootofnewt]

explodingcat's work machine is a Dell (Optiplex GX240) desktop running XP.

Yesterday, it turned off on him once without warning. He figured we had a power surge or something.

Today, it's hibernating and won't awaken. The status light is blinking orange. (oddly enough, the monitor's status light is blinking in tandem)

There aren't any loose cables. I'm guessing hardware failure. I'd ask nannar, who supports machines like these for a living, but he's still asleep (and he needs his sleep).

Thoughts?

ETA: my suspicions were correct. Power supply failure. Work will overnight another machine. After spending all morning on the phone with various tech support people, he's now just chilling and waiting to dial into his daily 1pm meeting. In other news, CSC does not support Apple products and cannot help him get the VPN up and running via the iBook. Bad CSC, no squeaky toy.

Comments

[linnapaw.livejournal.com]

We had two Dell Optiplex desktops that did this. We have the service contract on them, but with the one, all it was was the motherboard that was loose. (This may have been the problem with the other one, but since they had brought a new motherboard for us, they just swapped it out anyway.)

[lightning-rose.livejournal.com]

Try unplugging it at the wall or power strip for a few minutes.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Oh, we've already done that. We've done everything we know to do and chatted with audiorapture who pretty much confirmed we're screwed. Boy's talking to a tech from work now. I think I'm gonna have to hand over the iBook and go get some fresh air.

[blixa23.livejournal.com]

Today, it's hibernating and won't awaken. The status light is blinking orange.

That's not good. That could either be motherboard or power supply. Most likely power supply, rather than motherboard.

The worst part is, a GX240 would be out-of-warranty by now.

If it's a power supply issue, DON'T BUY ONE AT THE NEAREST BEST BUY ETC.! The Dell power supplies, as much as they are "standard ATX", do NOT use a standard voltage!

Since it was purchased by the employer, best bet is if they could buy a new power supply from Dell for you. Better yet, upgrade Tom to a GX620. You'll need a new kbd/mouse as it's USB-only, but the monitor can be kept the same, if they're on a tight budget. Tom will need to copy his work over, because the GX620 is mainly SATA, but the slave spot on the PATA cable is available. PATA is only used for the CD/DVD drive.

The hardware on the GX620 vs. GX240 is different enough that I would not recommend Ghosting it.

I'm at work, but holler back if you need anything.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Al!

Aye, I already figured it was power supply or motherboard, I was just hoping I was wrong.

And we don't have to pay to replace anything on this. CSC is responsible for the machine. We own the monitor (work only provides a CRT. It's huge and bulky and I hate seeing it and boy needs something more ergonomic, so we bought a flatscreen last week). I joke around that I don't have the clearance to replace hardware inside the box. ;)

His work is all on a remote machine. He runs remote desktop and does all his work on a machine on the rack up in Falls Church. This machine is more or less a terminal.

CSC will likely overnight him a machine, new or old.

Right now he's talking to a tech guy at work. I think he's also the network admin for boy's team, so when they ascertain that it's not working, I'll turn the iBook over to boy so he and guru man can configure the VPN. He can work with the Mac until the work machine issue is resolved. I don't know his work configuration (or five million passwords), or it would already be set up. ;)

re: update

[(Anonymous)]

In other news, CSC does not support Apple products and cannot help him get the VPN up and running via the iBook. Bad CSC, no squeaky toy.

HAHAHAHAHA! WINDOWS FSCKERS! That's what they get for relying on remote desktop! Unless he's going into a terminal server, which you can actually use on a Mac w/ the right software (Citrix, Hummingbird, etc.)

Are they letting you guys keep the busted one, or are they wanting you to ship the busted one back?

If they let you keep it, let me know. I might have just the thing for you guys. :) Hell, it's out-of-warranty and outdated anyway, I don't see why they should keep it... :) Wishful thinking, etc.

Re: update

[krasota.livejournal.com]

They'll keep it. They'll fix it and ship it back to us when the replacement breaks in six weeks.

He uses Remote Access. The machine on the other end is another machine running XP.

[blixa23.livejournal.com]

DAMMIT that anon post was me, sorry.

[crankles.livejournal.com]

I don't know anything about Dells or if this is a risky idea for them, but I replaced my power supply on Ebay for much cheaper than the stores quoted me.

Of course, it ended up being more than just the power supply ... bleh ... but it saved me some money.

[nannar.livejournal.com]

They are propriatory power supplies designed for the Dell cases. They only cost like $50 probably (I pay $39 with my large business discount).

CSC will probaby just use it for parts though, or take a power supply out of another one used for parts and like krasota said, they'll send it back to hiim in 6 months when the POS they send him this time breaks.