Difficulties starting an Inspiron 580 MT PC

For a system at that age, I suggest to perform a very low cost maintenance, replace the coin cell battery with a fresh CR2032.  Then, reset CMOS using system jumper.  You will be required to set date and time.  Take note of your current settings as it may require adjustments.

See page 10 of service manual for battery removal instructions and page 34 for clearing CMOS settings  https://dl.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_inspiron_desktop/inspiron-580_service%20manual_en-us.pdf

Hello,

I thank you for your reply.

1- On the link to the service, manual you sent me, on page 10, everything seems to be described to change the battery and to restore the CMOS settings.

2- So, is it also necessary to do what is listed on page 34, that seems to be related to Clearing CMOS Settings ?

Thank you again for any reply.

1.  Changing battery.  

2.  Clearing CMOS.

Usually, battery removal for several minutes could reset CMOS.  Step 2 was suggested to ensure of an instant clean CMOS reset and bring all value to defaults.  It saves time and convenience while working on motherboard.  The process has been known to resolve many trouble booting issues.

Removing the Battery (page 10)

I will follow the 5 steps

Replacing the Battery

On the service manual, there are 5 steps for Replacing the Battery  (page 10 and 11)

Do I need to make all those 5 steps first ? (or only the 2 first steps ?)

And then, doing the 5 steps of the Clearing CMOS Settings process (page 34) ?

Sorry for not understanding everything.

chino is correct.

replace battery: just first 2 steps

clear cmos: just first 3 steps

Hello,

I ordered a CR2032 battery several days ago, but it took more time than expected to get it, an I am due to receive it only today.

Unfortunately, in the meantime I got some trouble.

- We had deliberately left the Inspiron 580 MT PC computer on over the weekend.
- This PC works usuallly with two screens: main screen on the left and secondary screen on the right
- But this Monday morning, there was no display at all.
- We made a long press on the Power button of the central unit, to turn off the central unit
- Then we made a normal press on the Power button of the central unit to turn the PC back on
- The Bios screen was displayed on the left screen (furtively)
- Then the Windows logo was displayed on the left screen, but without displaying the Windows password entry window
- This PC manages a local network of 4 PCs and a shared printer
- The network works on other PCs as well as on the shared printer.
- Oddly enough, entering the Windows password was not necessary on the defective PC
- But the PC remains frozen on the only display of the wallpaper (empty, free of any application) on the left screen, the right screen is black, no keyboard button is active

I thank you in advance for any suggestion.

Patrick

Power off the PC (central unit) for now.  Wait until you receive the battery and able to perform the BIOS reset by clearing CMOS using jumper.  At that time, you will reconnecting with a simple setup for testing, one monitor, mouse and keyboard, ethernet cable and audio cable for sound.

Upon powering up the machine, error message with F1, F2, F5 selection would come up and allow to access BIOS settings.  After making necessary adjustments to settings, save and exit, system will reboot.  Immediately tapping on F12 for one time boot menu.  From there, you will see option for system diagnostics (or similar wordings), select to run and if it detects any hardware issue, report here for further assistance.

If no hardware issue is detected, exit the diagnostics will boot into Windows.  Observe for any issue and report here for further assistance.

If no software issue is detected, shutdown the computer and connecting the rest of peripherals to your setup preference.

In general, I could foresee the issue to be resolved is software.  Without all the needs for troubleshooting to identify issues, and coming up with resolutions, I suggest that making sure any important data should already being backup externally.  Performing a clean Windows installation and start with a clean slate.

Thank you for your reply.

This morning, before writing my post, when the screen was freezed on Windows wallpaper, I tried to press Ctrl Alt Del. It had no effect.

Just after writing my post, I tried again Ctrl Alt Del, and this time the Windows password entry window displayed. I entered the password, and everything worked again.

So, I am now planning to replace the battery as described in previous posts.

Thank you again.

Patrick

This morning the PC did not want to turn on

I did the following manipulation:
- unplug everything
- opening the hood
- vacuum up dust
- connection to the mains
- I noticed that an orange LED was lit on the motherboard
    - (this LED turns off a few seconds after unplugging the central unit from the mains)
    - a fan starts for a few seconds
- press the Power button: no effect
- unplug
- removal of the old battery
- installation of a new battery
- Remove the 2-pin jumper plug from pins 2 and 3 and fix it on pins 1 and 2.
- press the Power button: the PC does not start (the orange LED on the motherboard lights up)
- I tried to Remove the 2-pin jumper plug from pins 1 and 2 and replace it on pins 2 and 3
- press the Power button: the PC does not start (the orange LED on the motherboard lights up)

What do you think?

Thank you in advance,

Patrick

I add something:
- when I plug the central unit into the mains, the green LED on the back does not light up
- if I long press the Power button, the green LED lights up and stays on
- then, if I press briefly, the green LED turns off
- then if I do a long press again the green LED lights up again
But in all cases the PC does not start

Does this have any meaning?

Thank you.

-When the green light on the back is off, if I long press the Power button, the green light turns on
-Then, when this green light is on, if I briefly press the Power light, the Power button light flashes orange for a fraction of a second, and the rear fan runs for a few seconds, then the green light on the back goes out

Review this article and see if you can perform power supply built-in self test.  

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000125179/how-to-run-a-power-supply-unit-self-test-on-a-dell-desktop-or-all-in-one-computer