Precision 5820: no reaction to pressing power-button

Question

Hey Guys,

I have a strange Issue:

I have two Precision 5820 workstations, but when I plug in the Power-Cable and press the Power-Button, nothing happens. No Fanspin, no LED blinking - nothing at all.

It gets even stranger: the system did boot a couple months ago with no Issue. I have a second Precision 5820 (a slightly older model) that has the same exact issue.

I tried resetting the CMOS with the jumper. I measured the battery, and it's at 3.02V. Did press the power-button for ca. 1 minute both with and without the power cable attached. + combinations of doing the CMOS Jumper + Trying to boot/powerdrain the system. No affect.

When pressing the PSU diagnostic button at the back, all fans start spinning (PSU, CPU, and all three Case-Fans).

I reseated the CPU and checked the power button on its little board, and when pressing it, it actually gave me a continuity-beep on my multimeter when measuring the two pins.

I also replugged a couple of cables just to be sure.

Now I am all out of ideas. Any guesses what could be wrong and what I could try?

Any input is appreciated!

Thanks

A51-06 · Answer

So you've verified that the PSU works, CPU works, and CMOS too. Check out this: ‎Brand-new, Fresh-out-of-the-box Precision 5820 Won't Start (other than fan noise) | DELL Technologies Lmk.

A51-06 · Answer

@Kane0023​ I'd recommend next time you try and comment troubleshooting steps instead of a ChatGPT generated paragraph that doesn't finish the sentence. Its better for someone to come back to a post that has a possible solution than a computer generated one.

dvx1 · Answer

@Alienware Area-51 ALX 2006​ It's not the same issue as I don't even get Fanspin, nor could I get it to post even in a minimal configuration with 1 RAM-Stick + Frontpanel + CPU nor with any other configuration I tried.Maybe the question needs to be rephrased a bit:What causes two nearly identical systems to no longer react to the power button after not being used for 2-3 months (no power cable connected during that time).

A51-06 · Answer

@dvx1​ Have you checked out the board for anything blown or shorted possibly? If the PSU test indicates the fans all work, and the front panel and cmos battery give voltage, all I can possibly recommend is you try switching the boards from both computers to see if its a Motherboard issue or even a CPU issue.

bradthetechnut · Answer

Are you using a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for power outages and does it have true sine wave?

defuller787 · Answer

I have the same problem. Our Dell 5820 that even after a motherboard swap does not post at all, although the psu check button powers the fans.

It just one day stopped working.

I suspect the cmos got munged during an update.

defuller787 · Answer

After plugging the case entry switch with a toothbrush, it now powers on with the power button (great) but still no post..

defuller787 · Answer

@defuller787​ Replaced the motherboard back to the replacement (after putting the defective original back) and now it works!

defuller787 · Answer

@defuller787​ Booted to bios only once.  Switched power supplies and video cards for known good devices.  Now it refuses to start again.  Will have to recycle it.

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Precision 5820: no reaction to pressing power-button

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