[jayseattle]

hey all,
long time reader, first time poster.
I have a DELL PC and it is a year old.
The other night it decided to not power on.
DELL customer support is no help (surprise!)
Any of you out there heard of this problem before.
Someone mentioned a new mother board.
I really don't want to lose my files which I have not back up in a couple months.
any help would be great,
thanks
Jay

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Welcome to G2G

First thing we need to be clear on is this : Is your Dell still under any sort of warranty? If so, then opening up the case etc is likely to void that warranty, so check this first.

If your warranty has expired, then I will need a bit more info from you about the problem :
When you try to power the system on, do you get any signs of life at all? e.g Power LED coming on, fans whirring, PSU fan turning etc?

[Samm]

Welcome to G2G

First thing we need to be clear on is this : Is your Dell still under any sort of warranty? If so, then opening up the case etc is likely to void that warranty, so check this first.

If your warranty has expired, then I will need a bit more info from you about the problem :
When you try to power the system on, do you get any signs of life at all? e.g Power LED coming on, fans whirring, PSU fan turning etc?

[jayseattle]

the dell is still under warrenty. we bought a 3 year war.
I was on the phone with DELL tech support for 90 minutes and they led
me through some trouble shooting which included opening up the computer.
When I push the power button nothing happens - the fan does not go on, the lights do not go on.

[Samm]

OK, when the Dell tech couldn't resolve the problem over the phone, didn't he suggest that you return the computer under warranty for repair?

[jayseattle]

they said a local tech from DELL would get in contact with me and replace the mother board. Sounded like they are sending me parts. I really couldn't understand what they were telling me. I am just weary of them erasing my HD if they need to re-install windows. It has been over 3 biz days like they said so I am starting to look at other optons of getting the DELL fixed.

[Samm]

I can't believe they will expect you to fit the replacement board yourself surely? Or have I completely overestimated Dell's customer service dept?

If its just a straightforward motherboard replacement, then there shouldn't be any reason for the hard drive to be wiped as a system restore or reinstall shouldn't be necessary.
However, if you are that concerned about it, do you have access to another computer which you could connect your hard drive up to & backup the files on there?

If you have absolutely no power to the system at all, it sounds more like a power supply issue than a dead motherboard, but I could be wrong. I assume Dell have their reasons for diagnosing the problem to be a faulty motherboard instead of a PSU.

To be honest with you, I am a little reluctant just yet to advise you to do anything that may void the warranty. For example, if you were to tamper with the power supply or the motherboard in any way (other than what the Dell tech told you to do), Dell could turn round and say that you have damaged the board and therefore they're not liable to replace it.

When the replacement motherboard arrives, you should have a better idea as to whether a tech is coming out to do the swap for you. If you are expected to do it yourself, then I am happy to talk you through it.
I can also show you how to test the power supply at the same time.