Hi, I got a machine from a friend that isn't showing any display. Everything powers up fine as far as fans, CD-drive, and what not, but it does not show any display and the monitor just continues to show blinking green lights. I checked the Dell service manual for the light codes on the front of the PC, and none of them are lit up. It specifies that that is indicative of, "The computer is in a normal condition or a possible pre-POST failure has occurred." Also, the power button and a light in the back of the motherboard are lit with a solid amber color and do not flash. It just remains solid amber. Looking into the manual with that information, gave me this: "A pre-POST failure has occurred. The system has received a Power Good signal from the power supply." At this point, it suggests I contact Dell, but from dealing with their tech support (and it is no longer in warranty), I can't imagine they'd be much help. Thanks in advance!

Looking at the manual it's possible Memory,Floppy &/or Hard disk, and or Graphic. Check one it a time. I'm guessing, but by resetting the Graphic card it may solve the pre post error.

Here's my troubleshooting procedure. FWIW I'm gonna assume that this was a working system (and speaker) that suddenly quit. Disconnect all the drives and pull all the cards except the video card (if there).Do you get any beeps or display. A single beep and/or a display. That means that one of the devices that was disconnected is probably defective and keeping the mobo from operating. No beeps or display. Pull the RAM and video card (if there). Do you get any beeps? No beeps. You have a power supply or motherboard problem. Do not assume a good power supply just because you see some signs of power. The power supply has several voltages that it must supply and just one missing can keep the motherboard from operating.

Disconnected the pieces one at a time, HDD, Optical drive. No beep codes. Tried another stick of RAM I have, didn't change a thing. Video card is onboard so can't take that out, and there are no PCI devices. Grrr... So I am guessing it is the power supply or motherboard? Kind of a shame. The computer just got out of warranty in October of last year. That's BS if you ask me.

If the box has a generic power supply, try swapping one from another generic system. To be extra careful, you might want to just remove the RAM. You should get error beeps without any RAM installed.

No error code with no RAM in the machine. Also, the PSU isn't standard it's proprietary Dell, so the connectors are different. :(

I guess finding another Dell with an equivalent power supply might be pretty difficult. An option might be to take the power supply and/or motherboard to a shop and have them checked.