Dell Inspiron orange amber light problem PC will not boot EASY CHEAP REPAIR FIX

BigSLICK shows an easy cheap fix for Dell Inspiron desktop PC computer that won't boot, having orange amber light problem.

[@mooshroomisland1903]

Worked for me man. Thank you a lot. I was about to buy a brand new motherboard.

[@josephroche9311]

Excellent advice! I was desperate because my tower had a flashing amber light and was not working. Just draining the power the way you advised, even without replacing the cmos battery brought the computer back to life. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@toddh2000]

I had a spare power supply. When I hooked that up and it didn't work I went searching and found your video. Thanks so much for sharing. I followed the steps and the computer is now operational.

[@golfgrouch]

OMG, this is finally the answer! I have a Dell XPS 420 that failed to post years ago. After months of trying to fix it myself, I just gave up. I tried changing every component and ruled out the CMOS battery because I was told it would not prevent posting. While under the current quarantine, I tried to fix it again out of sheer boredom. I stumbled on to this video through random Google searching yesterday and decided to try it today. Lo and behold, it worked! The key is to clear the power out of the system with the CMOS battery removed by unplugging the power supply while holding down the power button. Just simply changing the CMOS battery doesn't work. Thank you, thank you!

[@cowanoncrackk]

Just found an old dell under my friends bed and he gave it to me and I’m about to build it up and this solved one of the many problems with it

[@simplename8]

I didn't have to remove the CMOS Battery but i held the power button and pulled the power cord out like you said to do. It worked so thanks for the help.

[@eastsideloon]

I was able to revive my Inspiron 530 with this video. Thank you!!

[@RichardBligdon]

Worked for me.Removed CMOS battery.rebooted.away she went(white light).Shut down replaced battery with new one ,hooked everything back up,booted and away it went.THANK YOU!

[@kirosun]

Worked on second try. First time failed, Second time I tested all the batteries in my batch and used the best one. I also unplugged/replugged all the PSU cables and RAM, held the power button longer and left the PC off and batteryless for longer. You're the best.

[@ryandillinger4991]

Simple amazing thank you so very much. My dad passed and I thought I lost all my pics!!! U just made my whole day better. Thank you!!! Thank you!!!

[@sethstewart1103]

Fixed it with my two little toddlers! Thanks for the reliable diagnosis and repair procedure!

[@fredrickdavis5489]

When I turned my computer on, I kept hearing two beeps, pause, and another two beeps. I unplugged and unscrewed my computer , opening it up to see what the problem was. It was dusty on the inside. I used some paper towels to clean it. I rescrewed it and plugged it back up to see if it would work. It works!👍

[@Microsodt]

Seth Stewart

[@LoveTheGreen-]

@@fredrickdavis5489dont use paper towels

[@loganradinovich1127]

THANK YOU! I literally just want to fix my old computer because if Nostalgia and it would work. This is a lifesaver!

[@NickChronic01]

thanks for this video , got myself a free pc that works again.

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

Thanks, I replaced the battery and now my computer works again.

[@joeny1980]

Awesome. Thanks so much. I had an old Inspiron Zino. Everywhere else on the web and even Dell's official support comments said its a bad power supply or mother board. Did as you said and it booted right up.

[@bluetnewyork1]

WOW! yOU LITERALLY SAVED ME FROM GOING crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks a lot!

[@IgnaceKonan]

I cannot thank you enough. I found your video by chance. Your tutorial solve my PC problem. My PC works perfect. Merci beaucoup.

[@Shmoman45]

As of 2023, I got this issue, but only was able to fix it by unplugging the main power supply cable, and then pressing the power button and holding it. I also replaced the CMOS Battery as well. It finally worked.

[@shurimanslegacy8729]

Thanks man! I watched couple of videos, they have the same procedure which is to clean the ram. Gladly I found this one, I purchased couple of cmos battery, unfortunately its size is 2016 not 2032 and it is thinner though. Now my computer is working. 😁

[@hankscorpio2528]

You said "Step 4: Hold down the power button, pull out the power cord & continue to hold the power button down. Step 5: Let go of power button, pull out the power cord, put in battery,,," How do I pull out the power cord in Step 5 if it's already pull out from Step 4?

[@thefixer1905]

You skipped step 3.

[@victoravila994]

the fixer it still doesn’t make sense

[@stassmagpie3380]

A very good & thorough write-up. But if still no luck, as in my case. Check the cpu. Having got mine used as well I came to find out that the previous user tried to upgrade with a non-compatible cpu and that was the reason for the yellow amber in my case. I put a compatible one in and now the power lite glows green :-)

[@yaaaa023]

Thank you for the tutorial! We tried the method twice, first time it worked using the old battery, but the same problem occurs the next day when I restarted the computer. After that we got the CMOS battery replaced and our pc works perfectly now!

[@jj_killzyt2015]

My pc is stuck on the orange light (not flashing) I tried using this method but didn’t work If anyone has any solutions pls help me It would be much appreciated Thank you.

[@fun456ful]

Thank you for the advice my moms work gave me her old dell inspiron pc and i want to add more memory so now i know what to do

[@tomz500]

My "new" Dell Inspiron 530 I just got has a solid amber light on the power button. Surprisingly when I pressed the amber button it went blue and it DID POST a couple times and I checked out the BIOS. I put a solid state drive in it and powered it on but it won't POST now. I disconnected the SSD but it still won't POST. It now still has the solid amber light but when I press the power button it goes blue like before but it will not beep. The screen doesn't power on now either. I press the power button again and it turns off. I don't have to hold it in to turn it off. I guess I'll get a new Power Suppy Unit but do you know if it might be something else? I'd hate to get the new PSU and it still does this. I DID replace the CMOS battery as I was told the old one was bad and the guy I bought it from replaced it with another old battery and he wasn't sure about it. So I put in a new one. But my power button isn't flashing orange. It's solid. So solid orange means a power supply problem, I've read. Could it be something other than the PSU?? I will point out that the computer has two different kinds of memory in it. But that's not a power problem. Any help is appreciated. -Tom

[@spiritFleshed]

On a Dell gx620 mid-tower it worked for me only after I disconnected all drives, pulled the ram, cards, and power supply, checked the cmos battery which was okay, then put it all back together slowly starting with just enough of what's normally needed to get things up and running.

[@beverlysparks9050]

Done all the recommended suggestions, nothing works to get our Inspiron 620 powered up again. Have gone through this a few times over the past year with this machine. Twice brought it in to a repair shop, where they were able to power it up right away without doing anything?? Last time it wouldn't start up, I disconnected all USB wires at motherboard & it powered up just fine. This time, we lost power (pc got unplugged by accident) and now cannot re-start using all same "fixes" from before. Also replaced CMOS battery, drained residual power as suggested in video, nothing works. I'm thinking it may be a power supply problem, this Dell is becoming a real nuisance. Thanks for your video & suggestions.

[@davekirkey8269]

Hopefully you are stil watching this thread... I just walked in my studio and my XPS 8930 that had been turned off for a couple of days would not boot and I got (either) 1 blink amber then 2 blinks amber .. .Or 2 blink amber and 1 blink amber dell service manual says system board.. the computer is 6 years old and never had the battery changed so I will try this the first thing tomorrow morning... Everything else was running on the computer before I had this issue... I did have the PS checked and it is fine, so Hopefully it's the CMOS battery.. What setting were you using on your multi meter... I just though a voltage test would have shown the problem...

[@elilopez249]

Thank you very much. I just thinking need a new pc and don't have money to buy another and It helps me to fix my computer. You're a lifesaver

[@scottc.6409]

Great video I have a Inspiron 530 when I turn on solid amber light and fans runs. eventually will turn blue and boot up. Is this a sign of bad battery or power supply? Thanks!

[@roxtaramir]

Thanks man! First time ever I had a problem with my pc and the first video I saw had the right solution! Much appreciated 👍

[@thiagolopes3688]

04//09/2019 Work, thanks you very much

[@GalaxieRepairGroupLLC]

What if it has the orange amber light and does not post with no beeps? Also no video output. When i remove the memory i 2 beeps so that is normal i guess on that part.

[@ethand4784]

I have same problem

[@BlakeKDM]

Same

[@inerton337]

After 10 years man. Thank you god bless

[@olusegunbusari3667]

Wow!!! Can this work on optiplex series(755,760,780)? I have 5 of them not powering up, just giving me the amber dead light.

[@EdwardWallaceTechTalk]

If this does not work for some of you re seat your ram and try again.

[@DaG.O.A.T.]

i did that with my ram 3 time and still nothing so im gonna try this

[@EnergyAndLightAwakening]

OMG!!!! Finally. THANK YOU!!!! I've been searching the internet for 3 days trying to find out what the problem was before my PC crashed. My problem is slightly different. In the morning when I turn it on the orange button comes on an I can hear the PC start up but not all the way. I have a black screen but after waiting a few seconds to warm up I can restart it no problem. I just ordered a new power switch and cable thinking that was the problem. I think I should probably try the battery first. What are your thoughts? Thank you so much. I pretty much live in the middle of no where so over the years videos like this has has taught me how to repair almost anything on the system. And yeah it is super old but runs like a dream most of the time as I upgrade when needed.

[@bigslick]

Sounds more like a power supply or possibly the HD no longer spins up properly after it cools down. That is assuming that you are sure that the problem is with the computer and not that your monitor having trouble turning on. For example, bad caps in the monitor power supply will cause it to turn on slowly for a little while, but it will fail completely soon.

[@EnergyAndLightAwakening]

@@bigslick Oh no! Those are new things I haven't delta with yet. I changed the battery but won' t know if it works until tomorrow morning. The weird thing is when I turned it back on it started up differently and the time and date came up in December of 2010 at 11:11 Also HD is only 2 years old and seems to be working great.

[@bigslick]

@@EnergyAndLightAwakening Replacing the bios battery will usually reset the bios settings, which would reset the clock. If the HD is new then that is unlikely. If you still have problems and are sure that the issue is not just that the monitor is slow to display a picture..., then the most likely would be the old ATX power supply in the PC. Replacements are pretty cheap.

[@EnergyAndLightAwakening]

@@bigslick Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help! I think the monitor may be slow. I have an old dinosaur monitor that weighs about 15 pounds ( the ones that stick out in the back) lol I can use to test it.

[@bigslick]

@@EnergyAndLightAwakening It is possible that the bios was losing all of its information and trying to reset to defaults, but I suspect something else is going on. A lot of LCD monitors came with bad caps that failed after 4-6 years. Two of my Acer LCD monitors both had bad caps that I needed to replace, and the symptoms were that the monitors hesitated coming out of standby or from completely off-to-on. ...Anyway, if you need a power supply, you could try craigslist or even visit an independent computer repair shop and tell them that you want to buy the cheapest used ATX power that they will sell you (that works, obviously). Should be at least 250W but almost everything was at least 250W. A good used one should be less than $20. Most shops cant give them away these days. They end up throwing them away.

[@tribdrawsnear]

I have a orange light on my motherboard. It never changes. Green light on the front by the power button. Any1 know wats up

[@dariusrus6455]

same here

[@DampusOnCampus]

That could also indicate bad ram

[@trexfrex2834]

When I pressed the power supply and the power button at the same time it works but then it dosent turn off I have to hold 30 second to turn of and then when I connect to moniter it’s not working please help bro

[@osm4834]

my dell dimension 4600 will only boot with its internal harddrive and CD drive, anything else and the amber light. whats the problem?

[@jaigoenka]

I replaced CMOS battery. But now my DEll Inspiron 3880 desktop wont even power on . Can you help

[@rune3090]

Thank you very much my dell works again

[@pedromiranda2711]

When I started it back up without the battery, I got a white light and double beeping sound? What does that mean? I installed the new battery and now it's a white light with a double beeping.

[@samuelgidaygoodday2036]

wow you are amazing...I think my CMOS battery is weak but doing the traditional tongue test it still has some salt in it...therefore just followed your step and my PC is working rn...thanks

[@bearmangrizz9021]

does this work for most pc's

[@rodjava]

Worked like a charm! Thank you very much....Rod in San Francisco

[@Vshashank]

Tried but didn't work its still stuck on amber light.

[@fradnander]

Just disable the AGP chip

[@vjxrzzzx1030]

fernando m bonilla how you do that?

[@fradnander]

@@vjxrzzzx1030 While you can log in to Windows, you can go to BIOS and disable the chip from the configuration or from the windows graphic mode in system and device manager, select the agp driver and deactivate it.

[@fradnander]

@@vjxrzzzx1030 kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqLHpZummbWBkKs

[@fradnander]

@@vjxrzzzx1030 but first turno on a Hairdryer over the AGP chip. 1 minute at 15 cm distance

[@varunsharma4817]

Just fixed my computer using your technique. Thanks

[@joanmarsilia8667]

I just found this repair on you tube and holy cow it worked. Thank you so much for this!!!

[@TheeCK1357]

My problem is a Windows ten Dell computer. Tried unplugging everything and holding power button.

[@tonyalgarin8262]

I was having the same problem with dell studio XPS I was surprised it worked thanks a lot.

[@benwuddis3360]

Is it still working? Tried it several times but not working with my dell studio xps

[@miket.4738]

Thank you......I learned something!

[@hobble_dehoy]

Works like a charm 2021!

[@SirRommy]

Brother, you just saved my sanity. I popped in a mSata drive but didn't unplug my HDD and after trying to power on it did nothing. After yanking cables left and right did nothing I finally removed the CMOS battery which brought it back to life. So this time around I unplugged the HDD drive and am now doing a clean boot to the mSata drive. Not done yet so might need to troubleshoot more but so far my PC lives again!

[@leonbwr]

OH WOW! you are a genius!!! thank you!! the secret is as you say at the end; make sure you drain the power. THANK YOU!

[@Uncle_Neil]

worked for me dude, Thanks for your help!!

[@f.allenrisler5303]

You should show how to disassemble it.

[@sleepybrendo]

Hey, what can this affect on the computer? Can it stop it from the ports working? Can it stop it from connecting to a monitor? Because I'm having those problems aswell.

[@jond1965]

Replaced the cmos battery. Pulled the memory and drained the power. Nothing worked. I think in my case it’s the motherboard.

[@megamanx2sonic]

dude i love you. but i also have a prob that the power button dont work it just boots when power cord is plug in?

[@phillipmeza3459]

Your fix is great, but "reset the jumper" with battery removal... done!

[@hammadmustafa6217]

Hey man.i replaced another motherboard in my pc bcz it was beeping and the fault in motherboard...now it on first time later when i turn it off and restart.it shows orange light but no beeep.no blinking but orange and monitor not opening.plz hlp

[@goodmother915]

Please dell PC showing only orange light when I turn it on

[@tomcrouss5840]

Worked👍

[@TAnimations]

This didn't work for me. It still shows stable amber light. And I've already reppaced the motherboard and I put in a new psu and a new cpu. Any ideas??

[@DaG.O.A.T.]

that's what my problem is all I get is an orange light blinking with nothing else coming on and I've changed the power supply and still nothing so I might try what you did

[@hvacdr]

well while you were right this is how to reboot the cmos. and it wont work unless you remove the battery and hold the power button as you state. the other way is to move the jumper from the pswd normally closed to the cmos for 6 seconds. but for me thats a lot harder because i have to remove my graphics card just to be able to get to the jumper. so the battery trick is much easier. that said this unfortunately did not solve my problem. im leaning now that my bios is corrupted. or i have a bad psu. im probly goiung to try the psu first and if not i probably need a board. and i definitely wont be going with a factory board since dell has a serious issue with their boards going out

[@susanamcmahon3332]

Show please how take out the battery.

[@marciawa9714]

Not a problem replacing a coin cell battery but nice to know in advance where it is and how to get to it

[@gilby202]

he told you where his was, yours is most likely in a different spot if your going to open up a desktop and try to troubleshoot the issues, please try to be cognition when doing things out of your comfort zone, if you can't be then spend the money to get it fixed from someone who knows what there looking at.

[@edalad]

You’re a life saver, thank you.

[@ZyberZtarz]

Tnx very much for this important info re Amber orange light.

[@vonholland64]

I was having the problem and dell says to unplug it and hold button in for twenty seconds to drain the power. Anyway, I turned it on afterwards n it worked. Js

[@bootsroots1764]

Worked for me. Thank You!!

[@WarTheory]

My old dell power button will not even light up to boot---- Update it worked thanks PC repair wanted me to order a new mother board

[@stevedingsdale6270]

This actually worked as advertised for me. The battery was very easily accessed too. On a related note, I have the same DMM (Digital Multi-Meter) used in the video to check the CMOS battery and picked it up at Harbor Freight for about $8.00. I did however, have to pay about $5.00 for the battery at CVS.

[@bigslick]

FYI - the battery is available at my local Dollar Tree for a dollar, so I would assume that most Dollar Tree around the nation would also have them.

[@AnkitSharma-ez9js]

Thanks bro! Worked in my Inspiron 580s

[@ching-chenhuang8119]

I experienced the same orange light on the Dell motherboard, but I didn't replace the battery, instead I did step 4. After trying for about 2 or 3 times, it boot into windows.......still works for me though.......

[@yjiro-zf4dm]

Optiplex 9020mt?? Or another pc

[@jbdavis5162]

okay I have tried EVERYTHING, going to follow this now; will report back.

[@thecrazyanimalguy5697]

I am to try this hope it works I am using Dell optiplex 780 refurbished new I think the old owner forget to replace it with me luck!

[@darrenmcintyre2782]

Iv tried it 3 times and its still not working. Mines is a dell optiflex 760 and the problem is steady amber light (not flashing) and 2,3,4 led lit up at back. The fan goes into overdrive when i start it up very loud and the computer wont boot. Iv tried nearly every video i can think of, service manual download etc please someone save my machine or give me a solution, pretty please 🤔🤗

[@Flowing_Bold]

It was blinking Amber... I took the battery out and I turned it on and it stayed white... I'm so confused... I put a new battery in and it turned Amber

[@DragonProtector]

so confused

[@DampusOnCampus]

Then in that case, it doesn't need a cmos battery

[@budbundy5021]

I pulled the cmos battery out turned it on and light is still amber

[@joejoejoejoejoejoej]

Followed all steps to the letter Amber still flashing ; even with new CR2032.... ☹️☹️☹️☹️ Dell Dimension 4600 😐😐😐😐

[@EgyptianTomy]

You are GENIUS , Thank you very much man.

[@555_Lady_JB]

FOLLOW this step by step. He is CORRECT.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

I had already replaced the Bios battery with new one before it died and blink Orange.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

@@555_Lady_JB See what you think about this, I hadn't turned My Dell Dimension on in over a year because the clock system clock lost its memory. I replaced the new Bios battery but it was several months before turing on. Last night I turned it on and it was working fine, moved some files around to try tidy it up, I installed Reason 4 on there and it worked. I noticed that when I tried moving two short cuts in a folder it froze so I removed everything from that foulder apart from those two short cuts and deleted it. Then I started moving a 2 gig foulder of pictures from the desktop to My photos on C Drive then it seemed to not do it so I tried again and then it turned off started flashing the orange lite. What do you think?

[@555_Lady_JB]

@@HOLLASOUNDS you need more space? 1 TB portable 😉 OR you need to map Reason 4 differently? I am merely guessing but hopeful. OR that 2032_ battery was not good. That's happened to me before.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

@@555_Lady_JB I get what you say about the new battery not being good but it was running on what must of been a dead bios battery before because the date and time would be wrong every time I turned it on, so why didn't it go off and flash Orange then?. Copying files has to save it to Ram first and thats when it crashed and died however I have removed the ram and put them back no change.

[@555_Lady_JB]

Also unhook the cards and reset everything. Then step by step by this dude's instructions.

[@madbunny9006]

Thank you! It did help me.

[@ibnhussein5851]

2020 fuckin legend saved the day

[@Yamoyashi]

Hey i have a similar problem, but mine isnt a flashing amber light, just a steady one. Will this work?

[@xlie2019]

did you fix it? if so how?

[@Yamoyashi]

@@xlie2019 im sorry i never got to fix it, if i had to guess its probably the ram or one of the connections.

[@xlie2019]

​@@Yamoyashity for the response

[@samgotgame0819]

Mine also beeps. Please help.

[@bananathebadguywilliams4868]

Mine will flash an amber then white sound for 10 seconds then turn on and repeat.

[@PHock]

nice explanation

[@jeremyhall2727]

awesome thanks for the help

[@martinsac8520]

so ive tryed changing the battery but no luck , i think the power button may be the problem , anyone know how to fix that ? or if theres a way to bypass the button to something else

[@007leonard1]

yes there is

[@moegammadyaseerbenhalie189]

Thx for the help

[@09mxrider]

Fuck I already bought another motherboard I guess I'll be building a second gaming pc thanks man helped me out alot

[@kellyh1620]

And what happens when you’ve changed the battery and you still have a solid orange light and a black screen

[@bigslick]

if you watch the video, changing the battery has nothing to do with solving the current problem. The battery needs replaced due to age, but the problem is that the bios settings got corrupted (probably due to old bad battery) and in order to reset them, you have to drain the power out of the system as I show.

[@xlie2019]

did u fix it ?

[@candonga8902]

Will this work on a dell ispiron 660?

[@xlie2019]

did you fix it?? having same issue rn

[@mickeyperez7100]

It worked!! Thank You!!

[@BradleyLivestreams]

Thanks but didn't work for me..... :(

[@dannyvInVABeach]

Appreciate the Good info but did not fix my issue

[@dannyvInVABeach]

Steady Amber light

[@marylewis5246]

​did you find a fix? It didnt work for me either

[@dannyvInVABeach]

@marylewis5246 never fixed it, had to shelve it for now.