eperezf wrote on 2020-06-04, 21:07:

Hi! […]
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Hi!

I got an old Dell Inspiron 2500 a while ago but without a charger. I recently got one to test the computer but it wont start. Kinda.

I pressed the power button and fans, HDD and CD drive started spinning along with power and HDD LED turning on. After a couple of seconds it shut down completely.

Tried the same without HDD, without CD drive, without RAM and battery. Also with RAM and without battery. Still the same issue. I also hear a faint whine where the CPU (which is removable) is located

What could it be that makes it fail to boot? Does it have a hidden CMOS battery that I need to replace? Is the battery too dead (Battery LED lights up when I plug the battery but then it stays off)?

I don't have similar RAM (at least at hand right now, will check in my spare parts) so I can't test that out. I'll leave it plugged in (with battery) for a couple of hours to see if it's just being powered off for too long.

Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

What are the specs on that charger ? This model needs 20V and at least 3.5A according to info I could find .

It's an original Dell PA-6 charger, model ADP-70EB. It says 20V 3.5A.

Sounds like CMOS battery to me. I fixed a seemingly dead Latitude C640 by yanking the CMOS battery.

EvieSigma wrote on 2020-06-05, 04:27:

Sounds like CMOS battery to me. I fixed a seemingly dead Latitude C640 by yanking the CMOS battery.

I had to disassemble the whole laptop to access the CMOS battery. It was under the motherboard. It's a soldered 3V Panasonic V1220. Tester says 2.77V. Is it ok or does it need to be replaced?

Also inspected for blown caps and they all look fine.

2.77 is too low.