Ok, I'm Stumped. I have a Dimension 4700 that works fine but when I turn it off it will not start (not even post) If I try to turn it on right after shutting it down, the case fan starts very fast but the system will not post. If I wait for about 3 minutes after I shut it down then it starts up without a problem. What's going on??? I have tested the power supply, RAM, and removed all of the peripherals and nothing changes. I have also cleaned out all of the dust and checked for excessive heat but nothing seems to warm and this is the only thing I can find wrong with the system. I'm at a loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would still guess powersupply. Had a friend with a bad PSU that would run for days straight (he never turned it off). When he would turn it off it took 30 mins or so to get it back on. It would power on and off really quick. If you hit the power button in the right cadence you could get it to come back on. It passed on a PSU tester but once he gotta new PSU computer worked like a champ. That would be my first guess. If its not that I would guess mobo.

Careful with dell powersupplies some are propriatary and you can't just plug any old PSU in it.

I did my research and made sure that this dell would take a regular psu and replaced it with a new one. It still did it. I am afraid that the motherboard is to blame but hate to let it go. Any idea how long it will live like this??

It sounds like a leaky cap to me.....

Ditch the dell and buy a decent pc made of components..


Dell suck..

or... buy a new dell. 4700 has got to be 5-6 years old by now.

you can pick up a new system for $400-500 from dells site that will include an LCD.