On 06/10/18 14:18 (GMT-0500) Greg Wallace apparently typed:
Ok, no pulling out wires. In looking at my box (from memory) the power box is up against one side of the chasis. The wires are coming out of the side. So, it sounds like I'd have to unscrew all of the screws holding the lid on the box in order to get inside where I could reach the contacts.
If the case is not open, you cannot even see the plug that you need to stick the multimeter probe in to test voltages. On many Dell puters no screws need be removed to open up the case to replace a HD or video card or check voltages.
As I recall, all of the wires came out of one round hole, so it probably wouldn't be possible to do this without pulling the lid off of the power box to get to the source of the wires.
Never under any circumstances but one other than post electronics school graduation open up the power supply box. The one exception to that would be to replace a dead fan. There's nothing else you can accomplish in there. It's the other end of the wires coming from it that need to be tested.
Thanks for the info on where to get the tool. If the problem wasn't solved by my re-seating the vide card, I'll be looking into the power supply as the next likely source and will need to buy one of these probes.
The probe is just part of the multimeter tool assembly available from Fry's and Radio Shack and Sears and elsewhere (probably even Wal Mart too) that you'll need to perform voltage checks. Here's an example: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103174 -- "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped." Psalm 28:7 NIV Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 Felix Miata *** http://mrmazda.no-ip.com/