Computer won't restart unless I unplug it?

[jc5066]

When I shut down the computer it will not restart unless I unplug the power cord first (obviously plug it back in).

Any ideas on why? How to fix this?

Thank you in advance.

[jeffd]

10 to 1 your power supply is dying. Unplugging it just gives some circuit in it a little kick, which lets it restart.

If you have a spare power supply, put it in.

Depending on the case, you can get decent ones for not that much money, but often dells use proprietary shaped, non-standard, sized power supply units. Sometims HP does too.

For newer machines, less than say 4 years old, that use standard power supply shape/configurations, this thermaltake power supply is one of the better ones for the money I've tried, it's silent, doesn't seem to fail, and has pretty good reviews.