Swapped out the PSU with a known working one,  upon plugging in the pwr cable,  the pwr button back-lit GREEN and there were no longer any numeric codes blinking.  Initiated a boot cycle but INTO Setup,  confirmed drives are showing up,  memory as well.  Booted again, F12,  into on-board diags,  and everything passes the quick test.  Might suggest the blinking 1 & 3 could have been residual effect from the failed PSU to begin with.  Looks like blinking Amber pwr button supersedes the diagnostic numeric codes, at least until you remedy the power supply unit. Answer from Towster on dell.com
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Dell
dell.com › support › kbdoc › en-us › 000126021 › a-reference-guide-to-the-dell-optiplex-diagnostic-indicators
A Reference Guide to the Dell OptiPlex Diagnostic Indicators | Dell US
This series had a combination of Power button LED states, and the A, B, C, D block was replaced with 1, 2, 3, 4 instead. The diagnostics LEDs moved from the rear of the chassis to the front under the audio ports.
Discussions

1 White and 3 amber flashes
I have a Dell 3280 All-In-One - the diagnostics pass ok, machine boots, but power light button flashes 3 amber 1 White. What is the fix for that? ... I experienced the same problem—one white blink followed by a three-blink orange error code—but it got back to working properly after I changed ... More on dell.com
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7
1
November 26, 2022
Dell Desktop not turning on with 2 and 3 light + an amber light
So a year ago I put my old computer away with 0 power and today I was going to give it to my son but it was flashing 2 and 3 lights and an amber light. Does anyone know anything??? I saw it ... More on dell.com
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16
1
April 9, 2022
My dell optiplex 3020 is showing amber lights 2-3
2-3 means memory or CPU failure. Since you already tried with the ram, it should be around a 4th gen cpu and it had a small hit I would suggest to try reseating the CPU to see if it improves. On a side note and more like an anecdotal comment, my brother had one but with a 3rd gen processor some time ago that did something alike every now and then. The way I fixed it was by putting a small metal piece on the side of the bracket to make more pressure, because for some reason the processor was not making good enough contact with the pins to be detected properly. More on reddit.com
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2
2
March 21, 2025
Dell Inspiron 3881 PC Flashing Orange; 1 white, 3 orange
Hi, So basically I just booted up my dell pc, which I have had for around 4 years now, to do some work. But it says there is a fatal error. It pulled up with a BSOD. I've checked online and apparently i need to change the little battery inside my PC but… More on learn.microsoft.com
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March 3, 2024
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Dell
dell.com › dell community › laptops › laptops wiki
How to Fix the 1 White and 3 Amber Flashes Error on Dell Laptops | DELL Technologies
May 12, 2025 - The 1 white and 3 amber flashes error code on Dell laptops typically indicates a CMOS battery failure. This small battery on the motherboard helps retain BIOS settings.
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LaptopJudge
laptopjudge.com › dell-orange-light
Dell Orange Light (3 Blink Code Fixes) - Laptopjudge
February 6, 2025 - in this guide, let’s focus on the 3 blinks, which is one of the more common issues related to ram. if you’re seeing this code, here’s what you should do.
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Dell
dell.com › dell community › laptops › laptops wiki
Dell Laptop Blinking Orange and White Light Issue | DELL Technologies
April 14, 2025 - Hardware Component Failure: Specific blinking patterns can indicate hardware issues. For example, 3 amber (orange) and 1 white flash often signal a hardware component failure. Residual Power: Excess power can sometimes cause the blinking light issue.
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Asurion
asurion.com › connect › tech-tips › fix-a-flashing-light-on-dell-laptop
How to fix orange flashing light on Dell laptop | Asurion
September 15, 2025 - Asurion Experts explain the meaning behind the orange flashing light on Dell laptops and how to stop it.
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YouTube
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Solved: 3 orange & 1 white light blinking on Dell computers.
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Published   June 21, 2023
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Dell
dell.com › support › manuals › en-us › optiplex-7460-aio › optiplex_7460_service_manual › diagnostics
Dell OptiPlex 7460 All-in-One Service Manual | Dell US
Power status light: Indicates the power status. Solid Amber – The system is unable to boot to the operating system. This indicates that the power supply or another device in the system is failing. Blinking Amber – The system is unable to boot to the operating system.
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Dell
dell.com › support › kbdoc › en-us › 000153002 › a-reference-guide-to-the-precision-workstation-diagnostic-indicators
A Reference Guide to the Precision Workstation Diagnostic Indicators | Dell US
Instead the Power Button state now gives a blink and color shift pattern to indicate where it had a problem. Identify these desktops by the fact that there is no Diagnostics LED block on the front of the unit. With this series, the Diagnostic LEDs changed to include a combination of the Power button LED state and the diagnostic LED indicators. The Diagnostic LEDs remain 1, 2, 3, 4, and placed on the front of the unit.
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Dell
dell.com › support › manuals › en-us › optiplex-3020-desktop › opt3020sffom-v1 › power-led-diagnostics
Dell OptiPlex 3020–Small Form Factor Owner's Manual | Dell US
For example 2,3 = 2 amber blinks, short pause, 3 amber blinks followed by long pause then repeats. ... All fields are required unless marked otherwise. ... Sorry, our feedback system is currently down. Please try again later. Thank you for your feedback. Please provide ratings (1-5 stars).
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Tech News Today
technewstoday.com › home › laptops › amber or orange light blinking on dell laptop? 16 ways to fix it
Amber or Orange Light Blinking on Dell Laptop? 16 Ways to Fix It - Tech News Today
February 2, 2023 - This fixes any power issues that could be responsible for the orange/amber light problem. In some models, you even get an emergency reset hole to reboot the Embedded Controller (EC). Simply straighten a paper clip, push it inside the hole, and hold it for at least 30 seconds to complete the reset. This should fix the 1.6 and 3.5 blink codes, caused by an EC or power sequencing failure. If your Dell laptop doesn’t have such a feature, kindly follow the below instructions to perform a power reset manually:
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Dell
dell.com › dell community › laptops › laptops wiki
Dell Laptop Won’t Boot – LED Blink Code 3 Amber and 5 White Explained & Fix | DELL Technologies
March 25, 2026 - Original Discussion: Laptop doesn't boot Led light flashes amber(3) and white(5) Some Dell laptops may fail to boot and display a diagnostic LED pattern: 3 amber flashes followed by 5 white flashes...
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JustAnswer
justanswer.com › computer › fahk3-power-button-flashing-amber-green-lights.html
Troubleshooting Dell Optiplex Diagnostic Lights and Flashing Orange Light Issues
According to Dell diagnostic indicators, lights 1 & 3 suggest a RAM issue. A blinking orange power light indicates a failing or failed PSU. Please try re-seating the RAM chips one at a time, starting with no RAM, and see if the error persists.
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Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › answers › questions › 4050071 › dell-inspiron-3881-pc-flashing-orange-1-white-3-or
Dell Inspiron 3881 PC Flashing Orange; 1 white, 3 orange - Microsoft Q&A
March 3, 2024 - That flash code error on a Dell indicates the CMOS battery on the motherboard needs to be replaced, it is a small battery that looks like a watch battery and usually it is a CR2032 battery
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Dell
dell.com › dell community › desktops › locked topics – desktops general
XPS 8900, no boot, 3 orange flashing lights | DELL Technologies
August 18, 2020 - Dell XPS does not boot. Only has 3 orange flashing lights. I disconnect every thing. I change the two memory rams from slots, I removed video card, I took out cmos battery, the power cord, optical ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/dell › 3 orange and 1 white lights
r/Dell on Reddit: 3 orange and 1 white lights
May 5, 2024 -

I have a dell g5 5587, i changed the fans and keyboard by myself (not the first time i dissemble it), the laptop is 6 years old, when i was changing things i kept the cmos battery connected and disconnected everything else, after finishing things when i was trying to boot up the laptop to check everything it didnt bootup at all, at first i thought it might be a power up button problem but after checks it seemed like its not, I removed cmos battery and plugged in the laptop with charger it immediately turned on (only keyboard and led) and then led flashed me 3 orange and 1 white lights, i reseated the cmos battery and tried again, same problem, sometimes with cmos battery hooked the laptop doesnt make anything other than flashing once i plug it in with one white light but then i wont be able to boot it at all and power button doesnt turn it on, I tried removing cmos and holding the power button for 30 seconds and plug it again but it didnt work, I encountered the same problem before but I solved it with the 30 seconds thing, is there any thing i can do and is it a big problem or a small one (im hoping i just need to replace cmos battery) could it be a power button failure too ?