Dell OptiPlex - Popular Questions, Answers, Tips & Manuals

Sounds like you are describing a binding issue with the latch.

From this video link, showing no physical lock in the latch handle hole, a good working case latch opens the cover easily.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oKDzYhTfAXk#bottom-sheet

Tolerances changing on metal parts like slides can cause binding.

Sometimes a stuck case can be opened using gentle pressure, noting where you push, or tap on case around the mechanism as you put pressure on latch, trying to remember where you press in an organized way, so you don't repeat what doesn't work,
It's organized luck,
look in video how latch is constructed , turn case
To accommodate where gravity might help, small chance.

As our computer Guru Larry says, 'for sure on ancient antique computer, BIOS Battery is dead and will tell lies. No motherboard battery lasts 10 - 12 years'. Replace the battery, go into BIOS and set it up to find and use the hard drive in the list of options. When the battery is dead, the memory is lost and knows nothing of what is connected. https://www.fixya.com/search.aspx?ref=ser&s=Dell%20Optiplex%20760& ..

Make, model and OS used may help you get an answer.

What is the exact error that you are getting? Do you get any blue screens? Have you installed any software recently or made any changes? I can only suggest checking the power cables and trying to use a different cable or spare if you have any for now.

ok 960 SFF is not the same as MT or the big case MOBO.SFF has its own mobo (motherboards)it has 11x2 row non ATX spec, power . not yours as it has 12x2 some SFF have 2 diffr. moboand a dell custom PSU for just this mobo and its odd duck jack. (called PICO plug)why not buy a new PSU? that matches this PC?even the SFF PSU case is not ATX spec.https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_optiplex_desktop/optiplex-960_service%20manual_en-us.pdf

DELL 745 series (dell OptiPlex desktop ) that? 14 years old today.That is BIOS going nuts for 1 or 2 reasonsfirst if 14 years old facts of life.the RTC coin cell is bad. replace it firsthere is the list of PCs over 7 years old.yours is 2x that, ok?1: new RTC NVRAM CMOS COIN CELL TIME.replace this now or BIOS goes NUTS, Wonky/wacky.2: then we test the HDD most this old are bad. ask how to test the HDD, http://www.pcdied.com/brick-dead.html3: if HDD tests ok try the magic HP F11 key. aka: the HP Recovery partition factory reset to day 1, trick (covered in the free manual at hp.comthe best hdd test of all is.

http://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_optiplex_desktop/optiplex-gx150_user%27s%20guide_en-us.pdf Free link to Dell Optiplex GX150 User Guide above.

Sound like a hardware issue - try re-seating all the PC components including the CPU and the memory.

This is most likely the power supply. You may be able to take it to a store like best buy for testing.

That GX280 is today 14 years old and came new with XP right> still stuck at XP? if yes, doom is all there is. XP is (as you learned) a huge virus magnet.(worse every day) some were built with windows 2000, win2k, hopeless extreme... windows xp recovery or restore fails because sure the recover software is corrupted and infected too, so erasing HDD is the only path as your discovered. (page 30 in your manual at dell will fail) but not the dell disk install same page. BTW , ive never seen an XP PC not infected, ever..... so..... bingo. . ever google.? older post but and others will find this useful. There are many pitfalls to OS installs I will bullet them.

• The HDD is bad, (but if only infected it will be erased first)
• Your PC has OEM COA license from Dell for MS windows.
• Using most Microsoft install media will fail using your COA.
• W7 will fail, W10 used to work this way but not now.
• You failed to buy your DELL windows media kit long ago so is lost or gone or, never bought.
• that means you have 2 choices, buy new windows 7 or 10 or run linux, I am sure you will not wont to run free linux. Ubuntu v17
• SO buy windows 10-32b, (say) from MS.com and install it.
• During the install , pick custom or advance setup and delete all partitions. click CUSTOM now. see links below.
• then do as it says here.
• https://www.groovypost.com/howto/clean-install-Windows-10/
• then do the full install, as documented at microsoft dot com.
• end story but not all pit falls,
• Pit fall 1 is HDD is bad, fails Crystaldiskinfo , app.
• or fails Linux demo boot, run disktests and fails.
• on dead pc, I run this.
• http://www.pcdied.com/linux.html#smart
• if the C6 (198.) is not ZERO, the HDD IS NO GOOD AT ALL.
• All drives (most) end up like this, runs but has no spare sectors left and can no longer self heal itself, and is a bad HDD.
• Better is to upgrade to SSD, for sure , you will never go back to HDD ever again I promise.!!!

You need a faster chip or more memory.

go back and put the first boot as the internal hard drive when that is done , insert the cd in a cd unit and auto run the cd what ever you have will download onto the pc hard drive

replace your hard drive

The amber light within the Power Button indicates a PSU or Motherboard fault. If you have changed the PSU and it is a known good unit, please check the plug that connects to the Motherboard again. Assuming that this is ok, it may unfortunately be that the motherboard capacitors have blown (a well documented failiure).

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/optiplex-755/drivers This should Help

Check the hard drive.

Use your system restore disks to repair your computer since the OS is FUBAR Without those disks you are SOL. And if you never made them or lost them, now you have learned first hand why it is so important to have them. Go to the dell site and see if they have your original OS in an iso file for installation. If so that will save your sorry b---.

Use your system restore to install the registry at a point when unit was working fine

My guess is if you try headphones and all is ok , then it might be time for some external speakers to be added as I might be inclined to think that the internal connection or the speakers that are internal are faulty of course this can be fixed but probably at a much higher than simply adding some external speaker set up which can be as little as $10:00 or less up to over $100 :00 for a system surround , but if you are happy with a twin speaker system then I would go foe that option