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Optiplex 3040 SFF USB and HDMI problems - can anybody confirm these?
Hi, I bought an optiplex 3040 Small form factor machine running win7 initially but I restored windows 10 on it. i've had it only 2 days now, but I have detected two problems alarming - I'm trying to find information on whether they are common problems with this model or I have a faulty unit:
1) I have a USB2.0 3.5" HDD dock (with its own power supply) that when connected on any USB port and whaving any HD docked, after a couple minutes will start disconnecting and reconnecting in rapid succession. On other computers the dock is running rock solid stable. I'd worry that it might be my particular 3040, but I've read that Windows 8.1/10 has this issue. The event viewer doesn't show anything abnormal, other than a warning with ID 51: An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk1\DRx during a paging operation.
Anybody who could comment on that?
2) I realized that if I try re-connecting the HDMI plug while the machine is on (eg disconnect it and then reconnect it), it will cause the system to instantly reboot - this is reproducible inside windows, inside the bios or while memtest86 is running (booting from a USB thumb). I'm driving a VGA monitor with a small belkin VGA-to-HDMI adapter, and the problem will appear even if the VGA cable is not connected at the other end of the adapter.
My guess is that the HDMI plug when inserted short-circuits the machine. While this is not a huge problem (I could make sure to shutdown the computer before unplugin/plugging in a monitor) it makes me wonder if my machine is faulty and I should have it replaced/fixed, or if this is a fault with all optiplex 3040 SFF units.
Your personal experience and feedback regarding these issues would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you
F_Kal
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June 21st, 2016 21:00
Here's what I know regarding the HDMI issue:
- The DELL technician over the phone assumed that it could be some kind of short-circuiting that causes the computer to reboot when connecting the HDMI cable. We decided to replace the MoBo just in case.
- The technician that installed the new MoBo, also didn't know if it was some acceptable behavior or a defect. The new MoBo behaved in exactly the same way, so we decided to mark the case as closed and assume it's something that happens to at least some batches of 3040SFFs (@dwt_16 comment also helped me ease in this assumption).
- I also noticed that it reboots only when a "loose" HDMI-to-VGA adapter (loose: one that is NOT connected to a VGA cable) gets plugged into the HDMI port. This can be confirmed for 3 different HDMI adapters by different makers in the 15-30€ range.
It won't not cause a reboot if the adapter is already attached to a VGA cable (the only VGA monitor I could test had a built-in VGA cable). Neither does it happen if I keep the adapter plugged in, and attach/detach the the VGA cable in its stead. Also the problem won't happen if I use an actual HDMI cable instead of an HDMI-to-VGA adapter! The last one (which I strangely hadn't noticed at first) shows that it had to do with some HDMI implementations and not all.
Thank you all for your time!
F_Kal
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June 2nd, 2016 07:00
ah, that is very interesting! Thank you @DWT_16, I'll get back with more info as soon as I have it!
F_Kal
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June 2nd, 2016 07:00
hey @DWT_16, thanks for the reply! Good to know I'm not the only one; I will contact dell on the next opportunity (in a week or so) and will come back to the thread and write my results.
Pardon me, but I'm not a native speaker and I didn't understand the expression get them in in the phrase "I have started to get them in and they no longer do it" - could you please elaborate a bit?
thank you again!
-Fotis
dwt_16
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June 2nd, 2016 07:00
I am also having this problem on many Dell Optiplex 3040 SFF. I have many that will power cycle no matter what once HDMI is plugged in or removed. However I have started to get them in and they no longer do it? Maybe Someone from Dell can shed some light on this... Maybe an update to hardware or BIOS. No idea yet though.
dwt_16
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June 2nd, 2016 07:00
Oh sorry, what I meant by that is I have several shipments of these same Optiplex 3040's. Last month the shipments of computers would all power cycle because of the HDMI. In the last week or so the shipments of 3040's are no longer power cycling once messing with the HDMI. Although I have only tested about 4 from the latest shipment but they are no longer doing it. I will post here when my next set of 3040's come in and see what they do. Thank you for replying and I'm looking forward to a possible answer.
RoHe
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June 2nd, 2016 12:00
Open Device Manager and expand the list under USB. Double-click on a USB root hub and then click its Power Management tab. UNcheck the box "Allow PC to turn off...". Repeat for all USB root hubs.
Now open Windows Power options screen. Select the current power plan and click the link to change settings. On next screen, click the link for Advanced options. Look in list at left and DISable USB Selective Suspend. Be sure to save the changes before leaving the Power plan screen. Then reboot and see if that helps...
Why would you want to disconnect or reconnect the HDMI cable while the PC is on? Do you know that HDMI is "hot-swappable" on this specific PC? Not all PCs and not all HDMI cables are hot-swappable so you better be careful or you could fry your PC and/or your monitor!
F_Kal
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June 2nd, 2016 13:00
@RoHe, regarding the USB issues, I'll test your suggestion on the next opportunity and get back with more info.
As for hot-plugging/hot-swapping the HDMI cable, you really opened my eyes! I had never given any thought to the whole topic! I did not know that not all HDMI cables/interfaces are implemented equal and that not all of them have HPD(hot-plug-detect) implemented (even though it's supposedly supported). What is more, I didn't know that VGA cables were not meant to be plugged/unplugged while the machine is on (and I've certainly done this a lot in my years! brrrrrr...)
When I contact DELL, I'll ask them about whether this model supports hot-swapping/plugging HDMI cables and will post my results here! Thank you!
-Fotis
RoHe
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June 2nd, 2016 16:00
One more thingy...
If a monitor isn't connected to the PC, that means the PC is "headless". Most PCs won't run headless so they either won't boot at all, or if already booted, will crash the moment the monitor is disconnected.
People who want to run a headless PC (eg, servers that only occasionally need video output) typically attach a "headless dongle" to the HDMI port which fools the PC into thinking there's a monitor connected.
RoHe
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June 2nd, 2016 16:00
You might want to try the USB changes I recommended before you contact Support. You could save yourself a lot of time on the phone if my suggestions fix that problem... :emotion-5:
Aside from USB devices, a good rule of thumb is never to hot-swap unless you know for sure that it's supported for whichever interface you're hot-swapping with the specific hardware in use.
Post back and let us know if HDMI hot-swapping is supported (or not) on this specific PC because that will be helpful to other users.
F_Kal
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June 2nd, 2016 16:00
thanks @RoHe! Another thing I didn't know anything about!
Does this (headless-ness) also apply to running my computers with the monitor powered off (but still connected)? Or is it safe to assume all PCs can pull that off without a problem?
RoHe
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June 2nd, 2016 16:00
Probably depends on the PC and the monitor too...
I turn off the monitor for my Dell desktop using the monitor's own power switch if I leave for a while, even though the PC is still running and the Windows Power plan will turn the monitor off after 30 min of inactivity. Saves a few extra pennies off the electric bill.
That has no effect on my PC. It doesn't crash and I can leave apps running (eg, anti-viral scans) with the monitor turned off.
F_Kal
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June 2nd, 2016 16:00
Will certainly do that first (I'm away from the office these days hence the delay in testing it out)!
I'm planning on doing that too! :emotion-5:
-Fotis
F_Kal
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June 3rd, 2016 14:00
exactly what I'm doing :)
F_Kal
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June 7th, 2016 18:00
I finally got around to trying this suggestion, but no success. After that I tried following some other ideas I read elsewhere (tom's hardware and a few more pages). In particular:
(and of course made lots of reboots, plugging and unplugging in between)
...but sadly the problem persists!
A couple more suggestions I read but haven't tried yet:
even though I'm not looking forward to forfeiting USB 3.0 (even disabling selective suspend was not something I was happy about - I was hoping I could get my computers to run as power efficient as possible enabling RMT - intel ready mode)
Any other possible solutions that I've missed?
-Fotis
RoHe
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June 8th, 2016 11:00
Check to see if there's a firmware update for that USB hard drive from its manufacturer's site.