Optiplex 980 upgrade failure

Question

I bought a refurbished Optiplex 980 for a starter PC because it could do the bare minimum I needed and it’s all I could afford. Now I’m trying to upgrade the PSU and GPU and I’ve checked everything just about 5 times and still get a blinking orange light. Unplugged and replugged everything, checked all the connectors multiple times. I removed the connector for the DVD drive entirely because my new PSU didn’t have an extra connector for it. I even added 8gb more RAM in case it needed it. It doesn’t show any screen prompts or anything when plugged into my monitor. Other people say numbers light up but I don’t see that happening. I can get the light to stop blinking by holding the power button but if I press it again it just flashes.  I'm REALLY hoping I don’t need to get a whole new PC…I know it’s somewhat behind the times but I can’t see any real reason this is happening. I’ve even made sure the power supply was directly suggested by the forums here before buying it. You good folks here on the forum might be my only chance of figuring this out. Please let me know what might be happening.

twitchicus · Accepted Answer

Found my issues were too much to reconcile and will be building a PC from scratch.

Thank you to all who contributed to my thread! You folks really helped me keep a level head when I was pretty upset.

If I end up with another Dell I know exactly where to go for help!

twitchicus · Answer

I bought the MODU82+ because it was recommended on these message boards when I was preparing to upgrade for my specific situation in particular. All the other ones I found that were similar to my Dell PSU were cheap third-party brands and especially not enough power for what I’m trying to do.

I know next to nothing about hardware troubleshooting so I’m doing my best not to panic. As someone who has a handful of anxiety disorders, it’s a bit of a feat. I suppose one option is switching out the new GPU for the old one while the new PSU is connected and see if the new GPU is what the issue is. Too much power for the tower?

Also, thank you so much for your attention! I truly appreciate it!!!

JOcean · Answer

Was the PSU a genuine Dell OEM PSU? Is the blinking in a sequence such as 2 blinks then 5 blinks (just an example)?

twitchicus · Answer

Forgot to add, it’s a steady blink.

bradthetechnut · Answer

By any chance have you tried the 980 without a GPU card?

When you installed the new parts, did you turn it on after each install to see if it still ran? You might have to do that in reverse and reinstall the previous parts to see if it will run again.

You might have to do the following with the original PSU installed and without a GPU card installed if it's still not running:

How to Run a Power Supply Unit Self Test On a Dell Desktop or All-in-One Computer Dell BIST video

Also consider: How to Perform a BIOS or CMOS Reset and Clear the NVRAM on Dell Computers and use a brand new size 2032 CMOS battery. Can often be the first thing to try.

I take it your 980 is the mini tower. What GPU did you want to power?

twitchicus · Answer

First of all, thank you for your response!

I did more troubleshooting on my own throughout the day yesterday and did put all the original parts back and it still will not boot. No more blinking orange light, but the system goes past the Dell logo with the f12 prompt and a couple of others, then goes grey as if it’s working but doesn’t go anywhere from there.

I ran the diagnostic and got

bradthetechnut · Answer

It appears the tests pass, so I don't quite know what it's deal is. This isn't the first time though I heard of a PC not working when upgraded, then still not working with the original parts reinstalled.

Did you already change the motherboard battery?

twitchicus · Answer

That was the only suggestion I haven’t tried yet from what I’ve been reading. I can grab one next time I’m out just to cover that base as well.

Optiplex Desktops

Was this post helpful?