Dell OptiPlex 745 Adventure
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2012
- All that was ever wrong with this computer went away when I reseated the video card. Given that the people selling it are actually somewhat technically inclined, this is surprising.
I think it was well worth the dollar I paid.
I miss the time when there was actually competition in the graphics hardware market, and they didn't almost always bake themselves to death at some point... - Наука та технологія
I'm on a train, and the internet service the train provides has blocked UA-cam! but i found a bypass, Nothing can stop me from watching your interesting and amusing Videos :P
***** No, my current name is unique
Please search Composite cables in google images. and stop nagging about my name.
Alright, enough of this. it's the same interface anyway...
what train
A long distance train.
Ubuntu is an okay operating system if you want to use older hardware for "newer" tasks. Personally, I find amusement just putting the original operating system on there and trying to do the same stuff. Lol
Vista or 7 still work fine...
"Google Is Fucking SJW Scum" Yeah, I'm sure that's why you insist on using their services
And finding out that you actually can do most stuff fine until it comes to plugins for browsers if you can find one that is supported on say Windows 98 or 2000 LOL.
That's the real issue with older computers, most of what we do nowadays can't be done without a connection to the Web and unless your doing something that doesn't need one, finding a modern browser that'll run smoothly on say a PIII is pretty tricky.
Which makes me laugh considering OK it was what 15 years ago but alot of the web is still text based and ye can't browse most modern websites comfortably on that age of system cause of all the unecessery Javascript and things needed to make em work properly, which is just how it is sadly.
I would experiment with tiny core or lubuntu
I do not understand any comments that disparage Linux in general, or Ubuntu in particular. I have used Ubuntu or some derivative of it since 2005 at home as my main OS on everything from Pentium 3s to my current Core2 Duo (no laughing, it still works great). And before any questions begin, I cut my teeth on CP/M and began programming an Apple IIe in BASIC before the IBM PC was ever released. I have used every PC operating system from 1980 through today, and Linux is just fine.
Yes it's no worse than any other real OS out there though to be fair I've always got along with every OS I have used.
My main OS is Windows 10 and whilst I hate some of it's design features I still can get along with it.
The main issue is the hobbyist nature of how Linux is seen amongst mainstream makers of hardware and software they just won't take it seriously as they think it's not a high enough market share for their business to develop apps on, oh but Mac OS-X certainly is, never was about 15 years ago LOL it used to be specialized high=end apps for very specific things like music creation, photo editing, filmmaking and medical/scientific applications ye saw Mac OS developed for and now it's hit the mainstream.
So given it has alot of similar Linux qualities in fact as far as I know Steve Jobs even went as far to say the Linux user base even helped Apple out in certain things, would it really be that big a deal for them to make a version running under the Linux kernel if they already have a Mac Os version?
The changes in codebase prob wouldn't be as major as say Windows to Mac OS.
I suppose devs would argue that with soo many flavors of Linux about and soo many different configs of the OS and desktop environment and other stuff that it'd be very difficult to make one that worked.
Could be done though.
I have an old Dell '17 inch Display. At it's time it was probably close to high end as it has a Sony tube. It took clicks along with Res Changes. I rarely use it anymore but I did have it hooked to my Mac G5 dual some point. The picture is and always has been fairly impressive for it's age and that said again, I enjoyed your video.
The Optiplex Blinkenlights are awesome and it's a shame the new ones don't have them anymore. I wish it was possible to access whatever controls them under Windows and make them blink at random like the WOPR in Wargames.
Yes, it was certainly dumb of Dell to get rid of them. Their "replacement" in the form of power LED color changes or blinking isn't anything like as good.
Disassembling the BIOS would give a great deal of insight into how the diagnostic LEDs are controlled.
I use Ubuntu live CDs to test recently built machines as well! Excellent and quick way to determine the machines health really...
Really enjoy watching these reviews! Thanks!
Windows 7 works wonders at finding drivers for unknown video cards like the ones you showed in the video. Even though the driver might be slightly out of date windows can still tell you the specification of the card so you can download more updated drivers. Great video Bill, I am sure you will put this computer to good use!
Wow that is an AWESOME find for only a dollar. I would be stoked to find something like that for that price.
I once owned an Optiplex 745, with a GT 240 graphics card that my friend put into it. :-)
I remember my elementary school had OptiPlex GX240 computers everywhere and some were eventually replaced with GX280s. About the time I was In high school the school system finally upgrade to OptiPlex 760 computers. I always loved both the clam shell and these BTX style cases that Dell had for their computers. Brings back a lot of nostalgia.
doomer37 at our school we have soem weird slow thing but at out public library we have optiplex 3010's
There is one thing about BTX Dells that I am not a fan of. Usually the PCI-E x16 slot is at the very top with only room for single slot height graphics cards. Recently tried to install a GTX 750 Ti into an OptiPlex 760 but was unable to because of this.
I still have a Dimension E521 which is BTX tower and I love how easy it is to open and work on.
my school had dell optiplex 745 systems still want one
Was the monitor's Self Test display really flashing like that, or was that just an artifact of the camera's shutter speed?
I remember when my dad had an EGA monitor on his work computer, and it made a loud "CLICK ... CLICK" every time you asked it to change between 350-line and 200-line modes. This was quite a few years before Super VGA monitors started using relays as well to handle their mode changes.
you are right it was a nice snag hopefully it works out for your plans!
Optiplex towers are so easy to repair. No tools required! Built amazingly well too.
I always forget the name of the video connector, but can always remember that it carries dual DVI.
DMS-59
The Mitsubishi does not use relays when switching modes, and sometimes when changing from 800x600 SVGA back to text mode I have to turn it off and then on again to get it to resynch properly (although according to others with the same monitor, that is not normal, and may be some kind of problem with mine).
Do you often find computers at Hamfests? Seeing a deal like this made me interested in going to one, since around here finding reasonable prices on electronics is near impossible.
I had an old DOS pc (which is now a monitor stand) and it kept the date and time after not being turned on for 10 years, and even the battery wasn't leaking when I took it out. It was only 7 minutes out.
Those four lights also exist on the Dimensions from that era (the ones with that goofy depressed intake thing on the front). My grandparents' Dimension E310 has them.
Bill, your video was very helpful ! My P4 Optiplex GX-270 seemed dead. No beeps or lights. But you mentioned things like not having a component plugged in properely could cause this, I systematically checked everything inside. Guess what? A dead CMOS battery was keeping it from POSTing. After that, the Dell diagnostic lights in the back & the beeps said I had bad RAM. Swaped out a 256MB stick and all was well again. Even upgrade from XP to Win7.
My school just got a bunch of Optiplex 745 & 755 computers. Our A+ class is busy getting them running again.
Good to see this machine actually worked. I needed a workbench machine, so hit Micro Center's refurb section, and one of these same machines followed me home! It's actually a copy of Windows 7 that came with a free computer. ;o)
Great video!!!
I had a optiplex 745 that a friend gave to me for free, except the only thing wrong with it was windows xp not picking up on usb devices at all. so what i did was wipe the HDD and installed windows 7, and it started running like a champ! Its amazing to think that computer sat in her storage for who knows how long with nothing wrong with it
You know Bill, real computer guys always have at least one screw loose!
Love the vids, keep the 'em coming.
Great, I will look out for them. Thanks!
It does! I'm using that port on my 745 now. The card reader I bought also had a floppy drive, so I figured why not?
I believe that connector is called a DMS-59. I've seen them used by both Dell and HP. Usuallly on low-profile cards so they can still achieve a dual output. You can get leads for dual DVI as well as VGA.
Seems like you got tons of oem psus, older ones too. Do you ever use more modern psus? They seem to be mostly better made and far easier to install once you go above 50 dollars or best buy.
Ubuntu is my favorite lynx based OS, i ran it for a short while on my laptop years ago
Don't blame ya there, i hope that you find a use for it! Great Video BTW!
I had one of these, it was leg crushingly heavy but powerful on 7
About Ubutu, What version are you using? I'm actually on ubuntu 14.04LTS 32-Bit edition on a laptop I got for $10 in a box of other stuff at a yard sale! 1GB of RAM and an old Intel Chip/Chipset, but it does it job as a "netbok" very well! Also, i have a monitor that, in fact, does BOTH! When you change resoloution, It makes loud clicking and ticking noises and makes a high-pitched whining noise before displaying the picture. Sorry for the absurdly long coment, but I had a lot to say!
I think that whole 'unlabelled video cards' thing may be exclusive to cards that come in prebuilts( and some older ones), because I dove into my parts bin, and my Radeon HD 5870, Geforce GTX 650 and Radeon HD 4830 are all labelled on the back. :)
You can upgrade these to quad core xeon processors with the lga775 to 771 stickers and cutting the alignment plastic on the processor socket.
That black connector on the video card is an S-video out port, so you can plug it into a TV that supports it (XP Rules) :)
THE c2d E6300 must be a pretty decent processor since I had up until july this year I had a system I built with a E4300 and it was still perfectly capable of running almost all games on the market despite being 6 years old and with windows 7 it was very fast but I just felt it time for an upgrade. What do u plan on doing with this computer in the long run?
Hey is that one of those monitors with the wheel that you press in and turn to make selections in the menu?
I have the exact same video card, found in a PCI-E laptop, and I can't find drivers for it anywhere. Do you know the Name of it from device manager or anything If you ever got it working?
This reminds me of an IBM thinkcentre i bought for 15 bucks at a thrift store. just needed the RAM reseated and has worked like a champ for a few years as a HTPC and small Minecraft sever.
Any plans for this computer assuming no other issues present themselves?
That connector is a "DMS-59" which allows connection of two monitors through a single port using either VGA or DVI, I've only ever seen it on small form factor machines where a card with two ports would be too tall, it's strange to see it on a full-height card.
I recently did a custom rewire of a Dell Optiplex 745 fan to work on a normal 4-pin CPU fan plug, and it worked! This fan is so damn powerful that I am scared that the sheer torque capability might bend my Hyper 212 EVO a little bit...lawl
Where did you find that running system? I like it. I think I might get it.
3:49 - Is that a hard disk from one of the fried Apple TimeCapsules you mentioned earlier in your HP Vectra FreeNAS video?
OMG, I always wondered what that extra ribbon cable port on the motherboard was for. I never had any of the PS/2 adapter cards in any of my Dells.
That video card has a DMS-59 workstation connector, I think I have one of those very same cards laying around too. It's an early Quadro 2 type if I remember right.
Ubuntu and Mint are my favorite Linux distros, with Mint currently taking the lead.
You can't go wrong for spending a $1 on that computer. Great find man.
Optiplex 745 is a very solid computer. I have an Optiplex 755 which is almost identical in design - mine was nearly maxed from the factory and is all original with added RAM. My processor is a Core 2 Quad Q6600 and it was originally shipped with 4GB of RAM. The machine is currently recording one of our local radio station's last broadcast day before they switch formats. It's a very dependable machine and makes hardly a sound.
I have that dell computer that's sitting on your shelf. It worked perfectly but was slow. It was in my attic for 2 years then I moved and its been in my basement for 3 months. It hasn't been turned in since 2010 when we got a new computer. Do you think it would still turn on?
I just recently rebuilt a Dell Optiplex 320 that is inside a Dell Optiplex GX520 case this one had a failed harddrive this has been a reliable computer so far with the new hard drive and the install of windows 7
DMS59 connectors were used to keep the cost make low. However, you lose the connector that goes with it, you're done.
What GPU was it afterwards? A Geforce 6200? 6600?
Looks like the same computers I used in grade school and middle school.
Since when did Core 2's require heatsinks like that? Or does that CPU run hot under normal load?
When we orderer our small form factor Dell machine back in 2012, I remember how I was wondering how on earth they would get the dual display running, with the limited space they had. We have the same connector on the video card, and instead of two VGA connectors, we get two DVI ports, on which we can run the monitor, so I must say, for the form factor that our PC has, it is a great path to go down.
They are better ways, for example HDMI, (mini) display port, for when you want to have DVI, this is a nice thing to have. Why they did not put a 'normal' video card in the larger form factor machine, I do not understand, apart from a cost saving point.
Any good ideas of a used pc, I want something I can buy rather cheep (60-150)? but good enough for daily browsing like emails, UA-cam etc.
I found an Optiplex 755 on the curb missing only an HDD. I upgraded the RAM and put in a 500 GB HDD, and it was good to go. I use it as a music server in my living room. Nice machine!
Nice video I have 745 pick it up for $8 it worked had a password so wiped it and 7 home 64 bitt the dual monitor card worked and had the Bios updated it was good and now with 10 it will not dual monitor but I cloned the 7 home and the dual works any ideas if that old card can be made to work with 10 Thanks
That monitor though
I've still got that very same model Mag monitor :D.
There was a short time frame when Dell, HP, Compaq, and IBM used that odd DVI port. It's called a DMS-59 DVI Dual Link. They were mostly in business class machines. I have about 50 of these if you want them!
Have you tried Zorin OS? It's a front-end of Ubuntu that is designed to look and work like Windows, AND can run Windows programs.
I know you might like your monitor, but how come you don't use a newer flat screen compared to your crt?
this makes me more interested in learning about how this "ubuntu" works.
Touka Kureha I run Lubuntu for my home server. Although it is a bit of work to configure ubuntu in general to function as a server operating system, basically to work like windows server, it does do the job very well. Ubuntu is fairly easy to use in general, and as long as you stick to software on the ubuntu store, it is easy to install software for. There are literally thousands of variants of the ubuntu operating system, because you can build your own "flavor" of ubuntu and burn it to a dvd/cd or usb to install or distribute as your own linux operating system with as little or as many preinstalled packages as you want to include.
Could we see a video of that messy PSU?
My Dell Inspiron 530S somehow managed to let its RAM fall out of BOTH of it's RAM sockets. The machine is around 3 years old. Is this cause for concern?
I wish the Vostro 200 I'm working on was that simple. It's just giving me two beeps, which seems to indiciate a memory problem. Worse yet, I've thrown known good memory in there, still gives me the two beeps. I'm thinking the slots may have failed in some way or another.
Do you have future plans for transforming this "Black Box" into a server?
does that machine feature a floppy port on the motherboard i know for a fact that the Optiplex 760 has the floppy port on the motherboard
The connector is a "Dual DVI" output. You can get a splitter cable with two DVI-I connectors on it as well that will work with those. Usually the video card is an ATI-based card. I'm guessing that NVidea one came out of an older system?
For whatever reason I'll get one of these that require the memory be reseated. Not sure if they're knocking them over or what.
Bill, are the optiplex's the more classy dell computers i.e. the more expensive ones?
Bill ive found so many problems with display/memory connections its mad, they are plated and should be reliable, all attention to the word "Should" lol.
A quick wipe over with isopropic alcahol or similar often makes them happy :-)
Not supprised the optical drive is ill, and some machines appear to be a dumping ground for all the faulty bits off other machines, i bet you have been there at least once :-)
Yep video cards piss me off as well, your not alone mate lol.
Smashing vid -)
are you going to solder in a new capacitor on the video card?
Bill, About the VGA port block. My Dell had the SAME Thing and the onboard video still worked.
That is a DMS-59 connector that you were referring to
I think Nvidia NVS cards from a while back had those connectors. I'm not sure about other video cards.
Have you done any work with a Dell XPS T700?
Where did you go to see what the lights meant
According to the research I've done, this seems to be a Geforce 9300 GE 256MB card. There is a similar card out there, the Quadro FX 370, but this one lacks the component out _black connector).
is the dell dimension 4700 similar to the xps 400?
One of my favorite Core2s is the T9600, a laptop CPU that ran at 2.8GHz. It's a monster, and the best part is that you can get a shitty Celeron ThinkPad R500 for next to nothing and upgrade it to a T9600 like I did!
Not sure what the video connector is called but its used to expand into 2 vga slots. I've seen them all over in the school system.
Adam Smith it's called a DMS59 connection, Google it for more information
That GPU is Nvidia GeForce 9300GE P805 256MB (connectors are DMS-59 and S-Video). I picked up an Optiplex 755 with Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.99ghz (electrical tape FSB trick) 4GB Corsair XMS2 667mhz, 2 150GB WD Raptor HDD's, LG DVD-RW, and an XFX GeForce 8800GT 512MB that was pretty much dead for 20$, but due to the oven trick and some new paste its back to life (albeit screen turning black in some games lol.) These are great computers for normal tasking and modest gaming, especially for 8+ years old!
They did however, have some high end Dimensions such as the 8400 that weren't much different in terms of specs from the XPS Gen 3/4.
And I recently recovered data from an IBM Aptiva that'd been sitting in a garage for 12 years. The date was spot on, and the time was only an hour off (because of daylight savings stuff.) I was very surprised.
That connector on the video card is actually not proprietary to Dell, it was a standardized connector designed for small form factor machines to allow dual DVI monitors to be connected using one connector, because small form factor computers can't have two dvi connectors side by side in the same slot. ATI and Nvidia both released cards to the market with this connector, it is called DMS-59.
In this case, this PCB was used for both the Quadro FX 370 and the 8400GS, both used the same GPU core, the G98.
Those DELL PCs are some nice piece of gear. HOwever we lately replaced our last few 745 with the 790 since it started to suck on performance. for home use and especialy if you have some fitting RAM upgrades laying around this is still a nice piece of gear! sadly almost nothing in there is a standard size as far i know.
i have a question when ever i use my 2010 e machines computer box the fan likes making alot of noise but still works can u tell me why
Because fixing up old computers is fun! It's like fixing up old cars - a joy and a challenge. Plus, you may learn a thing or two along the way. So there!
Wow, that Dell 745 doesn't even have a floppy disk drive - the first one I've seen. All the ones at work have floppy disk drives in them - which we don't use much anymore. Also, it's pretty clean inside - not that dusty.
looks just like my 330 but i am missing the plastic around the drives and no floppy. also don't have the added ps/2 keyboard and mouse adapter even though mine could use it. mine has those 4 numbers and my dell dimension 8200 from 2001 has the 4 lights on the back too. wish mine had a video card but it is using the on board video Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset Family. thinking of adding the 256 MB pci diamond stealth radeon 9250. it is dvi/vga.
DMS 59 pin! I bought a working lot of graphics cards all of them had that same style plug i even had to look it up and had to buy a bunch of adapters so i could use them in computers i was building for a company!
i think that was hilarious when you said your not going upstairs and then bam u did lol . i had to chuckle.
About those video cards you have...
The one that you are using in the PC right now ( with the hot sticker on it) Looks to be Dell's version of the ATI x1300 video card, with 256MB VRAM. It looks similar to the one I have inside of a freebie Dell XPS 210 SFF desktop.
AS for the one in your hand, looks like it may possibly be an Nvidia Quadro or NVS, their workstation video cards.
i know that feeling ive had 4 dells this last one has lasted awhile because of the sound card i put in it
So, uxwbill, which graphics card is that? From what I can tell, it looks like a GeForce 7300GS.
I bought a DMS59 adapter for a graphics card I bought (HD2400), having not realized that it wasn't a DVI card. Fortunately, you can still get said adapters!
my dimension 8200 has 64MB nvidia gforce 2 mx 400 w/tv out. seems like a s-video cable can plug into it but didn't get working. will try and get driver from dell website to see about using it sometime. hate those plastic things on dell. i took it off the 8200 and used screws. think can still put screws in optiplex and used that plastic thing at the same time too. i have a Intel dual core 2 ghz in the 330 i have. always wondered how to take the heat sink and fan off. it is on there kinda weird.
are there any benefits to using a 64 bit system as opposed to a 32 bit one? just asking
+Corey Polite The biggest difference is in how much memory you can use. Without special tricks (such as PAE), 32-bit systems are limited to 4GB and usable memory will be less.
I love my dell OptiPlex 745 worked beautifully for two years before I replaced it. It still works amazingly but I just wanted something a bit more powerful.
Gtx 980
The school district I work for has these. They are a pain in the ass sometimes, but they are normally pretty reliable.