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Dell Opti. GX280 Won't boot to Windows with Addon GPU

Tags:
  • GPUs
  • Boot
  • Dell
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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July 31, 2014 11:54:08 AM

Hi, I have recently received a Dell Optiplex GX280 (Full Tower) from a neighbor who is upgrading. When I got it, it was running Windows XP. It was filled to the top with viruses so I installed Windows 7 on it. Everything works great on it except for the on board video as there is no available Windows 7 driver for it. So, I installed a graphics card in it. After the graphics card was installed, it would boot past the Dell logo, but after I chose the disk to boot to it goes to a black screen for around 30 seconds and then it would boot to start up repair (Which doesn't fix the problem) Also, in start up repair the video on screen looks like it's 4 or 8 bit. Any advice?
The computers specs are....

Dell Optiplex GX280 Full Tower
Intel Pentium 4 530 3.00ghz with Hyperthreading
ATI Radeon Sapphire HD 2600 XT Dual
Version A07 Bios
2gb DDR2 Ram

Any suggestions? Thanks
-Jake

More about : dell opti gx280 boot windows addon gpu

July 31, 2014 11:57:56 AM

Buy a new Computer.

- Moe
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July 31, 2014 12:00:48 PM

I'd really rather not.
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July 31, 2014 12:10:55 PM

Thanks, however I forgot to mention that the card actually did work for a day or two in the Dell. It only stopped working after a Windows 7 update. I've tried rollbacking the system but it still doesn't boot properly. I've also tried reinstalling the drivers and flashing the bios, but still nothing.
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July 31, 2014 12:12:09 PM

remove the update
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July 31, 2014 12:19:26 PM

I've tried with no success, I've even tried re-installing windows.
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July 31, 2014 12:19:54 PM

The same thing happens after the update is removed.
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July 31, 2014 12:23:29 PM

well that's just life upgrading a prebuilt its all at own risk as ii stated they are only guaranteed to work as is out of the box with the parts dell put on it
sorry but I do wish you the best and hope you find the solution and get it going
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July 31, 2014 12:25:57 PM

junkeymonkey said:
well that's just life upgrading a prebuilt its all at own risk as ii stated they are only guaranteed to work as is out of the box with the parts dell put on it
sorry but I do wish you the best and hope you find the solution and get it going

Thanks for your effort.


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July 31, 2014 12:30:02 PM

just start over if you said it worked then start back fresh. and see if it resolves
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July 31, 2014 12:32:07 PM

I've tried before, and I wish I could say it worked.
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July 31, 2014 12:35:37 PM

I was looking up that card it don't look to be such a high powered card and I feel it should work on that dell most times that's the issue

just try to go back to like when it never had the card in and reinstall it also it may have been a driver issue in some way older cards and newer drivers may not work well so if you got the driver disk from the card do a custom install and uncheck all but the ccc and the driver [don't install all that hd audio and what not ]
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July 31, 2014 12:39:34 PM

junkeymonkey said:
I was looking up that card it don't look to be such a high powered card and I feel it should work on that dell most times that's the issue

just try to go back to like when it never had the card in and reinstall it also it may have been a driver issue in some way older cards and newer drivers may not work well so if you got the driver disk from the card do a custom install and uncheck all but the ccc and the driver [don't install all that hd audio and what not ]

That's a great idea, and I will try it asap. Also, I just thought I'd let you know that I actually have a more rare version of the Sapphire 2600 XT with a gig of GDDR3 memory and 2 gpus which let's me use 4 monitors at once.

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July 31, 2014 12:50:27 PM

heres another thing I was looking for .Dell recommends Microsoft® Windows XP® Professional

now is there dell support for windows 7 for that?? looking here it don't so your bask on your own support on a OS that is not officially supported

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-suppo...
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July 31, 2014 12:54:06 PM

Well, for me at least I'm able to use everything in the computer properly including the onboard graphics, however the onboard graphics are honestly really crummy which is why I am trying to add the graphics card in te first place. Did you mean that the graphics card is only supported by windows XP?
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Best solution

July 31, 2014 1:09:24 PM

no if it works it works but .. things change in OS's and that board started with ms-dos so you using a os that was not even thought of when the board was made . like when you look at boards theres a supported os list for that board so if you use anything not on that list your back to at own risk
hard to say cause when your out side the compatibility zone its now all wild guesses
likw was there something in xp that has now been removed from 7 and this is some of the cause??

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August 4, 2014 11:58:32 AM

I have now re-installed Windows XP, and the computer is working great. :) 
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August 4, 2014 12:07:21 PM

glad to hear it good luck and enjoy
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