Dell Cover Up - Sold MILLIONS of Damaged Optiplex Workstations

[ArcticSplash]

Unsealed court documents reveal that most Dell Optiplex desktop workstations sold between 2003 and 2005 have one unique feature:

Electrical capacitors that crack, pop and leak:
In Suit Over Faulty Computers, Window to Dell?s Fall - NYTimes.com

Not only were the faulty capacitors extensive, but Dell was so overwhelmed by the problem that it launched a cover-up initiative to keep customers confused as to what the root problem actually was, but failed to recall the affected models (most of the Optiplex line).



I still have one of the computers in question and knew of the mobo problems 2 years ago. Since I cannot trust running anything serious on it, I have it running old software I use to backtest stuff, and I never switch the machine off, ever (powering on a computer is the point when the motherboard components experience the most EM stress). I didn't know it was the capacitors, but I knew something was up when the mobo on that machine was replaced twice when it was my main PC workstation at the office.

[Dayman]

Every Dell I owned was an overpriced POS. They're the reason I learned how to build my own computers.

[Sailaway]

ALL major-manufacturer computers are POS loaded with spyware, ads, and crappy "security" programs. That's WHY I build my own and won't take a name-brand comp unless it's for free, and even then, I usually "sanitize" it.

[ArcticSplash]

Every Dell I owned was an overpriced POS. They're the reason I learned how to build my own computers.

Packard Bell back in 1992 was the reason I started building my own, and it was a lot harder back then to get stuff working right.

I fondly remember IRQ and DMA Hell PC Hell: Explanation of IRQ's, DMA's, and Conflicts. IRQ/DMA/IO Hell almost made me a Mac nut until Plug-N-Pray was added to System BIOS as a feature by most of the mobo manufacturers.

Hell hath no fury like setting jumpers on a soundcard and then manually editing CONFIG.SYS in OS/2, DOS or Windows to get the soundcard to work right... or having to move the jumpers on the motherboard so you could get the extra serial ports on your computer to work.

[ArcticSplash]

ALL major-manufacturer computers are POS loaded with spyware, ads, and crappy "security" programs. That's WHY I build my own and won't take a name-brand comp unless it's for free, and even then, I usually "sanitize" it.

Can't really do that with a laptop/netbook/nettop PC (writing this on a brand new Sony VAIO that I've had to wipe TWICE).

[Dayman]

Everything is easy now, I mean even DVD drives are SATA these days. The only thing I have trouble with is my soundcard and my POS RAM (which went up in price after I bought it...wtf) which loves to BSOD me during crucial parts of video games (typically when I haven't had a chance to save in a few hours).

[Sailaway]

Packard Bell back in 1992 was the reason I started building my own, and it was a lot harder back then to get stuff working right.

I fondly remember IRQ and DMA Hell PC Hell: Explanation of IRQ's, DMA's, and Conflicts. IRQ/DMA/IO Hell almost made me a Mac nut until Plug-N-Pray was added to System BIOS as a feature by most of the mobo manufacturers.

Hell hath no fury like setting jumpers on a soundcard and then manually editing CONFIG.SYS in OS/2, DOS or Windows to get the soundcard to work right... or having to move the jumpers on the motherboard so you could get the extra serial ports on your computer to work.

It was a PITA but not so bad. I have considerable hardware background, so I guess I didn't mind that as much as most people (understandably) did. What I had trouble with was decent cases. I always seemed to find cases that didn't fit expansion cards right. Oddly enough, my best computer of that generation was a Packard Bell from circa 1989 and it took a 386 mobo really well. I had boxes from a variety of manufacturers and that board just didn't fit nor did any of the others. I don't remember why, but the cases were always problematic.

FYI, I think I still have the 286-based mobo from that Packard-Bell.

Oh, and remember the "turbo" switches?

[DocAwesome]

My Dell from 2000 is still kicking strong. Only upped the RAM back in 03 to 256 and gave it a new graphics card and HDD, runs like a champ, or did until I tried the Doom3 Demo.

I loved those cases pre 2000ish; they were all deathtraps to open and somehow always had sharp pieces of metal edges, and the weirdest opening mechanisms.

[ArcticSplash]

Oh, and remember the "turbo" switches?

Yep. I even fit a AT mobo for a dual PII into an original IBM 5170 for a customer that simply wanted an "upgrade". He ran DOS on the thing most of the time but wanted to run DOSEmu in Linux after he saw me using it, and you could do cool stuff like leave the computer turned on--then modem in from home on a laptop and can still access the machine. No copying floppies! That's back when Baby-AT/ITX and later Baby-ITX mobo profiles came out, and ATX mobos had compatible screw-holes for AT posts through the late 90s-2000.

I had to find a new power supply because the power coupling cables in the old 5170 didn't have any capatible plugs or correct voltages for the parts.


That guy was a big IBM nut. A computer is not a computer unless it has that big scary orange switch on the side.




Now the mini-itx mobos out are so small you can make a PC out of a cigarette box.

[Sailaway]

My Dell from 2000 is still kicking strong. Only upped the RAM back in 03 to 256 and gave it a new graphics card and HDD, runs like a champ, or did until I tried the Doom3 Demo.

I loved those cases pre 2000ish; they were all deathtraps to open and somehow always had sharp pieces of metal edges, and the weirdest opening mechanisms.

I had one of those huge server cases with a 486 inside until 2005. Back in the day, a steel case with a steel door was big $h!t. I think the case itself was, IIRC, about $300.

I also had a full TI-990 (mini) for a few years, but never really fired it up successfully. A monster, that thing looked serious! I had started to modify it to hold several motherboards and developed an early KVM switch before reason took over and I (reluctantly) trashed it. I had a drive too that held close to 1Gb, which was about 12 times what drives held at the time.

What's rather interesting is there are people still developing for that beast!