Many readers have asked about the Optiplex GX620 systems, and if they have the same issues as the Optiplex GX745′s, Yes they do! These symptoms can include – Not booting or frequent lockups. If you have a PC with this type of problem it may not be a software issue, it may be motherboard related.

You can check your motherboard visually by removing the top cover and hard drive. Here the cover has been removed. The next step is hard drive removal, the drive is held in place by a blue plastic tray. If you press in on the two tabs near the end of the drive and lift it should come right out.

Below you will see the parts to inspect. The tops should be flat, if any of them have a bulge or the top is domed then they will need to be replaced. These Capacitors filter the power going to the CPU and memory sections of the board and when they are not working properly it can cause problems.

If you have blown caps then the remaining pictures and guide will help you remove the board so the repair can be done. With the hard drive removed the next parts to go are the CD and floppy drives. To remove them you just need to pull up on the metal tab between the drive and the outside case, list the drives out and unplug the cables from the motherboard.

With the drives removed you next need to unplug the power and signal cables at the back of the board as seen below.

Now remove the black plastic cover on the CPU. Three additional connections need to be unplugged (circled in yellow) and then the six screws that hold the board in the case (circled in red).

Here is the board removed from the case. The parts to replace are circled in yellow. The capacitors that need to be replaced are as follows:
Qty 4 2200uf 6.3v
Qty 1 1800uf 6.3v

You will also need to have a good 40watt soldering iron, lead free solder and solder wick to remove the old solder. The easiest way to remove the bad capacitors is to melt the solder on one leg of the part and tilt the capacitor until that leg has been pulled back thru the board then go to the second leg of the part and do the same thing. Once the capacitor has been removed from the board then use the solder wick and soldering iron to remove the used solder. When you replace the caps on the board be sure to insert them with the polarity stripe going the same direction as the old one. The stripe is the negative lead, the motherboard will have the positive hole marked and the longer capacitor lead is the positive. You will need to use low ESR and high temp capacitors for the repair or they will fail again in a month or two. This page gives more details about the parts, why they fail and which ones to use for the repair. http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/capacitors/

These capacitors are the same values that are on the Dell Optiplex GX745. We have a kit with the proper parts for this repair available for $12.00

Here is a video guide for this repair:

If you don’t want to do the repair yourself, use the service request link above. This board repair runs $35 (parts and labor) plus return shipping.

We have repair kits for other Dell motherboards available in our parts store at:http://www.ccl-la.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=65 If you don’t find your model please let us know, we are adding parts and repair guides every month and may have your information.

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