Question Optiplex 3040 SFF BIOS - 2+7 Flashing Amber ?

[chris.weii]

I got my hands on a Optiplex 3040 SFF and it's flashing a 2+7 Amber light. I looked up what that means, it says that I need to flash BIOS. Is there any way I can do that without buying additional hardware?

 

[Lutfij]

According to the manual for the prebuilt,
https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/optiplex-3040m-desktop_owners-manual_en-us.pdf
it states that the amber light would indicate that there's a Computer fails to complete POST or processor failure.

Can you state what the innards(components) are in your prebuilt? Perhaps inspect the CPU socket for any bent or broken pins. Try reseating your ram. Inspect the motherboard for any swollen capacitors or burn marks.

I looked up what that means, it says that I need to flash BIOS
Could you elaborate on that, just to be sure(citing your source)?

How to Recover the BIOS on a Dell Computer or Tablet | Dell US

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You could try the above method to try and recover your BIOS but you're going to need a donor system to fabricate your BIOS recovery tool.

 

[chris.weii]

I got the PC barebones and got an i5-6500 secondhand and have bought a replacement motherboard TWICE. I still get the 2 + 7 flashing light. At this point I really have no idea what is wrong with it.