Thanks, Chino de Oro - since posting the original problem I managed to fix the issue. I really don't know a lot about PCs, but at my brother's suggestion, I installed Linux and all the I/O ports worked fine. I then created a Windows 10 boot USB in Linux and tried to install, but kept running into problems proceeding past the drive selection screen. I had an idea to completely wipe the drive, so plugged this into my Mac with a USB SATA adapter. After that, the install let me proceed. So there must have been some residual system information on the drive [or something] that was causing problems. I think that you're completely right about Windows 7 and the 7040! It certainly didn't work well and rendered most of the machine useless. Thanks again for your help,Ben
Hello all, I've picked up a DELL Optiplex 7040 and am currently having a few problems with USB and network. The lights on the front and rear I/O device work if I plug in a USB stick / USB WiFi dongle, but the USB stick doesn't display in the File Manager. In the BIOS all USB ports are clicked on, front and back panel. Again when I plug the Ethernet cable into the network port, the light comes on green but the signal isn't recognised. There are no options for wired internet connection in Windows. A USB keyboard and mouse works fine: I can type and click stuff. I've got some drivers on a USB for my WiFi dongle, but the PC can't read them! It can read from the DVD drive fine. I appreciate I might have missed some info off here. I'm running Windows 7. If anybody is able to help that would be much appreciated. Many thanks,Ben
DELL 7040 USB and Ethernet problem