Dell Optiplex 755 Signed SATA HD Driver  

In trying to do a clean reinstall of Win 7 Pro on an old Dell Optiplex 755, now equipped with a brand new 1 TB Western Digital SATA HD following the original SATA HD's failure, using the same media that was used for the original installation, the installation stalls and calls for a signed HD driver. Dell's R123415 driver downloaded from Dell Support, believed to be appropriate, doesn't work as it is apparently unsigned. The PC has Dell's A22 BIOS (the last one published) installed.

How do I get around this problem? Keep things simple as I am now in my mid 80s and neither as up to date or as fast as I used to be. Thanks, in advance, for advice, guidance, ideas, and/or instructions on how to proceed.

Thanks for your suggestion. I have read through the referenced paper three times and the solution sounds both complex and daunting for someone of my limited abilities. The author seems to suggest installing an earlier BIOS version. The earliest version I have found is A19 on Dell's site - which replaced the A22 version previously installed. Does anyone know of or have a store of older Optiplex 755 BIOS files?

I also have the original Drivers and Utilities CD that originally came packed with the PC and it appears to contain a copy of v.9.92 of the SATA IDE driver file. Would extracting this file be useful and how do I get it to load?

The author of the referenced paper also appears to indicate that the SATA drive he was trying format had been previously formatted somehow. Would such an approach be useful in my case where I am trying to reinstall Win 7 Pro on a brand new 1TB SATA drive?

Step-by-step guidance is particularly helpful. Thank you, in advance, for any and all assistance.

The support site for the Dell OptiPlex 755 has drivers only for Windows XP and Windows Vista 32/64-bit.

However, I personally know it will run Windows 7 32/64-bit because I purchased a few of them in refurbished condition with Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit several years ago.

I also re-did all of them with a clean re-install before donating them, so I know it can be done.

What is the 7-character "service tag" number on yours?

i have these for my new install of win7pro on Dell optiplex 990MT.. works great. let me know if you want them..