Replace the CMOS battery with a fresh one and then take it from there. An old battery will quickly lose any setting once it's shutdown or reboot if its that weak. It's cheap and simple replacement to do and since you have a PII system maybe time to do this. 
tada -----Willy 
Pentium II processor CPUID: 652
Level 2 Cache: 512 kb integrated
System memory: 64 mb SDRAM
Video memory: 8 mb SGRAM
CPU speed: 400 mhz
Optiplex GX1
Bios version: A08
The computer begins to boot then goes to f1 to continue or f2 for setup. Through setup I found that the hard drive wasn't found. I have another computer and tried to install its hard drives in the dell. It finds the drives but still remains stuck. I also cannot boot into safe mode to troubleshoot the startup. Any ideas?
Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic