Dell 840 User Manual

Dell™ PowerEdge™ 840 Systems

Hardware Owner’s Manual

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

Notes, Notices, and Cautions

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.

NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the

problem.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

____________________

Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, Inspiron, Dell Precision, Dimension, OptiPlex, Latitude, PowerEdge, P owerV ault, P owerApp,

PowerConnect, and XPS are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Intel, Pentium, and Celeron are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation; Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc.; SUSE is a re gistered trademark of Novell, Inc.; UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries; EMC is a registered trademark of EMC Corporation.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

June 2006 P/N DJ894 Rev. A00

1 About Your System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Other Information You May Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Accessing System Features During Startup

Front-Panel Features and Indicators

Back-Panel Features and Indicators

Connecting External Devices NIC Indicator Codes

Diagnostics Indicator Codes

Hard-Drive Indicator Codes

System Messages

System Beep Codes

Warning Messages

Diagnostics Messages

Alert Messages

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Baseboard Management Controller Messages

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2 Using the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Entering the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Responding to Error Messages Using the System Setup Program

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System Setup Options

Main Screen

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CPU Information Screens Integrated Devices Screen Console Redirection Screen System Security Screen Exit Screen

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Contents 3

System and Setup Password Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Using the System Password Using the Setup Password

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3 Installing System Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Inside the System

Opening the System

Removing the Bezel Removing the Cover

Front-Panel Drive Inserts

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Removing the Front-Panel Drive Inserts Installing the Front-Panel Drive Inserts

Closing the System

Replacing the Cover Installing the Bezel

Connecting Drives

Interface Cables

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Drive Cable Configurations DC Power Cables

Diskette Drive

Removing a Diskette Drive Installing a Diskette Drive

Optical or Tape Drives

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Installing an Optical or Tape Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

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4 Contents

Hard Drives

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Hard Drive Installation Guidelines Configuring the Boot Drive Removing a Hard Drive from the Drive Bay Installing a Hard Drive in the Drive Bay

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Removing a Hard Drive from a Lever-Release Drive Carrier Installing an Hard Drive in the Lever-Release Drive Carrier Hot-Plug SATA Hard Drives Using the SAS Backplane Removing a Hot-Plug SAS or SATA Hard Drive

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Cooling Shroud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Removing the Cooling Shroud Installing the Cooling Shroud

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Cooling Fans

Power Supply

Expansion Cards

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Removing the Front System Fan Installing the Front System Fan Removing the Back System Fan Installing the Back System Fan

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Removing the Power Supply Replacing the Power Supply

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Installing an Expansion Card Removing an Expansion Card

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Replacing the SAS Controller Card Battery

Memory

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General Memory Module Installation Guidelines Installing Memory Modules Removing Memory Modules

Microprocessor

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Removing the Processor Installing a Processor

Installing a RAC Card

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System Battery

Replacing the System Battery

Front I/O Panel (Service-Only Parts Procedure)

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Removing the Control Panel Assembly and Chassis-Intrusion

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Switch Installing the Control Panel Assembly

System Board (Service-Only Parts Procedure)

Removing the System Board Installing the System Board

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Contents 5

4 Troubleshooting Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Safety First—For You and Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Start-Up Routine

Checking the Equipment

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Troubleshooting IRQ Assignment Conflicts Troubleshooting the Video Subsystem

Troubleshooting the Keyboard

Troubleshooting the Mouse

Troubleshooting Serial I/O Problems

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Troubleshooting a Serial I/O Device Troubleshooting a USB Device

Troubleshooting a NIC

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Troubleshooting External Connections

Troubleshooting a Wet System

Troubleshooting a Damaged System

Troubleshooting the System Battery

Troubleshooting Power Supplies

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Troubleshooting System Cooling Problems

Troubleshooting a Fan

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6 Contents

Troubleshooting System Memory

Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive

Troubleshooting an Optical Drive

Troubleshooting an External SCSI Tape Drive

Troubleshooting a Hard Drive

Troubleshooting SATA Hard Drives

Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive

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Troubleshooting a SATA Hard Drive in a RAID Configuration

Troubleshooting a SAS RAID Controller

Troubleshooting Expansion Cards

Troubleshooting the Microprocessor

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5 Running the System Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Using Dell PowerEdge Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

System Diagnostics Features

When to Use the System Diagnostics

Running the System Diagnostics

From the Utility Partition From Removable Bootable Media

System Diagnostics Testing Options

Using the Custom Test Options

Selecting Devices for Testing Selecting Diagnostics Options

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6 Jumpers and Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

System Board Jumpers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

System Board Connectors

Disabling a Forgotten Password

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7 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Online Services AutoTech Service Automated Order-Status Service Support Service

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Dell Enterprise Training and Certification

Problems With Your Order

Product Information

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Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit

Before You Call

Contacting Dell

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Contents 7

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

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Index

8 Contents

About Your System

This section describes the physical, firmware, and software interface features that provide and ensure the essential functioning of your system. The physical connectors on your system’s front and back panels provide convenient connectivity and system expansion capability. The system firmware, applications, and operating systems monitor the system and component status and alert you when a problem arises. System conditions can be reported by any of the following:

• Front or back panel indicators

• System messages

• Warning messages

• Diagnostics messages

• Beep codes

• Alert messages

This section describes each type of message, lists the possible causes, and provides steps to resolve any problems indicated by a message. The system indicators and features are illustrated in this section.

Other Information You May Need

CAUTION: The Product Information Guide provides important safety and regulatory information. Warranty

information may be included within this document or as a separate document.

• The

• CDs included with your system provide documentation and tools for configuring and managing

• Systems management software documentation describes the features, requirements, installation,

• Operating system documentation describes how to install (if necessary), configure, and use the

• Documentation for any components you purchased separately provides information to configure

Getting Started Guide

technical specifications.

your system.

and basic operation of the software.

operating system software.

and install these options.

provides an overview of system features, setting up your system, and

About Your System 9

• Updates are sometimes included with the system to describe changes to the system, software, and/or documentation.

NOTE: Always check for updates on support.dell.com and read the updates first because they often

supersede information in other documents.

• Release notes or readme files may be included to provide last-minute updates to the system or documentation or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians.

Accessing System Features During Startup

Table 1-1 describes keystrokes that may be entered during startup to access system features. If your operating system begins to load before you enter the keystroke, allow the system to finish booting, and then restart your system and try again.

Table 1-1. Keystrokes for Accessing System Features

Keystroke Description

<F2> Enters the System Setup program. See "Entering the System Setup Program" on page 29.

<F10> Opens the utility partition, allowing you to run the system diagnostics. See "Running the

System Diagnostics" on page 112.

<Ctrl+E> Enters the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) Management Utility, which allows

access to the system event log (SEL). See the BMC User’s Guide for more information on setup and use of BMC.

<Ctrl+C> Enters the SAS Configuration Utility. See your SAS adapter User’s Guide for more

information.

<Ctrl+R> Enters the RAID configuration utility, which allows you to configure an optional RAID

card. For more information, see the documentation for your RAID card.

<Ctrl+S> Option is displayed only if you have PXE support enabled through the System Setup

Program (see "Integrated Devices Screen" on page 34). This keystroke allows you to configure NIC settings for PXE boot. For more information, see the documentation for your integrated NIC.

<Ctrl+D> If you have the optional Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), this keystroke allows

access to selected DRAC configuration settings. See the DRAC User’s Guide for more information on setup and use of DRAC.

10 About Your System

Front-Panel Features and Indicators

Figure 1-1 shows the controls, indicators, and connectors located on the system's front panel. Table 1-2 provides component descriptions.

Figure 1-1. Front-Panel Features and Indicators

123

1 power button 2 power-on indicator 3 hard-drive activity indicator

4 system status indicator 5 security lock 6 USB connectors (2)

About Your System 11

Table 1-2. Front-Panel Components

Item Component Icon Description

1 Power button The power button turns system power off and on.

NOTICE: If you turn off the system using the power button and the

system is running an ACPI-compliant operating system, the system can perform an orderly shutdown before power is turned off. If the power button is pressed for more than 4 seconds, the system power will turn off regardless of the current operating system state. If the system is not running an ACPI-compliant operating system, power is turned off immediately after the power button is pressed.

The power button is enabled in the System Setup program. When disabled, the button can only turn the system power on. For more information, see "Using the System Setup Program" on page 29 and the operating system's documentation.

2 Power-on indicator On: System power is on.

Blinking: System is on but in standby state, or system is off but still connected to the power source.

3 Hard-drive activity

indicator

4 System status

indicator

Flashes when data is being read from or written to the internal SATA hard drives that are connected to the integrated controller.

Blue: Normal system operation.

Amber: Flashes when the system needs attention due to a problem with power supplies, fans, system temperature, or hot-plug hard drives.

NOTE: If the system is connected to AC power and an error has been

detected, the amber system status indicator flashes regardless of whether the system has been powered on.

5 Security lock Controls access to the system’s internal components.

6 USB connectors Connects USB 2.0-compliant devices to the system.

12 About Your System

Back-Panel Features and Indicators

Figure 1-2 shows the connectors located on the system's back panel.

Figure 1-2. Back-Panel Features

1 AC power connector 2 mouse connector 3 keyboard connector

4 serial connectors (5) 5 video connector 6 USB connector (2)

7 NIC connector 8 expansion slots (5)

About Your System 13

Connecting External Devices

When connecting external devices to your system, follow these guidelines:

• Most devices must be connected to a specific connector and device drivers must be installed before the device operates properly. (Device drivers are normally included with your operating system software or with the device itself.) See the documentation that accompanied the device for specific installation and configuration instructions.

• Always attach an external device while your system and the device are turned off. Next, turn on any external devices before turning on the system (unless the documentation for the device specifies otherwise).

See "Using the System Setup Program" on page 29 for information about enabling, disabling, and configuring I/O ports and connectors.

NIC Indicator Codes

The NIC on the back panel has an indicator that provides information on network activity and link status. See Figure 1-3. Table 1-3 lists the NIC indicator codes.

Figure 1-3. NIC Indicators

1 link indicator 2 activity indicator

Table 1-3. NIC Indicator Codes

Indicator Type Indicator Code Description

Activity Off When off at the same time that the link indicator is off,

the NIC is not connected to the network or the NIC is disabled in the System Setup program. See

System Setup Program

Blinking yellow Indicates that network data is being sent or received.

Link Off When off at the same time that the activity indicator is

off, the NIC is not connected to the network or the NIC is disabled in the System Setup program. See

System Setup Program

On (green) Indicates active link.

" on page 29.

"Using the

14 About Your System

Diagnostics Indicator Codes

Four diagnostic indicator lights are located behind the bezel on the I/O control panel. To access the lights, see "Opening the System" on page 43. These lights display error codes during system startup. Table 1-4 lists the causes and corrective actions associated with these codes and the power light status before system POST. Table 1-6 lists the causes and possible corrective actions for these codes during POST. A highlighted circle indicates the light is on; a non-highlighted circle indicates the light is off.

Table 1-4. Diagnostic Indicator Codes

Code Causes Corrective Action

No power is applied to the system.

A B C D

See "Troubleshooting Power Supplies" on page 98.

A B C D

= yellow = green = off

A possible processor failure has occurred.

Memory failure. See "Troubleshooting System Memory" on

Possible expansion-card failure.

Possible video card failure.

Diskette or hard-drive failure.

See "Troubleshooting the Microprocessor" on page 109.

page 100.

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" on page 108.

Ensure that the diskette drive and hard drive(s) are properly connected. See "Hard Drives" on page 53 for information on the drive(s) installed in your system.

About Your System 15

Table 1-4. Diagnostic Indicator Codes (continued)

Code Causes Corrective Action

Possible USB failure. See "Troubleshooting a USB Device" on

page 95.

A B C D

No memory modules detected.

System board failure. See "Getting Help" on page 121."

Memory configuration error.

Possible system board resource and/or system board hardware failure.

Possible expansion card failure.

Other failure. Ensure that the diskette drive, optical drive,

The system is in a normal operating condition after POST.

See ""Troubleshooting System Memory" on page 100.

See "Troubleshooting System Memory" on page 100.

See "Getting Help" on page 121."

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" on page 108.

and hard drive(s) are properly connected. See "Troubleshooting Your System" on page 91" for the appropriate drive(s) installed in your system.

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121."

Information only.

= yellow = green = off

16 About Your System

Hard-Drive Indicator Codes

If an optional SAS backplane is installed in the system, two indicators on each of the hard-drive carriers provide information on the status of the hard drives. See Figure 1-4 and Table 1-5. The SAS backplane firmware controls the drive power-on/fault indicator.

Figure 1-4. Hard-Drive Indicators

1 drive status indicator 2 drive busy indicator

About Your System 17

Table 1-5 lists the drive indicator patterns. Different patterns are displayed as drive events occur in the system. For example, if a hard drive fails, the "drive failed" pattern appears. After the drive is selected for removal, the "drive being prepared for removal" pattern appears, followed by the "drive ready for insertion or removal" pattern. After the replacement drive is installed, the "drive being prepared for operation" pattern appears, followed by the "drive online" pattern.

NOTE: If a RAID controller is not installed, only the "drive online" indicator pattern appears. The drive-activity

indicator also blinks when the drive is being accessed.

Table 1-5. Hard-Drive Indicator Patterns

Condition Indicator Pattern

Identify drive The green power-on/fault indicator blinks four times

per second.

Drive being prepared for removal The green power-on/fault indicator blinks two times

per second.

Drive ready for insertion or removal

Drive being prepared for operation

Drive predicted failure The power-on/fault indicator slowly blinks green,

Drive failed The amber power-on/fault indicator blinks four times

Drive rebuilding The green power-on/fault indicator blinks slowly.

Drive online The green power-on/fault indicator is on.

Both drive indicators are off.

The green power-on/fault indicator is on.

amber, and off.

per second.

System Messages

System messages appear on the screen to notify you of a possible problem with the system. Table 1-6 lists the system messages that can occur and the probable cause and corrective action for each message.

NOTE: If you receive a system message that is not listed in Table 1-6, check the documentation for the application

that is running when the message appears or the operating system's documentation for an explanation of the message and recommended action.

Table 1-6. System Messages

Message Causes Corrective Actions

Amount of available memory limited to 256MB

18 About Your System

OS Install Mode is enabled in the System Setup program.

Disable OS Install Mode in the System Setup program. See "Using the System Setup Program" on page 29.

Table 1-6. System Messages (continued)

Message Causes Corrective Actions

Attempting to update Remote Configuration.

Please wait....

BIOS Update Attempt Failed

Caution! NVRAM_CLR jumper is installed on system board.

Data error Faulty diskette, diskette drive,

Decreasing available memory

Diskette drive 0 seek failure

Diskette read failure Faulty or improperly inserted

Diskette subsystem reset failed

Remote Configuration is in progress.

BIOS remote update failed. Retry update.

NVRAM_CLR jumper is installed. Remove the NVRAM_CLR jumper.

optical drive, hard drive.

Faulty or improperly installed memory modules.

Incorrect configuration settings in System Setup program.

Faulty or improperly installed diskette, loose diskette drive or optical drive interface cable, or loose power cable.

diskette.

Faulty diskette drive or optical drive controller.

Wait until the process is complete.

See "System Board Jumpers" on page 115 for the jumper location.

Replace the diskette. Ensure that the diskette drive, optical drive, and harddrive cables are properly connected. See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" on page 101 or "Troubleshooting an Optical Drive" on page 102 for the appropriate drive(s) installed in your system.

Ensure that all memory modules are properly installed. See ""Troubleshooting System Memory" on page 100.

Run the System Setup program to correct the settings. See "Using the System Setup Program" on page 29.

Replace the diskette. Ensure that the diskette drive and optical drive cables are properly connected. See ""Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" on page 101" and ""Troubleshooting an Optical Drive" on page 102" in "Troubleshooting Your System."

Replace the diskette.

Ensure that the diskette drive and optical drive cables are properly connected. See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" on page 101 and "Troubleshooting an Optical Drive" on page 102. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

About Your System 19

Table 1-6. System Messages (continued)

Message Causes Corrective Actions

Drive not ready Diskette missing or improperly

inserted in diskette drive.

Error: Incorrect memory configuration. Ensure memory in slots DIMM1_A and DIMM1_B, DIMM2_A and DIMM2_B match identically in size, speed, and rank.

Error: Remote Access Card initialization failure.

Error 8602: Auxiliary device failure. Verify that the mouse and keyboard are securely attached to correct connectors.

Gate A20 failure Faulty keyboard controller (faulty

General failure Operating system corrupted or

IDE Primary drive found

Invalid memory configuration detected. Potential for data corruption exists!

Keyboard controller failure

not

An unmatched pair of memory modules is installed.

Faulty or improperly installed RAC. Ensure that the RAC is properly

Loose or improperly connected mouse or keyboard cable; faulty mouse or keyboard.

system board).

improperly installed.

Improperly connected or missing optical drive or tape backup unit.

Unsupported DIMMs are installed in the system, or the memory configuration is incorrect.

Faulty keyboard controller (faulty system board).

Reinsert or replace the diskette.

Install a matched pair of memory modules, or remove the memory module in socket DIMM1_B. See "General Memory Module Installation Guidelines" on page 76.

installed. See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" on page 108.

Replace the mouse. If the problem persists, replace the keyboard.

See "Getting Help" on page 121.

Reinstall the operating system.

Ensure that the drive cables are properly connected. See "Troubleshooting Your System" on page 91 for the appropriate drive installed in your system.

If no drive is installed, disable the IDE controller. See "Using the System Setup Program" on page 29.

Replace or reconfigure the DIMMs. See "Memory" on page 76 for memory configuration guidelines, a list of supported DIMMs, and supported memory configurations.

See "Getting Help" on page 121.

20 About Your System

Table 1-6. System Messages (continued)

Message Causes Corrective Actions

Keyboard data line failure

Keyboard failure Keyboard stuck key

failure Keyboard fuse has failed. Keyboard fuse has failed. Replace the keyboard. Manufacturing mode

detected

Memory address line failure at

value

expecting

Memory double word logic failure at

value

expecting

Memory odd/even logic failure at

expecting

value

Memory write/read failure

address

at expecting

Memory tests terminated by keystroke

address

, read

value

, read

value

, read

value

, read

value

Loose or improperly connected keyboard cable; faulty keyboard; faulty keyboard controller.

System is incorrectly configured. Install the NVRAM_CLR jumper and

Faulty or improperly installed memory modules, or faulty system board.

Ensure that the keyboard is properly connected. If the problem persists, replace the keyboard. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

reboot the system. See "System Board Jumpers" on page 115 for jumper location.

Ensure that all memory modules are properly installed. See "Troubleshooting System Memory" on page 100. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

The spacebar was pressed during POST to terminate the memory test.

Information only.

More than one RAC detected, system halted

Verify that the RAC is installed in the proper PCI expansion slot (SLOT_5). If a RAC is installed in any other slot, remove it.

About Your System 21

Table 1-6. System Messages (continued)

Message Causes Corrective Actions

No boot device available Faulty or missing diskette drive,

optical drive, or hard drive.

No boot sector on hard-disk drive

No timer tick interrupt Faulty system board. See "Getting Help" on page 121. Not a boot diskette Not a bootable diskette. Use a bootable diskette. PCI BIOS failed to

install

PCIe Degraded Link Width Error: Embedded

Bus# Expected Link Width is Actual Link Width is

PCIe Degraded Link Width Error: Slot

Expected Link Width is Actual Link Width is

PCIe Training Error: Embedded Bus#

PCIe Training Error: Slot

/Dev#nn/Func

An operating system is not on the hard drive.

Loose cables to expansion card(s); faulty or improperly installed expansion card.

Faulty or improperly installed PCIe card.

Faulty or improperly installed PCIe card in the specified slot number.

Faulty or improperly installed PCIe card.

Faulty or improperly installed PCIe card in the specified slot number.

Check the Integrated Devices configuration settings in the System Setup program. See "Using the System Setup Program" on page 29. Ensure that either SATA Controller, Diskette Controller, or IDE Controller is enabled. If the system is booting from a SCSI controller, ensure that the controller is properly connected. If the problem persists, replace the drive. See "Hard Drives" on page 53.

Check the hard-drive configuration settings in the System Setup program. See "Using the System Setup Program" on page 29.

Ensure that all appropriate cables are securely connected to the expansion cards. See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" on page 108.

Reseat the PCIe cards. See "Expansion Cards" on page 71. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

Reseat the PCIe card in the specified slot number. See "Expansion Cards" on page 71. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

Reseat the PCIe cards. See "Expansion Cards" on page 71. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

Reseat the PCIe card in the specified slot number. See "Expansion Cards" on page 71. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

22 About Your System

Table 1-6. System Messages (continued)

Message Causes Corrective Actions

Plug & Play Configuration Error

Primary drive configuration error

Primary drive 1 failure

Read fault Requested sector not found

Remote Configuration update attempt failed

ROM bad checksum =

address

SATA Port drive configuration error

SATA Port drive failure

SATA Port drive auto-sensing error

hard disk

Error encountered in initializing PCI device; faulty system board.

Faulty hard-disk drive. Replace the hard-disk drive. See

Faulty diskette, diskette drive, optical drive, or hard drive.

System could not implement Remote Configuration request.

Faulty or improperly installed expansion card.

Faulty SATA hard drive. Replace the hard-disk drive. See

Install the NVRAM_CLR jumper and reboot the system. See Figure 6-1 for jumper location. Check for a BIOS update. If the problem persists, see "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" on page 108. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

"Troubleshooting SATA Hard Drives" on page 105 or "Troubleshooting a SAS RAID Controller" on page 107 in for the appropriate drive(s) installed in your system.

Replace the diskette. Ensure that the diskette, optical, and hard-drive cables are properly connected. See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" on page 101, "Troubleshooting an Optical Drive" on page 102, "Troubleshooting SATA Hard Drives" on page 105," or "Troubleshooting a SAS RAID Controller" on page 107" for the appropriate drive(s) installed in your system.

Retry Remote Configuration.

Remove and reseat the expansion cards. See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" on page 108.

"Troubleshooting SATA Hard Drives" on page 105 for the appropriate drive(s) installed in your system.

About Your System 23

Table 1-6. System Messages (continued)

Message Causes Corrective Actions

SATA Port n hard disk not found

Sector not found Seek error Seek operation failed

Shutdown failure Shutdown test failure. Ensure that all memory modules are

The amount of system memory has changed.

The amount of tested memory is below the minimum system configuration. System halted!

Time-of-day clock stopped Faulty battery; faulty system board. See "Troubleshooting the System

SATA hard drive not connected to port n.

Faulty diskette or hard drive. Replace the diskette. If the problem

Faulty memory module. See "Troubleshooting System

Invalid memory configuration See "General Memory Module

Faulty memory module. See "Troubleshooting System

Ensure that the hard-drive cable is properly connected. See "Hard Drives" on page 53.

If a drive is not connected to port n, check that the SATA port is disabled in the System Setup program. See "Using the System Setup Program" on page 29.

persists, see "Troubleshooting SATA Hard Drives" on page 105 or "Troubleshooting a SAS RAID Controller" on page 107 for the appropriate drive installed in your system.

properly installed. See "Troubleshooting System Memory" on page 100. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

Memory" on page 100. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

Installation Guidelines" on page 76.

Memory" on page 100. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121."

Battery" on page 98. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

24 About Your System

Table 1-6. System Messages (continued)

Message Causes Corrective Actions

Time-of-day not set please run SETUP program

Timer chip counter 2 failed

Unexpected interrupt in protected mode

Utility partition not available

Warning! No microcode update loaded for processor

Write fault Write fault on selected

drive

Incorrect Time or Date settings; faulty system battery.

Faulty system board. See "Getting Help" on page 121.

Faulty or improperly installed memory modules or faulty system board.

<F10> key was pressed during POST, but no utility partition exists on the boot hard drive.

Unsupported processor. Update the BIOS firmware using the

Faulty diskette, diskette drive, optical drive, hard drive.

Check the Time and Date settings See "Using the System Setup Program" in your User's Guide. If the problem persists, see "Troubleshooting the System Battery" on page 98.

Ensure that all memory modules are properly installed. See "General Memory Module Installation Guidelines" on page 76. If the problem persists, see "Troubleshooting System Memory" on page 100. If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

Create a utility partition on the boot hard drive. See the CDs that came with your system.

Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

Replace the diskette. Ensure that the diskette drive, optical drive, and harddrive cables are properly connected. See "Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive" on page 101, "Troubleshooting an Optical Drive" on page 102," or "Troubleshooting a Hard Drive" on page 104 for the appropriate drive(s) installed in your system.

About Your System 25

System Beep Codes

If an error that cannot be reported on the screen occurs during POST, the system may emit a series of beeps that identifies the problem.

NOTE: If the system boots without a keyboard, mouse, or monitor attached, the system does not issue beep codes

related to those peripherals.

If a beep code is emitted, write down the series of beeps and then look it up in Table 1-7. If you are unable to resolve the problem by looking up the meaning of the beep code, use system diagnostics to identify the possible cause. If you are still unable to resolve the problem, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

Table 1-7. System Beep Codes

Code Cause Corrective Action

1-1-2 CPU register test failure See "Troubleshooting the Microprocessor" on

page 109.

1-1-3 CMOS write/read failure; faulty

system board

1-1-4 BIOS error Reflash the BIOS.

1-2-1 Programmable interval-timer failure;

faulty system board

1-2-2 DMA initialization failure See "Troubleshooting System Memory" on

1-2-3 DMA page register write/read failure

1-3-1 Main-memory refresh verification

failure

1-3-2 No memory installed

1-3-3 Chip or data line failure in the first

64 KB of main memory

1-3-4 Odd/even logic failure in the first

64 KB of main memory

1-4-1 Address line failure in the first 64 KB

of main memory

1-4-2 Parity failure in the first 64 KB of

main memory

1-4-3 Fail-safe timer test failure

1-4-4 Software NMI port test failure

2-1-1 through 2-4-4

Bit failure in the first 64 KB of main memory

Faulty system board. See "Getting Help" on page 121.

page 100.

26 About Your System

Table 1-7. System Beep Codes (continued)

Code Cause Corrective Action

3-1-1 Slave DMA-register failure Faulty system board. See "Getting Help" on

3-1-2 Master DMA-register failure

3-1-3 Master interrupt-mask register

failure

3-1-4 Slave interrupt-mask register failure

3-2-2 Interrupt vector loading failure

3-2-4 Keyboard-controller test failure

3-3-1 CMOS failure

3-3-2 System configuration check failure

3-3-3 Keyboard controller not detected

3-3-4 Video memory test failure

3-4-1 Screen initialization failure

3-4-2 Screen-retrace test failure

3-4-3 Video ROM search failure

4-2-1 No timer tick Faulty system board. See "Getting Help" on

4-2-2 Shutdown test failure

4-2-3 Gate A20 failure

4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected

mode

4-3-1 Improperly installed or faulty

memory modules

4-3-2 No memory modules installed in the

first memory module connector

4-3-3 Faulty system board Faulty system board. See "Getting Help" on

4-3-4 Time-of-day clock stopped See "Troubleshooting System Memory" on

4-4-1 Super I/O chip failure; faulty system

board

4-4-4 Cache test failure; faulty processor See "Troubleshooting the Microprocessor" on

page 121.

See "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" on page 108.

See "Troubleshooting System Memory" on page 100.

Install a memory module in the first memory module connector. See "Memory" on page 76.

page 121.

page 100.

If the problem persists, see "Getting Help" on page 121.

Faulty system board. See "Getting Help" on page 121.

page 109.

About Your System 27

Warning Messages

A warning message alerts you to a possible problem and prompts you to respond before the system continues a task. For example, before you format a diskette, a message will warn you that you may lose all data on the diskette. Warning messages usually interrupt the task and require you to respond by typing (yes) or

n (no).

NOTE: Warning messages are generated by either the application or the operating system. For more information,

see the documentation that accompanied the operating system or application.

Diagnostics Messages

When you run system diagnostics, an error message may result. Diagnostic error messages are not covered in this section. Record the message on a copy of the Diagnostics Checklist in "Getting Help," and then follow the instructions in that section for obtaining technical assistance.

Alert Messages

Systems management software generates alert messages for your system. Alert messages include information, status, warning, and failure messages for drive, temperature, fan, and power conditions. For more information, see the systems management software documentation.

Baseboard Management Controller Messages

The Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) enables you to configure, monitor, and recover systems remotely. BMC uses the system’s serial port and integrated NIC1 to support fault logging and SNMP alerting.

NOTE: If the integrated network controller is used in an Ether Channel team or link aggregation team, the BMC

management traffic will not function properly. For more information about network teaming, see the documentation for the network controller.

For additional information on using BMC, see the documentation for the BMC and systems management applications.

28 About Your System

Using the System Setup Program

After you set up your system, run the System Setup program to familiarize yourself with your system configuration and optional settings. Record the information for future reference.

You can use the System Setup program to:

• Change the system configuration stored in NVRAM after you add, change, or remove hardware

• Set or change user-selectable options—for example, the time or date

• Enable or disable integrated devices

• Correct discrepancies between the installed hardware and configuration settings

Entering the System Setup Program

Turn on or restart your system.

Press <F2> immediately after you see the following message:

<F2> = System Setup

If your operating system begins to load before you press <F2>, allow the system to finish booting, and then restart your system and try again.

NOTE: To ensure an orderly system shutdown, see the documentation that accompanied your operating

system.

Responding to Error Messages

You can enter the System Setup program by responding to certain error messages. If an error message appears while the system is booting, make a note of the message. Before entering the System Setup program, see "System Messages" on page 18 for an explanation of the message and suggestions for correcting errors. Also, the system emits a series of beeps during POST if an error is encountered but cannot be reported. For more information, see "System Beep Codes" on page 26 for more information.

NOTE: After installing a memory upgrade, it is normal for your system to send a message the first time you

start your system.

Using the System Setup Program

Table 2-1 lists the keys that you use to view or change information on the System Setup program screens and to exit the program.

Using the System Setup Program 29

Table 2-1. System Setup Program Navigation Keys

Keys Action

Up arrow or <Shift><Tab> Moves to the previous field.

Down arrow or <Tab> Moves to the next field.

Spacebar, <+>, < right arrows

<Esc> Exits the System Setup program and restarts the

<F1> Displays the System Setup program

NOTE: For most of the options, any changes that you make are recorded but do not take effect until you restart the

system.

–>, left and

Cycles through the settings in a field. In many fields, you can also type the appropriate value.

system if any changes were made.

's help file.

System Setup Options

Main Screen

When you enter the System Setup program, the main System Setup program screen appears (see Figure 2-1).

30 Using the System Setup Program

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