Dell Mini Tower System User Manual

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Information in this doc um ent is subject to change without notice.

Reproduction in any m an ner whatsoever without the wri tt en permission of Dell Computer Corporation is strictly for bidden. Trademarks used in this text: Dell, OptiPlex, and the DELL logo are registered tradem arks and DellWare is a registered service mark of Dell

Computer Corporation; Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks and MMX is a trademark of Intel Corporation; Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows NT are registered tr ademarks and Windows for W orkgr oups is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation; IBM and OS/2 are register ed trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation; 3Com is a registered trademark of 3Com Corporation; VESA is a registered trademark of Video Electronics Standards Association; UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc., a wholl y owned subsidiary of Novell, Inc. As an Energy Star Partner, Dell Computer Corporation has determined that this product meets the Energy Star guidelines for energy efficiency.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the ent it ie s claiming the marks and na mes or their products. Dell Computer Corporation disclaims any pro pri etary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

November 1997 P/N 88763

Safety Instructions

se the following safety guidelines to help protect your computer system from potential damage and to ensure your own personal safety.

hen Using Your Computer

System

As you use your comput er s yst em, o bs erve the following safety guidelines:

•

To help avoid damaging your computer, be sure the voltage selection switch on the power supply is set to match the alternating current (AC) power available at your location:

— 115 volts (V)/60 hertz (Hz) in most of Nort h and

South America and some Far Eastern countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan

— 230 V/50 Hz in most of Europe, the Middle

East, and the Far East

Also be sure your monitor and attached peripherals are electrically rated to operate with the AC power available in your location.

•

To help avoid possible damage to the system board, wait 5 seconds after turning off the system before removing a component from the system bo ard or disconnecting a peripheral device from the computer.

•

To help prevent electric shock, plug the computer and peripheral power cables into properly grounded power sources. These cables are equipped with three-prong plugs to help ensure proper grounding. Do not use adapter plugs or remove the grounding prong from a cable. If you must use an extension cable, use a three-wire cable with properly grounded plugs.

•

To help protect your computer system from sudden, transient increases and decreases in electrical power, use a surge suppressor, line conditioner, or uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

•

Be sure nothing r ests on your compu t er system’s cables and that the cables are not located where they can be stepped on or tripped over.

•

Do not spill food or liquids on your computer. If the computer gets wet, consult your Diagnostics and

Troubleshooting Guide.

•

Do not push any objects into the openings of your computer. Doing so can cause fire or electric shock by shorting out interior components.

•

Keep your computer away from radiators and heat sources. Also, do not block cooling vents. Avoid placing loose papers underneath your computer; do not place your computer in a closed-in wall unit or on a bed, sofa , or rug.

rgonomic Computing Habits

WARNING: Improper or prolonged keyboard use may result in injury.

For comfort and efficiency, observe the following ergonomic guidelines when setting up and using your computer system:

•

Position your system so that the monitor and keyboard are directly in front of you as you work. Special shelves are available (from Dell and other sources) to help you correctly position your keyboard.

•

Set the monitor at a comfortable viewing distance (usually 510 to 610 millimeters [20 to 24 inches] from your eyes).

•

Make sure the monitor screen is at eye level or slightly lower when you are sitting in front of the monitor.

•

Adjust the tilt of the monitor, its contrast and brightness settings, and the lighting around you (such as overhead lights, desk lamps, and the curtains or blinds on nearby windows) to minimize reflections and glare on the monitor screen.

•

Use a chair that provides good lower back support.

•

Keep your forearms horizontal with your wrists in a neutral, comfortable position while using the keyboard or mouse.

monitor screen at or below eye level

wrists relaxed and flat

•

Always leave space to rest your hands while using the keyboard or mouse.

•

Let your upper arms hang naturally at your sides.

•

Sit erect, with your feet resting on th e flo or and your thighs level.

•

When sitting, make sure the weight of your legs is on your feet and not on the front of your chair seat. Adjust your chair’s height or use a footrest, if necessary, to maintain proper posture.

•

Vary your work activities. Try to organize your work so that you do not have to type for extended periods of time. When you stop typing, try to do things that use both hands.

monitor and keyboard positioned directly in front of user

arms at desk level

feet flat on the floor

hen Working Inside Your

Computer

component such as a microprocessor chip by its edges, not by its pins.

Before you remove the computer cover, perform the following steps in the sequence indicated.

CAUTIONS: Do not attempt to service the computer system yourself, except as explained in this guide and elsewhere in Dell documentation. Always follow installation and service instructions closely.

To help avoid possible damage to the system board, wait 5 seconds after turning off the system before removing a component from the system board or disconnecting a peripheral device from the computer.

1. Turn off your computer and any peripherals.

2. Disconnect your computer and peripherals from

their power sources. Also, disconnect any telephone or telecommunication lines from the computer.

Doing so reduces the potential for personal injury or shock.

3. T ouch an unpainted metal surface on the chassis,

such as the metal around the card-slot openings at the back of the computer, before touching anything inside your computer.

While you work, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface on the computer chassis to dissipate any static electricity that might harm internal components.

In addition, take note of these safety guidel ines when appropriate:

When you disconnect a cable, pull on its connector

•

or on its strain-relief loop, not on the cable itself. Some cables have a connector with locking tabs; if you are disconnecting this type of cable, press in on the locking tabs before disconnecting the cable. As you pull connectors apart, keep them evenly aligned to avoid bending any connector pins. Also, before you connect a cable, make sure both connectors are correctly oriented and aligned.

Handle components and cards with care. Don’t touch

•

the components or contacts on a card. Hold a card by its edges or by its metal mounting bracket. Hold a

WARNING

There is a danger of a new battery exploding if it is incorrectly installed. Replace the battery only with the same or equivalent type recommended by the manufacturer. Discard used batteries according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

rotecting Against Electrostatic

Discharge

Static electricity can harm delicate components inside your computer . T o prevent static damage, dischar ge static electricity from your body before you touch any of your computer’s electronic components, such as the microprocessor. You can do so b y t ou chi ng an unp ai nted met al surface on the computer chassis.

As you continue to work inside the computer, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface to remove any static charge your body may have accumulated.

You can also take the following steps to prevent damage from electrostatic discharge (ESD):

When unpacking a static-sensitive component from

•

its shipping carton, do not remove the component from the antistatic packing material until you are ready to install the component in your computer. Just before unwrapping the antistatic packaging, be sure to discharge static electricity from your body.

When transporting a sensitive component, first place

•

it in an antistatic container or packaging. Handle all sensitive components in a static-safe area.

•

If possible, use antistatic floor pads and workbench pads.

The following caution may appear throughout this document to remind you of these precautions:

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

vii

viii

Preface

bout This Guide

This guide is intended for anyone who uses a Dell OptiPlex GXa mini tower computer system. It can be u sed by both first-time and experienced computer users who want to learn about the features and operation of the systems or who want to upgrade their computers. The chapters and appendixes are summarized as follows:

•

Everyone should read Chapter 1, “Introduction,” for an overview of the system features, instructions on how to access the online System User’s Guide, and information on where to get help if you need it.

•

Everyone should read the first several sections of Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” to familiarize themselves with th i s important program. Only users who want to mak e configuration changes to their system or who want to use the password features need to read the rest of Chapter 2.

•

Users who add or remove an Industry-Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion card should read Chapter 3, “Using the ISA Configuration Utility.”

•

Users who want to change the default configuration of the system’s integrated video and audio controllers or who want to connect their system to a network should read Chapter 4, “Using Integrated Devices.” This chapter describes the configuration software provided for the int egrated vid eo and audio controllers and provides information on connecting the system to a network, configurin g the network interface controller (NIC), and installing drivers for the NIC.

•

Chapter 5, “Working Inside Your Computer,” Chapter 6, “Installing System Board Opt ions,” and Chapter 7, “Installing Drives,” are intended for users who want to install or remove options inside the computer, such as dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs), additional video memory, expansion cards, or drives.

•

Appendix A, “Technical Specifications,” is intended primarily as reference material for users interested in learning more about the details of the system.

•

Appendix B, “ISA Configuration Utility Messages,” describes e rror messages generated by the ISA Configuration Utility (ICU), possible causes, and corrective actions.

•

Appendix C, “Regulatory Notices,” is for users who are interested in which regulatory agencies have tested and approved the Dell OptiPlex GXa mini tower systems.

•

Appendix D, “Warranties and Return Policy,” describes the warranty for your Dell system and the “Total Satisfaction” Return Policy.

arranty and Return Policy

Information

Dell Computer Corporation (“Dell”) manufactures its hardware products from parts and components that are new or equivalent to new in accordance with industrystandard practices. For information about the Dell warranty for your system, see Appendix D, “Warranties and Return Policy.”

ther Documents You May Need

otational Conventions

Besides this Reference and Installation Guide, the following documentation is inclu ded wit h you r syst em:

•

The Getting Started s heet provides step-by-step instructions for setting up your computer system.

•

The Windows-based online System User’s Guide contains important informat ion ab out y our comp uter system. This document includes descriptions of system features, instructions on installing and configuring drivers and utilities, information on the System Setup program and ISA Configu rati on Utility, and instructions for attaching devices to the connectors on your computer’s back panel.

•

The Frequently Asked Questions cards provide detailed answers to questions that are often asked by Dell computer users. Be sure to read these cards before calling Dell for technical assistance.

•

The Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide includes troubleshooting p rocedures and instructi ons for using the Dell Diagnostics to test your computer system.

You may also have one or more of the following documents.

NOTE: Documentation updates are sometimes included with your system to describe chan ges to your system or software. Always read these updates any other documentation because the updates often contain the latest inf orma t ion.

•

Operating system documentation is included if you ordered your operating system software from Dell. This documentation describes ho w to install (if necessary), configure, and use your operating system software.

•

Documentation is include d with any options you purchase separately from your system. This documentation includes information that you need to configure and install these options in your Dell computer. Installation instructions for the options are included in this Reference and Installati on Guide.

•

Technical information files—sometimes called “readme” files—may be installed on your hard-disk drive to provide last-minute updates about technical changes to your system or advanced technical reference material intended for experienced users or technicians.

before

consulting

The following subsections describe notational conventions used in this document.

Warnings, Cautions, and Notes

Throughout this guide, there may be blocks of text printed in bold type within boxes or in italic type. These blocks are warnings, cautions, and notes, and they are used as follows:

WARNING: A WARNING indicates the potential for bodily harm and tells you how to avoid the problem.

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

NOTE: A NOTE indicates importa nt information that helps you make better use of your computer system.

Typographical Conventions

The following list defines (where appropriate) and illustrates typographical conventions used as visual cues for specific elements of text throughout this document:

•

Keycaps, the labeling that appears on the keys on a keyboard, are enclosed in angle brackets.

Example: <Enter>

•

Key combinations are series of keys to be pressed simultaneously (unless otherwise indicated) to perform a single function.

Example: <Ctrl><Alt><Enter>

•

Commands presented in lowercase bold are for reference purposes only and are not intended to be typed when referenced.

Example: “Use the format command to . . . .”

In contrast, commands presented in the Courier New font are part of an instruction and intended to be typed.

Example: “Type format a: to format the diskette in drive A.”

•

Filenames and directory names are presented in lowercase bold.

Examples: autoexec.bat and c:\windows

•

Syntax lines consist of a command and all its possible parameters. Commands are displayed in lowercase bold; variable parameters (those for which you substitute a value) are displayed in lowercase italics; constant parameters are displayed in lowercase bold. The brackets indicate items that are optional.

Example: del [drive:] [path] filename [/p]

•

Command lines consist of a command and may include one or more of the command’s possible parameters. Command lines are presented in the Courier New font.

Example: del c:\myfile.doc

•

Screen text is text that appears on the screen of your monitor or display. It can be a system message, for example, or it can be text that you are instructed to type as part of a command (referred to as a command line). Screen text is presented in the Courier New font.

Example: The following message appears on your screen:

No boot device available

Example: “Type md c:\programs and press <Enter>.”

•

Variables are placeholders for which you substitu te a value. They are presented in italics.

Example: DIMM_x (where x represents the DIMM socket designation).

xii

Chapter 1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

System Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-1

Using the Power Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Security Cable Slot and Padlock Ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Energy Star Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Important Note for Windows 95 Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Intel PIIX4 INF Update Installer for Windows 95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Accessing Online Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7

Chapter 2

Using the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Entering the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Using the System Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

System Setup Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Diskette Drive A and Diskette Drive B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4

Drives: Primary and Secondary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

EIDE Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

If You Have a Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-5

Reserved Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

CPU Speed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Num Lock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Keyboard Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

System Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Password Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Boot Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

xiii

Diskette First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Hard Disk Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

CD-ROM First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Device List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Setup Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Auto Power On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Power Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Saving Monitor Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Saving EIDE Hard-Disk Drive Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Wakeup on LAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Sound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

NIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Parallel Port. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Parallel Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

IDE Hard Disk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Diskette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

System Data Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Using the System Password Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Assigning a System Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Using Your System Password to Secure Your System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Deleting or Changing an Existing System Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13

Using the Setup Password Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13

Assigning a Setup Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Operating With a Setup Password Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Deleting or Changing an Existing Setup Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Disabling a Forgotten Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Responding to Error Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15

Chapter 3

Using the ISA Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

About the ICU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

ICU Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

When to Run the ICU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Preparing to Use the ICU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Backing Up the ICU Diskette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

xiv

Starting the ICU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Accessing Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Making Selections in the ICU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Adding a Listed Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Adding an Unlisted Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Modifying a Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

Removing a Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8

Viewing Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8

Saving the System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

Exiting From the ICU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

Locking and Unlocking Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

Locking and Unlocking All Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-9

Locking and Unlocking Configuration Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-10

Chapter 4

Using Integrated Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Video Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Audio Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Network Interface Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-1

Network Cable Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Configuring the NIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Windows NT 4.0 NIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Windows NT 3. 5x NIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3

Windows for Workgroups NIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4

Windows 95 NIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4

MS-DOS NIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Chapter 5

Working Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-1

Safety First—For You and Your Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Unpacking Your Hardware Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Removing the Computer Cover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Replacing the Computer Cover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Inside Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Jumpers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-4

Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

System Board and Riser Board Labels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Removing and Replacing the Expansion-Card Cage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9

Removing the Expansion-Card Cage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9

Replacing the Expansion-Card Cage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9

Rotating the Power Supply Away From the System Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9

Chapter 6

Installing System Board Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Expansion Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Expansion Slots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Installing an Expansion Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Removing an Expansion Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Adding Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Performing a Memory Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5

Installing a DIMM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Removing a DIMM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Adding Video Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Upgrading the Microprocessor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Replacing the System Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9

Chapter 7

Installing Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Removing and Replacing the Front Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Removing and Replacing Front-Panel Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2

Connecting Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3

Installing a Drive in a 5.25-Inch Drive Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3

Installing an EIDE Hard-Disk Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6

EIDE Drive Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6

Installing an EIDE Hard-Disk Drive in the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket . . . . 7-7

Partitioning and Logically Formatting Your EIDE Hard-Disk Drive. . . . . . . . . 7-9

Installing SCSI Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9

SCSI Configuration Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10

SCSI ID Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10

SCSI Cable and SCSI Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10

General Procedure for Installing SCSI Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11

Partitioning and Formatting SCSI Hard-Disk Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12

xvi

Appendix A

Technical Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Appendix B

ISA Configuration Utility Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

ICU Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-1

Configuration Manager Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5

Appendix C

Regulatory Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

FCC Notices (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-1

Class A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-1

Class B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-1

IC Notice (Canada Only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-2

EN 55022 Compliance (Czech Republic Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-2

CE Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-2

VCCI Notices (Japan Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-3

Class A ITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-3

Class B ITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-3

Korean Regulatory Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-3

Class A Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-3

Class B Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-4

Polish Center for Testing and Certification Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-4

8ZNBHBOJB 1PMTLJFHP $FOUSVN #BEBË J $FSUZGJLBDKJ 1P[PTUBF JOTUSVLDKF CF[QJFD[FËTUXB

NOM 024 Information (Mexico Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-5

Información para NOM 024 (únicamente para México). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-5

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-4

Appendix D

Warranties and Return Policy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1

Limited Three-Year Warranty (U.S. and Canada Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D-1

Coverage During Year One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D-1

Coverage During Years Two and Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D-1

General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D-2

“Total Satisfaction” Return Policy (U.S. and Canada Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D-2

Index

xvii

Figures

Figure 1-1. Dell Inspector Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Figure 1-2. Security Cable Slot and Padlock Ring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Figure 1-3. Energy Star Emblem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Figure 2-1. System Setup Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Figure 2-2. Sample Device List Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Figure 3-1. ICU Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Figure 3-2. Add Network Card Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Figure 3-3. Card Configuration Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Figure 3-4. Configuration Settings Dialog Box for Assigning an IRQ Line . . . . 3-5

Figure 3-5. Available Settings List Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Figure 3-6. Configuration Settings Dialog Box

for Assigning a DMA Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Figure 3-7. Specify Interrupt Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Figure 3-8. Specify Interrupt List Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Figure 3-9. Specify I/O Port Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

Figure 3-10. System Resource Usage Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

Figure 3-11. Card Resource Usage Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

Figure 4-1. I/O Ports and Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Figure 5-1. Padlock Installed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Figure 5-2. Removing the Computer Cover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Figure 5-3. Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Figure 5-4. Computer Orientation View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Figure 5-5. Inside the Chassis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5

Figure 5-6. System Board Jumpers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6

Figure 5-7. Removing the Expansion-Card Cage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9

Figure 5-8. Rotating the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10

Figure 6-1. System Board Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Figure 6-2. Expansion Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Figure 6-3. Riser-Board Expansion-Card Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Figure 6-4. Removing the Filler Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3

Figure 6-5. Installing an Expansion Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3

Figure 6-6. DIMMs and DIMM Sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Figure 6-7. Installing a DIMM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Figure 6-8. Removing a DIMM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Figure 6-9. Installing a Video-Memory Upgrade Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Figure 6-10. Removing the Shroud and SEC Cartridge/Heat Sink Assem bly . . . . 6-8

Figure 6-11. System Battery and Battery Socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10

Figure 7-1. Drive Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

xviii

Figure 7-2. Removing the Front Bezel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2

Figure 7-3. Removing the Front-Panel Insert for a 5.25-Inch Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2

Figure 7-4. DC Power Cable Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3

Figure 7-5. Drive Interface Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-3

Figure 7-6. Removing a Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4

Figure 7-7. Attaching the Drive Bracket to the New Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4

Figure 7-8. Inserting the New Drive Into the Drive Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-5

Figure 7-9. Attaching Diskette Drive or Tape Drive Cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5

Figure 7-10. Removing the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7

Figure 7-11. Inserting a 1.6-Inch Hard-Disk Drive in the Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8

Figure 7-12. Inserting the Drive Bracket in the Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8

Figure 7-13. Attaching Hard-Disk Drive Cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-8

Figure 7-14. Internal SCSI Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10

Tables

Table 2-1. System-Setup Navigation Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Table 2-2. Power Time-Out Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Table 3-1. ICU Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Table 5-1. System-Board Jumper Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Table 5-2. System Board and Riser Board Connectors and Sockets . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Table 6-1. Sample DIMM Configuration Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5

Table A-1. Technical Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Table B-1. Configuration Utility Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-1

Table B-2. Configuration Manager Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-5

xix

Chapter 1

Introduction

ell® OptiPlex® GXa mini tower systems are high-

speed, expandable personal computers designed around the Intel a high-performance Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) design that allows you to configure the computer system to your initial requirements and then add Dellsupported upgrades as necessary. These systems also support the Industry-S tandard Architecture (ISA) bus for older expansion devices.

This chapter describes the major hardware and software features of your system, provides information about accessing the online documentation, and tells you where to find help if you need it.

Your system offers the following features:

•

Pentium® II microprocessor . Each system uses

ystem Features

An Intel Pentium II microprocessor that runs at an internal speed of 233, 266, or 300 megahertz (MHz) and an external speed of 66 MHz.

The Intel Pentium II microprocessor includes

™

MMX multimedia and communications software. This microprocessor incorporates new instructions and data types as well as a technique called Single Instruction, Multiple Data (SIMD) that allows the microprocessor to process multiple data elements in parallel, thereby improving overall system performance.

The Pentium II microprocessor has a 16-kilobyte (KB) internal data cache and a 16-KB internal instruction cache, an internal math coprocessor, and other advanced internal logic.

technology designed to handle complex

•

A keyboard command (<Ctrl><Alt><\>) that lets you switch between the microprocessor’s rated speed and a slower compatibility speed.

NOTE: This keyboard command is not available under the Microsoft OS/2®operating systems.

•

A secondary cache of 512 KB of static randomaccess memory (SRAM) included within the singleedge contact (SEC) cartridge, which also contains the microprocessor .

•

System memory that can be increased up to 384 megabytes (MB) by installing 16-, 32-, 64-, or 128-MB synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) in the three DIMM sockets on the system board. The system also supports both error checking and correction (ECC) and non-parity DIMMs. See “Adding Memory” in Chapter 6 for details.

•

Self-Monitoring Analysis Repo rti ng Technology (SMART) support, which warns you at system startup if your hard-disk drive has become unreliable. To take advantage of this technology, you must have a SMART-compliant hard-disk drive in your computer. All hard-disk drives shipped with OptiPlex GXa systems are SMART-compliant.

•

A basic input/output system (BIO S), which resides in flash memory and can be upgraded by diskette if required.

•

Full compliance with PCI specification 2.1.

•

Full Plug and Play version 1.0a capability, which greatly simplifies the installation of expansion cards. Plug and Play support included in the system BIOS allows you to install Plug and Play exp a nsion cards without setting jumpers or switches or performing other configuration tasks. The ISA Configuration

Windows NT® and IBM

Introduction 1-1

Utility (ICU) allows you to configure exis ting nonPlug and Play ISA expansion cards for conflict-f ree operation. Also, because the system BIOS is stored in flash memory, it can be updated to support future enhancements to the Plug and Play standard.

•

W akeup On L AN capability , which , when enabled in the System Setup program, allows the system to be powered up from a server management console. W akeup On LAN capability also allows remote computer setup, software downloading and installation, file updates, and asset tracking after hours and on weekends when LAN traffic is at a minimum.

NOTE: An optional Wakeup On LAN-capable network card is required to use the Wakeup On LAN feature.

•

Universal Serial Bus (USB) capability, which can simplify connecting peripheral devices such as mice, printers, and computer speakers. The USB connectors on your computer’s back panel, which are enabled by default, provide a single connection point for multiple USB-compliant devices. USBcompliant devices can also be connected and disconnected while the system is running.

•

A modular computer chassis with a minimum number of screws for easy disassembly and improved serviceability.

The system board includes the following built-in features:

•

Three 32-bit PCI expansion slots, two shared PCI (32-bit)/ISA (16-bi t ) ex pans i on sl ots , and two 16-bit ISA expansion slots on a riser board.

•

A 64-bit accelerated graphics port (AGP) video subsystem, which includes the ATI 3D Rage Pro super video graphics array (SVGA) video controller. This video subsystem contains 2MB, expandable up to 4 MB, of synchronous graphics random-access memory (SGRAM) video memory. Maximum resolutions are 1600 x 1200 pixels with 256 colors noninterlaced and 1024 x 768 pixels with 65,5 36 colors noninterlaced. In 800- x 600- and 640- x 480pixel resolutions, 16.7 million colors are available for true-color graphics.

AGP provides a dedicated bus from the video subsystem to the system chip set. AGP-based video

subsystems have two signif icant perf orman ce advantages over PCI-based video subsystems:

— The AGP bus reduces bandwidth requirements

of the PCI bus, improving overall system performance.

— The AGP bus allows a 3D video subsystem to

execute directly from main memory.

•

A diskette/tape drive interface, which supports a

3.5-inch diskette drive and, optiona lly, a second diskette drive or ta pe drive.

•

Enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) support. The primary and secondary interface are both located on the PCI bus to provide faster data throughput. Each interface supports high-capacity EIDE drives, as well as devices such as ATA 33 hard-disk drives, EIDE CD-ROM drives, and EIDE tape drives.

•

Two high-performance serial ports and one bidirectional parallel port for connecting external devices. The parallel port is fully Enhanced Capabilities Port (ECP)-compliant.

•

A Personal System/2 (PS/ 2)- style keyboard port and a PS/2-compatible mouse port.

•

An optional, integrated, 10/100-megabit-per-second (Mbps) 3Com (MAC) Ethernet network interface controller (NIC). The NIC is configured using software described in Chapter 4, “Using Integrated Devices.”

•

A 16-bit, integrated Plug and Play Crystal CS4236B audio controller that provides all the sound functions of the Sound Blaster Pro expansion card. For information, see your online

The following software is included with your Dell computer system:

•

Utilities that safeguard your system and enhance the operation of its hardware features, such as maximizing your monitor’s resolution capabili ties. For information on these utilities, see your online

User’s Guide

•

Video drivers for displaying many popular application programs in high-resolution modes. For more information on these utilities, see your online

User’s Guide

PCI 3C916B media access controller

System User’s Guide

System

1-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

•

Audio drivers for enabling the sound functions on the expansion sound card. For more information on these utilities, see your online System User’s Guide.

•

Bus mastering EIDE dri vers to im prove performance by off-loading certain functions from the microprocessor during multithreaded operation (when several application programs are running simultaneously). For more information on these utilities, see your online System User’s Guide.

•

The System Setup program for quickly viewing and changing the system configuration information for your system. For more information on this program, see Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program.”

•

An Auto Power On utility that enables your system to perform routine tasks automatically in your absence. For more information on this utility, see your online System User’ s Guide.

•

Enhanced security features (a setup password, a system password, a system-password lock option , a write-protect option for diskette drives, and automatic display of the system’s service tag number) available through the Sy stem Setup pr ogr am. In addition, a customer-definable asset tag number can be assigned via a software s upport ut ility and viewed on the System Setup screens. For more information, see your online System User’s Guide and Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program.”

•

Advanced power management options that can reduce the energy consumption of your system. For more information, see Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program.”

•

The ICU, which tells you how to configure ISA expansion cards manually. After resources have been assigned to these cards, the system BIOS can assign resources to PCI and Plug and Play expansion cards for a conflict-free configuration. For more information, see Chapter 3, “Using the ISA Configuration Utility.”

•

Dell Diagnostics for evaluating the computer’s components and devices. For information on using the diagnostics, see the chapter titled “Running the Dell Diagnostics” in the

Guide

Diagnostics and T r oubles hooting

•

Network device drivers for several network operating systems. These drivers are described in Chapter 4, “Using Integrated Devices.”

•

Desktop Management Interface (DMI) support, which enables the management of your computer system’s software and hardware. DMI defines the software, interfaces, and data files that enable your system to determine and report information about system components.

If your system has a Dell-installed Microsoft Windows dows NT operating system, DMI is already installed on your system’s hard-disk drive. To learn more about DMI, double-click the DMI icon in the Windows Control Pa nel.

If you ordered Dell-installed software with your system, such as MS-DOS other program s, Dell provides a m enu that allows you to make program diskette sets of your Dellinstalled software. A uninstalled version of a software package that you can use to reinstall or reconfigure the software. You can use this same menu to remove

files

in a program diskette set) to reclaim space on the computer’s hard-d isk drive. F or more informati on on making program diskette sets, see the online help provided in the Dell Program Diskette Maker, which is available in the Dell Accessories program group or folder .

•

The Dell Inspector program, which is a DMI browser that allows you to view your computer’s current hardware configu ration and opera ting system version (see Figure 1-1). The Dell Inspector provides information you may need if you call Dell for technical assistance or if you install hardware or software in your system. The Dell Inspector program is located in the Dell Accessories program group or folder.

The Dell Inspector program is available in client and administrator versions. In addition to the client features described in the preceding paragraph, the Dell

, Windows for Workgroups™, or Win-

, Microsoft Windows, or

program diskette set

diskette image

(individual files that correspond to each diskette

is an

Introduction 1-3

Inspector administrator version enables system administrators to view, manage, and inventory remote systems in a Dell DMI client network.

Figure 1-1. Dell Inspector Program

sing the Power Switch

If the system does not turn off when the power switch is pressed, the system may be hung. Press and hold the power switch until the system turns off completely (this may take several seconds). Alternatively, press the reset button to turn the system off when it is hung.

1-4 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

ecurity Cable Slot and Padlock

Ring

On the back of the computer are a security cable slot and padlock ring (see Figure 1-2) for attachi ng commercial l y available antitheft devices. Security cables for personal computers usually include a segment of galvanized cable with an attached locking device and key. To prevent unauthorized removal of your computer, loop the cable around an immovable object, insert the locking device into the security cable slot on the back of your computer, and lock the device with the key provided. Complete instructions for installing this kind of antitheft device are usually included with the device.

NOTE: Antitheft devices are of differing designs. Before purchasing such a device, make sur e it will work with the cable slot on your computer.

security cable slot

padlock ring

The padlock ring allows you to secure the computer cover to the chassis to prevent unauthorized access to the inside of the computer. To use the padlock ring, insert a commercially available padlock through the ring and then lock the padlock.

Figure 1-2. Security Cable Slot and Padlock Ring

nergy Star Compliance

Certain configuration s of Dell com puter systems comply with the requirements set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for energy-ef ficient comput ers. If the front panel of your computer bears the Energy Star Emblem (see Figure 1-3), your original configuration complied with these requirements and all Energy Star power management features of the co mputer ar e enabled. To disable or change the operation of these features, you must change the setting for the Power Management category in the System Setup program. For instructions, see Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program.”

NOTES: As an Energy Star Partner, Dell Computer Corporation has determined that this product meets the Energy Star guidelines for energy efficiency.

Any Dell computer bearing the Energy Star Emblem is certified to comply with EPA Energy Star requir ements as configured when shipped by Dell. Any changes you

make to this configuration (such as installing additi onal expansion cards or drives) may increase the system’s power consumption beyond the limits set by the EPA’s Energy Star Computers program.

Figure 1-3. Energy Star Emblem

The EPA’s Energy Star Computers program is a joint effort between the EPA and computer manufacturers to reduce air pollution by promoting energy-efficient computer products. The EPA estimates that use of Energy Star computer products can save computer users up to two billion dollars annually in electricity cos ts. In tu rn, this reduction in electricity usage can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas primarily responsible for the greenhouse effect, and sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are the two primary causes of acid rain.

Computer users can also help to reduce electricity usage and its side effects by turning off their computer systems when they are not in use for extended periods of time— particularly at night and on weekends.

mportant Note for Windows 95

Users

Your system was co nfigured by Dell to optimize the Microsoft Windows 95 operating system features. To ensure that all of these features are maintained on your system, you must use the version of the Windows 95 operating system that Dell installed on yo ur hard-disk drive.

Should you need to reinstall the Windows 95 operating system on an OptiPlex GXa system for any reason, you

must be sure to reinstall the correct version. Dell recommends performing a periodic ta pe backup of t he system’s entire hard-disk drive so that, if necessary, the operating system, drivers, and other software can be reinstalled as originally configured with a minimum of d owntime.

Introduction 1-5

If you are unable to reinstall your software from a tape backup of the hard-disk drive, you can reinstall the Windows 95 operating system from the system’s W indows 95 backup media (CD or diskettes) that you received from Dell or created from the Dell-installed software on your system. However, if you reinstall the Windows 95 operat-

ing system in this manner , the bus-mastering functionality of the Windows 95 EIDE driver, which was operative in your original configuration, will be disabled. (Your sys-

tem will operate without the bus-mastering fun c tionality with only a small degradation in performance. For information on the advantag es of u sing bu s-mast erin g drivers , see “Bus-Mastering EIDE Drivers” in the “Using Drivers and Utilities” section of your onlin e System User’s Guide.) You may also need to reinstall your system’s video, audio, and NIC drivers from the diskettes created from the Dell-installed software on your system.

NOTE: If you are a system administrator of corporate networks and you must download the Windows 95 operating system from a server to client systems, make sure that you have the Windows 95 backup media for the OptiPlex GXa system on your server before downloading.

ntel PIIX4 INF Update Installer for

Windows 95

NOTE: The following procedure applies only to versions of the Microsoft Windows 95 operating system installed by Dell.

If you must reinstall Windows 95 on your computer system, you also need to run the Intel PIIX4 INF Update Installer for Windows 95 immediately after installing the operating system. Doing so enables Windows 95 to detect and configure PCI devices controlled by the integrated 82371AB component.

Before you can perform the update, yo u mu st make a dis kette copy of the update software from the d isk im age o n the hard-disk drive. To make the diskette copy, use the Program Diskette Maker, which is located in the Dell Accessories folder on your system. Refer to the online System User’s Guide for information about using the Program Diskette Maker.

The following procedure describes how to install the update:

1. Insert the Windows 95 Intel Support Driver Ver. A00 diskette into drive A.

2. Click the St art bu t ton and click Run.

3. Type a:\setup.exe and press Enter.

4. Click Next on the Welcome Screen.

The license agreement opens in the Notepad application program.

5. View the text file and close the Notepad application program when you are ready to proceed.

6. Click Yes to continue.

The next dialog box lists the information (.inf) files on your system that will be revised by the update software.

7. Click Next to continue.

8. Click OK to start the update.

9. When the update is complete, remove the diskette from the diskette drive and click OK to restart your system.

During start-up, the operating system detects new hardware and the Update Device Driver Wizard screen appears.

10. Click Next to continue.

The system finds the hardware device driver on the hard-disk drive and installs it.

11. Click Finish to continue.

The system continues its start-up routine. When Windows 95 finishes loading, a dialog box appears and informs you that the system configuration settings have changed and asks if you want to restart your system.

12. Click OK to restart the system.

ccessing Online

Documentation

The online System User’s Guide installed on your hard- disk drive contains information on the follo wing topics:

How to use the online System User’s Guide

•

System features

•

1-6 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

•

Using drivers and utilities

•

Using the integrated audio controller

•

Using the System Setup program

•

Configuring expansion cards

•

Securing your computer

•

Connecting external devices

•

Maintaining the system

•

Contacting Dell

The guide also contains a glossary of commonly used terms and abbreviations.

The System User’s Guide is located in the Dell Accesso- ries program group or folder.

To print any of the topics from this guide, display the topic you want on your screen and select Print Topic from the File menu.

etting Help

Dell provides a number of tools to help you if you don’t understand a procedure described in this guide or if your system does not perform as expected. For inf orm ation on these help tools, see the chapter titled “Getting Help” in your Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide or the “Contacting Dell” section in the online System User’s Guide.

Introduction 1-7

1-8 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Chapter 2

Using the System Setup Program

ach time you turn on your computer system or press

the reset button, the system compares the hardware installed in the system to the hardware listed in the system configuration information stored in nonvolatile random-access memory (NVRAM) on the system board. If the system detects a discrepancy, it generates error messages that identify the incorrect configuration settings. The system then prompts you to enter the System Setup program to correct the setting.

You can use the System Setup program as follows:

•

To change the system configuration information after you add, change, or remove any hardware in your system

•

To set or change user-selectable options—for example, the time or date on your system

You can view the current settings at any time. When you change a setting, in many cases you must reboot the system before the change takes effect.

After you set up your system, run the System Setup program to familiarize yourself with your system configuration information and optional settings. Dell recommends that you print the System Setup screens (by pressing the <Print Screen> key) or write down t he info rmation for future reference.

Before you use the System Setup program, you need to know the kind of diskette drive(s) and hard-disk drive(s) installed in your computer. If you are unsure of any of this information, see the Manufacturing Test Report that

was shipped with your system. You can access the Manufacturing Test Report from the Dell Accessories folder or program group.

ntering the System Setup

Pro

Enter the System Setup program as follows:

1. Turn on your system.

2. Press <Ctrl><Alt><Enter> immediately after you

If you wait too long and your operating system begins to load into memory, let the system complete the load

operation; then shut down the system and try again. NOTE: To ensure an orderly system shutdown, consult

the documentation that accompanied your operating system.

You can also enter the System Setup program by responding to certain error messages. See “Respondin g to Error Messages” at the end of this chapter.

ram

If your system is already on, shut it down and then turn it on again.

see the following message:

Press <Ctrl><Alt><Enter> for System Setup

Using the System Setup Program 2-1

ystem Setup Screens

sing the System Setup Program

The two System Setup screens, Page 1 and Page 2, display the current setup and configu ration information and optional settings for your system. (Typical examples are illustrated in Figure 2-1.) Information on the two System Setup screens is organized in five boxed areas:

•

Title box The box at the top of both screens lists the system

name, page n umber (Page 1 or Page 2), and the revision number of the basic input/output system (BIOS).

•

Configuration options T

he box on the left half of both screens lists the categories that define the installed hardware in your computer.

Fields beside the categories contain options or values; those that appear bright on the screen can be changed. Options or values that you cannot change because they are determined by the system appear less bright.

Some categories have multiple fields, which may show options or values as bright or less bright depending upon what options or values you entered in other fields.

•

Help T

he box on the upper-right half of both screens displays help information for the cate gory with a currently highlighted field.

•

System data The box in the lower-right corner of both screens

displays information about your system.

•

Key functions The line of boxes across the bottom of both screens

lists keys and their functions within the System Setup program.

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

Table 2-1. System-Setup Navigation Keys

Keys Action

Moves to the next field.

Moves to the previous field.

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

Scrolls through help information.

Switches between Pages 1 and 2.

Exits the System Setup program without rebooting the system and returns the system to its previous state—the boot routine.

For most of the categories, any changes you make are recorded but do not take effect until the next time you boot the system. For a few categories (as noted in the help area) the changes take effect immediately.

Exits the System Setup program and reboots the system, implementing any changes you have made.

2-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

configuration options

Page 1 of 2

Dell Computer Corporation (www.dell.com)

System OptiPlex GXa 233MTbr EM+ Setup

title box

BIOS Version:

help

XXX

Time: 13:17:02

Diskette Drive A: Diskette Drive B:

Date: Mon Sept 1, 1997

3.5 inch, 1.44 MB Not Installed

Drives: Primary Type Cyls Hds Pre LZ Sec Size Drive 0:Auto 1023 64 -1 1023 63 2111 Drive 1:None

Secondary Drive 0:Auto CD-ROM Device Drive 1:None

Reserved Memory:

CPU Speed:

Num Lock:

Tab,Shift-Tab change fields

Page 2 of 2

Keyboard Errors: System Password: Password Status:

Boot Sequence:

Setup Password:

Auto Power On:

Power Management:

Wakeup On LAN:

Integrated Devices

Sound:

NIC:

Serial Port 1: Serial Port 2: Parallel Port: Parallel Mode: IDE Hard Disk:

Tab,Shift-Tab change fields

Mouse:

Diskette:

Speaker:

None 233 MHz On

change values Esc exit

key functions

Dell Computer Corporation (www.dell.com)

System OptiPlex GXa 233MTbr EM+ Setup

Report Not Enabled Unlocked Diskette First Not Enabled Disabled 00:00 Disabled On (Add-in NIC)

On On On Auto Auto 378h AT Auto Auto On

change values

This category sets the time in 24-hour format (hours:minutes: seconds) for the internal clock/ calendar.

To change the value in a field, enter a number or use the leftor right-arrow key.

Changes take effect immediately.

Pentium

Level 2 Cache: System Memory: Video Memory:

Asset Tag:

Alt-P next

II Processor 233 MHz

512 KB Integrated 16 MB SDRAM 2 MB SGRAM

Service Tag:

XXXXX XXXXX

system data

BIOS Version:

Alt-B reboot

This category sets whether keyboardrelated error messages are reported at system startup.

Pentium® II Processor 233 MHz

Level 2 Cache:

System Memory: Video Memory:

Service Tag:

Asset Tag:

Alt-P next

512 KB Integrated 16 MB SDRAM 2 MB SGRAM

XXXXX XXXXX

Esc exit

Alt-B reboot

XXX

Figure 2-1. System Setup Screens

Using the System Setup Program 2-3

ystem Setup Categories

The following subsections explain in detail each of the categories on the System Setup screens.

Time

Time resets the time on the computer’s internal clock. Time is kept in a 24-hour format (hours:minutes:sec-

onds). To change the time, press the right-arrow key to increase the number in the highlighted field or press the left-arrow key to decrease the number. If you prefer, you can type numbers in each of the appropriate fields.

Date

Date resets the date on the computer’s internal calendar. Your system automa tically displays the day of the week

corresponding to the settings in the three fields that follow (month, day-of-month, and year).

To change the date, press the right-arrow key to increase the number in the highlighted field or press the left-arrow key to decrease the number. If you prefer, you can type numbers in the month and day-of-month fields.

Diskette Drive A and Diskette Drive B

Diskette Drive A and Diskette Drive B identify the type of diskette drives installed in your computer. With the standard cabling configuration, Diskette Drive A (the boot diskette drive) is the 3.5-inch diskette drive installed in the top externally accessible drive bay; Diskette Drive B is any drive installed in the bottom externally accessible drive bay that is connected to the system’s diskette/ tape drive interface.

The category options always match the physical locations of the drives in your computer—the first drive listed on Page 1 of the System Setup screens is the top drive in your computer.

The options are:

•

5.25 Inch, 360 KB

•

5.25 Inch, 1.2 MB

•

3.5 Inch, 720 KB

•

3.5 Inch, 1.44 MB

•

Not Installed

NOTE: Tape drives are not reflected in the Drive A and Diskette Drive B categories. For example, if you have a single diskett e drive and a t ape drive attach ed to the diskette/tape drive interface cable, set the Diskette Drive A diskette drive and set the Diskette Drive B category to Not Installed.

category to match the characteristics of the

Diskette

Drives: Primary and Secondary

Primary identifies drives attached to the primary enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) interface connector (labeled “IDE1”) on the system board; Secondary identifies drives connected to the secondary EIDE interface connector (labeled “IDE2”). It is recommended that you use the secondary EIDE interface connector for EIDE CD-ROM and EIDE tape drives.

NOTES: For all devices from Dell that use the built-in EIDE controller, set the appropriate Auto.

You must have an EIDE device connected to the primary EIDE interface if you have an EIDE device connected to the secondary EIDE interface.

For both the Primary and Seco ndary d r i v e s ections, t h e Drive 0 and Drive 1 categories identify the type of EIDE devices installed in the computer. For each drive, seven parameters can be chosen as a group by drive-type number, entered individually from the keyboard or set automatically. A drive-type number sp ecifies the parameters of a hard-disk dr ive, based on a table r ecorded in the system’s BIOS.

To choose a setting for these categories, type characters from the keyboard or use the left- or right-arrow key to cycle through the choices. The options are:

•

Auto (use this setting for all EIDE devices from Dell)

•

None

•

USR1 or USR2

•

A specific drive-type number

NOTE: Operating system s that bypass the system BIOS may not obtain optimum hard-disk drive performance.

Drive category to

2-4 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

EIDE Devices

For EIDE hard-disk drives, the system provides an automatic drive-type detect feature. To use this feature for Drive 0, highlight the Drive 0 category in the Primary drive section and type a (for automatic); to use it for Drive 1, highlight the Drive 1 category and type a. In each case, the category setting changes to Auto. After you reboot the system, the System Setup Program automatically sets the correct drive-type number and parameters for each drive.

Before installing a new EIDE hard-disk drive, also check the documentation that came with the drive to verify that all jumper settings on the drive are appropriate for your configuration.

If You Have a Problem

If the system generates a drive error message the first time you boot your system after installing an EIDE drive, it may mean that your particular d rive does not work with the automatic drive-type detect feature. If you suspect that your problem is related to drive type, try entering your drive-type in for mation i n on e of th e fo llowin g ways.

If You Know the Drive-Type Number

Use the drive-type number you found in the documentation that came with the drive or, if the drive was installed by Dell when you purchased your system, access the Manufacturing Test Report from the Dell Accessories folder or program group.

To set the drive-type number in the System Setup program, highlight the appropriate drive category (Drive 0 or Drive 1 in the Primary drive section) and type the correct drive-type number. If you prefer, you can press the right- or left-arrow key to increase or decrease, respectively, the drive-type number until the correct one is displayed.

If You Do Not Know the Drive-Type Number

The Drive 0 and Drive 1 categories display the following seven parameters for each drive:

•

Type is the drive-type number for the selected harddisk drive.

•

Cyls is the number of logical cylinders.

•

Hds indicates the number of logical heads in the drive.

•

Pre (precompensation cylinder) is the cylinder number at which the electrical current for the drive head changes to compensate for differences in data density across the disk surface (this parameter has no effect for EIDE drives).

•

Lz is the cylinder number that is used as the

drive’s landing zone for the heads when the drive is not in use.

•

Sec is the number of logical sectors per track.

•

Size (automatically calculated by the system) indicates the number of millions of bytes of storage provided by the drive.

If none of the supp orted dr ive type s match the paramet ers of your new drive, you can enter your own parameters. T o do so, highlight the Drive 0 category and type u to display USR1. You can then use the right- or left-arrow key to switch between the USR1 two user-defined drive types are allowed). Then press the <Tab> key to highlight each of the parameter fields in succession, and enter the appropriate number for each field.

NOTE: The USR1 both the and Secondary drive sections. However, if you select the USR1 or USR2 drive type, yo u may not obtain optimum hard-disk drive performance. Also, the drive types cannot be used for hard-disk drives greater than 528 megabytes (MB) in capacity.

Drive 0 and Drive 1 categories in the Primary

USR2 drive types can be used for

and

and USR2 settings (only

USR1 and USR2

Reserved Memory

Reserved Memory allows you to designate a region of system board memory that can be supplied by an expansion card. You should not enable the reserved memory feature unless you are using an expansion card that requires special addressing.

For example, you may have a m emory expans ion card that needs to be addressed starting at 15 MB. Selecting the 15M - 16M specifies that the base memory from 15 to 16 MB come from the memory expansion card (the base memory below the 15-MB address comes from the dual in-line memory modules [DIMMs] on the system board).

op t i o n in th e Reserved Memory category

Using the System Setup Program 2-5

The Reserved Memory category has the following options:

•

None (the default option)

•

512K - 640K

•

15M - 16M

CPU Speed

CPU Speed indicates the processor speed at which your system boots.

Press the left- or right-arrow key to toggle the CPU Speed

category between the resident microprocessor’s

rated speed (the default) and a lower compatibility speed, which lets you accommodate speed-sensitive application programs. A change to this category takes effect immediately (rebooting the system is not required).

Y ou can also toggle between the rated processor speed and the compatibility speed while the system is running in real mode by pressing <Ctrl><Alt><\>. (For keyboards that do not use American English, press <Ctrl><Alt><#>.)

Num Lock

Num Lock determines whether your system boots with the Num Lock mode activated on 101- or 102-key keyboards (it does not apply to 84-key keyboards).

When Num Lock mode is activated, the rightmost bank of keys on your keyboard provides the mathematical and numeric functions shown at the tops of the keys. When Num Lock mode is turned off, these keys provide cursor-control functions according to the label on the bottom of each key.

Keyboard Errors

Keyboard Errors enables or disables reporting of keyboard errors during the power-on self-test (POST), which is a series of tests that the system performs on the hardware each time you turn on the system or press the reset button.

This category is useful when applied to self- sta rting servers or host systems that have no permanently attached keyboard. In these situations, selecting suppresses all error messages relating to the keyboard or to the keyboard controller during POST. This option does not affect the operation of the keyboard itself if a keyboard is attached to the computer.

Do Not Report

System Password

System Password displays the current status of your system’s password security feature and allows you to assign and verify a new password. No one can assign a new password unless the current status is Not Enabled, which is displayed in bright characters.

The options for the System Password catego ry are:

•

Not Enabled (the default option)

•

Enabled

•

Disabled by Jumper

NOTE: Read “Using the System Password Feature” found later in this chapter for instructions on assigning a system password and using or changing an existing system password. See “Disabling a Forgotten Password” found later i n this chapter for instructions on di sabling a forgotten system password.

Password Status

When Setup Password is set to Enabled, Password Status allows you to prevent the system password from being changed or disabled at system start-up.

To lock the system password, you must first assign a setup password in the Setup Password category and then change the Password Status category to Locked. In this state, the system password cannot be changed throu gh the System

Password category and cannot be disabled at sys-

tem start-up by pressing <Ctrl><Enter>. T o unlock the system password, you must enter t he set u p

password in the Setup Password category and then change the Password Status category to Un locked. I n this state, the system password can be disabled at system start-up by pressing <Ctrl><Enter> and then changed through the System Password category.

Boot Sequence

Boot Sequence can be set to Diskette First (the default option), Hard Disk Only, CD-ROM First, or Device List.

The term procedure. When turned on, the system “bootstraps” itself into an operational state by loading into memory a small program, which in turn loads the necessary operating system. Boot Sequence where to look for the files that it needs to load.

refers to the system’s start-up

boot

tells the system

2-6 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Diskette First

Selecting Diskette First caus e s t h e s y s t e m t o t r y booting from drive A first. If the system finds a diskette that is not bootable in the drive or finds a problem with the drive itself, it displays an error message. If it does not find a diskette in the drive, the system tries to boot f rom the hard-di sk drive ( drive 0 ), then from the CD-ROM, and finally fr om the Plug an d Play network adapters in the order found.

Hard Disk Only

Selecting Hard Disk Only causes the system to attempt to boot first from the hard-disk drive and then from the Plug and Play network adapters in the order found.

CD-ROM First

Selecting CD-ROM First causes the system to try booting from the CD-ROM drive first. If the system finds a CD that is not bootable in the drive or finds a problem with the drive itself, it displays an error message. If it does not find a CD in the drive, the system tries to boot from drive A, then from drive C, and finally from the Plug and Play network adapters in the order found.

Device List

Device List provides access to the Device List screen where you can choose from a list of available boot devices to boot from and specify the order in which your computer attempts to boot from these devices. To view the Device List screen, press <Ctrl> and the right-arrow key.

CAUTION: Only a technical ly knowledgea ble pers on should change the settings in the Device List screen.

The Device List screen (see Figure 2-2) provides three categories for listing and prioritizing the available boot devices on your system:

•

Boot Device Priority

•

Exclude From Boot Device Priority

•

Device Controller Priority

The Boot Device Priority category lists all bootable devices (hard-disk drives, CD-ROM drives, and so on) that are controlled by the system BIOS and any Plug and Play network adapters installed in the system.

The Exclude From Boot Device Priority category allows you to remove from the Boot Device Priority category any boot devices that you want the system to ignore during system start-up.

The Device Controller Priority category lists the system BIOS controller; any non-Plug and Play devices, such as network adapter cards; and any secondary controller cards, such as a small computer system interface (SCSI) adapter, installed in the system.

NOTE: Non-Plug and Play devices appear in this list as

Adapters without ID support

When determining the order of devices to boot from, the system first considers the order of the devices listed under the Device Controller Priority category, then the order of devices under Boot Device Priority.

To specify your priority preferences, order the devices under these categories so that the highest-priority controller is at the top of the Device Controller Priority category and the highest-priority device is at the top of the Boot Device Priority category . Order the remain der of the devices in the Boot Device Priority category according to your preferences. Move any devices that you want the system to ignore during start-up into the Exclude From Boot Device Priority category.

NOTE: The system defines drive C in the Boot Device Priority category as the first hard-disk drive attached to the highest-priority device controller. Therefore, if you have a SCSI adapter installed in your system and you want the SCSI drive 0 to be drive C, you must move the SCSI adapter item to the top of the Device Contr oller Priority category.

To change the order of the devices, press <Ctrl> and the up- or down-arrow key. If you want to revert to the original Boot Device Priority category settings, press <Ctrl><Del>.

NOTE: If you exit the Device List option by pressing <Esc> or <Alt><b> without making any changes, the Boot Sequence category is set to the Device List option.

Using the System Setup Program 2-7

Device List

Dell Computer Corporation (www.dell.com)

System OptiPlex GXa 233MTbr EM+ Setup

BIOS Version:

XXX

Boot Device Priority: Diskette drive A LANDesk Service Agent for 3C090X Hard drive C: CD-ROM device

Exclude from Boot Device Priority:

Device Controller Priority: System BIOS boot devices

Ctrl-Del original list

Ctrl move item

Figure 2-2. Sample Device List Screen

Setup Password

Setup Password lets you restrict access to your computer’s System Setup program in the same way that you restrict access to your system with the system password feature. The options are:

•

Not Enabled (the default option)

•

Enabled

•

Disabled by Jumper

NOTE: Read “Using the Setup Password Feature” found later in this chapter for instructions on assigning a setup password and using or changing an existing setup password. See “Disabli ng a Forgotten Password” found later in this chapter for instruct ions on disabling a forgotten setup password.

The DEVICE LIST contains devices that may be bootable. The system attempts to boot from the devices in the list as ordered. If you ESC or ALT-B from this menu, the displayed order becomes the boot selection.

Ctrl-Ins moves items between “Boot Device Priority” and “Exclude from Boot Device Priority” only.

PgDn next 1 of 2 PgUp prev

Pentium® II Processor 233 MHz

Level 2 Cache: System Memory: Video Memory:

Asset Tag:

Ctrl return

Service Tag:

Ctrl-Ins move to other list

512 KB Integrated 16 MB SDRAM 2 MB SGRAM

XXXXX XXXXX

Auto Power On

Auto Power On allows you to set the time and days of the week to turn on the computer system automatically. You can set Auto Power On to turn on the system either every day or every Monday through Friday.

NOTE: This feature will not work if you shut off your system using a power strip or surge protector.

Time is kept in a 24-hour format (hours:minutes). To change the start-up time, press the right-arrow key to increase the number in the highlighted field or press the left-arrow key to decrease the number. If you prefer, you can type numbers in both fields.

The default for Auto Power On is Disabled.

2-8 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Power Management

For certain types of monitors and most EIDE hard-disk drives, you can reduce system power consumption by enabling the power management feature. With Power Management enabled, these monitors and drives automatically switch into low-pow er mode during periods of system inactivity.

Power Management Maximum, Regular, and Minimum

can be implemented at three levels—

. (The different levels

apply to the monitor only; hard-disk drive operation is the same for all three.) The default setting for this category is Disabled.

Saving Monitor Power

If you have a Video Electronics Standards Association

(VESA (DPMS)-compliant monitor, enabling the Power Management category reduces monitor power consumption during periods of keyboard and mouse inactivity.

NOTE: The power management feature monitors activity of a mouse connected to the Personal System/2 (PS/2)compatible mouse port.

By setting Power Management to Minimum, you can set predefined time-out periods (see Table 2-2) for the two successive monitor shutdown stages, standby and off .

NOTE: Each monitor manufactur er defi nes the det ail s of the shutdown stages for its own monitors. But in all cases, power consumption decr eas es wi th each stage f rom “on” (full power) to “standby” (reduced power; the display image usually disappears) to “off” (where power consumption is minimal). To define these stages for your monitor, see the documentation that came with the monitor.

From either shutdown stage, you can return fu ll p ower to the monitor in one of the following ways:

•

) Display Power Management Signalin g

CAUTION: Check your monitor documentation to make sure you have a DPMS-compliant monitor before you enable this feature. Otherwise, you risk damaging the monitor.

Maximum, Regular, or

For most DPMS-compliant monitors, any subsequent activity—including moving the mouse— should return full power to the monitor.

A few DPMS-compliant monitors require that you

•

turn monitor power off and then on again to return to full power .

Check your monitor documentation for in for mat ion on how your monitor is designed to operate.

Saving EIDE Hard-Disk Drive Power

For most systems, enabling Power Management at any level causes EIDE hard-disk drives to switch to lowpower mode after about 20 minutes of system inactivity (see Table 2-2).

NOTES: All EIDE drives shipped with your system support this feature. (For more information on Energy Star systems, see “Energy Star Compliance” in Chapter 1.)

However, not all EIDE hard-disk drives support this feature. Enabling this feature for drives that do not support it may cause the EIDE drive to become inoperable until the computer is restarted and the Pow er Management category is disabled.

In low-power mode, the disks inside the drive stop spinning. They remain idle until the next drive access, which causes them to start spinning again. (Because the disks take a few seconds to regain full speed, you may notice a slight delay when you next access the hard-disk drive.)

When Power Management

is set to

default), the disks spin constantly as long as the system is turned on.

Table 2-2. Power Time-Out Periods

Power Management Setting

EIDE Drive Spindown Time-Outs

Disabled Never Never Never Maximum 20 minutes 10 minutes 1 hour Regular 20 minutes 20 minutes 1 hour Minimum 20 minutes 1 hour Never

Disabled (th e

Monitor Standby Time-Outs

Monitor Off Time-Outs

Using the System Setup Program 2-9

Wakeup on LAN

Wakeup on LAN determines whether the Wakeup on LAN feature is set to Off or On (Add-in NIC). You m ust reboot your system before a change takes effect.

NOTE: An optional Wakeup On LAN-capable network card is required to use the Wakeup On LAN feature.

Sound

Sound determines whether the integr ated audio control ler is On or Off. You must reboot your system before a change takes effect.

NIC

NIC determines whether the optional integrated NIC is On or Off. You must reboot your system before a change takes effect.

Mouse

Mouse enables or disables the system’s built-in PS/2compatible mouse port. Disabling the mouse allows an expansion card to use IRQ12.

For more information about built-in ports, port designations, IRQs, and the remapping of ports, see “Conn ecting External Devices” in your online

System User’s Guide

Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2

Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2 configure the system’s built-in serial ports. These categories can be set to Auto (the default option) to automatically configure a port, to a particular designation (COM1 or COM3 for Ser ial COM2 or COM4 for Serial Port 2), or to Off the port.

If you set a serial port to Auto and add an exp a nsio n card containing a port configured to the same designation, the system automatically remaps the built-in p ort to the next available port designation that shares the same IRQ setting as f ollow s :

•

COM1 (input/output [I/O] address 3F8h), which shares IRQ4 with COM3, is remapped to COM3 (I/O address 3E8h).

Port 1;

to disable

•

Likewise, COM2 (I/O address 2F8h), which shares IRQ3 with COM4, is remapped to COM4 (I/O address 2E8h).

NOTES: When two COM ports share an IRQ setting, you can use either port as necessary, but

to use them both at the same time

(COM3 or COM4) is also in use, the built-in port is turned off.

If you are using the Microsoft Windows 95 or IBM OS/2 operating system, you cannot use both serial ports at the same time.

For more information about built-in ports, port designations, IRQs, and the remapping of ports, see “Connectin g External Devices” in your online System User’s Guide.

you may not be able

. If the second port

Parallel Port

Parallel Port configures the system’s built-in parallel port. This category can be set to 378h alternate addresses port.

NOTE: Do not set Parallel Port to 278h if you have an Enhanced Capabilities Port (ECP) device connected to the port.

278h or 3BCh, or to Off to disable the

(the default), to

Parallel Mode

Parallel Mode controls whether the system’s built-in parallel port acts as an AT-comp ati b le (uni di rectional) or PS/2-compatible (bidirectional) port.

Your system also supports ECP mode, which can be used by the Windows 95 operating system. Windows 95 uses ECP protocol automatically if it detects an ECP-capable device, eliminating the need for an ECP option in this category.

Set this category according to the type of peripheral device connected to the parallel port. To determine the correct mode to use, see the documentation that came with the device.

IDE Hard Disk

IDE Hard Disk enables or disables the system’s built-in EIDE hard-disk drive interface.

With Auto (the default option) selected, the system turns off the built-in EIDE interface when neces sary to

2-10 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.

As part of the boot routine, the system first checks for a primary hard-disk drive controller card installed in an expansion slot. If no card is found, the system ena bles the built-in EIDE interface to use IRQ14 and IRQ15.

If a primary controller is detected on the expansion bus, the built-in EIDE interface is disabled.

Selecting Off disables the built-in EIDE interface.

Diskette

Diskette controls the operation of the sy stem’s built-in diskette drive controller.

With Auto (the default option) selected, the system turns off the built-in diskette drive controller when necessary to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.

With Write Protect selected, nothing can be written to diskette drives and tape drives using the system’s built-in diskette drive controller. (The system can still read from the drives.) When this option is selected, the Auto option (whereby the system turns off the built-in diskette drive controller as necessary) is also in effect.

Selecting Off turns off the built-in diskette/tape drive controller; this option is used primarily for troubleshooting purposes.

•

Video Memory displays the amount of video memory detected in your system.

•

Service Tag displays the system’s five-character service tag number, which was programmed into NVRAM by Dell during the manufacturing process. Refer to this number during technical assistance or service calls. The service tag number is also accessed by certain Dell support software, including the diagnostics software.

•

Asset Tag displays the customer-programm able asset tag number for the system if an asset tag nu mber has been assigned. You can us e the Asset Tag utility, which is included with your so ftware support utilities, to enter an asset tag number up to ten characters long into NVRAM. For information on using the utility, see “Using Drivers and Utilities” in your online System User’s Guide.

sing the System Password Feature

CAUTION: The password features provide a basic level of security for the data on your system. However, they are not foolproof. If your data requires more security, it is your responsibility to obtain and use additional forms of protection, such as data encryption programs.

Speaker

Speaker determines whether the on-board speaker is On (the default) or Off. A change to this category takes effect immediately (rebooting the system is not required).

System Data Categories

The following categories, which are not selectable, display information about the system:

•

Level 2 Cache displays the size of the integrated cache (512 kilobytes [KB]).

•

System Memory indicates the entire amount of installed memory detected in your system, except for memory on Expanded Memory Specification (EMS) expansion cards. After adding memory, check this category to confirm that the new memory is installed correctly and is recognized by the system.

Your Dell system is shipped to you without the system password feature enabled. If system security is a concern, you should operate your system only with system password protection.

You can assign a system password, as described in the next subsection, “Assigning a System Password,” whenever you use the System Setup program. After a system password is assigned, only those who know the password hav e full use of the system .

When the System Password the computer system prompts you for the system password just after the system boots.

To change an existing system password, you must know the password (see “Deleting or Changing an Existing System Password” found later in this section). If you assign and later forget a system password, you need to be able to remove the computer cover to change a

Using the System Setup Program 2-11

category is set to Enabled,

jumper setting that disables the system password feature (see “Disabling a Forgotten Password” found later in this chapter). Note that you erase the setup password at the same time.

CAUTION: If you leave your system running and unattended without having a system password assigned, or if you leave your computer unlock ed so that someone can disable the password by changing a jumper setting, anyone can access the data stored on your hard-disk drive.

Assigning a System Password

Before you can assign a system password , you must enter the System Setup program and check the System Password category.

When a system password is assigned, the option shown in the System Password system password feature is disabled by a jumper setting on the system boa rd, the option show n is Disabled by Jumper. You cannot change or enter a new system

password if either of these options is displayed.

When no system password is assigned and the password jumper on the system board is in the enabled position (its default setting), the option show n for the System Password category is Not Enabled. Only when this

category is set to password, using the following procedure:

1. Verify that the Password Status category is set to Unlocked.

For instructions on changing the setting for Password Status, see “Password Status” found earlier in this chapter.

2. Highlight the System Password category, and then press the left- or right-arrow key.

The category heading changes to Enter Password, followed by an empty seven-character field in square brackets.

3. Type your new system password.

You can use up to seven characters in your password. As you press each character key (or the <Spacebar>

for a blank space), a placeholder appears in the field.

ca t eg o r y i s Enabled. When the

Not Enabled

can you assign a system

The password assignment operat i on r ecogn i zes keys by their location on the keyboard, without distinguishing between lowercase and uppercase characters. For example, if you have an M in your password, the system recognizes either M or m as correct.

Certain key combinations are not valid. If you enter one of these combinations, the speaker emits a beep.

To erase a character when entering your password, press the <Backspace> key or the left-arrow key.

NOTE: To escape from the field without assigning a system password, press the <Tab> key or the <Shift><Tab> key combination to move to another field, or press the <Esc> key at any time prior to completing step 5.

4. Press <Enter>.

If the new system password is less than seven characters, the whole field fills with placeholders. Then the category heading changes to Verify Password, followed by another empty sevencharacter field in square brackets.

5. To co nf irm your password, type it a second time and press <Enter>.

The password setting changes to Enabled

. Your

system password is now set; you can exit the System Setup program and begin using your system. Note, however, that password protection does not take effect until you reboot the system by pressing the reset button or by turnin g t he s ystem off and then on again.

Using Y our Sy stem Pass word to Se cure Your System

Whenever you turn on your system, press the reset button, or reboot the system by pressing the <Ctrl><Alt><Del> key combination, the following prompt appears on the screen when the Password Status category is set to Unlocked:

Type in the password and... — press <ENTER> to leave password security enabled. — press <CTRL><ENTER> to disable password security. Enter password:

2-12 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

If the Password Status category is set to Locked, the following prompt appears:

Type the password and press <Enter>.

After you type the correct system password and press <Enter>, y our system boots and you can u se the keyboard and/or mouse to operate your system as usual.

NOTE: If you have assigned a setup password (see “Using the Setup Password Feature” found later in this chapter), the system accepts your setup password as an alternate system password.

If a wrong or incomplete system password is entered, the following message appears on the screen:

** Incorrect password. ** Enter password:

If an incorrect or incomplete system password is entered again, the same message appears on the screen.

The third and subsequent times an incorrect or incomplete system password is entered, the system displays the following message:

** Incorrect password. ** Number of unsuccessful password attempts: 3 System halted! Must power down.

The number of unsuccessful attempts made to enter the correct system password can alert you to an unau thorized person attempting to use your system.

Even after your system is turned off and on, the previous message is displayed each time an incorrect or incomplete system password is entered.

NOTE: You can use the Password Stat us cate go ry in conjunction with System Password and Setup Password to further protect your system from unauthorized changes. For more information, see “Password Status” found earlier in this chapter.

Deleting or Changing an Existing System Password

To delete or change an existing system password, perform the following steps:

1. Enter the System Setup program, and verify that the Password Status category is set to Unlocked.

Enter the System Setup program by pressing the <Ctrl><Alt><Enter> key combination. Press the

<Alt><p> key combination to move to Page 2 of the System Setup screens. For instructions on changing the setting for Password Status” found earlier in this chapter.

2. Reboot your system to force it to prompt you for a system password.

3. When prompted, type the system password.

4. Press the <Ctrl><Enter> key combination to disable the existing system password, instead of pressing <Enter> to continue with the normal operation of your system.

5. Confirm that Not Enabled is displayed for the System Password category of the System Setup program.

If Not Enabled appears in the System Password category, the system password has been deleted. If you want to assign a new password, continue to step 6. If Not Enabled is System Password category, press the <Alt><b> key combination to reboot the system, and then repeat steps 3 through 5.

6. To assign a new password, follow the procedure in “Assigning a System Password” found earlier in this section.

sing the Setup Password

Status, see “Password

displayed for the

not

Feature

Your Dell system is shipped to you without the setup password feature enabled. If system security is a concern, you should operate your system with setup passwo rd protection.

You can assign a setup password, as descri bed i n th e next subsection, “Assigning a Setup Password,” whenever you use the System Setup program. After a setup password is assigned, only t hose who know the pass word have full use of the System Setup program.

To change an existing setup password, you must know the setup password (see “Deleting or Changing an Existing Setup Password” found later in this section). If you assign and later remove the computer cover to change a jumper setting that disables the setup password feature (see “Disabling a Forgotten Password” found later in this ch apter). N ote that you erase the

system password

a setup password, you need to

forget

at the same time.

Using the System Setup Program 2-13

Assigning a Setup Password

A setup password can be assigned (or changed) only when the Setup Password category is set to Not Enabled. T o assign a s etup pas sword, highli ght the Setup Password category and press the left- or right-arrow key. The system prompts you to enter and verify the pas sword. If a character is illegal for password use, the system emits a beep.

NOTES: The setup password can be the same as the system password.

If the two passwords are different, the setup password can be used as an alternate system password. However, the system password cannot be used in place of the setup password.

After you verify the password, the Setup Password

setting changes to Enabled. The next time yo u enter the

System Setup program, the system prompts you for the setup password.

A change to the Setup Password category becomes effective immediately (rebooting the system is not required).

Operating With a Setup Password Enabled

If Setup Password is set to Enabled, you must enter the correct setup password before you can modify the majority of the System Setup categories.

When you start the System Setup program, Page 2 of the System Setup screens appears with the Setup Password category highlighted, prompting you to type the password.

If you do not enter the correct password in three tries, the system lets you view, but not modify, the System Setup screens—with the following exceptions:

•

You can still modify the Date, Time, CPU Speed, Num

Lock, and Speaker categories.

•

If System Password is not enabled and is not locked via the Password Status category, you can assign a

system password (however, you cannot disable or change an existing system password).

NOTE: You can use the Password Status category in conjunction with Setup Password to protect the system passwor d from unauthorized changes. For more information, see “Password Status” found earlier in this chapter.

Deleting or Changing an Existing Setup Password

To delete or change an existing setup password, perform the following steps:

1. Enter the System Setup program.

2. Highlight the Setup Password category, and pr ess the left- or right-arrow key to delete the existing setup pass w or d .

The setting changes to Not Enabled.

3. If you want to assign a new setup password, follow the procedure in “Assigning a Setup Password” found earlier in this section.

isabling a Forgotten Password

If you forget your system or setup password, you cannot operate your system or change settings in the System Setup program until you remove the computer cover, change the password jumper setting to disable the passwords, and erase the existing passwords.

To disable a forgotten password, perform the following steps:

1. Remove the computer cover according to the instructions in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

2-14 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

2. Remove the jumper plug from the PSWD jumper to disable the password feature.

Refer to “Jumpers” in Chapter 5 for jumper information and to Figure 5-6 for the location of the password jumper (labeled “PSWD”) on the system board.

3. Replace the computer cover.

4. Reconnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on. Proceed to step 5 if you want to assign a new password.

Booting your system with the PSWD jumper plug removed erases the existing password(s).

NOTE: Befor e yo u assi gn a new syst em and/or s etup password, you must replace the PSWD jumper plug.

5. Repeat step 1.

6. Replace the PSWD jumper plug.

7. Replace the computer cover, and then reconnect the computer and peripherals to their power sources and turn them on.

Booting with the PSWD jumper installed reenables the password feature. When you enter the System Setup program, both password categories appear as

Not Enabled, meaning that the password feature is enabled but that no password has been assigned.

8. Assign a new system and/or setup password.

To assign a new system password, see “Assigning a System Password” found earlier in this chapter. To assign a new setup password, see “Assigning a Setup Password” found earlier in this chapter.

esponding to Error Messages

If an error message appears on your monitor screen while the system is booting, make note of the message. Then, before entering the System Setup program, refer to your

Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide

tion of the message and suggestions for correcting any errors. However, it is normal to receive an error message the first time you boot the system after a memory upgrade. In that case, you do not need to refer to the

Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Gui d e

the

instructions in “Adding Memory” in Chapter 6 of this

guide. If you are given an option of pressing either <F1> to

continue or <F2> to run the System Setu p program, press

for an explana-

; instead, refer to

Using the System Setup Program 2-15

2-16 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Chapter 3

Using the ISA Configuration Utility

he ISA Configuration Utility (ICU) is used by the

system to track what expansion cards are installed and what resources are used. With this information, the system automatically configures Plug and Play expansion cards and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) expansion cards and can tell you how to configure nonPlug and Play Industry-Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion cards manuall y by setting jump ers or switches. Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards do not contain jumpers and switches; they are configured only through software.

CAUTION: The ICU is intended only for configuring non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards. It should not be used for assigning resources to Plug and Play expansion cards and PCI expansion cards. These cards should be configured automatically by the basic input/output system (BIOS).

NOTES: The Windows NT operating s yst em does not provide full Plug and Play support. Therefore, some Plug and Play cards (such as modem, sound, and network cards) may not work with the Windows NT operating system. If your system is running a Dell-installed Windows NT operating system and you want to use Plug and Play expansion cards, Dell recommends that you use the card manufacturer’s configuration utility to set the card to legacy mode, enter the card’s resources through the manufacturer’s utility, and then use the ICU to add the Plug and Play expansion card to your system configuration. On systems with a Dell-installed Windows NT operating system, the ICU is instal led on the hard-disk drive as a diskette image. Use the Dell Program Diskette Maker (located in the Dell Accessories pr ogram gr oup or folder) to make an ICU diskette from this diskette image.

If you are using the Windows 95 operating system, the functions pr ovided by the IC U are handled by the Device

Manager, which can be accessed by double-clicking the System icon in the Control Panel. See your Windows 95 documentation for instructions on using the Device Manager to manage resources and resolve conflicts.

The remainder of this chapter describes the various features of, and the various ways to use, the ICU.

uick Start

To quickly get started using this utility, follow these steps:

1. Determine whether you need to run the ICU.

See “When to Run the ICU” found later in this chapter for detailed instructions.

2. Perform any required preparatory steps before starting the utility.

Preparatory steps include making a program diskette, copying your mouse driver to this diskette, and making a backup copy of this diskette. See “Preparing to Use the ICU” found later in this chapter for detailed instructions.

3. Start the system using your ICU diskette.

Verify that the Boot Sequence category in the System Setup program is set to Diskette First. Then insert the backup copy of the ICU diskette into drive A, and turn on your computer or press the reset button.

NOTE: The ICU takes a few minutes to load. During this time, the cursor may appear as a po inter rather than as an hou rglass.

When the utility has finished lo ading, the ICU window (see Figure 3-1) is displayed.

Using the ISA Configur ation Utility 3-1

4. Add, modify, or r emove a card, or view resources for a card or other device.

Depending on what you need to accomplish with the ICU, you may need to perform one or more of these tasks:

•

If you are adding a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card, see your online System User’s Guide or “Adding a Listed Card” found later in this chapter for detailed instructions. If the card you are adding does not have a configuration file, see your online System User’s Guide or “Adding an Unlisted Card” found later in this chapter for detailed instructions.

•

If you are modifying a card that is already installed, see your online System User’s Guide or “Modifying a Card” found later in this chapter for detailed instructions.

•

If you are removing a card, see your online System User’s Guide or “Removing a Card” found later in this chapter for detailed instructions.

•

If you want to examine the resources already assigned in the system, see your online System User’s Guide or “Viewing Resources” found later in this chapter for detailed instructions.

5. Save your configuration, and exit the utility.

See your online System User’s Guide or “Saving the System Configuration” and “Exitin g From the ICU” found later in this chapter for detailed instructions.

“Getting Help” in your Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide for information on accessing the BBS.

Whenever you add or remove a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card, use the ICU to reconfigure your system. The utility reads the card’s corresponding configuration file (.cfg file), which describes the card’s characteristics and required system resources. After the resources identified in these configuration files are assigned to all non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards, the system assigns resources to all Plug and Play expansion cards, as well as PCI expansion cards, thereby creating a conflictfree configuration.

ICU Database

The ICU provides a database of configuration files for a large variety of non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards. The database is located in the \db subdirectory. Listed cards are non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards that have configuration files stored in this database.

Unlisted cards are non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards that do not have configuration files stored in the ICU database. Unlisted cards are not displayed in the list of cards provided for the various card categories. The unlisted cards may be cards for which no configuration file exists or new cards that include a manufacturersupplied configurat i on fi le on diskette.

When you supply a configuration file and the ICU is running from the hard-disk drive, the configur ation file is copied to the directory that contains the rest of the ICU database.

bout the ICU

Before your system was shipped from Dell, a technician used the ICU to enter the correct information for the expansion cards initially installed in your computer.

If your system was shipped with Dell-installed s oftware, the ICU diskette image (from which you can make an ICU diskette) is installed on your hard-disk drive. (Your system may also be accompanied by an ISA Configura- tion Utility Diskette.)

The ICU is also available through online services such as Dell’s TechConnect bulletin board service (BBS). See your online System User’s Guide or the chapter titled

3-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

hen to Run the ICU

Whenever you add or remove non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards, you must run the ICU to ensure that no two cards attempt to use the same resources (such as interrupt request [IRQ] lines).

Run the program before adding or removing any non- Plug and Play ISA expansion cards. The ICU can identify and resolve any resource con flicts and indicate the pr oper jumper and switch settings for each expansion card to avoid such conflicts. Running the program first helps you determine how to configure a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card before you install it in your computer.

After you have run the ICU for your non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards and it has configured all your Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards, you can use the utility to lock the configuration of your Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards so that they are always assigned the same resources. See your online System User’s Guide or “Locking and Unlocking Cards” found later in this chapter for details.

reparing to Use the ICU

Before using the ICU for the first time, you must complete the following steps:

1. If your system includes Dell-installed software, make a program diskette of the utility from the diskette image on your hard-dis k drive.

NOTE: If you received an ISA Configuration Utility Diskette with your system, skip to step 2.

For instructions on how to create a program diskette from the diskette image, see the online help provided in the Program Diskette Maker, which is available in the Dell Accessories folder or program group.

2. If you want to use your mouse with the ICU, copy your mouse driver file (mouse.exe ) to your ICU diskette.

3. Make a backup copy of your ICU diskette, as described in the next subsection, “Backing Up the ICU Diskette.”

Use the backup copy whenever you run the utility; store the original diskette in a safe place.

Backing Up the ICU Diskette

Before using the ICU, make a backup copy of the ICU diskette by perf orming the following steps.

NOTE: If you received an ISA Configuration Utility Diskette with your system, use this procedure to create a

backup of that di skette.

1. Make sure you have a blank, high-densit y,

3.5-inch diskette.

2. Turn on your computer system if it is not already on.

3. Make a copy of the ICU program diskette.

See your operating system documentation for instructions on making a copy of a diskette.

4. Store your original ICU diskette in a safe place.

Use only the backup diskette when running the ICU.

tarting the ICU

After you have completed the procedures in “Preparing to Use the ICU” found earlier in this chapter, insert the backup copy of the ICU diskette into drive A. Then either turn on your system or reboot it by pressing the reset button.

Accessing Help

You can access online help in the ICU in four ways:

Select Contents from the Help menu to display a list

•

of topics. Select a topic and click Help. Help text on that topic appears in a dialog box.

For most dialog boxes, you can cli ck Help to dis play

•

information on the action you are performing. From the ICU window , p ress the <F1> key to displ ay

•

a list of available help topics. To redisplay the last message you received from the

•

ICU, select Previous Message from the Help menu.

Making Selections in the ICU

The ICU window is the main window of the utility and the starting point for making expansion-card changes. This window lists all non-Plug and Play ISA, Plug and Play, and PCI expansion cards currently installed in the computer. The ICU window contains menus and a tool bar, as sho wn in Figure 3-1. When you choose a course of action, the ICU displays dialog box e s to guide you through the various steps.

Figure 3-1. ICU Window

Using the ISA Configur ation Utility 3-3

You can maneuver through each menu and dialog box using a mouse. If a mouse is not available, you can use the keys shown in Table 3-1.

Each menu and menu option has an underlined character in its name; when you press the <Alt> key in co njun ctio n with the key for the underlined character, that menu or menu option is selected.

Table 3-1. ICU Keys

Key(s) Action

<Alt><x><y> Displays the menu containing the

underlined letter x and performs the operation indicated by the menu item containing the underlined letter y. For example, to save a file (that is, to display the File menu and select the Save menu option), press <Alt><f> and <s>.

<Tab> Moves from one control button or

list to another.

Up- and downarrow keys

<Spacebar> Highlights an item in a list. <Enter> Selects the highlighted button or

dding a Listed Card

NOTE: If you want to add a configuration file that you received on diskette with a new expan sion card, you must copy the configuration file to the \db subdirectory on the backup copy of the ICU diskette. You should then reboot your system and perform the following procedure to add the expansion card.

Use the following procedure to add a listed card with the ICU:

1. Start the ICU as described in “Starting the ICU” found earlier in this chapter.

2. From the ICU window, click Add or select Add Card from the Configure menu.

Moves up and down through items in a list.

item in a list.

3. Click the name of the category of card that you want to add. If you clicked Add in step 2, click OK.

A dialog box like the one in Figure 3-2 appears listing the names of all available cards of that type.

Figure 3-2. Add Network Card Dialog Box

4. Select the name of the card you want to add.

If the card is not listed, see “Adding an Unlisted Card” found next in this chapter.

5. If you want the ICU to select the resources for the card, click OK. Otherwise, skip to step 6.

The ICU uses the default resources set by the card manufacturer whenever possible. If the ICU cannot find a resource that is valid for the card and available in the system, the utility generates an error message. See Appendix B, “ISA Configuration Utility Messages,” for an explanation of the message and a possible solution to the confli ct .

If you are satisfied with the default resources assigned to the card, you can skip the remainder of this procedure.

6. To select the resources yourself, click Advanced.

The Card Configuration dialog box (see Figure 3-3) displays all resources used by the card. Some cards have multiple functions, each having one or more resources associated with it. For example, a communications card can have fax, modem, and scanner functions, each of which may have one or more associated resources.

3-4 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Figure 3-3. Card Configuration Dialog Box

Figure 3-5. Available Settings List Box

7. To change any of the resource settings for the card, select the resource setting and then click Settings.

The Configuration Settings dialog box (see Fig- ure 3-4) displays the name of the resource that you selected in the upper-left corner of the box. The resource values currently associated with the selected function are displayed in the Resources for Choice box. The resource values displayed are IRQ, DMA, Memory (Hex), and I/O Port (Hex).

Figure 3-4. Configuration Settings Dialog Box for Assigning an IRQ Line

8. To change the resource settings, click the down arrow next to the Configuration Choice box. Then click the new resource setting from the list of available settings (see Figure 3-5).

You cannot manually enter a value ; you must ch oose a setting from the list. If there is only one setting listed, no other settings are available.

The setting that you select may affect the resources available. For example, if you are offered the Disabled option and select it, all resource values are blank, indicating that a disabled set ti ng us es no resources.

9. To change individual resource values for the current configuration setting, select the resource value that you want to change an d click the Options button located below the resource values (see Figure 3-6).

For example, when you click the value under DMA, the Options button changes to the DMA Options button. When you click this button, a smaller dialog box appears. By clicking the down arrow next to the current resource value, you can display a list of the available values for the resource.

Figure 3-6. Configuration Settings Dialog Box for Assigning a DMA Channel

Choose the desired value and click OK. The value you selected is displayed under the resour ce heading in the Configuration Settings dialog box.

The Options button is disabled if no alternative values are available for the selected resource.

NOTE: If you change one or more resource values using the Options button and later change the setting in the Configuration Choice box, the changes that you made to the resource values are overwritten by the default values for the new confi gu ration choice.

Using the ISA Configur ation Utility 3-5

10. Click OK in the Configuration Settings dialog box when you have finished selecting resources for the function.

NOTE: After modifying the system configuration, you must turn off the system to install, remove, or change jumper settings on the non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards to match the settings you selected in the ICU.

dding an Unlisted Card

Unlisted cards are non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards that do not have configuration files stored in the ICU databa se.

NOTE: If you want to add a configuration file that you received on diskette with a new expansion card, see “Adding a Listed Card” found earlier in this chapter.

T o add an unlisted card with the I CU, perform the f ollowing steps:

1. Start the ICU as described in “Starting the ICU” found earlier in this chapter.

2. From the ICU window, click Add or select Add Card from the Configure menu.

3. Click the name of the category of card that you want to add. If you clicked Add in step 2, click OK.

A dialog box appears listing the names of all available cards of that type.

4. Select Unlisted Card from the bottom of the list of cards displayed in the dialog box that appears. Then click OK.

5. Click No when the ICU asks if you have a configuration file for the card.

The Configure Unlisted Card dialog box appears with blank fields .

6. Enter the name of the card that you want to add in the Card Name field.

7. For each resource you want to assign to the card, click the box beneath the name of the resource to be assigned and then click Add.

For example, if you click the box beneath IRQ, the button changes to Add Interrupt. When you click this

button, a Specify dialog box (in this case, Specify Interrupt) appears. Figure 3-7 shows the Configure Unlisted Card dialog box with the Specify Interrupt dialog box opened.

Figure 3-7. Specify Interrupt Dialog Box

If you are providing a value for the interrupt request (IRQ) or direct memory access (DMA) resource, click the down arrow beneath Available Resources. A smaller Specify list box appears (see Figure 3-8). Click the value you want to assign to the resource. Then click OK.

Figure 3-8. Specify Interrupt List Box

If none of the values for the DMA or IRQ resources match the allowable values for your unlisted card (as indicated in the card’s documentation), select one of the available values offered by the utility and click OK.

If you are providing values fo r the input/ output (I/ O) port or memory resources, you must enter the starting and ending addresses in hexadecimal format using the two fields provided by the Specify Memory or Specify I/O Port dialog box. Click each box in succession to enter the beginning and ending addresses, and then click OK to complete the selection. Figure 3-9 shows the two fiel ds.

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Figure 3-9. Specify I/O Port Dialog Box

8. When you have finished selecting resources for the unlisted card, click OK in the Configure Unlisted Card dialog box.

A message box appears, notifying you either that the card is using its default settings or that it cannot use its default settings and must be reconfigured.

9. Click OK. If the card must be reconfigured, record the resource settings recommended by the ICU. Click Close to accept the resource settings currently displayed.

10. If you had to assign a disallowed resource value to the card in steps 7, 8, and 9, click each of the other cards, and then click View until you find another card using a resource value that is allowed for the unlisted card. Reassign the resource setting for this other card using the procedure in the next section, “Modifying a Card.” Then modify the resource settings for the unlisted card so that it uses an allowable value.

NOTE: After modifying the system configuration, you must turn the system off to install, remove, or change jumper settings on the non-Plug and Play ISA expansion cards to match the settings you selected in the ICU.

odifying a Card

Modifying a card allows you to change the system resources used by a card. This feature is helpful when you want to add a card that requires resources already in use by other cards or devices in your computer. You can allocate different resources to the cards currently in your computer to free the resources necessary for the card you want to install.

You can also use this feature to force Plug and Play or PCI expansion cards to use specific resource values. This procedure is called locking a card. You should lock a card only if it uses static device drivers. See “Locking and Unlocking Cards” found later in this chapter for more information.

NOTE: You cannot modify the resources of a Plug and Play or PCI expansion card. You can only view the resources currently assigned and lock or unlock them.

To modify the resource settings for a listed or unlisted card, complete the following steps:

1. Start the ICU as described in “Starting the ICU” found earlier in this chapter.

2. Select the card from the list of installed cards in the ICU window, and choose Modify Card from the Configure menu or click Modify.

If the Card Configuration dialog box appears, the selected card is listed (it has a configuration file in the ICU database). Continue with step 3.

If the Configure Unlisted Card dialog box appears, the card is unlisted (it does not have a configuration file). Proceed to step 5.

NOTE: When you modify an unlisted card, the ICU cannot show you the valid resources for the card. Therefore, you must have documentation from the card manufacturer that describes the resources and resource settings that the card can use.

3. Follow steps 7 through 9 in “Adding a Listed Card” found earlier in this chapter. Then continue with step 4 of this procedure.

4. Click OK to complete the card modifications and return to the ICU window.

You have completed this procedure; do not proceed to step 5.

5. To add, modify , or r emo ve a re sour ce valu e, select the box beneath the resource to be assigned, and then click Add, Modify, or Remove, respectively.

For example, if you click the box beneath IRQ, the Add, Modify, and Remove buttons change to Add Interrupt, Modify Interrupt, and Remove Interrupt. When you click one of these buttons, a smaller Specify list box (in this case, Specify Interrupt) appears.

Using the ISA Configur ation Utility 3-7

If you are providing a value for the IRQ or DMA resource, click the down arrow beneath Available Resources. Click the value you want to assign to the resource. If the resource can be shared with another card or device, click Sharable. Then click OK.

If none of the values for the DMA or IRQ resource match the allowable values for your unlisted card (as indicated in the card’s documentation), select one of the available values offered by the utility and click OK.

If you are providing values for the I/O port or memory resource, you must enter the starting and ending addresses in hexadecimal format using the two fields provided by the Specify Mem ory o r Specify I/O Port dialog box.

6. When you have finished selecting resources for the unlisted card, click OK in the Configure Unlisted Card dialog box.

A message box appears, notifying you either that the card is using its default settings or that it cannot use its default settings and must be reconfigured.

7. Click OK. If the card must be reconfigured, record the resource settings recommended by the ICU. Click Close to accept the resource settings currently displayed.

8. If you had to assign a disallowed resource value to the card in steps 5, 6, and 7, click each of the other cards, and then click View until you find another card using a resource value that is allowed for the unlisted card. Reassign the resource setting for this other card. Then modify the resource settings for the unlisted card so that it uses an allowable value.

emoving a Card

Before you remove a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card from your computer, you must use the ICU to remove the card from the system configuration.

NOTE: When you remove a Plug and Play or PCI expansion card from your computer, you d o no t need to run the ICU. To remove a Plug and Play or PCI expansion card, complete steps 2 through 9 in “Removing an Expansion Card” in Chapter 6.

Use the following procedure to remove a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card from your computer:

1. Start the ICU as described in “Starting the ICU” found earlier in this chapter.

2. Select the card from the current system configuration list in the ICU window.

3. Select Remove Card menu, or click Remove.

The ICU requests verification that you want to remove the card.

4. Click Yes to free the resources allocated to the card and remove the card name from the list of active cards, or click No to cancel the operation.

The ICU returns to the ICU window.

CAUTION: After removing a card from the system configuration using the ICU, y ou must turn off the system and physically remove the card. Failure to do so can damage your system.

5. Remove the non-Plug and Play ISA expa nsion card from the computer.

See “Removing an Expansion Card” in Chapter 6 for instructions.

iewing Resources

The ICU displays all resources currently used by your system.

To view all system resources, select System Resources from the View menu or click View. The System Resource Usage dialog box (see Figure 3-10) disp lays al l resources currently used by the system.

from the Configuration

3-8 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Figure 3-10. System Resource Usage Dialog Box

To determine which card uses a particular resource shown in the System Resource Usage dialog box, select the resource in question and then click Used By Card. The Card Resource Usage dialog box appears with the information.

To view the resources that a particular card is using, select the card from the list displayed in the ICU window, and then select Card Resources from the View menu or click View. The Card Resource Usage dialog box displays the resources assigned to that card. Figure 3-11 shows resources that might be assigned to a network adapter card.

Figure 3-11. Card Resource Usage Dialog Box

You can save the information displayed in the resource usage dialog box by clicking Print To File. The ICU then prompts you for a filename.

aving the System Configuration

You can save the system configuration to nonvolatile random-access memory (NVRAM) as you configure each card’s r esources. To do so, select Save from the File menu and continue with your operation.

xiting From the ICU

At the ICU window, select Exit from the File menu to exit the utility. If you have made any changes to the system configuration, you are asked whether you want to save the changes.

If you click Yes, the ICU saves the updated system configuration information into NVRAM. If you click No, you exit the ICU without saving any of your configuration changes. If you click Cancel, nothing is saved a nd the utility continues to operate.

ocking and Unlocking Cards

The ICU includes a locking mechanism that enables you to allocate the system resources for all or for some functions of Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards. These expansion cards are dynamic, which means that they are allocated resources at system start-up. Device drivers that do not support this dynamic card configuration are referred to as static device drivers.

T o det ermi n e whether you r expans ion card ha s stat i c device drivers, check the documentation that came with the drivers. If you are using a static device driver, you need to permanently associate resources with a Plug and Play expansion card, instead of relying on the default Plug and Play behavior. Otherwise, the device driver might not be able to find the card the next time the system boots. This procedure is referred to as locking a card.

NOTE: The locking feature of the ICU is valid only for Plug and Play and PCI expansion cards.

Locking and Unlocking All Resources

T o lock or unlock all the resour ces and configur ations for a Plug and Play or PCI expansion card, perform the following steps:

1. If it is not already installed, install the Plug and Play or PCI expansion card. Then turn on the system.

Complete steps 2 through 9 in “Installing an Expansion Card” in Chapter 6.

Using the ISA Configur ation Utility 3-9

2. Start the ICU.

See “Starting the ICU” found earlier in this chapter.

3. Select Locking Enabled from the Advanced menu in the ICU window .

A check mark next to Locking Enabled signifies that the feature is active; a Lock button appears on the tool bar.

4. Select the Plug and Play or PCI expansion card that you want to lock or unlock from the Cards Configured in System list.

5. Click Lock or select Lock/Unlock Card from the Advanced menu.

Both options toggle the lock state of the selected card.

Locking and Unlocking Configuration Resources

You can also lock and unlock individual resources for a Plug and Play or PCI expansion card. To do so, perform the following steps:

1. If it is not already installed, install the Plug and Play or PCI expansion card. Then turn on the system.

Complete steps 2 through 9 in “Installing an Expansion Card” in Chapter 6.

2. Start the ICU.

See “Starting the ICU” found earlier in this chapter.

3. Select Locking Enabled from the Advanced menu in the ICU window.

A check mark next to Locking Enabled the feature is active; a Lock button appears on the tool bar.

4. Select the Plug and Play or PCI expansion card that you want to lock or unlock from the Cards Configured in System list.

5. Click Modify or select Modify Card from the Configure menu.

6. From the Card Configuration dialog box, select the function you want to lock or unlock.

7. Click Settings.

8. Modify the resource setting and/or resources offered on the Configuration Settin gs dialog box, if necessary.

See “Modifying a Card” found earlier in this chapter for more information.

9. Select Lock Resources.

The Lock Resources box toggles the lock state of the selected configuration setting.

10. Repeat steps 6 through 9 for any other configuration settings that you want to lock or unlock.

11. Click OK in the Card Configuration dialog box when you have finished making your selections .

signifies that

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Chapter 4

Using Integrated Devices

his chapter describes the configuration software pro-

vided with your system for the following integrated devices:

•

Video controller

•

Audio controller

•

Optional network interface controller (NIC)

See the corresponding section in this chapter for the device you want to configure or reconfigure.

ideo Controller

Your system has an ATI 3D Rage Pro accelerated graphics port (AGP) video controller, which includes video drivers for the following operating systems:

•

Microsoft Windows 3. 1x and Windows for Workgroups

•

Microsoft Windows 95

•

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation and Server

The video drivers for your operat ing system have already been installed on your hard-disk drive. For information on reinstalling video drivers, see “Using Drivers and Utilities” in your online System User’s Guide. For instructions on changing to a different video driver, see your operating system documentation.

•

Microsoft Windows 95

•

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation and Server

The audio drivers for your operating syst em have already been installed on your hard-disk drive. For information on reinstalling audio drivers, reconfiguring the audio controller, or using the audio utilities provided with your system, see “Using the Audio Controller” in your online System User’s Guide.

etwork Interface Controller

The optional 10/100-megabit-per-second (Mbps) 3Com PCI

3C916B media access controller (MAC) NIC provides all the functions of a separate 3Com 3C905 network expansion card and suppo rt s both th e 10BASET and 100BASE-TX Ethernet standards.

NOTE: OptiPlex GXa systems also offer an optional Wakeup On LAN-capable network card. For instructions on installing the optional Wakeup On LAN-capable network card, see the documentation that came with the network card.

The NIC connector on the computer’s back panel has the following indicators (see Figure 4-1):

•

A yellow activity indicator flashes when the system is transmitting or receiving network data. (A high volume of network traffic may make this indic ator appear to be in a steady “on” state.)

udio Controller

Your system has a Crystal CS4 236 B audi o controller and includes audio drivers for the following operating systems:

•

Microsoft Windows 3. 1x and Windows for Workgroups

Using Integrated Devices 4-1

A green link integrity indicator lights up when there is a

good connection between the network and the NIC.

parallel port connector

mouse connector

When the green indicator is off, the computer is not detecting a physical connection to the network.

link integrity indicator

activity indicator

microphone jack

line-out jack

line-in jac

serial port 1 connector

keyboard connector

Figure 4-1. I/O Ports and Connectors

USB connectors

serial port 2 connector

Network Cable Requirements

Your computer’s NIC connector (an RJ45 connector located on the back panel) is designed for attaching an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Ethernet cable. Press one end of the UTP cable into the NIC connector until the cable snaps securely into place.

Connect the other end of the cable to an RJ45 jack wall plate or to an RJ45 port on a UTP concentrator or hub, depending on your network configuration. Observe the following cabling restrictions for 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX networks.

CAUTION: data lines must be in separate sheaths.

•

For 10BASE-T networks, use Category 3 or greater wiring and connectors.

•

For 100BASE-TX networks, use Category 5 wiring and connectors.

•

The maximum cable run length (from a workstation to a concentrator) is 328 feet (ft) (100 meters [m]).

•

The maximum number of works tations (no t counting concentrators) on a network is 1024.

•

For 10BASE-T networks, the maximum number of daisy-chained concent rators on one network segment is four.

To avoid line interference, voice and

video connector

optional integrated NIC connector

Configuring the NIC

This subsection provides in structions for configuring the computer’s integrated, 10/100-Mbps 3Com NIC under the following operating systems:

•

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

•

Microsoft Windows NT 3.5x

•

Microsoft Windows f or Workgroups

•

Microsoft Windows 95

•

MS-DOS

NOTE: The NIC drivers for systems running a Dellinstalled Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95 operating system are automatically detected and installed. Instructions for reinstalling the NIC driver for Windows NT and Win dow s 95 Ser v ice Rele a se 1 an d Serv ice R elea se 2 are included later in this subsection.

Windows NT 4.0 NIC

The Windows NT 4.0 operating system automatically detects and installs the NIC driver. To reinstall the driver, complete the following steps:

1. Use the Dell Program Diskette Maker (located in

the Dell Accessories folder) to make a diskette copy of the NIC drivers installed on your harddisk drive.

4-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

2. Connect the network cable to the back of your computer.

See “Network Cable Requirements” found earlier in this chapter for detailed instructions.

3. Verify that the NIC is enabled in the System Setup program.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for more information.

4. Start the Windows NT operating system, and log in as user Administrator or as a user with Administrator privileges.

For information on administrative users and privileges, see your Windows NT documentation.

5. Double-click My Computer, double-click Control Panel, and then double-click the Network icon.

NOTE: If you are installing networking on your system for the first time, the Windows NT operating system displays a message asking if you want to install networking. Click Yes, and refer to your Windows NT docum entation for instru ctions.

6. Click the Adapters tab in the Network Control Panel, and then click Add to access the Select Network Adapter window.

7. Click Have Di sk. Insert the NIC driver diskette 3 into drive A, type a:\, and then click OK.

The Select OEM Option dialog box appears.

8. Select 3Com Fast EtherLink XL NIC (3C905) for the 10/100-Mb p s N IC, and then click OK.

9. When the operating system has finished copying files from the NIC driver diskette 3, click Close in the Windows W elcome screen. Then click Close in the Network window.

10. If you are prompted, enter information about your specific network.

See your system administrator for information.

11. Click Yes in the Netw ork Settings Ch ange window to restart your system.

Windows NT 3.5x NIC

To connect your system to and configure it for use on an Ethernet network, you must complete the following steps:

1. Use the Program Diskette Maker (located in the Dell Accessories program group) to make a diskette copy of the NIC drivers installed on your hard-disk drive.

2. Connect the network cable to the back of your computer.

See “Network Cable Requirements” found earlier in this chapter for detailed instructions.

3. Verify that the NIC is enabled in the System Setup program.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for more information.

4. Start the Windows NT operating system, and log in as user Administrator or as a user with Administrator privileges.

For information on administrative users and privileges, see your Windows NT documentation.

5. Double-click the Program Manager, double-click the Main group, and then double-click the Control Panel icon.

6. From the Control Panel, double-click the Network icon.

The Network Settings window appears.

7. From the Installed Adapters group, select the existing 3Com driver and click Remove.

8. Click Yes in the Network Settings d i alog box.

9. Click Add Adapter in the Network Settings window. Then scro ll to <Other> Requires Disk From Manufacturer, and click Continue.

10. Insert the NIC driver diskette 1 into drive A, type a:\, and then click OK.

The Select OEM Option dialog box appears.

11. Select 3Com Fast EtherLink XL NIC (3C905) for the 10/100-Mbps NIC, and then click OK.

12. When prompted, remove the NIC driver diskette 1 from the diskette drive and insert the NIC driver diskette 2.

Using Integrated Devices 4-3

13. Click Close in the Windows Welcome scr een, and then click Close again in the Network window.

14. If you are prompted, enter information about your specific network.

See your system administrator for information.

15. Click Yes in the Netw ork Settings Ch ange window to restart your system.

Windows for Workgroups NIC

To connect your system to and configure it for use on an Ethernet network, you must complete the following steps:

1. Use the Program Diskette Maker (located in the Dell Accessories program group) to make a diskette copy of the NIC drivers installed on your hard-disk drive.

2. Connect the network cable to the back of your computer.

See “Network Cable Requirements” found earlier in this chapter for detailed instructions.

3. Verify that the NIC is enabled in the System Setup program.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for more information.

4. Start the Windows for Workgroups operating system.

5. In the Main program group, double-click the Windows Setup icon.

6. Click Continue to access the Windows Setup screen.

7. Select Change Network Settings f rom the Options menu.

8. From the Network Setup window, click Networks. Then click Install Microsoft Windows Network, and click OK.

9. Click Drivers to access the Network Drivers dialog box.

10. Click Add Adapter to access the Add Network Adapter dialog box.

11. Select Unlisted or Updated Network Adapter , and click OK.

12. Insert the NIC driver diskette 1 into drive A, and click OK.

13. In the Unlisted or Updated Network Ada pter dialog box, select 3Com EtherLink XL/Fast EtherLink XL Adapter (3C90x) and click OK.

14. In the Network Drivers dialog box, click Close.

15. In the Network Setup dialog box, enter the User Name, Workgroup Name, and Computer Name, and click OK.

16. Click Yes to All in the Windows Set up dialog box.

17. Click OK when a message is displa yed on the screen stating that the system files are being updated.

18. If the Install Driver dialog box appears and prompts you for the el90x.386 driver, type a:\wfw311 and click OK to load the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) 3 driver.

If the Install Driver dialog box appears and prompts you for the el90x.dos driver , type

a:\ndis2\dos and click OK to load the NDIS 2 driver.

19. Click OK to have the operating system make backup copies of the system files.

20. Remove the diskette from drive A, save changes to any open files, and then click Restart Computer .

Windows 95 NIC

The Windows 95 operating system automatically detects and installs the NIC driver. The following subsections provide instructions for reinstalling the NIC driver on systems running a Dell-installed Windows 95, Windows 95 Service Release 1, or Windows 95 Service Release 2 operating system. Instructions for reinstalling the NIC driver on systems running a Windows 95 operating system not installed by Dell are also included.

T o det ermi n e whether you r operati ng syst em is Windows 95, Win dows 95 Se rvice R elease 1, or W in dows 95 Service Release 2, click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. Double-click the System icon to access the System Properties window, and click the General tab. If your system vers i on is 4.0 0, then you r operating system is Windows 95. If your system version is 4.00.950 A, then your operati ng sy stem is Windows 95

4-4 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Service Release 1. If your system version is 4.00.950 B, then your operating system is Windows 95 Service Release 2. For Windows 95 operating systems not installed by Dell, the system version is 4.00.

NOTE: The instructions in the follow ing two subsections are for the Windows 95 32-bit NDIS 3.0 driver. See “Using the NDIS 2.01 Driver With Windows 95” found later in this chapter for information on using the 16-bit NDIS 2.01 driver with Windows 95.

Dell-Installed Windows 95, Dell-Installed Windows 95 Service Release 1, or Windows 95 Operating Systems Not Installed by Dell

To reinstall the NIC driver in a system running Dellinstalled Windows 95, Dell-installed Windows 95 Service Release 1, or a Windows 95 operating system not installed by Dell, perform the following steps:

1. Use the Program Diskette Maker (located in the Dell Accessories folder) to make a diskette copy of the NIC drivers installed on your hard-disk drive.

2. Verify that the integrated NIC is enabled and connected to its network.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for more information.

3. Start the Windows 95 operating system.

4. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click the Control Panel. Then double-click the System icon.

5. In the System Properties window , click the Device Manager tab. In the list of system devices, doubleclick Other Devices. Then select PCI Ethernet Controller, and click Properties to access the PCI Ethernet Controller window.

6. Select the Driver tab, and then click Change Driver to access the Select Hardware Type dialog box.

7. Select Network Adapter, and then click OK to access the Select Device window.

8. Click Have Disk to access the Install From Disk dialog box.

9. Insert the NIC driver diskette 2

into drive A,

and

click OK.

The system reads the files on diskette and then displays the Select Network Adapters window.

10. Select 3Com Fast EtherLink XL 10/100Mb Ethernet Adapter , and click OK to access the PCI Ethernet Controller Properties dialog box.

11. Click OK to access the Network dialog box. Enter your computer name and workgroup/domain. Then click Close.

12. Click OK in the In sert Disk dialog bo x.

13. When prompted for the location of additional files, specify the c:\windows\options\cabs directory on your hard-disk drive or the \win95 directory on your CD-ROM drive. Then click OK to access the System Properties dialog box, and click OK.

14. Remove the diskette from drive A. Click the Start button, click Shutdown, and then click R e start the Computer.

15. Click Yes when prompted to restart the system.

Dell-Installed Windows 95 Service Release 2

To reinstall the NIC driver in a system running Dellinstalled Windows 95 Service Release 2, perform the following steps:

1. Use the Program Diskette Maker (located in the Dell Accessories folder) to make a diskette copy of the NIC drivers installed on your hard-disk drive.

2. Verify that the integrated NIC is enabled and connected to its network.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for more information.

3. Start the Windows 95 operati ng system.

4. Click the Start menu, point to Settin gs, and click Control Panel. Then double-click the System icon.

5. In the System Properties window , click the Device Manager tab.

6. In the list of system devices, double-click Other Devices. Then click PCI Ethernet Controller.

7. Click Properties to access the PCI Ethernet Controller window.

Using Integrated Devices 4-5

8. Click the Driver tab, and then click Update Driver.

The Update Device Driver Wizard starts.

9. Insert the NIC driver diskette 2 into drive A, and select Yes (Recommended).

10. Click Next and then click Finish to access the Insert Disk dialog box.

11. Click OK to access the Copying Files dialog box. Type a:\ and click OK.

The Windows 95 operating system begins to copy files to the system’s hard-disk drive.

12. Click OK in the Insert Disk dialog box to access the Copying Files dialog box.

13. When you are prompted for the location of additional files, specify the c:\windows\options\cabs directory on your hard-disk drive or the \win95 directory on your CD-ROM drive. Then click OK to access the System Properties dialog box, and click OK.

The Windows 95 operating system finishes copying all of the files to the system’s hard-disk drive.

14. When the System Settings Change dialog box appears, remove the diskette from drive A and click Yes to restart the system.

15. When the system restarts, the Enter Network Password dialog box appears. Enter the username and password yo u want to use for network access.

See your Windows 95 documentation for information about userna mes and passwords.

Using the NDIS 2.01 Driver With Windows 95

To install the 16-bit NDIS 2.01 NIC driver in systems running Dell-installed Windows 95, Dell-installed Windows 95 Service Release 1, Dell-installed Windows 95 Service Release 2, or a Windows 95 operating system not installed by Dell, perform the following steps:

1. Install the Windows 95 NIC d river.

For instructions, see “Dell-Installed Windows 95, Dell-Installed Windows 95 Service Release 1, or

Windows 95 Operating Systems Not Installed by Dell” found earlier in this chapter.

2. Click the Start menu, point to Settin gs, and click the Control Panel. Then double-click the Network icon.

3. In the Network window, select 3Com Fast EtherLink XL 10/100Mb TX Ethernet Adapter, and then click Properties.

4. Select Real Mode (16bit) NDIS driver, and click OK to return to the Network window.

5. Click OK, and then click Yes to restart your system.

MS-DOS NIC

To connect your system to and configure it for use on an Ethernet network, you must complete the following steps:

1. Use the Program Diskette Maker (located in the Dell Accessories program group or folder) to make a diskette copy of the NIC drivers installed on your hard-disk drive.

2. Connect the network cable to the back of your computer.

See “Network Cable Requirements” found earlier in this chapter for detailed instructions.

3. Verify that the NIC is enabled in the System Setup program.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for more information.

4. Configure the NIC, and install the network drivers by running the 3Com Install program (install.exe) located on the NIC driver diskette 1.

5. Run the Network Interface Test Group (3c90xcfg.exe) located on the NIC driver diskette 1.

4-6 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Chapter 5

Working Inside Your Computer

our Dell computer system supports a variety of internal options that expand system capabilities. This chapter prepares you to install options inside the computer. It describes how to remove and re place the computer cover and expansion-card cage, as well as rotate the power supply away from the system board. It also familiarizes you with the internal components you may handle if you install Dell hardware optio ns.

efore You Begin

T o make workin g ins ide y our comp uter ea sier, make sure you have adequate lighting and a clean work space. If you temporarily disconnect cables or remove expansion cards, note the posit ion of the co nnectors and slots so that you can reassemble the system correctly.

You will use the informati on in this section every time you install a hardware opti on ins ide y our comp uter. Read this section carefully, because the information is not repeated in detail elsewhere in this guide.

Safety First—For You and Your Computer

W orking i nside your com puter is safe— if you observe the following precautions.

WARNING FOR YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY AND PROTECTION OF YOUR EQUIPMENT

Before starting to work on your computer, perform the following steps in the sequence indicated:

1. Turn off your computer and all peripherals.

2. Disconnect your computer and peripherals from their alternating current (AC) power sources. Also, disconnect any telephone or telecommunication lines from the computer. Doing so reduces the potential for personal injury or shock.

3. If you are disconnecting a peripheral from the computer or are removing a component from the system board, wait 5 seconds after turning off the computer before disconnecting the peripheral or removing the component to avoid possible damage to the system board.

4. Touch an unpainted metal surface on the computer chassis, such as the power supp ly, before touching anything inside your computer.

While you work, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface on the computer chassis to dissipate any static electricity that might harm internal components. Also avoid touching components or contacts on a card and avoid touching pins on a chip.

In addition, Dell recommends that you periodically review the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

Working Inside Your Computer 5-1

Unpacking Your Hardware Option

When you remove an option from its shipping carton, you may find it wrapped in antistatic packing material designed to protect it from electrostatic damage. Do not remove the packing material until you are ready to install the option.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

emoving the Computer Cover

Use the following procedure to remove the computer cover:

1. Turn off your computer and peripherals, and observe the Warning for Your Personal Safety and Protection of Your Equipment described earlier in this chapter. Al so observe the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

2. If you have installed a padlock through the padlock ring on the back panel (s ee Figure 5-1), remove the padlock.

3. Remove the cover.

Facing the left side cover, press the release button (located at the bottom-left corner of the front bezel) and lift the bottom of the cover, allowing it to pivot up toward you (see Figure 5-2).

Disengage the tabs that secure the cover to the top of the chassis, and lift the cover away.

release button

Figure 5-2. Removing the Computer Cover

eplacing the Computer Cover

Use the following procedure to replace the computer cover:

1. Check all cable connections, especially those that might have come loose during your work. Fold

padlock ring

Figure 5-1. Padlock Installed

5-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

cables out of the way so that they do not catch on the computer cover. Make sure cables are not routed over the drive cage—they will prevent the cover from closing properly.

2. Check to see that no tools or extra parts (including screws) are left inside the computer’s chassis.

3. Replace the cover.

Facing the left side of the computer, hold the cover at a slight angle as shown in Figure 5-3, and then align the top of the cover with the top of the chassis. Insert the tabs on the cover into the recessed slots on the computer chassis so that the tabs catch the hooks inside the slots.

Pivot the cover down toward the bottom of the chassis and into position. Make sure the securing hooks at the bottom of the cover click into place.

tab

top

power

back

supply

system board

bottom

drive cage

internal drive bracket

expansioncard cage

Figure 5-4. Computer Orientation View

front

recessed slot

Figure 5-3. Replacing the Computer Cover

4. If you are using a p adlock to secure your system, reinstall the padlock.

nside Your Computer

Figure 5-4 shows a side view of your computer to help you orient yourself when installing hardware options. Unless otherwise specified, locations or directions relative to the computer are as shown.

Figure 5-5 shows your computer with its cover removed. Refer to this illustration to locate interior features and components discussed in this guide.

When you look inside your compu t er, note the direct cur- rent (DC) power cables coming from the power supply. These cables supply power to the system board; to internal diskette drives, hard-disk drives, and tape drives; and to certain expansion cards that connect to external peripherals.

The flat ribbon cable in Figure 5-5 is typical of the

face cables

for internal drives. An interface cable

inter-

connects a drive to a connector on the system bo ard or on an expansion card.

The system board—the large printed circuit board mounted vertically inside the chassis—holds the computer’s control circuitry and other electronic comp onents. Some hardware options are installed directly onto the system board. The riser board at the bottom of the chassis contains the expansion-card connectors.

During an installation procedure, yo u may be req uired to change a jumper or

jumper

switch

setting on the system board and/or a

setting on an expansion card or on a drive. Jumpers and switches provide a convenient and reversible way of reconf ig uri n g t he circui tr y on a p ri nte d circuit board. For information on jumpers and switches, see the following two subsections.

Working Inside Your Computer 5-3

Jumpers

Jumpers are small blocks on a circuit board with two or more pins emerging from them.

Plastic plugs containing a wire fit down over the pins. The wire connects the pins and creates a circuit.

To change a jumper setting, pull the plug off its pin(s) and carefully fit it down onto the pin(s) indicated.

CAUTION: Make sure your system is turned off before you change a jumper setting. Otherwise, damage to your system or unpredictable results may occur.

A jumper is referred to as open or unjumpered when the plug is pushed down over only one pin or if there is no plug at all. When the plug is pu sh ed down over two pins, the jumper is referred to as jumpered. In some docu- ments, the jumper setting may be shown in text as two numbers, such as 1-2. The number 1 is printed on the circuit board so that you can identify each pin number based on the location of pin 1.

Figure 5-6 shows the location and default settings of the jumper blocks on your system board. See Table 5-1 for

the designations, default settings, and functions of your system’s jumpers.

Switches

Switches control various circuits or functions in your computer system. The switches you are most likely to encounter are dual in-line package (DIP) switches, which are normally packaged in groups of two or more switches in a plastic case. Two co mmon types of DIP switches are slide switches and rocker switches (see the following illustration).

slide switches rocker switches

Each of these switches has two positions, or settings (usually on and off). To change the setting of a slide switch, use a small, pointed object such as a small screwdriver or a straightened paper clip to slide the switch to the proper position. To change the setting of a rocker switch, use the screwdriver or paper clip to press down on the appropriate side of the switch. In either case, do not use a pen, pencil, or other object that might leave a residue on the switch.

5-4 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

security cable slot

AC power receptacle

parallel port connector

serial port 1 connector keyboard connector

power supply

external drive bays

internal drive cage

mouse connector

USB connectors

serial port 2 connector

video connector

optional integrated NIC connector

microphone jack

line-out jack

line-in jack

padlock ring

Figure 5-5. Inside the Chassis

interface cable

expansion-card cage

riser board

system board

Working Inside Your Computer 5-5

jumpered

unjumpered

Figure 5-6. System Board Jumpers

5-6 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Table 5-1. System-Board Jumper Settings

)

Jumper Setting Description

RSVD2 Reserved (do not change).

(default)

300MHZ* Jumpered when the microprocessor’s internal speed is 300 MHz. 266MHZ 233MHZ BIOS

* *

(default)

Jumpered when the microprocessor’s internal speed is 266 MHz. Jumpered when the microprocessor’s internal speed is 233 MHz. Reserved (do not change).

PSWD

(default

Password features are enabled.

Password features are disabled.

* One set of the speed jumper pins must have a jumper pl ug installed; otherwis e, the system will operate at an undetermined

speed.

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in your online

jumpered

unjumpered

System User’s Guide

System Board and Riser Board Labels

Table 5-2 lists the labels for connectors and sockets on your system board and riser board, and it gives a brief description of their functions.

Table 5-2. System Board and Riser Board Connectors and Sockets

Connector or Socket Description

BATTERY Battery socket CD_IN CD-ROM audio interface connector DIMM_x DIMM socket DSKT Diskette/tape drive interface connector ENET NIC connector (optional) FAN Microprocessor fan connector

* Connector ISA1 shares a single card-slot opening with PCI4, and ISA2 shares with PCI5. Only one connector at a time can be

used on a shared card-slot opening.

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in your online

Working Inside Your Computer 5-7

System User’s Guide

Table 5-2. System Board and Riser Board Connectors and Sockets

Connector or Socket Description

HDLED Hard-disk drive LED connector (on riser board) IDEn EIDE interface connector

ISAn KYBD Keyboard connector LINE-IN Audio line-in jack LINE-OUT Audio line-out jack (amplified source) MIC Microphone jack MONITOR V ideo conn ector MOUSE Mouse connector P1 Wakeup On LAN power connector (on riser board) PANEL Control panel connector PARALLEL Parallel port connector; sometimes referred to as LPT1

ISA expansion-card connector (on riser board)

(continued)

PCIn POWER_1 Main power input connector POWER_2 3.3-V power input connector RISER Riser board connector SERIAL SLOT1 Pentium II processor SEC cartridge connector USB USB connectors VIDEO_UPGRADE Video-memory upgrade socket

* Connector ISA1 shares a single card-slot opening with PCI4, and ISA2 shares with PCI5. Only one connector at a time can be

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in your online

used on a shared card-slot opening.

emoving and Replacing the

Expansion-Card Cage

Your Dell computer has a removable expansion-card

PCI expansion-card connector (on ri ser b o a r d )

Serial port connector

System User’s Guide

cage, which greatly simplifies many installation procedures by allowing you to remove the riser board and all installed expansion cards in a single step.

5-8 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Removing the Expansion-Card Cage

Use the following procedure to remove the expansioncard cage:

1. Remove the computer cover as instructed in “Removing the Computer Cover” found earlier in this chapter.

2. Check any cables connected to expansion cards through the back-panel openings. Disconnect any cables that will not reach to where the cage must be placed upon removal from the chassis.

3. Locate the securing lever (see Figure 5-7). Rotate the lever toward the back of the computer until it stops.

4. Slide the expansion-card cage out of the chassis.

5. Lift the expansion-card cage up and away from the chassis.

Replacing the Expansion-Card Cage

Use the following procedure to replace the expansioncard cage:

1. With the securing lever in its extended position, align the tabs on the left and right sides of the expansion-card cage with the slots on the back and bottom of the chassis (see Figure 5-7). Slide the expansion-card cage into place.

2. Rotate the securing lever inward until it is flush with the side of the chassis. Make sure the riser board is fully seated in the RISER connector on the system board.

3. Reconnect any cables you removed in step 2 of the previous procedure, “Removing the ExpansionCard Cage.”

otating the Power Supply Away

From the System Board

tabs

Figure 5-7. Removing the ExpansionCard Cage

securing lever

T o access some components o n the system board, you may have to rotate the system power su pply out of the way. Use the following procedure to rotate the power supply:

1. Remove the computer cover as instructed in “Removing the Computer Cover” found earlier in this chapter.

2. Disconnect the AC power cable from the AC power receptacle on the back of the power supply (see Figure 5-8).

Working Inside Your Computer 5-9

AC power receptacle

power supp

3. Free the power supply from the securing tab labeled “RELEASE —>,” and rotate it upward until it locks in its extended position.

AC power cable

securing tab

DC power cables

Figure 5-8. Rotating the Power Supply

5-10 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Chapter 6

Installing System Board Options

his chapter describes how to install the following

options:

•

Industry-Standard Architecture (ISA) and Peripher al Component In terconnect (PC I) expansion c ards

•

System memory

parallel/serial port 1 connectors (stacked) (PARALLEL/SERIAL1)

keyboard/mouse connectors (stacked) (KYBD/MOUSE)

USB connectors (USB)

serial port 2 connector (SERIAL2)

microprocessor fan connector (FAN)

video connector (MONITOR)

video-memory upgrade socket (VIDEO_UPGRADE)

optional integrated NIC connector (ENET)

microphone jack (MIC)

audio line-out jack (LINE-OUT)

SEC cartridge connector (SLOT1)

•

Video memory

•

Microprocessor

This chapter also includes instructions for replacing the system battery, if necessary.

Use Figure 6-1 to locate the system board features.

DIMM sockets (3) (DIMM_A–DIMM_C)

battery socket (BATTERY)

main power input connector (POWER_1)

3.3-V power input connector (POWER_2)

diskette/tape drive interface connector (DSKT) (pin-1 corner)

control panel connector (PANEL)

secondary EIDE interface connector (IDE2) (pin-1 corner)

primary EIDE interface connector (IDE1) (pin-1 corner)

system board jumpers

audio line-in jack (LINE-IN)

riser board connector (RISER)

Figure 6-1. Sys t e m B oar d F e a tur e s

CD-ROM audio interface connector (CD_IN)

bottom of computer

Installing System Board Options 6-1

xpansion Cards

Expansion cards are installed on the computer’s riser board (see Figure 6-3). The riser board plugs into the

RISER connector on the system board (see Figure 6-1) and is considered an extension of the system board.

The system accommodates up to seven expansion cards, which can be a mix of 32-bit PCI expansion cards and 8- and 16-bit ISA expansion cards. (See Figure 6-2 for examples of ISA and PCI expansion cards.)

•

Expansion-card connectors PCI1–PCI5 support 32-bit PCI expansion cards.

NOTE: Because connector PCI4 shares expansionslot space with connector ISA1, and PCI5 shares with ISA2, only one card of either type can be installed in each of the two shared slots.

LED

PCI5

PCI4

PCI3

ISA4 ISA3

ISA2

ISA1 P1

8-bit ISA expansion card

16-bit ISA expansion card

32-bit PCI expansion card

Figure 6-2. Expansion Cards

Expansion Slots

Nine expansion-card connectors resi de on the riser board (see Figure 6-3). Because two expansion slots are shared, a maximum of seven expansion cards can be in st al le d on the riser board.

•

Expansion-card connectors ISA1–ISA4 support 8- or 16-bit ISA expansion cards.

PCI2 PCI1

HDLED connector

Figure 6-3. Riser-Board Expansion-Card Connectors

Installing an Expansion Card

Follow this general procedure to install an expansion card:

1. If you are installing a non- Plug and Play ISA expansion card, enter the ISA Configuration Utility (ICU) and add the new expansion card to your configura ti on .

See Chapter 3, “Using the ISA Configuration Utility,” for instructions.

NOTE: If you in stall a PCI or Plug and Play expansion card, your system automatically performs any required configuration tasks during the boot routine.

2. Prepare the expansion card for installation, and remove the computer cover according to the instructions in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

See the documentation that came with the expansion card for information on config uring the card , making

6-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

internal connections, or otherwise customizing the card for your system.

3. Remove the expansion-card cage as instructed in “Removing the Expansion-Card Cage” in Chapter 5.

NOTE: Verify that the power L ED on th e ris er board (see Figure 6-3) is off before removing the card cage

4. Unscrew and remove the metal filler bracket that covers the card-slot opening for the expansion slot you intend to use (see Figure 6-4).

Save the screw to use when installing the expansion card later in this procedure.

expansion card

card-edge connector

riser board

filler bracket

Figure 6-4. Removing the Filler Bracket

5. Install the expansion card.

Insert the card-edge connector firmly into the expansion-card connector on the riser board. Gently rock the card into the connector until the card is fully seated (see Figure 6-5).

expansioncard cage

expansion-card connector

Figure 6-5. Installing an Expansion Card

6. When the card is firmly seated in the connector and the card-mounting bracket is flush with the brackets on either side of it, secure the bracket with the screw you removed in step 4.

7. If you are instal ling an option al W ak eup On LAN network card, attach the three-wire power cable that came with the card to the P1 connector on the riser board (see Figure 6-3) and to the network card.

8. Replace the expansion-card cage in the chassis as instructed in “Replacing the Expansion-Card Cage” in Chapter 5.

9. Connect any cables that should be attached to the card.

See the documentation that came with the card for information about its cable connections.

10. Replace the computer cover, reconnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on.

Installing System Board Options 6-3

Removing an Expansion Card

Follow this general procedure to remove an expansion card:

1. If you are removing a non-Plug and Play ISA expansion card, enter the ICU and remove the expansion card from your configuration.

See Chapter 3, “Using the ISA Configuration Utility,” for instructions.

2. Remove the computer cover according to the instructions in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

3. If necessary, disconnect any cables connected to the card.

4. Remove the expansion-card cage as instructed in “Removing the Expansion-Card Cage” in Chapter 5.

5. Unscrew the mounting bracket of the card you want to remove.

6. Grasp the card by its outside corners, and ease it out of its connector.

7. If you are removing the card permanently, install a metal filler bracket over the empty card-slot opening.

NOTE: Installing filler brackets over empty cardslot openings is necessary to maintain Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification of the system. The brackets also keep dust and dirt out of your computer.

8. Replace the expansion-card cage in the chassis as instructed in “Replacing the Expansion-Card Cage” in Chapter 5.

9. Replace the computer cover, reconnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on.

dding Memory

Memory can be increased to a maximum of 384 megabytes (MB) by installing combinations of 16-, 32-, 64-, or 128-MB dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) in the three DIMM sockets on the system board. Figure 6-6 shows the DIMMs and DIMM sockets.

Your system can support both error checking and correction (ECC) and non-parity synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) DIMMs. However, ECC support is available only if all DIMMs are ECC DIMMs. ECC DIMMs enable your system to correct all single-bit memory errors and detect multibit memory errors.

DIMMs (3)

DIMM sockets

6-4 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

T able 6-1 lists sample memory configurations and shows valid DIMM combinations and socket placement for each configuration.

Table 6-1. Sample DIMM Configuration Options

Total Desired Memory

ABC

DIMM Socket

16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 16 MB 16 MB 32 MB 32 MB 48 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 48 MB 32 MB 16 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 32 MB 32 MB 80 MB 32 MB 32 MB 16 MB 80 MB 64 MB 16 MB 96 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB

96 MB 64 MB 16 MB 16 MB 112 MB 64 MB 32 MB 16 MB 128 MB 64 MB 64 MB 128 MB 128 MB 144 MB 64 MB 64 MB 16 MB 144 MB 128 MB 16 MB 160 MB 128 MB 32 MB 192 MB 128 MB 64 MB 192 MB 128 MB 32 MB 32 MB 256 MB 128 MB 128 MB 320 MB 128 MB 128 MB 64 MB 384 MB 128 MB 128 MB 128 MB

Performing a Memory Upgrade

Follow this procedure to perform a memory upgrade:

1. Remove the computer cover according to the instructions in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

2. Rotate the power supply out of the way according to the instructions in “Rotating the Power Supply Away From the System Board” in Chapter 5.

3. Determine the DIMM sockets into which you will install DIMMs or replace existing DIMMs.

See Figure 6-1 and Table 6-1.

4. Install or replace DIMMs as necessary to reach the desired memory total.

Follow the instructions in “Installing a DIMM” or Removing a DIMM,” as appropriate, found late r in this section.

5. Rotate the power supply back into the computer chassis.

6. Replace the computer cover; reconnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on.

After the system completes the power-on self-test (POST) routine, the system runs a memory test that displays the total memory of all installed DIMMs, including those you just installed.

NOTE: If the memory total is incorrect, turn off your computer and peripherals and disconnect them from their power sources, r emove the computer cover, and make sure that th e inst all ed DIMM s are seated properly in their sockets. Then repeat this step.

The system detects that the new memory does not match the existing system confi gurati on i nformat i on, which is stored in nonvolatile rando m-access memory (NVRAM), and generates the following message:

The amount of system memory has changed.

Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility

Installing System Board Options 6-5

7. Press <F2> to enter the System Setup program, and check the System Memory category in the lower-right corner of Page 1.

The system should have already changed the value in the System Memory category to reflect the newly installed memory. Verify the new total.

NOTES: If the memory total is incorrect, turn off your computer and peripherals and disconnect them from their power sources, remove the computer cover, and check the installed DIMMs to make sure that they are seated properly in their sockets. Then repeat steps 6 and 7.

The value of System Memory is given in kilobytes. To convert kilobytes to megabytes, divide the kilobyte total by 1024.

8. When the System Memory total is correct, press the <Esc> key to exit the System Setup program.

9. Run the Dell Diagnostics to verify that the DIMMs are operating properly.

See your Diagnostics and T r ou bleshootin g Guide for information on running the Dell Diagnostics and troubleshooting any probl ems that may occur.

Installing a DIMM

Use the following procedure to install a DIMM:

1. Locate the first empty socket in which you plan to install a DIMM.

For optimum performance, DIMMs should be installed in consecutive sockets beginning with socket A.

2. Locate the plastic securing clips at each end of the socket. Press the clips outward until they snap open.

3. Orient the DIMM to the socket by aligning the notches in the DIMM’s edge connector with the crossbars in the socket.

4. Press the DIMM straight into the slot running down the center of the socket (see Figure 6-7) until the securing clips snap into place around the ends of the DIMM.

securing clips (2)

Figure 6-7. Installing a DIMM

Removing a DIMM

To remove a DIMM, press the securing clips outward (see Figure 6-8) simultaneou sly until the DIMM disengages from the socket (it should pop up slightly).

Figure 6-8. Removing a DIMM

dding Video Memory

You can upgrade video memory from 2 to 4 MB by installing a video-memory upgrade module. Upgrading the video memory increases video performance and allows you to use video modes for application programs that require high resolutions and many colors.

6-6 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

To upgrade the video memory, perform the following steps:

1. Remove the computer cover according to the instructions in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

2. T o access the video-memory upgrade socket (labeled “VIDEO_UPGRADE”) on the sys t e m board, remove the expansion-card cage as described in “Removing the Expansion-Card Cage” in Chapter 5.

3. Orient the module as shown in Figure 6-9. Then install it in the socket.

Vi deo memory mod ul es are keyed , or designed to fit in the socket in only one direction. The socket on the system board is notched so that the video memory module can be firmly seated only one way.

Align the video memory module’s edge connector with the slot in the center of the socket. Press the video memory module’s edge connector firmly into the socket. Pivot the module down until it clicks into place.

If you do not hear a sharp click, you should remove the module and reinstall it.

notch

video-memory upgrade socket

video-memory upgrade module

5. Replace the computer cover; reconnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on.

As the system boots, it detects the presence of the new video memory and automatically changes the system configuration information in the System Setup program.

6. Enter the System Setup program, and confirm that the amount of video memory displayed in the Video Memory category is 4 MB.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program.” If the video memory total is incorrect, turn off the

system, remove the computer cover, and reseat the video-memory upgrade module in its socket.

7. Run the Video Test Group in the Dell Diagnostics to test the new video memory.

See your instructions on running the Dell Diagnos t ic s and troubleshooting any problems that occur.

pgrading the Microprocessor

To take advantage of future options in speed and functionality, you can replace the microprocessor on your system board with any Dell-supported microprocessor upgrade. Call your Dell sales representative for information on available microprocessor upgrades.

The microprocessor upgrade kit includes a new singleedge contact (SEC) cartridge with heat sink assembly and an airflow shroud.

The following procedure describes how to replace the microprocessor.

NOTE: Dell recommends that only a technically knowledgeable person perform this procedure.

1. Remove the computer cover according to the instructions in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

Diagnostics and Tr oubleshooting Guide

for

Figure 6-9. Installing a Video-Memory Upgrade Module

4. Replace the expansion-card cage as described in “Replacing the Expansion-Card Cage” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

Installing System Board Options 6-7

2. Rotate the power supply out of the way according to the instructions in “Rotating the Power Supply Away From the System Board” in Chapter 5.

3. See Figure 6-1 to locate the SEC cartridge connector (labeled “SLOT1”) on the system board.

4. Press in on the heat sink clips that secure the cartridge/heat sink assembly to the meta l standoffs on the system board (see Figure 6-10).

5. Remove the current SEC cartridge/heat sink assembly from its connector.

Press the SEC cartridge release latches inward until they snap into position. Grasp the SEC cartridge firmly, and pull straight up on the cartridge to remove it from the guide bracket assembly. You must use up to 15 pounds of force to disengage the SEC cartridge from the connector.

CAUTION: Make sure that the SEC cartridge is only pulle d straight up to prevent da mage to the processor or connector.

tabs (2)

heat sink

SEC cartridge release latches (2)

SEC cartridge

guide bracket assembly

shroud

alignment slots (2)

cooling fan

securing clips (2)

Figure 6-10. Removing the Shroud and SEC Cartridge/Heat Sink Assembly

6-8 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

6. Insert the new SEC cartridge/heat sink assembly into the system board connector.

Press the SEC cartridge release latches outward until they snap into position. Orient the assembly with the heat sink facing toward the right (as you face the front of the chassis), and press the SEC cartridge firmly into its connector until it is fully seated. You must use up to 25 pounds of force to fully seat the SEC cartridge/heat sink assembly in the connector.

7. Slide the heat sink clips back into position.

8. If your upgrade kit included an airflow shroud, install it over the SEC cartridge/heat sink assembly.

Fit the mouth of the shrou d into the ali gnment slots on the sides of the cooling fan. Then squeeze the tabs on the top of the shroud and lower it down until the clips under the tabs engage onto the top of the heat s i nk.

9. If necessary, change the microprocessor speed jumper setting (see Figur e 5-6 to locate the system board jumpers).

The microprocessor speed jumper should be set for the installed microprocessor’s rated internal speed. For example, for a 300-megahertz (MHz) Intel Pentium II processor, a jumper plug should be installed on the pins labeled “300MHZ.” (See Table 5-1 for more information.)

10. Rotate the power supply back into position.

11. Replace the computer cover; reconnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on.

As the system boots, it detects the presence of the new microprocessor and automatically changes the system configuration information in the System Setup program.

12. Enter the System Setup program, and confirm that the Microprocessor category correctly identifies the installed microprocessor.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program.”

13. Run the Dell Diagnostics to verify that the new microprocessor is operating correctly.

See your Diagnostics and T r oubl eshooting Gu ide for information on running the Dell Diagnostics and troubleshooting any probl ems that may occur.

eplacing the System Battery

A 3.0-volt (V) CR2032 coin-cell battery installed on the system board maintains system configuration, date, and time information in a special section of memory.

The operating life of the battery can extend up to ten years. The battery may need replacing if an inco rrect time or date is displayed during the boot routine along with a message such as:

Time-of-day not set — please run SETUP program

Invalid configuration information — please run SETUP program

Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility

T o determine whether the battery needs replacing, reenter the time and date through the Sys tem Setup p rogram ( not through the MS-DOS the program properly to save the information (see Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for instructions). T urn o ff your system and disco nnect it from alternating current (AC) power for a few hours; then reconnect and turn on your system. Enter the System Setup program. If the date and time are not correct in the System Setup program, replace your battery.

You can operate your system without a battery; however, without a battery, the system configuration information is erased if the system is turned off or unplugged from AC power. In this case, you must enter the System Setup pro gram and reset the configuration options.

WARNING: There is a danger of the new battery exploding if it is incorrectly installed. Replace the battery only with the same or equivalent type recommended by the manufacturer. Discard used batteries according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

time

and

date

commands) and exit

Installing System Board Options 6-9

Use the following procedure to replace the system battery with another CR2032 coin-cell battery:

1. If you have not already done so, make a copy of your system configuration information in the System Setup program.

If the settings are lost while you are replacing the battery, refer to your written or printed copy of the system configuration information to restore the correct settings. See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for instructions.

2. Remove the computer cover according to the instructions in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

3. To access the battery on the system board, remove the expansion-card cage as described in “Removing the Expansion-Card Cage” in Chapter 5.

4. Locate the battery and remove it.

The battery (see Figure 6-1) is mounted in a socket labeled “BATTERY” in the front-right corner of the system board (as you face the side of the system).

CAUTION: If you pry the battery out of its socket with a blunt object, be careful not to touch the system board with the object. Make certain that the object is inserted between the battery and the socket before attempting to pry out the battery. Otherwise, you may damage the system board by prying off the socket or by breaking circuit traces on the system board.

Pry the battery out of its socket with your fingers or with a blunt, nonconductive object, such as a plastic screwdriver.

5. Install the new battery.

Orient the battery with the side labeled “+” facing up (see Figure 6-11). Then insert the battery into the socket, and snap it into place.

battery

BATTERY socket

Figure 6-11. System Battery and Battery Socket

6. Replace the expansion-card cage as described in “Replacing the Expansion-Card Ca ge” in Chapter 5.

7. Replace the computer cover; reconnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on.

8. Enter the System Setup program, and confirm that the battery is operating properly.

See Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program,” for information on running the System Setup program.

Enter the correct time and date through the System Setup program’ s T ime and Date categories. Al so, use the copy you made in step 1 to restor e the correct settings for other system configuration information. Then exit the System Setup program.

9. T urn off your computer, and unplug it for at least ten minutes.

10. After ten minutes, plug in the computer, turn it on, and enter the System Setup program. If the time and date are still incorrect, see the chapter titled “Getting Help” in your Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.

6-10 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Chapter 7

)

Installing Drives

our Dell computer has six drive bays for installing the

following types of drives (see Figure 7-1):

•

The externally accessible drive bays at the front of the computer consist of one 3.5-inch dr ive bay (d edicated to a 3.5-inch diskette drive) and three

5.25-inch bays that can hold up to three half-height,

5.25-inch devices—typically tape drives or CD-ROM drives. Alternately, 3.5-inch devices can be installed in the 5.25-inch bays using adapters available from Dell.

•

The two hard-disk drive bays can each hold a

3.5-inch enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) or small computer system interface (SCSI) hard-disk drive . Together, the bays can hold one 1-inch-high (or smaller) drive and one 1.6-inch-high (or smaller) drive.

The next three sections contain information that you will need in several of the installation procedures described later in the chapter. The remaining sections of this chapter cover each type of drive installation.

NOTE: In all of the following procedures, refer to your left and right as you face the computer.

left front

and

of the

right

externally accessible drive bays

two-bay hard-disk drive area (internal

Figure 7-1. Drive Locations

emoving and Replacing the

Front Bezel

The bezel is secured to the front of the chassis by two tabs and two hooks. The tab release for the bezel is at the top of the computer chassis and can be accessed only with the computer cover removed (see “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5). With the cover removed, release the bezel by pressing the tab release marked with the icon (see Figure 7-2).

Installing Drives 7-1

tab release

retaining hooks (2)

Figure 7-2. Removing the Front Bezel

While pressing the tab release, tilt the bezel away from the chassis, disengage the two retaining hooks at the bottom of the bezel, and carefully pull the bezel away from the chassis.

To replace the bezel, fit the two retaining hooks on the bezel into their corresponding slots at the bottom of the chassis. Then rotate the top of the bezel toward the chassis until the top tabs snap into their correspon ding slots on the bezel.

To remove the insert covering a 5.25-inch bay, follow these steps:

1. Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect all the alternating current (AC) power cables from their power sources.

2. Remove the computer cover as instructed in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

3. Remove the front bezel using the instructions in the previous section, “Removing and Replacing the Front Bezel.”

4. With your thumbs, press in each end of the insert until it snaps free of the bezel (see Figure 7-3).

computer cover

posts (2)

ring-tabs (2)

Figure 7-3. Removing the Front-Panel Insert for a 5.25-Inch Bay

emoving and Replacing

Front-Panel Inserts

Empty drive bays contain a front-panel insert to protect the inside of the computer from dust particles and also to ensure proper airflow within the computer. Before you install a drive in an empty drive bay, you must first remove the front-panel insert.

7-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

To replace a front-panel insert for a 5.25-inch bay, work from inside the bezel. Insert the two ring-tabs (one on each end of the insert) over the posts on the inside of the bay opening, and firmly press both ends of the insert into place (see Figure 7-3).

onnecting Drives

When installing a drive, you connect two cables— a direct current (DC) power cable and an interface cable—to the back of the drive. Your drive’s power input connector (to which you connect the DC power cable) resembles the connector shown in Figure 7-4.

power input connector

DC power cable

Figure 7-4. DC Power Cable Connector

interface connector. For the location of pin 1 on the drive’s interface connector, see the documentation that came with the drive.

When disconnecting an interface cable from the system board, be sure to press in on the locking tabs on the cable connector before disconnecting the cable. When attaching an interface cable to the system board, be sure that the locking tabs snap into place, ensuring that the cable is firmly attached to the connector on the system board.

Most interface connectors are keyed for correct insertion; that is, a notch or a missing pin on one connector matches a tab or a filled-in hole on the other connector (see Figure 7-5). Keying ensures that the pin-1 wire in the cable (indicated by the colored strip along one edge of the cable) goes to the pin-1 end of the connector.

The pin-1 end of a connector on a board or a card is usually indicated by a silk-screened “1” printed directly on the board or card.

The drive’s interface connector is a card-edge connector or a header connector, as shown in Figure 7-5.

card-edge connector on drive

colored strip

header connector on drive

Figure 7-5. Drive Interface Connectors

When attaching the interface cable to a drive, be sure to match the colored strip on the cable to pin 1 of the drive’s

notch

interface cables

colored st rip

CAUTION: When connecting an interface cable, do not reverse the interface cable (do not place the colored strip away from pin 1 of the connector). Reversing the cable prevents the drive from operating and could damage the controller, the drive, or both.

nstalling a Drive in a 5.25-Inch

Drive Bay

The 5.25-inch drive bays can accommodate any of the following types of half-height drives:

•

A diskette drive or tape drive that uses the diskette/ tape drive interface on the system board

•

A CD-ROM or tape drive that uses the secondary EIDE interface on the system board

•

A CD-ROM or tape dr ive that uses its own controller card

NOTE: For information on configuring, connecting, and installing SCSI drives, see “Installing SCSI Devices” found later in this chapter.

Installing Drives 7-3

To install a drive in a 5.25-inch drive bay, follow these steps:

1. Unpack the drive and prepare it for installation.

CAUTION: Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the back of the computer.

Check the documentation that accompanied the drive to verify that the drive is configured for your computer system. Change any settings necessary for your configuration.

NOTE: If you are installing a non-EIDE tape drive, check the documentation for the drive to determine the jumper or switch settings used to design ate the drive as drive address DS4 (not DS2 or DS3 as may be indicated in the drive documentation). Unless the drive is already set to drive 4, reconfigure its jumper or switch setting (see “Jumpers” and “Switches” in Chapter 5).

If you are installing an EIDE CD-ROM or EIDE t ape drive, configure the drive for the Cable Select setting.

2. Remove the computer cover as instructed in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

bracket tabs (2)

Figure 7-6. Removing a Drive

If a drive is already installed in the bay and you are replacing it, be sure to disconnect the DC power cable and interface cable from the back of the drive before sliding th e bracket out of the bay. To remove the old drive from the bracket, tu rn the drive/bracket assembly upside down and u nscrew the four screws that secure the drive to the bracket (see Figure 7-7).

5. Attach the bracket to the new drive.

Turn the drive upside down and locate the four screw holes around its perimeter. Fit the bracket over the drive, and then tilt the front of the drive up so that the bracket drops down into place. To ensure proper installation, all screw holes should be aligned and the tabs on the front of the bracket should be flush with the front of the drive (see Figure 7-7).

3. Remove the front bezel according to the instructions in “Removing and Replacing the Front Bezel” found earlier in this chapter.

4. Remove the drive bracket fr om the b ay you wa nt to use.

Squeeze the metal tabs that extend from each side of the drive bracket toward each other, and pull the bracket out of the bay (see Figure 7-6).

NOTE: For easier access inside the chassis, you may want to rotate the power supply out of the way temporarily. To do so, see “Rotating the Power Supply Away From the System Board” in Chapter 5.

7-4 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

bracket tabs (2)

bracket

Figure 7-7. Attaching the Drive Bracket to the New Drive

To further ensure proper positioning of the drive in the chassis, insert and tighten all four screws

order in which the holes are numbered

in the

(the holes are

marked “1” through “4”).

6. Slide the new drive into the drive bay until it snaps securely into place (see Figure 7-8).

Make sure that both bracket tabs snap into place in the drive bay.

7. If you are instal ling a drive that has i ts own controller card, install the controller card in an expansion slot.

See “Installing an Expansion Card” in Chapter 6.

8. Connect a DC power cable to the power input connector on the back of the drive (see Figure 7-9).

9. Connect the appropriate interface cable to the interface connector on the back of the drive (see Figure 7-9).

If your system came with an EIDE CD-ROM or tape drive, use the spare connector on the existing interface cable. Otherwise, use the EIDE interface cable provided in the drive kit.

5.25-inch drive

Figure 7-8. Inserting the New Drive Into the Drive Bay

Installing Drives 7-5

CAUTION: You must match the colored strip on the cable with pin 1 on the drive’s interface connector to avoid possible damage to your system.

interface connector

power input connector

DC power cable

diskette/tape drive interface cable

Figure 7-9. Attaching Diskette Drive or Tape Drive Cables

10. For an EIDE tape drive or CD-ROM drive, connect the other end of the interface cable to the interface connector labeled “IDE2” on the system board.

For a diskette drive or non-EIDE tape drive, connect the cable from the drive to the interface connector labeled “DSKT” on the system board.

For a drive that comes with its own controller card, connect the other end of the interface cable to the controller card.

Check all cable connections. Fold cables out of the way to provide airflow for the fan and cooling vents.

7-6 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

11. If the 5.25-inc h dr i v e bay was previously empty, remove the front-panel insert fr om the front bezel.

See “Removing and Replacing Front-Panel Inserts” found earlier in this chapter.

12. Replace the front bezel according to the instructions in “Removing and Replacing the Front Bezel” found earlier in this chapter.

13. Replace the computer cover, and reconnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources and turn them on.

14. Update your system configuration information.

For a diskette drive, enter the System Setup program and update the appropriate Diskette Drive category (A or B) on Page 1 of the System Setup screens to reflect the size and capacity of your new diskette drive. (For more information, see Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program.”)

If you installed a non-EIDE tape drive as the second drive, set the Diskette Drive B category to Not Installed.

For EIDE CD-ROM and tape drives, set the appropriate Drive category (0 or 1) under Drives: Secondary to Auto.

15. Verify that your system works correctly.

See your Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide for information on running the Dell Diagnostics and troubleshooting any probl ems that may occur. Use the following guidelines to determine which test to use:

•

If you installed a diskette drive, test it by running all of the subtests in the Diskette Drive(s) Test Group of the Dell Diagnostics.

•

If you installed a CD-ROM drive, see the documentation that came with the drive for instructions on loa di ng d evi ce dr i vers and us in g the drive. If it is an EIDE CD-ROM drive, test it by running all of the subtests in the IDE CD-ROM Drives Test Group of the Dell Diagnostics.

•

If you installed a tape drive, first verify that your diskette drive is still operating correctly by running all of the subtests in the Diskette Drive(s) Test Group of the Dell Diagnostics. Then perform a tape backup and verificatio n test with the

drive as instructed in the tape-drive software documentation that came with the tape drive.

NOTE: The tape drives sold by Dell come with their own operating software and documentation. After you install a tape drive, refer to the documentation that came with the drive for instructions on installing and using the tape drive software.

nstalling an EIDE Hard-Disk Drive

This section includes information o n in stalling, partitioning, and formatting EIDE hard-disk drives. For instructions on installing, partitioning, and formatting SCSI hard-disk drives, see “Installing SCSI Devices” found later in this chapter.

Up to two EIDE drives (one of which must be 1-inch high or less) can be installed in the hard-disk drive bracket below the drive cage. The first EIDE drive is installed in the 1-inch (lower) drive bay labeled “HD1”; a second drive is installed in the 1.6-inch bay labeled “HD2.”

EIDE Drive Addressing

All EIDE devices should be configured for the Cable Select jumper position, which assigns master and slave status to devices by their position on the interface cable. When two EIDE devices are connected to a single EIDE interface cable and are configured for the Cable Select jumper position, the device attached to the last connector on the interface cable is the master or boot device (drive

0) and the device attached to the middle connector on the interface cable is the slave device (drive 1). Refer to the drive documentation in your upgrade kit for information on setting devices to the Cable Select jump er position.

NOTE: If you want to install a seco nd EIDE dr ive tha t is a different type from the first drive but you do not have the specifications for the first drive, do one of the following:

•

If you purc hased the drive fr om Dell, you can contact Dell for the necessary reconfiguration information. (See the chapter titled “Getting Help” in the Diag- nostics and Troubleshooting Guide for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.)

Installing Drives 7-7

•

If you did not purchase the drive from Dell, call the drive manufacturer.

With the two EIDE interface connectors on the system board, your system can support up to four EIDE devices. EIDE hard-disk drives should be connected to the EIDE interface connector labeled “IDE1.” (EIDE tape drives and CD-ROM drives should be connected to the EIDE interface connector labeled “IDE2.”)

Remove the screw securing the hard-disk drive bracket to the drive cage in the chassis.

Grasp the bracket, and rotate it outward from the chassis until the sliding tab clears the slide rail on the drive cage (see Figure 7-10). Lift the bracket up slightly to free its hinge tabs from the chassis slots .

Installing an EIDE Hard-Disk Drive in the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket

Install an EIDE hard-disk drive in the hard-disk drive bracket as follows:

1. If you are replacing a hard-disk drive that contains data you want to keep, be sure to make a backup of your files before you begin this procedure.

2. Prepare the drive for installation.

CAUTION: Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the back of the computer.

CAUTION: When you unpack the drive, do not set it on a hard surface, which may damage the drive. Instead, set the drive on a surface, such as a foam pad, that will su fficiently cushion it.

Check the documentation that accompanied the drive to verify that it is configured for your computer system.

3. Remove the computer cover as instructed in “Removing the Computer Cover” in Chapter 5.

CAUTION: See “Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge” in the safety instructions at the front of this guide.

4. Remove the drive bracket from the chassis.

If a hard-disk drive is already installed in the drive bracket, disconnect the DC power cable and EIDE cable from the drive.

drive-cage slide rail

chassis slots

hinge tabs

sliding tab

Figure 7-10. Removing the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket

5. Slide the drive into the chosen bay of the bracket, oriented so that the connectors on the back of the drive will face the back of the chassis when the bracket is reinstalled (see Figure 7-11).

6. Align the four screw holes of the drive and bracket. Insert and tighten the screws that came with your upgra de ki t .

If you are installing a drive in the 1.6-inch bay, use the four screw holes in the side of the bracket (see Figure 7-11). If you are installing a drive in the 1-inch bay, use the four screw holes in the bottom of the bracket.

7-8 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

screws (4)

sliding tab

8. Connect a DC power cable to the power input connector on the back of the drive (see Figure 7-13).

Check all connectors to be certain that they are properly cabled and firmly seated.

9. Connect one of the device connectors on the EIDE cable to the 40-pin interface connector on the back of the hard-disk drive (see Figure 7-13).

CAUTION: You must match the colored strip on the EIDE cable with pin 1 on the drive’s interface connector to avoid possible damage to your system.

1.6-inch drive

drive bracket

Figure 7-11. Inserting a 1.6-Inch Hard-Disk Drive in the Bracket

7. Reinstall the hard-disk drive bracket in the chassis (see Figure 7-12).

Insert the bracket’s hinge tabs into the chassis slots so that the tabs hook over the slots. Then rotate the bracket toward the drive cage, and fit the bracket’s sliding tab on the drive-cage slide rail. Slide the bracket into place. Reinstall the screw you removed in step 4.

drive-cage slide rail

chassis slots

hinge tabs

power input connector on drive

DC power cable

interface

EIDE cable

IDE1 connector

IDE2 connector

connector

Figure 7-13. Attaching Hard-Disk Drive Cables

sliding tab

Figure 7-12. Inserting the Drive Bracket in the Chassis

Installing Drives 7-9

10. If it is not already connected, connect the other end of the EIDE cable to the IDE1 connector on the system board.

CAUTION: You must match the colored strip on the EIDE cable with pin 1 on the IDE1 connector to avoid possible damag e to you r syst em.

To locate the IDE1 connector, see Figure 6-1.

11. Replace the computer cover . Then reco nnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on.

12. Insert a bootable diskette (such as the Dell Diag- nostics Diskette) into drive A, and turn on the computer system.

13. Enter the System Setup program, and update the appropriate Drive category (0 or 1) under Drives: Primary.

See “Drives: Primary and Secondary” in Chapter 2. After you update the System Setup settings, reboot the system.

14. Partition an d logically format your drive, as described in the next subsection, before proceeding to the next step.

15. Test the hard-disk drive by running the HardDisk Drive(s) Test Group in the Dell Diagnostics.

See your Diagnostics and T r ou bleshootin g Guide for information on running the Dell Diagnostics and troubleshooting any probl ems that may occur.

16. Install your operating system on the hard-disk drive.

Refer to the documentation that came with your operating system.

Partitioning and Logically Formatting Your EIDE Hard-Disk Drive

EIDE hard-disk drives must be physically formatted, partitioned, and logically formatted be fore they can be used to store data. Every hard-disk drive from Dell is physically formatted before it is sent to you.

NOTE: On systems with hard-disk drives larger than 2 gigabytes (GB), create a primary partition of 2 GB and divide the remaining capacity into partitions of 2 GB or

less. For example, a system with a 2.5-GB hard-disk drive would have a primary partition of 2 GB (drive C) and a second partition of 500 megabytes (MB) (drive D). Hard-disk drives must be partitioned this way becaus e MS-DOS–based operating systems (in cluding Windows NT when using a file allocation table [FAT] 16 file system) do not support drive partitions larger than 2GB.

To partition and logically format your hard-disk drive, use the program(s) offered by your operating system.

For MS-DOS

perform these procedures. The mands are described in the MS-DOS reference documentation.

For OS/2

formatting in the documentation that came with the op e rating system.

CAUTION: If you format your hard-disk drive under the OS/2 High Performance File System (HPFS), you cannot reformat the drive for MS-DOS without losing all HPFS data. See your OS/2 documentation for details.

For Windows NT

logical formatting in the documentation that came with the operating system.

CAUTION: If you format your hard-disk drive under the Windows NT File System (NTFS), you cannot reformat the drive for MS-DOS without losing all NTFS data. See your Windows NT documentation for details.

For the UNIX

documentation.

nstalling SCSI Devices

To use SCSI devices in your Dell computer, you must have a SCSI host adapter card, which comes with its own SCSI cable. This cable can be used to attach a variety of SCSI devices (hard-disk drives, tape drives, and so on). The SCSI host adapter configures the devices attached to it as one subsystem—not as independent devices.

, use the

, see the discussion on partitioning and logical

fdisk

, see the discus sion on partitioning and

operating system,

format

and

fdisk

and

refer to your UNIX

commands to

format

com-

7-10 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Although SCSI devices are installed essentially the same way as other devices, their configuration requirements are different.

SCSI Configuration Guidelines

For details on configuring your SCSI subsystem, refer to the documentation that came with your SCSI devices and/or your host adapter card. The following subsections offer some general guidelines.

SCSI ID Numbers

Each device attached to a SCSI host adapter card, as well as the card itself, must have a unique SCSI identification (ID) number from 0 to 7. W hen SCSI devices are s hipped from Dell, the default SCSI ID numbers are assigned as follows:

•

A SCSI host adapter card is configured as SCSI ID

•

A SCSI tape drive or digital audio tape (DAT) drive is configured as SCSI ID 6.

•

A SCSI CD-ROM drive is configured as SCSI ID 5.

•

SCSI hard-disk drives are usually configured as SCSI ID 0. (The drive used to boot your system should always be configured as SCSI ID 0.)

NOTE: There is assigned sequentially or that devices be attached to the cable in order by ID nu mber.

requirement that SCSI ID numbers be

SCSI Cable and S C SI Termina tion

The type of cabling you receive with your SCSI device depends on the type of device you are installing.

•

If you are installing an internal narrow SCSI device (such as a CD-ROM drive or tape drive)

50-pin internal SCSI cable as shown in Figure 7-14. One end of this cable attaches to the SCSI host adapter. Th e th ree co nnecto rs on the other end of the cable are used for attaching up to three narrow SCSI devices installed in the externally accessible drive bays.

, you have a

50-pin SCSI cable (to device in externally accessible drive bay)

68-pin SCSI cable (to hard-disk drive)

Figure 7-14. Internal SCSI Cable

•

If you are installing an internal wide SCSI device (such as a wid e SCSI hard-disk drive)

68-pin internal SCSI cable as shown in Figure 7-14. One end of this cable attaches to the SCSI host adapter and the two connectors on the other end of the cable are used for attaching up to two SCSI harddisk drives installed in the hard-disk drive bracket.

•

If you are installing an external SCSI device

have a shielded external cable that connects to the external SCSI connector on the SCSI host adapter card. You have a separate power cable to connect the SCSI device to an AC power source.

Before installing SCSI devices in your computer, you may need to configure the termination on your SCSI device(s). Both types of internal SCSI cables contain terminators on the device end of the cables, so the devices connected to these cables must have termination disabled. Extern al SCSI cables do no t have terminators, so termination must be enabled on the SCSI device itself.

If you are installing only internal SCSI devices, verify that termination is enabled on the SCSI host adapter and disabled for all other internal SCSI devices. If you are installing both internal and external SCSI devices, verify that termina-

, you have a

, you

Installing Drives 7-11

tion is enabled on the external SCSI device and disabled for the SCSI host adapter and all internal SCSI devices.

CAUTION: Do not connect devices to all three connectors (internal narrow connector, internal wide connector, and external connector) on a single SCSI host adapter card. Such a configuration is a violation of the SCSI specification. You can safely connect devices to any two of these three connectors on a single SCSI host adapter card.

General Procedure for Installing SCSI Devices

Configure and install one or more SCSI devices in your computer as follows:

1. Determine which connector on the internal SCSI cable you will attach to each SCSI device.

See “SCSI Configuration Guidelines” found earlier in this section.

2. Unpack each SCSI device and prepare it for installation.

CAUTION: Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the back of the computer.

CAUTION: When you unpack the drive, do not set it on a hard surface, which may damage the drive. Instead, set the drive on a surface, such as a foam pad, that will sufficiently cus hion it.

Configure the device for a SCSI ID number and, if necessary, enable or disable termination. For instructions, see the documentation that came with the SCSI device as well as “SCSI Configuration Guidelines” found earlier in this section.

3. If you are installing a SCSI host adapter card, configure the adapter card.

For instructions on configuring the card, see the documentation that came with the adapter card as well as “SCSI Configuration Guidelines” found earlier in this section.

4. Install the SCSI devices as appropriate.

•

To install a SCSI hard-disk drive, complete steps 3 through 7 of “Installing an EIDE HardDisk Drive in the Hard-Disk Drive Bracket” found earlier in this chapter. Then continue with step 5 of this procedure.

•

To install a SCSI tape drive, CD-ROM drive, or DAT drive, complete steps 2 through 6 of

“Installing a Drive in a 5.25-Inch Drive Bay” found earlier in this chapter. Then continue with step 5 of this procedure.

•

To install an external SCSI tape drive, continue with step 5 of this procedure.

5. If you are installing a SCSI host adapter card, install it in an expansion slot now.

See “Installing an Expansion Card” in Chapter 6. If a SCSI host adapter card is already installed,

remove, reconfigure, and reinstall the card at this time. See the documentation that came with the SCSI host adapter card as well as “Removing an Expansion Card” and “Installing an Expansion Card” in Chapter 6.

Connect the hard-disk drive access cable to the SCSI host adapter card and to the HDLED connector on the riser board (see Figure 6-3). This cable carries a signal from the SCSI host adapter card to the harddisk drive access indicator on the computer’s front panel whenever one of the SCSI hard-disk drives is accessed.

6. Attach the SCSI cable to each SCSI device.

For additional instructions on connecting SCSI devices, see “SCSI Cable and SCSI Termination” found earlier in this section.

If you are installing an internal SCSI device, firmly press the SCSI cable’s header connector onto the 50or 68-pin connector on the back of the device.

CAUTION: You must match the colored strip on the cable with pin 1 on the drive’s interface connector to avoid possible damage to your system.

7-12 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

The connectors on narrow SCSI cables are keyed for proper positioning—a raised area on the outside of the header connector fits into a notch on the device connector. The connectors on wide SCSI cables are shaped so that they can be attached one way only.

If you are in stalling an exte rnal SCSI de vice, co nnect one end of the external SCSI cable to the SCSI bus connector on the back of the device.

7. Attach the SCSI cable to the connector on the SCSI host adapter card.

If you are installing an internal SCSI device

•

connect the colored edge on the internal SCSI cable to the pin-1 end of the 50-pin connector (for a narrow SCSI device) or the 68-pin connector (for a wide SCSI device) on the adapter card, and then press the cable connector firmly onto the adapter card connector.

CAUTION: You must match the colored strip on the internal SCSI cable with pin 1 on the adapter card connector to avoid possible damage to your system.

•

If you are installing an external SCSI device, connect the other end of the external SCSI cable to the external connector on the adapter card.

For additional instructions, see the documentation that came with the adapter card.

8. Connect the SCSI device(s) to power.

•

If you are installing an internal SCSI device, connect a DC power cable to the power input connector on the SCSI device.

•

If you are inst alling an e xtern al SCSI device, connect the socket end of the power cable into the AC power receptacle on the back of the SCSI device. Connect the other end of the power cable into a standard electrical wall outlet.

Check all other cable connections. Fold all internal cables out of the way to provide airflow for the fan or cooling vents.

9. If you installed an externally accessible device, remove the front bezel and remove the frontpanel insert for the drive bay from the front bezel. Then replace the front bezel.

For instructions, see “Removing and Replacing the Front Bezel” and “Removing and Replacing FrontPanel Inserts” found earlier in this chapter.

10. Replace the computer cover . Then reco nnect your computer and peripherals to their power sources, and turn them on.

11. If necessary, enter the System Setup program to update the system configuration in formation.

If you installed a SCSI hard-disk drive, set the Drive category (0 or 1) under Drives: Primary to None. For

instructions, see Chapter 2, “Using the System Setup Program.”

Tape drives attached to a SCSI host adapter card are not part of the system configuration information.

12. If you installed a SCSI hard-disk dr ive, partition and format the drive. Then install the operating system.

For instructions, see the next subsection, “Partitioning and Formatting SCSI Hard-Disk Drives,” and your operating system documentation.

13. Test the SCSI devices.

Test a SCSI hard-disk drive by running th e SCSI Device(s) Test Group of the Dell Diagnostics. See your Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide for information on running the Dell Diagnostics and troubleshooting any problems that may occur.

T o test a SCSI tape drive, refer to the documentation for the tape drive software to perform a tape drive backup and verification test.

Partitioning and Formatting SCSI Hard-Disk Drives

You may need to use different programs than those provided with the operating system to partition and format SCSI hard-disk drives. Refer to the doc umentation that came with your SCSI so ftware drivers for information on installing the appropriate drivers and preparing your SCSI hard-disk drive for use.

NOTE: On systems with hard-disk drives larger than 2 GB, create a primary partition of 2 GB and divide the remaining capacity into partitions of 2 GB or less. For example, a system with a 2.5-GB hard-disk drive would have a primary partition of 2 GB (drive C) and a second

Installing Drives 7-13

partition of 500 MB (drive D). Hard-disk drives must be partitioned this way because MS-DOS–based operating systems (including Windows NT when using a FAT16 file s ys tem) do no t support dr ive p a r t i t i o n s l a rger t han 2 GB.

7-14 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Appendix A

gn p

Technical Specifications

Table A-1. Technical Specifications

Microprocessor

Microprocessor type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intel Pentium II microprocessor that runs at

233 MHz internall 266 MHz internall 300 MHz internall Desi u be set throu

Internal cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-KB first-level (16-KB data cache; 16-KB

instruction cache)

rovides for future Dell-supported

rades. A slower compatibility speed can

/66 MHz externally, at

/66 MHz externally, or at

/66 MHz externally.

h the System Setup program.

L2 cache memor

Math co

System chip set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intel 82440LX PCI/AGP

Data bus width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 bits

Address bus width. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 bits

DMA channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ei

Interru S S

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the online

rocessor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . internal to Pentium II microprocessor

t levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

stem BIOS chip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Mb

stem clock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 MHz (matches external processor speed)

stem User’s Guide.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512-KB pipelined burst, four-way set-

associative, write-back SRAM

System Information

Technical Specifications A-1

Table A-1. Technical Specifications

Expansion Bus

(continued)

Bus types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PCI and ISA

Bus speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PCI: 33 MHz

ISA: 8.33 MHz

PCI expansion-card connectors . . . . . . . . . five (two PCI connectors share card-slot

openings with ISA connectors)

expansion-card connectors. . . . . . . . . . four (two ISA connectors share card-slot

ISA

openings with PCI connectors)

ISA expansion-card connector size. . . . . . . 98 pins

ISA expansion-card connector data width (maximum)

16 bits

PCI expansion-card connector size. . . . . . . 120 pins

PCI expansion-card connector data width (maximum)

32 bits

Memory

Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64-bit (non-parity) or 72-bit (ECC),

noninterleaved

DIMM sockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . three

DIMM capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-, 32-, 64-, and 128-MB SDRAM

Standard RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 MB minimum

Maximum RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 MB

BIOS address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F0000h

Drives

Externally accessible bays . . . . . . . . . . . . . three 5.25-inch bays for diskette, tape, or

CD-ROM drives; one 3.5-inch bay for a dis-

kette drive

Internally accessible bays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . two 3.5-inch bays: one for a 1-inch-high

hard-disk drive and one for a 1.6-inch-high

hard-disk drive

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the online System User’s Guide.

A-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Table A-1. Technical Specifications

Ports

(continued)

Externally accessible:

Serial (DTE). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . two 9-pin connectors; 16550-compatible

Parallel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one 25-hole connector (bidirectional)

Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one 15-hole connector

Optional integrated NIC . . . . . . . . . . . RJ45 connector

PS/2-style keyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-pin mini-DIN

PS/2-compatible mouse. . . . . . . . . . . . 6-pin mini-DIN

USB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . two USB-compliant connectors

Audio line in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . miniature audio jack

Audio line out (amplified source) . . . . miniature audio jack

Microphone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . miniature audio jack

Internally accessible:

Primary EIDE hard-disk drive. . . . . . . 40-pin connector on PCI local bus

Secondary E IDE hard-disk drive. . . . . 40-pin connector on PCI local bus

Diskette drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-pin connector

Video

Video type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ATI 3D Rage Pro AGP controller

Video memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 MB standard (upgradable to 4 MB)

Maximum resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1600 x 1200 pixels, 256 colors

Key Combinations

<Ctrl><Alt><Del> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . restarts (reboots) the system

<Ctrl><Alt><Enter>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . starts System Setup program (during POST

only)

<Ctrl><Alt><\> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . toggles microprocessor speeds on 101-key

keyboard (in MS-DOS real mode only)

<Ctrl><Alt><#>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . toggles microprocessor speeds on 102-key

keyboard (in MS-DOS real mode only)

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the

System User’s Guide.

online

Technical Specifications A-3

Table A-1. Technical Specifications

Controls and Indicators

(continued)

Reset control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . push button

Power control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . push button

Power indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . green LEDs (one on front panel, one on riser

board)

Hard-disk drive access indicator. . . . . . . . . green LED

Link integrity indicator (on optional integrated NIC connector) . . .

green LED Activity indicator

(on optional integrated NIC connector) . . .

yellow LED

Power

DC power supply:

Wattage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 W

Heat dissipation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913 BTUs (fully loaded system without

monitor)

Voltage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 to 135 V at 60 Hz;

180 to 265 V at 50 Hz

Backup battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-V CR2032 coin cell

Physical

Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.4 cm (17.5 inches)

Width. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.6 cm (8.1 inches)

Depth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.7 cm (17.2 inches)

Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.3 kg (33.0 lb) or more, depending on

options installed

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the online System User’s Guide.

A-4 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Table A-1. Technical Specifications

Environmental

(continued)

Temperature:

Operating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10° to 35°C (50° to 95 °F)

Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . –40° to 65°C (–40° to 149°F)

Relative humidity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8% to 80% (noncondensing)

Maximum vibration:

Operating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.25 G at 3 to 200 Hz at 1 octave/min

Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 G at 3 to 200 Hz at 1 octave/min

Maximum shock:

Operating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bottom half-sine pulse with a change in

velocity of 20 inches/sec (50.8 cm/sec)

Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-G faired square wave with a velocity

change of 200 inches/sec (508 cm/sec) Altitude:

Operating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . –16 to 3048 m (–50 to 10,000 ft)

Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . –16 to 10,600 m (–50 to 35,000 ft)

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the online System User’s Guide.

Technical Specifications A-5

A-6 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

Appendix B

ISA Configuration Utility Messages

he ISA Configuration Utility (ICU) and its Configu-

ration Manager are capable of identifying problems and alerting you to them. Both utilities can alert you to problems with card configuration as well as problems that prevent proper operation of the utility. This appendix describes each type of message and lists the possible causes and actions you can take to resolve any problems indicated by a message. See the following tables to locate your message and identify any possible corrective actions.

Table B-1. Configuration Utility Messages

Message Probable Cause Corrective Action

CU Error Messages

The ICU can display a variety of error messages while in operation. These messages alert you to problems that prevent the ICU from running correctly, as well as informing you of resource conflicts that prevent the configu ration of various cards in your computer. If you receive a message from the ICU, see Table B-1 for suggestions o n resolvin g any problems indicated by the message.

Out of memory

Memory allocation failed

Not enough memory to run the ICU

Can’t open index file. This file is required for ICU to run.

No Configuration Manager.

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the online System User’s Guide.

Either of these messages can appear if the system runs out of memory during your operation.

This message appears when you start the ICU if the system does not have enough memory to run the utility.

The ICU cannot find the index file for its database.

The device driver needed by the ICU is corrupted or is not correctly configured.

Disable any TSR programs or any unneeded device drivers.

Make sure to switch to drive A before attempting to start the utility.

Verify that the following device statement appears in your config.sys file:

device= ers\dos\dwcfgmg.sys

In this statement, drive and dir ector y represent the drive and directory where the driver resides. The default is

drive:\directory

c:\plugplay

\driv-

ISA Configuration Utility Messages B-1

Table B-1. Configuration Utility Messages

Message Probable Cause Corrective Action

(continued)

At least one Plug and Play card in your system is not configured due to conflicts. These are marked “config err” in the list of configured cards.

Due to conflicts, the ICU could only configure some Plug and Play cards in your system. Unconfigured cards are marked “config err” in the list of configured cards.

This device is unconfigurable because of a resource conflict with card card_name. The conflicting resource is resource_name. To fix, reconfigure the conflicting card.

The Configuration Manager or the ICU cannot configure at least one Plug and Play expansion card because of resource conflicts with one or more cards.

The selected card is unconfigurable because one of its resources is already being used by another device.

You must reconfigure the conflicting card(s). To find the conflicting card, perform the following steps:

1. Select the Plug and Play expansion card marked with

config err

, and then click

the Modify button.

The Card Configuration dialog box displays the functions assigned to the Plug and Play expansion card.

2. Select a function and then click Sett ings. Click Cancel if the ICU does not display a message naming the conflicting card.

3. Repeat step 2 until the ICU displays a message box naming the conflicting card and the resource(s) in conflict. See the following table entry for an explanation of this message box.

Perform the following procedure:

1. Make a note of the card name and the type of conflicting resource.

2. Follow the procedure in “Modifying a Card” in Chapter 3, and change the value for

resource_name

used by

card_name

The ICU has successfully configured all Plug and Play cards in your system. For the new

The ICU has successfully configured all of the Plug and Play expansion cards that were not configured by the Configuration Manager.

To accept these settings, save the configuration information into NVRAM by selecting Exit from the File menu and then selecting Yes to save. You must reboot your system for these settings to take effect.

configuration to take effect, save the configuration, then reboot your system.

The loaded card is not a category card. Press OK to proceed.

The category you have chosen is not the correct category under which to add this card.

Select OK. The ICU automatically opens the correct category’ s dialog box. Continue the procedure for adding the card as described in “Adding a Listed Card” or “Adding an Unlisted Card” in Chapter 3.

NOTE: For the full name of an abbreviation or acronym used in this table, see the Glossary in the online

B-2 Dell OptiPlex GXa Mini Tower Systems Reference and Installation Guide

System User’s Guide

Dell Mini Tower System User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Safety Instructions

Preface

Warnings, Cautions, and Notes

Typographical Conventions

Contents

Introduction

Using the System Setup Program

Time

Date

Diskette Drive A and Diskette Drive B

Drives: Primary and Secondary

EIDE Devices

If You Have a Problem

Reserved Memory

CPU Speed

Num Lock

Keyboard Errors

System Password

Password Status

Boot Sequence

Diskette First

Hard Disk Only

CD-ROM First

Device List

Setup Password

Auto Power On

Power Management

Saving Monitor Power

Saving EIDE Hard-Disk Drive Power

Wakeup on LAN

Sound

Mouse

Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2

Parallel Port

Parallel Mode

IDE Hard Disk

Diskette

Speaker

System Data Categories

Assigning a System Password

Using Y our Sy stem Pass word to Se cure Your System

Assigning a Setup Password

Operating With a Setup Password Enabled

Deleting or Changing an Existing Setup Password

Using the ISA Configuration Utility

ICU Database

Backing Up the ICU Diskette

Accessing Help

Making Selections in the ICU

Locking and Unlocking All Resources

Locking and Unlocking Configuration Resources

Using Integrated Devices

Video controller

Audio controller

Network Cable Requirements

Configuring the NIC

Windows NT 4.0 NIC

Windows NT 3.5x NIC

Windows for Workgroups NIC

Windows 95 NIC

MS-DOS NIC

Working Inside Your Computer

Safety First—For You and Your Computer

Unpacking Your Hardware Option

Jumpers

Switches

System Board and Riser Board Labels

Removing the Expansion-Card Cage

Replacing the Expansion-Card Cage

Installing System Board Options

Expansion Slots

Installing an Expansion Card

Removing an Expansion Card

Performing a Memory Upgrade

Installing a DIMM

Removing a DIMM