Dell OptiPlex - 740 User Manual

Dell™ OptiPlex™ 740

User’s Guide

Models DCSM, DCNE, DCCY

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

Notes, Notices, and Cautions

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

your computer.

NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data

and tells you how to avoid the problem.

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

or death.

____________________

Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.

Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, OptiPlex, Inspiron, Dimension, Latitude, Dell Precision, DellNet, TravelLite, Dell OpenManage, PowerVault, Axim, PowerEdge, PowerConnect, and PowerA pp are trademarks of Dell Inc.; AMD, AMD Athlon, AMD Phenom, and combinations thereof, and Cool ’n’ Quiet are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc; Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation; IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation; Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and is used by Dell Inc. under license. ENERGY STAR is a registered trademark of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As an ENERGY STAR partner, Dell Inc. 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 entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

Models: DCSM, DCNE, and DCCY

March 2008 RP699 Rev. A03

Contents

1 Finding Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2 Before You Begin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Recommended Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Turning Off Your Computer

Before Working Inside Your Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3 Mini Tower Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

About Your Mini Tower Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Front View Back View

Back-Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Inside Your Computer

System Board Components

Mini Tower Computer (Model #DCSM) Specifications

I/O Panel

Removing the I/O Panel Replacing the I/O Panel

Removing the Computer Cover

PCI, PCI Express Cards, and PS/2 Serial Port Adapters

PCI Cards PCI Express Cards PS/2 Serial Port Adapters

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Drives

General Installation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Hard Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Drive-Panel Inserts Floppy Drive Media Card Reader

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Contents 3

Optical Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Processor

Power Supply

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Removing the Processor Installing the Processor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Replacing the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

DC Power Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

4 Desktop Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

About Your Desktop Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Front View Back View Back-Panel Connectors

Inside Your Computer

System Board Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Desktop Computer (Model # DCNE) Specifications

I/O Panel

Removing the I/O Panel Replacing the I/O Panel

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

4 Contents

Drives

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

General Installation Guidelines Optical Drive Floppy Drive Media Card Reader Hard Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

PCI, PCI Express Cards, and PS/2 Serial Port Adapters

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

. . . . . . . . . . . . 135

PCI Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

PCI Express and DVI Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

PS/2 Serial Port Adapters

Power Supply

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Replacing the Power Supply DC Power Connectors

Removing the Computer Cover

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Processor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Removing the Processor Installing the Processor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

5 Small Form Factor Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

About Your Small Form Factor Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Front View Back View

Back-Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Inside Your Computer

System Board Components

Small Form Factor Computer (Model # DCCY) Specifications

I/O Panel

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Removing the I/O Panel Replacing the I/O Panel

Removing the Computer Cover

Drives

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

General Installation Guidelines Hard Drive Optical Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

. . . . . . . . 193

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Floppy Drive and Media Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

PCI, PCI Express Cards, and PS/2 Serial Port Adapters

PCI Cards PCI Express and DVI Cards PS/2 Serial Port Adapters

Power Supply

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

. . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Replacing the Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

DC Power Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Processor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Removing the Processor Installing the Processor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Contents 5

6 Advanced Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

LegacySelect Technology Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Manageability

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Alert Standard Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Dell OpenManage™ IT Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation

Security

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Chassis Intrusion Detection Option Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Padlock Ring and Security Cable Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Password Protection

System Password Administrator Password Disabling a Forgotten Password and Setting a New Password

Trusted Platform Module (TPM)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

. . . . . 255

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Enabling the TPM Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

System Setup

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Entering System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

System Setup Options

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

6 Contents

Booting to a USB Device

Memory Key Floppy Drive

Jumper Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Mini Tower, Desktop, and Small Form Factor Computers

Clearing Forgotten Passwords

Clearing CMOS Settings

HyperTransport™ and Dual-Core Technology

Power Management

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

About RAID Configurations

Verifying That RAID Is Working RAID Level 0 Configuration RAID Level 1 Configuration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

. . . . . . . . 265

Configuring Your Hard Drives for RAID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Using the NVIDIA MediaShield ROM Utility

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Using NVIDIA MediaShield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Enabling Cool ’n’ Quiet™ Technology

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

7 Chassis Intrusion Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Removing the Chassis Intrusion Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Mini Tower Computer Desktop Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Small Form Factor Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Replacing the Chassis Intrusion Switch

Resetting the Chassis Intrusion Detector

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

8 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Replacing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

9 Replacing the System Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Removing the System Board: Mini Tower, Desktop, and Small

Form Factor Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Replacing the System Board: Mini Tower, Desktop, and Small Form Factor Computers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

10 Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

DDR2 Memory Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Addressing Memory With 4-GB or Greater Configurations (32-bit Operating Systems Only)

Removing Memory

Installing Memory

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Contents 7

11 Replacing the Computer Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

12 Cleaning Your Computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Computer, Keyboard, and Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Mouse

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Cleaning a Non-Optical Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Cleaning an Optical Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Floppy Drive

CDs and DVDs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

13 Reinstalling Drivers and the Operating System . . . . . . . . 301

Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

What Is a Driver? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Identifying Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities

Restoring Your Operating System

Windows Vista Windows XP

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Creating a Restore Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Restoring the Computer to an Earlier Operating State Undoing the Last System Restore

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

. . . . . . . . . . 306

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

14 Solving Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

8 Contents

Reinstalling Microsoft

Before You Begin

Windows Vista® and Windows® XP . . . . . . . . 307

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Troubleshooting Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Battery Problems

Card Problems

Drive Problems

CD and DVD drive problems Hard drive problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

E-Mail, Modem, and Internet Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Keyboard Problems

Fan Problems

Lockups and Software Problems

The computer does not start up The computer stops responding A program stops responding

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

A program crashes repeatedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

A solid blue screen appears Other software problems

Media Card Reader Problems

Memory Problems

Mouse Problems

Network Problems

Power Problems

Printer Problems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Restoring Default Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Serial or Parallel Device Problems

Sound and Speaker Problems

No sound from speakers No sound from headphones

Video and Monitor Problems

If the screen is blank

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

If the screen is difficult to read

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

15 Troubleshooting Tools and Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Dell Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

When to Use the Dell Diagnostics

System Lights

Diagnostic Lights

Beep Codes

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Contents 9

Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Resolving Software and Hardware Incompatibilities

Microsoft

Windows® XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

. . . . . . . . . . . . 337

16 Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista®

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Transferring Information to a New Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Microsoft Windows Vista

Microsoft

Windows® XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

User Accounts and Fast User Switching

Adding User Accounts Fast User Switching

Setting Up a Home and Office Network

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Connecting to a Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Network Setup Wizard

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

17 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

10 Contents

Obtaining Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Online Services AutoTech Service

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Automated Order-Status Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Support Service

Problems With Your Order

Product Information

Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit

Before You Call

Contacting Dell

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18 Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

19 FCC Regulatory Model (U.S. Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Contents 11

12 Contents

Finding Information

NOTE: Some features or media may be optional and may not ship with your computer. Some features or

media may not be available in certain countries.

NOTE: Additional information may ship with your computer.

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• A diagnostic program for my computer

• Drivers for my computer

• My device documentation

• Desktop System Software (DSS)

Drivers and Utilities Media

NOTE: The Drivers and Utilities media may be optional and

may not ship with your computer.

Documentation and drivers are already installed on your computer. You can use the Drivers and Utilities media to reinstall drivers (see "Reinstalling Drivers and Utilities" on page 302) or to run the Dell Diagnostics (see "Dell Diagnostics" on page 327).

Readme files may be included on your media to provide last-minute updates about technical changes to your computer or advanced technicalreference material for technicians or experienced users.

NOTE: Drivers and documentation updates can be found at

support.dell.com.

Finding Information 13

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• How to set up my computer

• Basic troubleshooting information

• How to run the Dell Diagnostics

• Error codes and diagnostic lights

• Tools and utilities

• Additional information about setting up my computer

• How to troubleshoot and solve problems

• How to remove and install parts

• Warranty information

• Terms and Conditions (U.S. only)

• Safety instructions

• Regulatory information

• Ergonomics information

• End User License Agreement

Quick Reference Guide

NOTE: This document may be optional and may not ship with

your computer.

NOTE: This document is available as a PDF at

support.dell.com.

Dell™ Product Information Guide

14 Finding Information

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• Service Tag and Express Service Code

• Microsoft Windows License Label

Service Tag and Microsoft® Windows® License

NOTE: Your computer’s Service Tag and Microsoft

Windows

Your computer’s Service Tag contains both a Service Tag number and an Express Service Code.

• Use the Service Tag to identify your computer when you use

• Enter the Express Service Code to direct your call when contacting support.

Use the product key on the Microsoft Windows License Label if you need to reinstall your operating system.

• Use the product key on the License Label if you need to reinstall your operating system.

License labels are located on your computer.

support.dell.com

or contact support.

NOTE: As an increased security measure, the newly

designed Microsoft Windows license label incorporates a missing portion or "hole" to discourage removal of the label.

Finding Information 15

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• Solutions — Troubleshooting hints and tips, articles from technicians, online courses, and frequently asked questions

• Community — Online discussion with other Dell customers

• Upgrades — Upgrade information for components, such as memory, the hard drive, and the operating system

• Customer Care — Contact information, service call and order status, warranty, and repair information

• Service and support — Service call status and support history, service contract, online discussions with technical support

• Dell Technical Update Service — Proactive e-mail notification of software and hardware updates for your computer

• Reference — Computer documentation, details on my computer configuration, product specifications, and white papers

• Downloads — Certified drivers, patches, and software updates

• Desktop System Software (DSS)— If you reinstall the operating system for your computer, you should also reinstall the DSS utility. DSS provides critical updates for your operating system and support for Dell™

3.5-inch USB floppy drives, AMD™ processors, optical drives, and USB devices. DSS is necessary for correct operation of your Dell computer. The software automatically detects your computer and operating system and installs the updates appropriate for your configuration.

Dell Support Website — support.dell.com

NOTE: Select your region or business segment to view the

appropriate support site.

To download Desktop System Software:

Go to

support.dell.com

Click

Select Model

Select your product model and click service tag and click

Click

System Utilities

Click

Desktop System Software

click

Download Now

Click

Run

to run the driver, or

and click

Drivers and Downloads

Confirm

under

Save

to save the driver to

, or enter a

Dell - Utility

, and

your computer.

NOTE: The support.dell.com user interface may vary

depending on your selections.

NOTE: DSS may or may not be available for your computer

model.

COMMENT

• Software upgrades and troubleshooting hints — Frequently asked questions, hot topics, and general health of your computing environment

16 Finding Information

Dell Support 3

Dell Support 3 is an automated upgrade and notification system installed on your computer. This support provides real-time health scans of your computing environment, software updates, and relevant self-support information. Access Dell Support 3 from the

icon in the taskbar.

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• How to find information about my computer and its components

• How to connect to the Internet

• How to add user accounts for different people

• How to transfer files and settings from another computer

COMMENT

• How to use Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista

• How to work with programs and files

• How to personalize my desktop

Windows Welcome Center

The Windows Welcome Center automatically appears when you use the computer for the first time. You can choose to have it appear every time you start your computer by placing a check in the Run at startup checkbox. Another method of accessing the Welcome Center is to click the Windows Vista Start button , and then click Welcome Center.

Windows Help and Support

Microsoft Windows XP:

Click the

Either select one of the topics listed, or type a word or phrase that describes your problem into the

Start

button and click

Help and Support

click the arrow icon, and then click the topic that describes your problem.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

Microsoft Windows Vista:

Click the Windows Vista Start button , and then click

Help and Support

Search Help

, type a word or phrase that describes your problem, and then press <Enter> or click the magnifying glass.

Click the topic that describes your problem.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

box,

• Remote help with troubleshooting my computer

DellConnect™ Service and Support

Dell associates can diagnose and repair your computer remotely over a broadband connection. To learn more and get started with DellConnect, go to support.dell.com and click Revolutionary remote help—DellConnect.

Finding Information 17

What Are You Looking For? Find It Here

• How to reinstall my operating system

Operating System Media

NOTE: The Operating System media may be optional and may

not ship with your computer.

The operating system is already installed on your computer. To reinstall your operating system, use the Operating System media. See "Reinstalling Microsoft Vista® and Windows® XP" on page 307.

After you reinstall your operating system, use the optional Drivers and Utilities media to reinstall drivers for the devices that came with your computer.

Your operating system product key label is located on your computer.

Windows

NOTE: The color of your media varies based on the operating

system you ordered.

18 Finding Information

Before You Begin

This chapter provides procedures for removing and installing the components in your computer. Unless otherwise noted, each procedure assumes that the following conditions exist:

• You have performed the steps in "Turning Off Your Computer" on page 19 and "Before Working Inside Your Computer" on page 20.

• You have read the safety information in your Dell™

• A component can be replaced by performing the removal procedure in reverse order.

Product Information Guide.

Recommended Tools

The procedures in this document may require the following tools:

• Small flat-blade screwdriver

• Phillips screwdriver

• Flash BIOS update program floppy disk, CD, USB key

Turning Off Your Computer

NOTICE: To avoid losing data, save and close any open files and exit any open programs before you turn off

your computer.

Shut down the operating system:

Save and close any open files, and exit any open programs.

Click the

In the

The computer turns off after the operating system shutdown process finishes.

Start

button, and then click

Shut Down Windows

Shut Down

window, select

Shut down

, and then click OK.

Ensure that the computer and any attached devices are turned off.

If your computer and attached devices did not automatically turn off when you shut down your operating system, turn them off now.

NOTICE: To turn off your computer without shutting down the operating system is not recommended,

because you may lose data. If, however, it is necessary to do so, it may be done by pressing down and holding the power button for 6 seconds.

Before You Begin 19

Before Working Inside Your Computer

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

CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in the

Information Guide

CAUTION: Handle components and cards with care. Do not touch the components or contacts on a card. Hold a

card by its edges or by its metal mounting bracket. Hold a component such as a processor by its edges, not by its pins.

NOTICE: Only a certified service technician should perform repairs on your computer. Damage due to servicing

that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty.

NOTICE: 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 you disconnect the cable. As you pull connectors apart, keep them evenly aligned to avoid bending any connector pins. Also, before you connect a cable, ensure that both connectors are correctly oriented and aligned.

NOTICE: To avoid damaging the computer, perform the following steps before you begin working inside the

computer.

Turn off your computer.

NOTICE: To disconnect a network cable, first unplug the cable from your computer and then unplug it from the

network wall jack.

Disconnect any telephone or telecommunication lines from the computer.

Disconnect your computer and all attached devices from their electrical outlets, and then press the

Product

power button to ground the system board.

If applicable, remove the computer stand (for instructions, see the documentation that came with the stand).

CAUTION: To guard against electrical shock, always unplug your computer from the electrical outlet before

removing the cover.

Remove the computer cover:

• Remove the mini tower computer cover (see "Removing the Computer Cover" on page 39).

• Remove the desktop computer cover (see "Removing the Computer Cover" on page 177).

• Remove the small form factor computer cover (see "Removing the Computer Cover" on

page 203).

NOTICE: Before touching anything inside your computer, ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface,

such as the metal at the back of the computer. While you work, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface to dissipate any static electricity that could harm internal components.

20 Before You Begin

Mini Tower Computer

About Your Mini Tower Computer

Front View

Mini Tower Computer 21

1 optical drive (optional) Insert media (if supported) into this drive.

2 Flexbay drive Can contain an optional floppy drive or an optional media card reader.

3 USB 2.0 connectors (2) Use the front USB connectors for devices that you connect occasionally, such as

joysticks or cameras, or for bootable USB devices (see "System Setup" on page 257 for more information on booting to a USB device).

It is recommended that you use the back USB connectors for devices that typically remain connected, such as printers and keyboards.

4 LAN indicator light This light indicates that a local area network (LAN) connection is established.

5 diagnostic lights Use the lights to help you troubleshoot a computer problem based on the diagnostic

code. For more information, see "Diagnostic Lights" on page 330.

6 power button Press this button to turn on the computer.

NOTICE: To avoid losing data, do not turn off the computer by pressing the power

button. Instead, perform an operating system shutdown. See "Turning Off Your Computer" on page 19 for more information.

NOTICE: If your operating system has ACPI enabled, when you press the power

button the computer will perform an operating system shutdown.

7 power light The power light illuminates and blinks or remains solid to indicate different operating

modes:

• No light — The computer is turned off.

• Steady green — The computer is in a normal operating state.

• Blinking green — The computer is in a power-saving mode.

• Blinking or solid amber — See "Power Problems" on page 321.

To exit from a power-saving mode, press the power button or use the keyboard or the mouse if it is configured as a wake device in the Windows Device Manager. For more information about sleep modes and exiting from a power-saving mode, see "Power Management" on page 267.

See "System Lights" on page 329 for a description of light codes that can help you troubleshoot problems with your computer.

8 hard-drive activity light This light flickers when the hard drive is being accessed.

9 headphone connector Use the headphone connector to attach headphones and most kinds of speakers.

10 microphone connector Use the microphone connector to attach a microphone.

22 Mini Tower Computer

Back View

Mini Tower Computer 23

1 cover release latch This latch allows you to open the computer cover.

2 padlock ring Insert a padlock to lock the computer cover.

3 voltage selection switch Your computer is equipped with a manual voltage-selection switch.

To help avoid damaging a computer with a manual voltage selection switch, set the switch for the voltage that most closely matches the AC power available in your location.

NOTICE: In Japan, the voltage selection switch must be set to the 115-V position

even though the AC power available in Japan is 100 V.

Also, ensure that your monitor and attached devices are electrically rated to operate with the AC power available in your location.

4 power connector Insert the power cable.

5 back-panel connectors Plug serial, USB, and other devices into the appropriate connectors. See "Back-Panel

Connectors" on page 25.

6 card slots Access connectors for any installed PCI and PCI Express cards.

24 Mini Tower Computer

Back-Panel Connectors

1 parallel connector Connect a parallel device, such as a printer, to the parallel connector. If you have a

USB printer, plug it into a USB connector.

NOTE: The integrated parallel connector is automatically disabled if the computer

detects an installed card containing a parallel connector configured to the same address. For more information, see "System Setup Options" on page 258.

2 link integrity light

3 network adapter

connector

• Green — A good connection exists between a 10-Mbps network and the computer.

• Orange — A good connection exists between a 100-Mbps network and the computer.

• Yellow — A good connection exists between a 1-Gbps (or 1000-Mbps) network and the computer.

• Off — The computer is not detecting a physical connection to the network.

To attach your computer to a network or broadband device, connect one end of a network cable to either a network jack or your network or broadband device. Connect the other end of the network cable to the network adapter connector on the back panel of your computer. A click indicates that the network cable has been securely attached.

NOTE: Do not plug a telephone cable into the network connector.

On computers with a network connector card, use the connector on the card.

It is recommended that you use Category 5 wiring and connectors for your network. If you must use Category 3 wiring, force the network speed to 10 Mbps to ensure reliable operation.

4 network activity light Flashes a yellow light when the computer is transmitting or receiving network

data. A high volume of network traffic may make this light appear to be in a steady "on" state.

5 line-out connector Use the green line-out connector to attach headphones and most speakers with

integrated amplifiers.

On computers with a sound card, use the connector on the card.

Mini Tower Computer 25

6 line-in connector Use the line-in connector to attach a record/playback device such as a cassette

player, CD player, or VCR.

On computers with a sound card, use the connector on the card.

7 USB 2.0 connectors (5) Use the back USB connectors for devices that typically remain connected, such as

printers and keyboards.

8 video connector Plug the cable from your VGA-compatible monitor into the blue connector.

NOTE: If you purchased an optional graphics card, this connector will be covered by

a cap. Do not remove the cap. Connect your monitor to the connector on the graphics card.

NOTE: If you are using a graphics card that supports dual monitors, use the y-cable

that came with your computer.

9 serial connector Connect a serial device, such as a handheld device, to the serial port. The default

designations are COM1 for serial connector 1 and COM2 for serial connector 2.

For more information, see "System Setup Options" on page 258.

Inside Your Computer

CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions located in the

Product Information Guide

CAUTION: To avoid electrical shock, always unplug your computer from the electrical outlet before removing

the computer cover.

NOTICE: Be careful when opening the computer cover to ensure that you do not accidentally disconnect cables

from the system board.

26 Mini Tower Computer

1 optical drive 2 floppy drive 3 power supply

4 chassis intrusion switch

(optional)

7 hard drive

5 system board 6 heat sink assembly

Mini Tower Computer 27

System Board Components

28 Mini Tower Computer

1 speaker connector

(INT_SPKR)

4 power connector

(PW_12V_A1)

7 front-panel connector

(FRONTPANEL)

10 CMOS reset jumper

(RTCRST)

13 PCI Express x16 connector

(SLOT1)

16 PCI Express x1 connector

(SLOT4)

19 floppy drive connector

(DSKT)

22 fan connector (FAN_CPU)

2 processor socket (CPU) 3 memory module connectors

(DIMM_1, DIMM_2, DIMM_3, DIMM_4)

5 SATA drive connectors

(SATA2, SATA3)

8 power connector (POWER1) 9 intrusion switch connector

11 battery socket (BATTERY) 12 internal USB (USB1)

14 standby power

(AUX_PWR_LED)

17 password jumper (PSWD) 18 PCI connector (SLOT3)

20 serial connector (PS2/SER2) 21 Optional DVI-card connector

6 SATA drive connectors

(SATA0, SATA1)

(INTRUDER)

15 PCI connector (SLOT2)

(DVI_HDR)

Mini Tower Computer 29

30 Mini Tower Computer

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