HP Vectra VL, Vectra VL MT, Vectra VL 6, Vectra VL 7, Vectra VL 7 MT Familiarization Manual

Familiarization Guide

HP Vectra VL PC

HP Vectra VL MT PC

This guide is for experienced technicians who have
already completed the HP Vectra PC family training
course. It is a self-paced training guide designed to train
you to repair the PC. It contains information specific only
to the repair of these PCs. For information on the
installation of accessories, see the User’s Guide and the
Online documents that are supplied with the PC.

HP Vectra VL

7/xxx PC

Notice

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this
material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental
or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use
of this material.

Hewlett-Packard assumes no responsibility for the use or reliability of its
software on equipment that is not furnished by Hewlett-Packard.

This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright.
All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied,
reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent
of Hewlett-Packard Company.

Centronics® is a registered trademark of Centronics Data Computer
Corporation.
Microsoft®, Windows® and MS-DOS® are registered trademarks of the
Microsoft Corporation.
Pentium® is a registered trademark of the Intel Corporation.
SoundBlaster

TM

is a trademark of Creative Technology Limited.

Hewlett-Packard France
Commercial Desktop Computing Division
38053 Grenoble Cedex 9
France

ii

 1997 Hewlett-Packard Company

Electrostatic Discharge Warning

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) can damage processors, memory, disks, accessory
boards and other components.

Before installing or replacing a component:
1 Do not take the new component out of its ESD package before connecting your

wrist strap and ESD mat to a suitably earthed point.

2 Do not forget to use the ESD package provided with the new part to return the

old part. The ESD package is conductive and is easy to recognize from its label.

ESD Label

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Care of Hard Disk Drives

HP hard disk drives are delicate and are very sensitive to shocks or vibration.
When installing a hard disk accessory, be careful not to drop or knock the drive.
Any shock may damage the drive and prevent it from functioning correctly.

Hard disk drives already installed in HP Vectra PCs are also sensitive to shocks. If
the PC’s system unit is knocked or dropped accidentally, this may cause damage to
installed hard disk drives.

Avoid striking the
computer

Don’t move PC
when powered on

Do not knock the hard
disk during installation

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Contents

Electrostatic Discharge Warning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Care of Hard Disk Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

Vectra Product Hardware Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Vectra Products Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Where to find information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Desktop Models Package. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Minitower Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

System Board and Backplanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

System Board Switches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Key Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Support Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Replacing the System Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Flashing the Latest Version of the System BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Crisis Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Accessing the HP Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Multi boot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Complete the Questionnaire to Check Your Understanding . . . . . . 16

Answers and Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

v

Contents

vi

Vectra Product Hardware Comparison

Vectra Product Hardware Comparison

Component

Microprocessor

Chipset
Memory
Hard Disks
Flexible disk drive

CD-ROM
(selected models)

HP Vectra VL 6/xxx PC HP Vectra VL 7/xxx PC

Pentium II,

233 MHz, 266 MHz, or 300 MHz
32 KB of level-1 cache memory,
512 KB of level-2 cache memory

Pentium II,
233 MHz, 266 MHz, 300 MHz,
or 333 MHz
32 KB of level-1 cache memory,
512 KB of level-2 cache memory

Intel 440FX AGPset Intel 440LX AGPset

Up to 384 MB EDO RAM Up to 384 MB SDRAM

2.5, 4.0, 6.4 GB EIDE 3.2, 4.3, 6.4 GB Ultra ATA
Standard version without bezel Standard version without bezel

(desktop)

Standard version with bezel
(mintower)

24✕MAX ATAPI 24✕MAX ATAPI

Sound Card
(selected models)

LAN board
(selected models)

Graphics (integrated)

SoundBlaster Pro-compatible
(Aztech)

10/100Base-T PCI Bus Master LAN
board, RPO on 10Base-T LAN board

Cirrus Logic 5446 PCI,
2MB

Graphics (high-end)

Matrox Millenium II PCI card,
4 or 8 MB

SoundBlaster Pro-compatible
(Aztech)

10/100Base-T LAN board with RPO/
RWU (Remote Power On/Remote
Wake Up) and WOL (Wake On LAN)
capability

Cirrus Logic Laguna3DA AGP,
2 or 4 MB

Matrox Millenium II PCI card,
8 MB

1

Vectra Product Hardware Comparison

Component

HP Vectra VL 6/xxx PC HP Vectra VL 7/xxx PC

Operating Systems Windows NT (Service Pack 3 or

higher recommended)
Windows 95 (OSR 2.1 or higher
recommended)

Connectors

2 Serial, 1 Parallel, Keyboard, Mouse,
2 stacked USB, 15-pin VGA, VESA

Expandibility
(desktop)

Shelves: 4 or 5 (3 front-accessible)
Accessory Slots: 5 or 4
2 PCI,
2 combination PCI/ISA,
(1 ISA)

Expandibility
(minitower)

Shelves: 6 (4 front-accessible)
Accessory Slots: 6
2 PCI,

Windows NT (Service Pack 3 or
higher recommended)
Windows 95 (OSR 2.1 or higher
recommended)

1 Serial, 1 Parallel, Keyboard, Mouse,
2 stacked USB, 15-pin VGA, VESA

Shelves: 4 or 5 (3 front-accessible)
Accessory Slots: 5 or 4
1 PCI,
1 ISA,
2 combination PCI/ISA,
(1 PCI)

Shelves: 6 (4 front-accessible)
Accessory Slots: 6

2 PCI,
2 ISA,
2 combination PCI/ISA

2

2 ISA,

2 combination PCI/ISA

Vectra Products Overview

Vectra Products Overview

Component

Microprocessor
Chipset Features

BIOS and System
Management
Features

HP Vectra VL 7/xxx PC HP Vectra VL 7/xxx MT PC
Pentium II, 233 MHz, 266 MHz, 300 MHz, or 333 MHz
Intel 440LX AGPset

● AGP-enabled (Accelerated Graphics Port) for enhanced graphics

performance in Pentium II -based systems

●

ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)

● Ultra DMA-33 support (for hard disks on Primary IDE channel ONLY)

● SDRAM support for faster data streaming between the Pentium II, the

graphics accelerator and PCI devices

● New Multiple-Boot capability.

User can choose the boot device when the PC is powered-on.

● System Management Bus for transmission of system health alerts.

(For example, chassis intrusion detection or memory module failure.)

●

Chassis Intrusion Detection. An alert is generated on the System
Management Bus when the cover of the PC is removed during operation. If
the cover is removed when the PC is switched off, the alert will be generated
when the PC is next switched on. This alert can be monitored with HP
TopTOOLS.

● Memory Module failure detection using Serial Presence Detect technology.

Information on memory modules (module type, HP part number, ECC errors,
etc.) is stored in a Serial EEPROM on the memory module itself. A memory
failure will generate a detailed alert on the System Management Bus. This
alert can be monitored with HP TopTOOLS.

Main memory

32 MB (standard) or 64 MB, 384 MB (maximum), 60 ns SDRAM,
three DIMM sockets
Support of Serial Presence Detect for detection and identification of defective
memory modules

3