HP Xw4600, Xw6600, xw8000, xw9000, xw8600 Installation Manual

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi card installation

HP xw Workstation series

This document describes the hardware and software installation of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi. For
more information, refer to the Installation and Application CD.

Kit contents

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Sound Blaster X-Fi audio card

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Regulatory compliance notices

●

Support arm

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Warranty information

●

Installation and Application CD

System requirements

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HP xw Workstation series (except the HP xw3100 Workstation)

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Microsoft Windows XP® Service Pack 1

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Optical drive

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Empty PCI slot

Tools required

No tools are required for this assembly.

© 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The HP Invent logo is a registered
trademark of Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Microsoft and Windows are
U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Printed in the U.S.

Warnings and cautions

WARNING! Any surface or area of the equipment marked with this symbol indicates the presence

of a hot surface or hot component. If this surface is contacted, the potential for injury exists. To reduce
the risk of injury from a hot component, enable the surface to cool before touching.

ENWW HP xw Workstation series 1

WARNING! Any surface or area of the equipment marked with this symbol indicates the presence

of an electrical shock hazard. To reduce the risk of injury from electrical shock, do not open any enclosed
area marked with this symbol.

WARNING! To reduce the risk of electric shock or damage to your equipment:

— Do not disable the power cord grounding plug. The grounding plug is an important safety feature.

— Plug the power cord in a grounded (earthed) outlet that is easily accessible at all times.

— Disconnect power from the equipment by unplugging the power cord from the electrical outlet.

WARNING! To reduce the risk of serious injury, read the Safety & Comfort Guide. It describes proper

workstation setup, posture, health, and work habits for computer users, and provides important electrical
and mechanical safety information. This guide is located at

http://www.hp.com/ergo and on the

documentation CD (if one is included with the product).

WARNING! If a product is shipped in packaging marked with this symbol, , the product must always

be lifted by two persons to avoid personal injury due to product weight.

CAUTION: Static electricity can damage the electronic components of the workstation. Before

beginning these procedures, be sure you discharge static electricity by briefly touching a grounded metal
object.

CAUTION: Observe the following cautions when removing or replacing a processor:

— Installing a processor incorrectly can damage the system board. Contact an HP authorized reseller
or service provider to install the processor. If you plan to install the processor yourself, read all of the
instructions carefully before you begin.

— Failure to follow the workstation preparation instructions can result in an improperly installed
processor, causing extensive workstation damage.

— Processor socket pins are delicate and bend easily. Use extreme care when placing the processor
in the socket.

CAUTION: To prevent damage to the workstation, observe the following Electrostatic Discharge

(ESD) precautions while performing the system parts removal and replacement procedures:

— Work on a static-free mat.

— Wear a static strap to ensure that any accumulated electrostatic charge is discharged from your body
to the ground.

— Create a common ground for the equipment you are working on by connecting the static-free mat,
static strap, and peripheral units to that piece of equipment.

NOTE: HP accessories are for use in HP Workstation products. They have been extensively tested

for reliability and are manufactured to high quality standards.

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Step 1—Preparing the workstation

Your workstation documentation includes instructions for preparing the workstation for component
installation. For product-specific information, see the Service and Technical Reference Guide for your
HP workstation at

http://www.hp.com/support/workstation_manuals.

To prepare the workstation for component installation:

1. Power down the workstation.

2. Disconnect power from the workstation.

3. Open the access cover.

Step 2—Installing the Sound Blaster card

1. Open the PCI card retention clamp and remove the rear chassis metal slot access cover (installed

below the retainer) for the slot in which the sound card will be installed. The sound card can be
installed in any PCI slot, but HP recommends installing the card in an available PCI 32-bit slot.

NOTE: When the sound card is installed in a 64-bit PCI slot, the entire 64-bit bus runs at 32-bit

mode. This action can degrade system performance if another 64-bit PCI device is installed on the
same bus. However, if there is no 32-bit PCI bus available, use PCI-X 133 since it is an isolated
64-bit bus slot. PCI-X is available only on the HP xw8000 and HP xw9000 Series workstations.

2. Install the Sound Blaster card and secure the PCI card retention clamp.

3. Disconnect the front audio cable from the front audio header on the system board.

NOTE: Refer to the system board component location diagram affixed to the inside of the

workstation chassis access pane (removed earlier) to locate the front audio header.

ENWW Step 1—Preparing the workstation 3

4. Connect the front audio cable disconnected in Step 3 from the system board to the front audio

connector (1) on the Sound Blaster card, shown in the following two figures.

Figure 1 Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic audio card

Figure 2 Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer audio card

5. If your workstation has a CD audio cable that connects the optical drive to the system board, and

if you wish to continue using it with the Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeMusic Audio Card only,
disconnect the cable from the workstation system board. Leave the other end of the cable
connected to the optical drive.

NOTE: The CD audio cable (which connects analog audio signals from the CD drive) is not

required with these two cards due to the software applications that support the cards. An existing
CD audio cable can be permanently disconnected and set aside at this time if desired.

6. If you continue using the CD audio cable disconnected in Step 5, connect the cable to the AUX_IN

(2) connector on the Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeMusic Audio Card (as shown in the above figure ).

CAUTION: Do not connect the CD audio cable to the VIDEO_IN connector on the Sound Blaster

X-FI XtremeMusic Audio Card.

4 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi card installation ENWW

7. If you ship your workstation, install a card support on top of the card. See Shipping your HP

workstation on page 6 for details.

8. Reinstall the chassis access panel.

9. Connect power, turn on the workstation, and wait for the workstation to boot. If the New Hardware

Found wizard appears, select Cancel.

Step 3—Installing the application software

This section provides instructions for installing the Sound Blaster X-Fi application software on the Sound
Blaster X-FI XtremeMusic Audio Card and the Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Audio Card.

Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeMusic audio card

The Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeMusic Audio Card supports application software running under Microsoft
Windows XP.

NOTE: This card does not support using the Microsoft Windows Vista® Business operating system.

Installing the software with Microsoft Windows XP

To install the Sound Blaster X-Fi application software with Micorsoft Windows XP, complete the following
steps:

1. Insert the Installation and Application CD into the optical drive.

2. When the installation software starts, follow the on-screen instructions to install the sound card

driver and applications. Restart the workstation when prompted to do so.

If the application does not start, double-click the setup.exe file in the Installation and
Application CD.

NOTE: To check the availability of newer drivers for your workstation, go to http://www.hp.com/
support/downloads.

3. After you have installed the software, see your speaker manufacturer documentation for

instructions on how to connect the speaker to your workstation.

NOTE: When the X-Fi sound card is installed, the workstation internal chassis speaker emits only

diagnostic beeps and no other sound. The rear audio connectors on the system board are also
disabled when the X-Fi sound card is installed. Use the audio output from the X-Fi sound card for
audio connection to the external audio device.

Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeGamer audio card

The Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeGamer Audio Card supports application software running under
Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Vista Business.

ENWW Step 3—Installing the application software 5

Installing the software with Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Vista Business

To install the Sound Blaster X-Fi application software, complete the following steps:

1. Insert the Installation and Application CD into the optical drive.

2. When the installation software starts, follow the on-screen instructions to install the sound card

driver and applications. Restart the workstation when prompted to do so.

If the application does not start, double-click the setup.exe file in the Installation and
Application CD.

NOTE: To check the availability of newer drivers for your workstation, go to http://www.hp.com/

support/downloads.

3. After you have installed the software, see your speaker manufacturer documentation for

instructions on how to connect the speaker to your workstation.

NOTE: When the X-Fi sound card is installed, the workstation internal chassis speaker emits only

diagnostic beeps and no other sound. The rear audio connectors on the system board are also
disabled when the X-Fi sound card is installed. Use the audio output from the X-Fi sound card for
audio connection to the external audio device.

Shipping your HP workstation

When shipping your HP xw6000, xw8000, or xw9000 Workstation series, remove the workstation
chassis access panel and install the shipping support arm. The shipping support is not required for
normal workstation operation.

NOTE: Your workstation might look different than that shown in the following figures.

Adding support arm to card support assembly (HP xw8000/xw9000 series
workstations only)

1. Add a new arm to the card support assembly for the slot in which the sound card is installed. Install

the new arm from the bottom side of the card support assembly (1), as shown in the following figure.
Your workstation might have other support arms already installed to support other PCI slots (not
shown in the figure).

NOTE: The HP xw8600 Workstation does not support the installation of support arms for cards

installed in its PCI slots (slot 1 and 7).

6 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi card installation ENWW